Interview with Al Flocke, a radio operator during World War II. He discusses his flight training and being the radio operator on a B-24 bomber which did raids on Guam, Turk, Iwo Jima and other islands. He also relates anecdotes about food, rations, and living conditions on the islands.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Crain. Crain left law school to join the Army Air Forces in January 1942. He was assigned to an ordnance detachment with the 3rd Air Depot Group in Agra, India, where he loaded ammunition onto trains. He was transferred to Karachi, where he made reusable practice bombs out of tin cans and sand. He applied to OCS and returned to the States in April 1943. As an Infantry officer he taught math, reading, and ordnance use. He was sent to Italy and assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 86th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. In the Apennines, his unit furnished ammunition and performed light engineering. Crain was the battalion commander’s primary troubleshooter. He was assigned to the 85th Infantry Division when the armistice went into effect in Italy. There was no resistance from Germans in the Po Valley, who pleaded with Crain to help them defend their homes from the Russians. When the war ended, he was assigned to keep the peace between political factions in Tarvisio. His last occupation duty was overseeing refugees in Milan. Crain returned home and was discharged in December 1945. He returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Mellon. Mellon joined the Army in March of 1944. He was assigned to the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, and participated in active duty through France and into the Siegfried Line in December. They continued their combat duty into Germany, and served on occupation duty after the war ended. Mellon returned to the US and was discharged in October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bill Sheehan. Sheehan joined the Navy in June of 1933. Beginning October of 1943, he served as Quartermaster aboard USS Porterfield (DD-682). In February of 1944, they provided shore bombardment in the Marshalls. In April, they screened escort carriers during the Marianas invasion, and participated in the Guam Campaign in August. Sheehan provides details of their invasion of Saipan in June and Okinawa in April of 1945. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Lamanna. Lamanna joined the Navy in November 1942 and was transferred to hospital corps school in Alabama, where he tended to casualties of flight training. He then attended field medical school at Camp Elliot. Upon completion, he was assigned to a medical battalion in the V Amphibious Corps where he worked as an orderly in hospitals. He landed on Saipan on the eighth day of the invasion and worked at an abandoned Japanese hospital there. He recalls the staff worked 96 hours straight, triaging the wounded before they were sent aboard hospital ships. Natives were also enlisted to help at the hospital. Lamanna returned to Maui and tended to the 4th Marine Division casualties at a hospital there. Next, he went to Iwo Jima and landed four days after the invasion. There the wounded were treated in tents on the beach. After working at a hospital in Sasebo, Japan, supporting the occupation forces, Lamanna boarded the ATA 197, picking up troops from the Philippines and China. He returned to the States and worked at the naval hospital in Oakland until his discharge in 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Dukes. Born in Alabama, Dukes quit school in 1937 to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In March 1941, he joined the Marine Corps, and was sent to San Diego for boot camp. Dukes was then assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines where he received mortar training. On 6 June 1942, he boarded the SS Lurline bound for Pago Pago, Samoa. During November 1942 the unit merged with the 2nd Marine Division when they landed on Guadalcanal. He was assigned to the Matanikau River and tells of subsequent actions in which some of his men were killed. Dukes was wounded and sent to the Silver Stream Hospital in New Zealand. Following surgery, he was sent to the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. Dukes struggled with malaria. Throughout the interview, he expresses his admiration for the people of New Zealand. He returned to the US and received his discharge on 12 August 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Israel Berger. While attending medical school, Berger took an officer’s correspondence course with the Navy in May 1942. After interning at the Norfolk Naval Hospital and completing the V-12 program, he boarded the USS Drew (APA-162) as a general medical officer, traveling between Oahu and Saipan. Berger was relieved to be treated kindly despite being one of only two Jewish men on his ship. Despite having grown up in a kosher home, he set his cultural differences aside and ate what everyone else ate. While supporting action at Samar and Okinawa, Berger dealt with very few serious injuries, although he encountered many fatalities. One of his most sobering experiences involved helping a 12-year-old Japanese girl who stepped on a mine. By the end of the war, Berger had made lieutenant. He was inclined to join the Naval Reserve but decided instead to return home and care for his ailing mother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert G. Bass. Bass was born in Walnut, Illinois on 18 November 1922. He was drafted into the Army in February 1943. After three months of basic and combat military police training at Fort Riley, Kansas, Bass was accepted in the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Indiana. The program was disbanded in early 1944 and Bass was sent first to an armored infantry unit and then to the 243rd Combat Engineers, training at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. On 22 October 1944 the unit sailed to Europe. After a brief stay in England, they crossed the English Channel to La Havre. In December, they were in Belgium in the area where the Battle of the Bulge was being fought. In early 1945 they were on the move to Germany attached to the 1107th Engineering Group, doing road work, clearing mines and building bridges in support of the 87th Infantry. They built a pontoon bridge across the Rhine, crossed, and continued east to Schmolln. They were there when Germany surrendered. Bass and the unit were sent to Erfurt to process German prisoners of war. Erfurt being in the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James C Chandler. Chandler joined the Marine Corps in the spring of 1943. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Amphibian Battalion. Chandler participated in the battles of Guam and Okinawa. He returned to the US and was discharged in December of 1945

