The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alan Fouts. Fouts joined the Navy in 1939 and trained in San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Fouts joined the USS Argonne (AG-31). Later, he was stationed at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor when the war started. He recalls witnessing the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He managed to get guns operational on the USS Widgeon (AM-22) before it got underway during the attack. Between the attacks, Fouts went alongside the USS Arizona (BB-39) and measured the holes in the hull. He continued serving as a diver at Noumea and Samoa in 1942-1943. He volunteered for submarine duty and was made five war patrols aboard the USS Pogy (SS- 266). Fouts tells several submarine stories. After the war, Fouts remained in the Navy for thirty years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Kiracofe. Kiracofe joined the Navy in 1942 and received yeoman training at Great Lakes. Upon completion, he was assigned to CASU-22 at Quonset Point, helping to prepare squadrons for overseas deployment. He was then assigned to Carrier Air Group 41, which was just beginning to use radar for night flying. One of his duties as yeoman was to send letters of regret to the parents of soldiers who were killed in action. The experience upset him to the point that he remembered the date of each letter for the rest of his life. He was transferred to Carrier Air Group 10 aboard the USS Intrepid (CV-11) and helped to set up squadrons in Alameda from January 1943 to September 1944. At Okinawa, a kamikaze hit caused the deaths of eight men on the Intrepid. When the ship returned to Alameda for repairs, Kiracofe was so shaken up that he was ordered to a US Naval hospital for treatment and received a medical discharge in July 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Barton. Barton joined the Navy and was trained as a radioman. He became a crewman on an Avenger torpedo bomber in October 1943. Barton flew off of the USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and the USS Tripoli (CVE-64) and performed anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. He describes how depth charges were dropped, the armament of the plane, and how they were trained to skip-bomb. Barton was then sent to the Pacific where he flew off of the USS Anzio (CVE-57) for the remainder of the war. He describes an incident where his plane had a failed landing and ended upside-down in the water. Barton had to break some glass in the cockpit to escape. He flew ground support missions over Okinawa. Barton discusses how the radio and radar functioned on his plane. He was discharged several months after the surrender.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Boardman. Boardman joined the Navy in December of 1941. He served aboard the USS Henderson (AP-1). His rank was Seaman Second Class. He flew in a Grumman TBF Avenger, and describes the plane in some detail. He was discharged in October of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Elijah Collins. Collins joined the Navy in early 1941 and trained in San Diego. He was then assigned to the USS Blue (DD-387). Collins suffered from seasickness in the beginning. He was aboard the Blue at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Also, he was aboard when the Blue was sunk off Guadalcanal. After thirteen months ashore in Australia, Collins joined the USS McCord (DD-534) before going to torpedo school. From there, he went to Barbers Point Naval Air Station, where he was when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Melvin Brandenburg. Brandenburg joined the US Army in September 1942. He was assigned to the 78th Infantry Division, 310th Infantry Regiment. He provides details of his extensive infantry training. They arrived in England in late October 1944, then crossed to Le Havre, France in late November 1944. They participated in the Battle of the Bulge, where Brandenburg was wounded on 16 December. He provides details of their actions during this battle. They relieved the 82nd Airborne Division during occupation duty in Berlin. Brandenburg returned to the US and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Viola Kaplan. Kaplan was a first-year student at DePaul when the war started. She left the university to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in the spring of 1942 and received basic training in Kansas. Given her background as a math major, she was assigned as a logician to headquarters in New Guinea, where ships were loaded before invasions. Kaplan alone determined how best to fill each ship with troops and supplies. She worked under MacArthur and found him to be an unfriendly, forceful person. Kaplan contracted malaria and was treated on New Guinea. She felt the medical care was excellent, but she was taken off duty and sent home after her third outbreak. Kaplan resumed her studies, this time at UCLA, finishing at Rutgers. At the Northwestern medical school, she was the first woman to become director of finance and administration. In her 90s she was working for the census as a statistician.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Redfearn. Redfearn joined the Marine Corps after studying mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. He received basic training in San Diego. After serving as a drill instructor, he was assigned to the 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. On account of his mathematical aptitude, he was selected as a forward observer, relaying target information to the artillery. Redfearn referred them to aerial photos, directing their attention to specific locations and calling for slight adjustments once firing began. At Bougainville, the enemy was so close that the artillery had to improvise by putting sandbags under their front wheels to adequately elevate gun tubes. Redfearn was injured while handling ammunition and returned to the States, where he was assigned guard duty in Bethesda. He received a medical discharge at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Walker. Walker joined the Navy in September 1943 after taking a course in navigation at Georgia Tech. He then attended midshipmen’s school at Columbia University. