The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Cross. Cross joined the Navy in August of 1944. He was trained as a yeoman. Cross served on a destroyer in the Atlantic. He describes how his ship screened convoys by disrupting an air attack by German planes and depth charging a suspected submarine. Cross also talks about his duties as a phone talker during general quarters and the type of work performed by a yeoman. He was discharged soon after he returned to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ernest Latta. Latta worked in the CCC for a year and a half before joining the Army in October, 1940. He trained in Hawaii and was attached to Company I, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was at Schofield Barracks when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After the attack, Latta guarded a beach on the western edge of Oahu for some time. He went to Guadalcanal in December, 1942. Latta earned a Silver Star in combat at Guadalcanal. He also invaded Vella Lavella. After that, he was present during the invasion of Luzon and participated in the battles at Balete Pass. Latta chose to be discharged when an opportunity came his way in July 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Carey. Carey joined the Marine Corps in an officer candidate class in November of 1942. In July of 1943 he was transferred to the Navy V-12 Program, completing midshipman and landing craft school. He was stationed aboard the USS Venango (AKA-82) beginning June of 1944. In the spring of 1945 they transported cargo for the impending assault on Okinawa, carrying troops, landing craft vehicles and gear of the Army’s 82nd Signal Construction Battalion. Carey was aboard when they participated in the Battle of Okinawa, returning to the US in November of 1945. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James E. Atkinson. Atkinson was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1921. His younger brother was killed in Europe during the war. Atkinson attended Vanderbilt University with a football scholarship in 1940. In 1942 he joined the Navy Reserves and entered the V-12 Navy College Training Program. Soon afterwards, he entered Midshipman’s school at Notre Dame. Upon graduating 20 June 1944, he was commissioned an ensign. He then entered submarine school at New London, Connecticut. He describes the characteristics of a fleet submarine. After completing four months of school, he flew to Brisbane, Australia and reported aboard the USS Flasher (SS-249). Atkinson served during the boat’s fourth, fifth and sixth combat patrols. He describes sinking two Japanese destroyers and four tankers. On the sixth combat patrol, they sank two Japanese ships and returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul in April 1945. Afterwards, the boat was at sea bound for Guam when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. Returning to New London, Connecticut, the crew decommissioned the boat.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Byler. Byler joined the Army in early 1941. He served as the Commanding Officer of the 965th Field Artillery Battalion, in the European Theater, during the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded. Byler was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Hand. Hand joined the Army in February of 1941. He served with the 208th Military Police Company in Brownwood, Texas. After Pearl Harbor, Hand completed Officer Candidate School, graduating in May of 1942. He was assigned to the 7th Armored Division, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. They landed at Omaha Beach in August of 1944. They patrolled between Saint-Lô and Caen, and Hand was wounded on his way up to Germany. Hand returned to the US, and remained hospitalized from August of 1944 through April of 1945. He was then assigned to help set up a Reconnaissance School at Fort Knox. Hand was discharged in December of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Nila Jackson Alderson. Born in 1925, Alderson describes life before and during the war in rural Texas as well as in the town of Burnet, Texas . Her husband, Joe Alderson, served in the military in Europe. They both discuss the mail service during the war. The interview includes information about her parents and siblings.

Transcript of an oral interview with Ronald DeWitt. In 1943, he joined the Navy when he was 17. He went to Newport, Rhode Island for basic training and then went to radar operator school at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. From there, he was assigned to Port Hueneme, California for more radar training. He evetually volunteered for sea duty and was posted to the USS Algol (AKA-54) in August, 1944 as a radar man. He describes the function of and gear aboard the attack cargo ship; being the ranking radar man; traveling in a convoy. After entering the Pacific, he participated in the invasion of the Philippines and was present for the landing at Lingayen Gulf. From there, they delivered cargo at Leyte, then headed for Okinawa. Th eAlgol ws there for the first nine days of the invasion before heading for Guam and then the US. toward the end of the war, the Algol was back in the Pacific, where, after the war, it delivered its boats to China. From there, it returned to Seattle and DeWitt left the Navy in March, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Osburn. He begins with an anecdote about his birth and a mix-up on his birth certificate. In 1944, he was draftred into the Navy at 18 years of age. Osburn went to boot camp in San Diego for four weeks of intense training. His pay was $32 per month. When he finished Basic Training, Osburn was attached to Carrier Aircraft Support Unit 53 in Hopeville, California. Two months later, he was sent to Philadelphia for more training, this time with catapult and arresting gear. From there, Osburn reported to the USS Hornet (CV-12) operating in the Pacific. Osburn then speaks about the job he had working with aircraft arresting gear and life aboard ship. He mentions the ship being involved in operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ward McGill. McGill joined the Army in June of 1943. He completed boot camp at Camp Abbot in Oregon. He trained as a Combat Engineer, building Bailey bridges and pine log bridges. He provides great details of his training. He was assigned to Company B, 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. Around September of 1944 they traveled to England where McGill worked as an assistant squad leader, driving a half-track. In November they landed at Le Havre, France, supporting the 94th Infantry Division up to the banks of the Rhine River, enduring numerous attacks and casualties of fellow servicemen. McGill was wounded in April of 1945 by a sniper near Würzburg, Germany. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Greer. Greer was born 8 March 1924 in Gary, West Virginia. In 1942 he enrolled in the ROTC at West Virginia State College. In May 1943 his class was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for sixteen weeks of artillery basic training. In August the group was sent by troop train to Camp Beale, California where they joined the newly formed, all-black 777th Field Artillery Battalion where they trained with the 4.5 millimeter howitzer. During August 1944 the unit sailed for Liverpool, England. Upon arrival they went to Normandy where they joined the 9th Army as part of III Corps. In November 1944 the battalion was involved in the Hurtgen Forest Campaign. After the surrender of Germany, the battalion was on board a ship going to the Pacific when Japan surrendered. The ship was diverted back to the United States. After Greer was discharged in December 1945, he returned to college and upon graduating, received a commission in the Field Artillery. He concludes the interview by telling of his various assignments, which included combat situations during the Korea and Vietnam wars. In 1976, Greer retired as a major …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Horrell. Horrell completed ROTC infantry classes at Western Kentucky University, then joined the Army in May of 1943. He completed Armored Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in September of 1943. He was assigned to the 92nd Reconnaissance Squad, B Company, 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. He had additional training at Camp Campbell in Kentucky, driving half tracks, completing maneuvers and reconnoitering the area. Horrell served as an Armored Infantry Platoon Leader in half tracks. Around June of 1944 they traveled to England, then on to Le Havre, France in November of that same year. He was then assigned to the 7th Army and they completed armored vehicle attacks and maneuvers. They participated in a battle in Stuttgart, Germany. He was discharged in 1946. He retired from the Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Warren Wilt. Wilt was born on 5 November 1922 near Plevna, Kansas. Three of his brothers served in the military during World War II. He describes living on a Kansas farm during the Dust Bowl days in the 1920s and 1930s. Soon after enlisting in the Army in 1943, he was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to begin training as a paratrooper. In March 1944, he was assigned to a bazooka team with Company H, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He describes participating in the Normandy invasion and tells of actions in which he was involved prior to being wounded. Following six months of hospitalization and recovery he returned to his unit and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. During this time he suffered from severe frostbite and was hospitalized. Upon being released from the hospital, he was assigned to the 713th Military Police Battalion. He was assigned to guard the residence of President Harry Truman when he attended the Potsdam Conference during July and August 1945. Following the surrender of Germany, Wilt returned to the United States and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Hawkins. Hawkins joined the Marine Corps in June of 1943. He provides details of boot camp. He completed sea school in San Diego, learning how to live and work aboard a ship. He also completed Naval gunnery school. He was sent to Pearl Harbor in a replacement pool. He and 4 other Marines were then assigned to CINCPAC, serving with Admiral Nimitz???s Marine Detachment. He performed guard duty around the headquarters. Hawkins worked his way up to the Admiral???s office orderly and later served as his personal orderly, traveling with him around the island ensuring his safety and transporting classified information. In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam. Hawkins provides many intimate details of his work for Admiral Nimitz, including a day where he swam for recreation alongside Nimitz and Halsey. He shares stories of their time working, hiking, swimming and more in Guam. Hawkins??? last day with Admiral Nimitz was at the signing of the treaty aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63). He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis Ferguson. Ferguson joined the Navy in 1942 under the V-7 Program. After graduating, he received basic training in San Diego. He was then sent to Radar Operator School in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Cooper (DD-695). He received further training at Radar Materiel School in Pearl Harbor and was transferred to the USS Massey (DD-778). At the invasion of Okinawa, Ferguson tracked bogeys as far as 200 miles away. Although he could not see the action from his position in the radar shack, he felt the ship shudder as it fired at kamikazes. After the war, the Massey carried troops and mail to the occupation forces in Japan. Ferguson remembers the ship rolling 56 degrees during a typhoon there. He returned home and was discharged in January 1946; Ferguson found work teaching business administration to veterans.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert W Miller. Miller joined the Navy and completed Midshipmen’s School. Beginning early 1943, he served aboard USS Saufley (DD-465), on escort and antisubmarine duties in the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and New Hebrides area. Through January of 1944, they performed escort duties for the reinforcement of Bougainville. Miller was later assigned to COMDESPAC staff with the North Pacific Fleet in Alaska, and later assigned to teach fighter direction at the Hollywood Beach Hotel through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J.D. Tanner. Tanner was born 20 August 1924 in Jasper County, Indiana. He quit school in the seventh grade and worked with his father on a dairy farm. In August 1944, he was drafted into the US Army and had basic training at Camp Wolters, Texas. After four weeks of training he went to San Francisco and departed on a twenty-one day trip to Leyte. There he was assigned as a rifleman in the 37th Infantry Division. He describes being on patrol and seeing a friend killed by a Japanese sniper. He was hospitalized with dysentery and recalls meeting