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James L. Bell, Jr. He joined the Marine Corps in August, 1944. After basic training in California, he was sent to the Parker Ranch in Hawaii where he practiced maneuvers. He describes landing on Red Beach and fighting on Iwo Jima when he was in the 5th Marine Division. He discusses the placement of the American flag on the island, the Japanese tunnels, and the suicides of Japanese soldiers. After Iwo Jima, he joined the 2nd Division in Hawaii. When the war ended, he served ten months as part of the occupational force in Japan before being discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Espie. Although Espie was enrolled at Indiana University and joined the Army ROTC with intentions of being commissioned, he grew anxious about the draft and decided to enlist in the Navy in December 1942. Upon completion of quartermaster school, he embarked on amphibious training and was assigned to USS LST-734. He was at the helm in the Panama Canal and was an expert in dead reckoning at sea. At Guadalcanal he was trained on lessons learned at Tarawa, in preparation for transporting landing craft to Peleliu. There he watched Imperial Japanese marines from the shore as the island was assaulted. After transporting a group of engineers from Hollandia to the Leyte Gulf invasion, Espie survived enormous debris raining on his LST after a nearby ammunition ship exploded. Espie was eventually recommended to the V-12 program, returning to the States to attend Princeton University. When Japan surrendered, the program continued for another year but wound to a close before Espie received his commission. He was discharged into the Fleet Reserve and completed his degree on the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Caposella. Caposella left his studies at Ohio State University to join the Navy in March 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes and attended radio school in Bedford Springs. After completing amphibious training at Camp Bradford and Fort Pierce, he was assigned to the USS Ostara (AKA-33) where he rode in LCVPs transporting troops and supplies throughout the Pacific. Although it was not well-armored, it survived floating mines that bounced off the ship. Arriving at Manila toward the end of the war, Caposella witnessed great devastation and poverty. He recalls the hesitation of Japanese citizens when his ship brought the initial occupation forces ashore. After the war ended, he brought Marines to China, where he noticed the local population had very few women, presumably a result of kidnapping comfort women. Caposella was discharged in June 1946 and resumed his studies at Ohio State University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Theodore Anderson. Anderson was drafted into the Navy in April of 1943. He graduated from the hospital corps in San Diego and worked at Long Beach Naval Hospital. As a hospital corpsman Anderson was assigned to the 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division artillery group H & S Battery in the fall of 1944. They traveled to Saipan in preparation for the Battle of Iwo Jima. Anderson provides details of his experiences at Iwo Jima, including serving as a roaming hospital corpsman on the island, how he was severely wounded by a mortar and witnessed the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi. He was discharged in October of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Olian Perry. Perry went to boot camp in San Diego. They were supposed to have ten week's of training but only had seven before they were shipped overseas on the Mastonia, landing in New Zealand. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 18th Marines, 1st Battalion, Company "C" as a dynamite man. After some training on New Zealand, they went to Guadalcanal on a troop ship. Once onshore, they started digging their foxholes but couldn't get any sleep because of washing machine charlie coming over. Perry talks about the land crabs crawling into their foxholes after the Japanese would bomb or shell the island. After Guadalcanal, he went back to New Zealand and then to Tarawa. Perry went into Tarawa on a Higgins boat and describes it as "just murder"; he went over the side of the boat and into waist deep water. Perry states "men were dropping around you side by side". After Tarawa, they went to Parker Ranch in Hawaii for R&R. From there they went to Saipan and Tinian. Perry describes seeing a man and woman come out, throw their kids over the cliff, and then jump in right after …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Daryl Haerther. Haerther joined the Army in 1944 and was assigned to the 96th Infantry Division a few days after the beginning of the invasion of Okinawa. He was assigned to A Company, 383rd Infantry Regiment. While there, Haerther qualified as a medic and shares several anecdotes from his combat experiences. Eventaully, Haerther was wounded and evacuated to Guam. He was still in the hospital when the war ended and Haerther elected to be discharged in December 1945. Haerther indicates he continues to struggle later in life as a result of some of his combat experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hiroshi Sakahara. Sakahara is second generation Japanese-American. He provides some details of his family history and life growing up in Tacoma, Washington during the Great Depression. In 1941 he joined the Army and volunteered for the 442nd Infantry Combat Team, 5th Army. They fought in Belgium and Italy on the front lines opposite the Germans. He served as an ammunition carrier and later carried the Browning Automatic Rifle. In the Spring of 1944 through May of 1945, Sakahara pulled guard duty until Germany surrendered. He was discharged in June of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Skeldon. Skeldon recalls several anecdotes from growing up during the Great Depression. He enlisted in the Navy in August 1941 and trained at Newport, Rhode Island. He was in aviation mechanic school when the war started. Skeldon describes the