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Canberra (CA-70), where he served as assistant navigator. He enjoyed seeing the beautiful sunsets on the Pacific before his evening star-sights. His ship supported landings at Kwajalein and Hollandia and first encountered enemy fire at Truk. They bombarded Iwo Jima in preparation for the eventual landing but did not realize the Japanese were untouchable in their underground passageways. Walker held a temporary assignment in the combat information center aboard the USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) at Luzon, where a carrier beside them was sunk by kamikazes. He then rejoined the Canberra at Ulithi. While he was away, the Canberra was hit with a torpedo. He attributes its survival to the superb damage-control skills of Captain Early. Walker returned home when the war ended and was discharged in New Orleans.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Zaehler. Zaehler joined the Marine Corps in early 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to the service squadron of MAG-12, running a mobile machine shop where his primary duty was repairing ground vehicles. He spent a good part of his duty stationed on Emirau Island, where the squadron’s plucky COO would cheerfully bring him Japanese bombs that he had discovered on the island. He would ask to borrow Zaehler’s tools in order to disarm and study the bombs. Zaehler gingerly provided him the tools and then made a polite and speedy exit, in case of an accident, of which there were none. When there were no vehicles to repair, Zaehler towed Corsairs to the line. He often saw the comings and goings of fighter ace Joe Foss and watched Charles Lindbergh teaching New Zealanders how to land the F4U.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Glenn Lane. Lane joined the Navy in February of 1940 and was assigned to the USS Arizona (BB-39) in Pearl Harbor. He worked in the Aviation Division as a Radioman Third Class, flying as an air crewman on the battleship’s Kingfisher scout planes. He was aboard the Arizona on 7 December 1941, when the Japanese attacked. An explosion blew him overboard and he swam to the USS Nevada (BB-36). Lane was then assigned to various squadrons and ships, flying as a crewman in scouts and dive bombers during battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands and Tulagi. He was on an aircraft attempting to land aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) when it was attacked by the Japanese. His plane was diverted to Midway Island but ran out of fuel and ditched. The crew was eventually picked up by a PBY Amphibian. Lane went on to finish a 30-year naval career, retiring as a Command Master Chief at NAS Whidbey Island in 1969.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Annabel Ring. Ring was in college on 7 December 1941, completed one semester and then went to work in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She went into the Navy on 6 May 1943 as a WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and took boot camp in the Bronx, New York for six weeks. The Navy took over a women’s college there and they stayed in apartments across the street. From there, Ring went to medical school at Great Lakes, Illinois. She had classes and then would work in the ward with the patients. Ring then went to Patuxent River, Maryland where she worked in a hospital on different wards. After two years there, she was sent to dentist school in Quantico, Virginia. Ring was there when the war ended and was discharged in October 1945 as a hospital second class petty officer.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald K Cradit. Cradit joined the Navy in November of 1939. He served as Boatswain’s Mate aboard the USS McCook (DD-496), participating in the Normandy invasions. Cradit later served aboard the USS Rogers (DD-876), where he witnessed the signing of the Peace Treaty in Tokyo Harbor. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert White. White finished high school in 1934 and shares several anecdotes about making a living during the Great Depression. During most of the war, White was working in an essential oil and gas industry job and was deferred from military service, until he was drafted into the Army in early 1945. He shipped out for occupation duty in Japan, arriving in November, 1945. WHite eventually received a hardship discharge because hi wife was going to have a surgery.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Milton Seacord. Seacord joined the Coast Guard in 1943 and received basic training in Oakland. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Coast Guard station at Coos Bay, Oregon, manning the lighthouse and helping fishermen who ran aground. He transferred to Point Loma, California, standing guard as ships were loaded and unloaded in the harbor. After a brief time aboard the USS Admiral W. L. Capps (AP-121), he traveled throughout the South Pacific aboard the USS Murzim (AK-95). Seacord returned home and was discharged in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Malford Heimer. Heimer joined the Army in December 1942. In early 1943, he began serving as rifleman with the 87th Infantry Regiment. They traveled to the Aleutian Islands as part of Task Force 9 moving material up to the area. In 1944, Heimer joined the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Italy, fighting in the Apennine Mountains during the Italian Campaign. After receiving a shell fragment injury, surgery and recovery, Heimer was sent back to the US in early 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Carlile. Carlile enlisted in the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and went to California for flight training. After an injury ended his flight training, he volunteered to go overseas. In April, 1943, Carlile went to England where he trained to become a flight control officer. Afterward, he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh in January 1944. He remained there for the balance of the war in Europe.