General MacArthur’s wife, Jean, as she visited the hospital. After the surrender of Japan, he was assigned to the Military Police for a period of time and also drove a truck. He returned to the United States and was discharged 1 August 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob Floyd. Floyd was on track to become as a ship builder, but was drafted into the Navy before graduating from high school. He was assigned to the USS Midway (CVE-63), which was renamed the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) one year later, without the sailors even knowing it. Floyd’s early voyages were to Australia and Pearl Harbor, and he recounts becoming a shellback. Upon joining a large task force at Pearl Harbor, he sailed to Saipan, Tinian and Guam. Floyd observed the Marianas Turkey Shoot, which felt to him like watching a movie. In general quarters, he was a gun captain on two 20mm guns, passing orders from the bridge to his gunners. Otherwise, he was a 40mm gunner. In the Philippines, Floyd was hit by shell fragments, earning him a Purple Heart. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Floyd and crew abandoned ship after a kamikaze strike. Upon being rescued, he felt fine apart from having no appetite, and he consequently lost thirty pounds. During recovery, Floyd was reassigned to an ammunition depot, where he remained until the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Graziano. Graziano was drafted by the Navy in October of 1943. He was immediately assigned to the USS Dennis (DE-405), beginning in December. They traveled to Hawaii for gunnery practice and prepared for engagements. Their first engagements were off of New Guinea and Australia. They escorted a carrier to the Marshall Islands. In 1944 they participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Graziano provides vivid details of this battle, including his job of laying out smoke screens to hide the carriers. In February of 1945 he was transferred off the Dennis to complete advanced torpedo training. He was then shipped out to Mandi Candi island in the Pacific for 9 months serving shore patrol with the Seabees. He was discharged around December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Goedeke. Goedeke joined the Navy in 1940. Beginning September of 1941, he was assigned to the deck force aboard the USS Fulton (AS-11), a submarine tender. They were in Panama on 7 December 1941. Their ship transported aviation gasoline to Nicaragua and Ecuador, where they built seaplane bases. In early 1942 they worked in Pearl Harbor assisting with asbestos clean-up. Goedeke describes the damage on the island. In July of 1942 they picked up survivors from the sunken USS Yorktown (CV-5) after the Battle of Midway. They supported ten subs traveling to Brisbane, Australia, and Goedeke describes their initiation of the pollywogs. In December of 1943 Goedeke was assigned to the USS Dennis (DE-405). In September of 1944 they provided support for the landings on Morotai Island, and continued during the invasion of Leyte in October. He describes his experiences through the battles, including casualties of fellow servicemen, attacks made upon the ship and rescuing survivors from the USS St. Lo (CVE–63). In February and March of 1945, the Dennis participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima and then the invasion of Okinawa. Goedeke was discharged in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Jaeger. Jaeger joined the Navy when he was 18 and received basic training at Farragut. He developed pneumonia and upon recovering was too weak to complete physical training. He was assigned to the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) as an orderly to the captain, whom he greatly admired. At Saipan his battle station was at a 20-millimeter gun, and he was noted as the faster loader aboard ship. He found friendly fire to be inevitable, as inexperienced pilots flew too close to enemy aircraft above their ship. At the Battle off Samar, his captain expertly dodged enemy shells for two hours. Jaeger was sure they would be sunk, but the Japanese fleet suddenly departed. However, when the St. Lo was struck by a kamikaze soon after, Jaeger was indeed ordered to abandon ship and found his life jacket had been rendered useless by shrapnel. When he was rescued by the USS Butler (DD-636) several hours later, he was too exhausted to climb the cargo net, so two sailors swam to his aid and pulled him aboard. His nerves were shot by the time he arrived back at Pearl …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Kana. Kana joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served aboard the USS Dennis (DE-405). He visited the Marshall Islands and the Philippines. He provides vivid details of a battle off Samar. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Kennann. Kennann joined the Navy in 1942 at age 21. The first time he saw the ocean was at boot camp in San Diego. He was selected for aviation machinist’s school in Chicago and went on to study hydraulics. After graduating in June 1943, he was assigned to Alameda Naval Air Station as part of Composite Squadron 65 (VC-65), which then boarded the USS St. Lo (CVE-63). There Kennann performed maintenance work in the hangar deck and checked planes on the flight deck for leaks. When the St. Lo was struck by a kamikaze at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Kennann climbed down a cargo net to abandon ship. After waiting in the water for an hour, he was rescued by the USS Dennis (DE-405). By that time, he was already so weakened that he could not pull himself out of the water without assistance. Kennann rejoined his squadron and headed toward Japan, ceasing operations after the first bomb was dropped. Following his discharge, Kennann surprised his family by returning home early.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bobby Meyers. Meyers was drafted into the Navy in June of 1943. He completed boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. He was assigned to a service school in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Beginning in 1944 he worked in the engine room as a machinist mate aboard the USS Dennis (DE-405). They traveled to Pearl Harbor, and escorted carriers throughout the Pacific. They traveled to Iwo Jima, Eniwetok and participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Dennis rescued 434 survivors from the escort carrier USS St. Lo (CVE–63), which had been sunk by a kamikaze. He shares his experience going through a typhoon. Meyers was discharged in late 1945.