initiation when a ship crosses the Equator while aboard USS Santee (CVE-29) and was involved in the invasion of North Africa. He shares stories from Morocco. He went to arresting gear school before he served aboard USS Kadashan Bay (CVE-76). Skeldon shares several anecdotes about life aboard an aircraft carrier during World War II. He also talks about the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He also served as a plane captain aboard an SBD. He also describes his experiences at Okinawa. Skeldon shares a few post war anecdotes about hauling former Italian POWs back to Italy. He retired from the Navy in 1947 and went to work on the railroad. He was recalled for the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lindsey Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Navy in November of 1942 and completed machinist school. He was sent to Alaska and then assigned to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) beginning in January of 1943. His job aboard was in the number two fire room, operating the boilers. Throughout 1943, he participated in the Aleutian, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns. In 1944 Wilcox participated in the Mariana campaign and the Battle of Tinian, and in March of 1945, the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa. When the Indianapolis sank, Wilcox was one of the remaining crew set adrift before being rescued. He describes events leading up to, during and after this fateful event. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard D. Buehrle. He volunteered to join the Navy in 1943 after he graduated from high school. Expecting to have a permanent duty assignment in Australia, he was, instead, called to be a destroyer replacement sailor in New Guinea on the USS Smith (DD-378). He served first as a five-inch gun shell retriever, then as a signalman on the bridge. He relates the story of his selection as a signalman. He also describes living conditions aboard the ship, his clothing, as well as the mail service. He talks about his friendship with Donald Kent. He also mentions Captain Stout. He discusses an attempt to land Marines on Arawe. He describes an attack by Japanese aircraft and kamikazes in the Philippines. He shares anecdotes about Nagasaki and the Japanese surrender. He explains his reason for not remaining in the Navy after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William McAnany. McAnany joined the Navy in October of 1938. He completed Hospital Corps and X-Ray Technician School. McAnany worked at naval hospitals in Virginia and Philadelphia. In August of 1941 he was assigned aboard the USS Solace (AH-5) and traveled to Pearl Harbor in October. McAnany was on Ford Island during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he treated wounded soldiers. He continued his service supporting campaigns including the invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Midway. He also treated wounded at Guadalcanal, the Marianas, Peleliu and Okinawa. He then served aboard the hospital ship, USS Samaritan (AH-10). After the war ended, McAnany served in the US and in the Korean War. He was discharged from active duty in May of 1958.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gilbert Clark. Clark joined the Navy in February 1941 and trained at Great Lakes. After optical training, he joined the USS Helena (CL-50) at San Diego and served aboard as a rangefinder. Clark was aboard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He also describes some action he was involved in later around the Solomon Islands and describes when the Helena was sunk at Kula Gulf. Clark made it to an island and was rescued off it. He then was assigned to the USS Franklin (CV-13) when it was commissioned. He was aboard the Franklin when she was hit by a kamikaze. Clark was evacuated and assigned to shore duty in San Diego. He was discharged after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Steiger. Born in 1924, Steiger joined the Marines in 1943. He received artillery training as well as DUKW (also referred to as a Duck (an amphibios vehicle)), radio, and telephone training. He was an assistant gunner with the Fifth Marine Division. He describes his role in invasion of Iwo Jima as well as seeing the first American flag raised on Mount Suribachi. At the end of the war, he was sent to Sasebo, Japan as part of the occupation force. He discusses disarming kamikaze boats. He was transferred to the Second Marine Division stationed in Nagasaki, Japan. He describes the area that was hit by the atomic bomb as well as interactions with the local citizens. He returned to the United States in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sam D. Jones. Jones joined the Army in 1937. He served with the 12th Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston. Jones details his duties caring for the horses and how caissons operated. He discusses camp life and talks about the exercises his unit participated in. Jones tells an interesting story about his last ride before his horse was retired and tells how that horse was given a military burial many years later. He left the Army in 1940 and volunteered to join after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jones spent a year working in a message center at Camp Wallace and then was transferred to the 86th Infantry Division. He went to Europe and describes the severe cold encountered upon their arrival in the winter of 1944-45. Jones routinely led a convoy of two and a half ton trucks from the front to ammunition depots to keep the 105mm howitzers in his unit supplied. He describes being strafed by a German plane when fully loaded with ammunition. Jones describes interactions with the German people. He returned to the US and was discharged soon after the surrender of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willard Cole. Cole was drafted into the Army in April, 1943. Cole went to Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas and was assigned to the 125th Evacuation Hospital, Semimobile when it formed. He went overseas to England with the unit in November, 1944. Cole arrived in France in March 1945. By early April, they had established their hospital in Krefeld, Germany and began receiving casualties. When the war ended, they were around Munchen and remained there during part of the occupation. He also worked in hospitals in Passau and Augsburg before leaving for the US in 1946. Cole was discharged later in June.