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Wolf. Wolf joined the Army in March, 1944 and went to basic training in Florida. After training, Wolf proceeded overseas to France in February, 1945 and was assigned as a rifleman in the 341st Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Division. They moved into Germany and fought at Hagen. When the war in Europe ended, Wolf was sent to the Philippines for garrison duty, arriving after the war was over. He returned to the US in April, 1946. He joined the Air Force in October, 1949 and stayed in for four years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford Ashby. Ashby was born in Effingham, Illinois on 11 June 1925. He became interested in amateur radio while in high school and joined the Merchant Marines in 1943. After passing tests related to radio operations he was assigned to the liberty ship, SS James B. Francis (1942) as a radio operator. He tells of the ship loaded with ammunition sitting in the harbor at Guadalcanal with hoses pumping water on the deck to keep it cool. He also observed Japanese air raids over the island of Morotai. Ashby’s ship also participated in the invasion of Luzon. Later, he was assigned to the SS Benjamin Grierson commenting on the excellent food served aboard Liberty ships. He comments on the excellent wages paid to Merchant seaman and the fact that the pay was doubled when the ship was within a war zone. He tells of the SS Grierson setting at Ulithi with 40 other merchant ships for three months following the Japanese surrender. After leaving the Merchant Marine he attended various colleges and he comments on his career prior to retirement.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Oliver Massey. Massey joined the Marine Corps at the age of sixteen. After boot camp, Massey was assigned to Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2) where he began training as an aircraft mechanic at North Island Naval Air Station. In January of 1940 he was assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 231 (VMSB-231) Ewa, Hawaii and he describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In early 1942, the squadron flew the SB2U-3 Scout Bomber in the Battle of Midway and Massey briefly describes the battle and noted limitations of the aircraft. After returning to the US, he went aboard an escort carrier that took planes to Guadalcanal. He was later stationed at various bases and tells of working on various types of planes including the Grumman F6F fighter and the Douglas C-54 transport. He continued serving in the Korean War, flying with several generals as the crew chief. Massey retired as a Master Sergeant in 1959.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernadine Bircher. Bircher was working as a psychiatric nurse in October 1943 when she joined the Army Nurse Corps. Upon completion of basic and specialized training, she deployed in June 1944 to a station hospital in Holland. Her unit was short on anesthetists, so Bircher volunteered, despite having no specific training. Nurses and doctors at the adjacent operating tables assisted Bircher with her first patients, and she began assisting an orthopedic surgeon. Casualties arrived from the Battle of the Bulge, often presenting with self-inflicted wounds in a desperate attempt to get off the front lines, requiring amputation and debridement. When the hospital's mess hall was bombed, glass shattered everywhere, resulting in several enucleation procedures. After serving in several mobile units, Bircher returned home in December 1945 and was discharged, returning to her work as a psychiatric nurse.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr. Hubbard was born on 1 April 1945. He joined the Naval Intelligence Command as a special agent of the Naval Investigative Service in March of 1968. He volunteered for service in Vietnam for 36 months. He later accepted an appointment as a training officer for the British South Africa police in Rhodesia. Additionally, Hubbard worked in security, mining and exploration industries. He has lived and worked extensively in Asia, Australia and Africa. His father, Doug Hubbard, was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Buchanan. Buchanan entered the workforce as a child and was not treated well by employers, but he felt for African-Americans workers who seemed to have it even worse. After joining the Navy in 1939, he attended diesel engine school. Buchanan was then assigned to the USS Cachalot (SS-170), working his way up to chief motor machinist's mate. On 7 December 1941, his submarine was docked, with its engine removed for repairs. It took 21 days to reassemble it and embark on their first patrol. Off Truk, a hollow tank vital to their surfacing ability was struck by a bomb. Buchanan became an expert in fuel-management, sustaining a 73-day patrol. After supporting the Battle of Midway, their final patrol was in the Aleutians. On the way home, the engine seized and Buchanan carefully studied blueprints to find a solution. After the war, his sub was converted to a teaching ship. When it was discovered a few years later that he could no longer hear due to his exposure to engines, Buchanan was discharged into the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Lemond. Lemond was born in Tahoka, Texas on 6 November 1923. After enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was accepted into the pilot training program. Upon completing the various phases of training at different bases, he was sent to Ardmore, Oklahoma where he joined a B-17 crew as a co-pilot. After being assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron the crew flew a new B-17 to England. Lemond recalls in detail a mission over Augsburg, Germany in March 1944 in which his aircraft had a midair collision with another B-17. Only he and another crew member survived. He was befriended by members of the French Underground until he and a RAF crewman were exposed by a traitor. He comments about the treatment he received from members of the German Gestapo while imprisoned in the Fresnes, Val de-Marn prison. As American forces neared his place of imprisonment, his captors left and he walked out of the prison. Lemond was picked up by American forces and taken to Paris where he was debriefed before he returned to England and rejoined his unit. Soon thereafter, he returned to …