The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Lawrence Wile. Wile joined the Army in 1943. He completed Cook School, and worked as a cook at Fort Meade and Fort Eustis. In late 1944, he traveled to Cherbourg, France and Belgium, working with the 1591st Labor Supervision Company. He assisted with coordinating German companies in cleaning up after the war, rebuilding roads and picking up artillery shells. Wile continued in the Army after the war, completing 30 years of service in the military.

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.

Transcript of an oral interview with Norman E. Winter. Born in 1924, he was inducted into the Army in October 1944 after a one-year agricultural deferment. He talks about basic training and weaponry at Camp Hood, Texas. He was assigned to a light weapons platoon in Company E, 129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division. He shares an anecdote about sea sickness on the ship to the Philippines and describes the living conditions of the Filipinos. He describes advancing to the northern end of Luzon in the face of Japanese artillery fire and night fighting. He shares anecdotes about dancing in Manilla and going to the beach in Aparri. After V-J Day, he re-enlisted and returned to the U.S. with the 37th Division. He was transferred to Germany where he was assigned to the Army Counter Intelligence Corps. While serving in the Berghausen field office, his mission was to arrest Nazi war criminals. He shares the stories of three such arrests. In late 1947 his mission changed to gathering information about Communist activities. He describes an incident in which he, disguised as a Military Policeman, accompanied refugees on a train bound for Hungary for repatriation. He served as Army personnel in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Maclin. Maclin was a pre-med student when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Two of his childhood friends perished aboard USS Arizona (BB-39). Maclin was moved to sign up for the Navy, and joined the V-12 program. In June 1944, he contracted the mumps and was quarantined at Balboa Naval Hospital. Upon recovery, he was assigned to USS Coral Sea (CVE-57), later renamed the Anzio, as a hospital corpsman, assisting in surgeries such as appendectomies. While sailing through Typhoon Cobra, Maclin was impressed by a religious shipmate's ability to remain calm. He later joined the man's Bible group, which met in a storeroom aboard ship. Maclin would later become a missionary, spending 20 years in Africa after surviving kamikazes at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gerard Noteboom. Noteboom was a child living near The Hague when his father was taken away by the Gestapo and sent to Buchenwald. From December 1940 to September 1944, his father remained active in resistance groups while interned. Meanwhile, the Dutch underground provided financial assistance to Noteboom's family. Noteboom prudently invested in salt, a valuable commodity that could be easily traded for food. He also actively resisted the occupation, stealing arms and ammunition. As the Allies drew near, his family sought refuge from crossfire in a reinforced cellar. After the liberation, Noteboom worked as an English translator in exchange for bread. His father soon returned home. Noteboom went on to attend medical school, graduating in 1954 and immigrating to the United States. There he joined the Army as a pathologist at Fort Meade.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clemens Kathman. Kathman was drafted into the Army in March 1941. He joined the 200th Coast Artillery and traveled to the Philippine Islands. He describes the Japanese bombing Clark Field and then being sent to Bataan. Kathman was captured and became a POW. He details the march to camp that followed and the difficulties that he endured. Kathman was assigned to the burial detail at Camp O’Donnell and describes the duties he performed. He was then sent to Cabanatuan and goes into detail on the diet of the prisoners. Kathman then traveled to Japan in the hold of a freighter. In Japan he suffered a ruptured appendix and was given an improvised treatment by American medics. He ended up in Nagoya and describes his liberation and treatment through his return to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garvin O. Suggs. Suggs was in C Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division. He joined them at the time the Marines were mopping up on Guam. On the third day of the battle, Suggs landed on Iwo Jima and was transferred to A Company where he was a squad leader in a rifle platoon. Suggs details several of his experiences fighting on Iwo Jima with many anecdotes. He also recounts a few of his experiences on Guam. In May, 1946, Suggs was discharged, but re-enlisted a few weeks later figuring he could use some more training. He made a career of the Marine Corps and served in Korea and Vietnam. He shares an anecdote about his time in Vietnam that illustrated the contrast in morale between the Vietnam War and World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Keifer Marshall. Marshall was born in Temple, Texas in 1926. After attending the University of Texas for one year, he joined the Marine Corps in 1944. After completing basic training in San Diego, he spent six weeks at Camp Pendleton receiving advanced training. He then embarked on the USS Rochambeau (AP-63) with 6,000 other troops in late October 1944. He describes some of his experiences during the transit. He remembers arriving in Guam in December in relief of the 3rd Marine Division. He landed at Iwo Jima a few days after the initial landing in February 1945, as a member of F Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. Marshall describes the intense fighting over the following three weeks as his company proceeded north up the island. They took heavy casualties and got cut off for 36 hours before being rescued by tanks called in by the one remaining officer in the company. He recalls seeing the iconic flag flying at the top of Mount Suribachi and recalls how it boosted the unit’s morale during the battle. His unit remained on the island for three more weeks cleaning up …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dag Larsen. Larsen volunteered to join the US Army Air Forces in October, 1942 and trained in New Jersey. He qualified to become a navigator and trained in Alabama, where he earned a commission. He flew 47 combat missions in B-24s against oil fields in Borneo, the Japanese naval base at Truk, the Philippines and other targets. Larsen returned from the Pacific in August, 1945. He stayed in the service after the war and served as a navigator for the Strategic Air Command and flew on B-29s, B-36s and B-52s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Francis McArdle. McArdle was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania on 4 June 1925. Upon joining the Navy in 1943, he was sent to Sampson, New York for boot training. He then went to Quincy, Massachusetts where he was assigned aboard the USS Quincy (CA-71) as a carpenters mate. He recalls a visit to the ship by General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to the invasion of Normandy. He describes the carnage on Utah Beach and picking up the dead out of the water and putting them into the ships refrigeration units. After participating in the invasion of Southern France, the ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia. Relating that certain modifications were made to the ship, he tells of President Franklin D. Roosevelt being brought aboard accompanied by his daughter Ann Roosevelt Bettinger for a trip to the Yalta Conference and remembers a personal encounter he had with the President. He also recalls Winston Churchill coming on board and comments on his demeanor. After returning the President to Norfolk, the Quincy joined the Pacific Fleet in 1945 and participated in a number of island invasions. McArdle describes the compliment of ships gathered …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fern Ward. Ward was born in Wausa, Nebraska on 16 January 1923. She grew up during the Great Depression years. Soon after joining the Navy (WAVES) in 1944, she was sent to Hunter College, Bronx, New York for six weeks of basic training. She was then sent to Indiana University in Bloomington where she studied bookkeeping for six weeks. Upon graduating she was classified as a Storekeeper 3rd Class and sent to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, California. She tells of the work she did and comments on the living conditions there. Ward concludes the interview by telling of her life following her discharge in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Larry Kiggins. Kiggins recalls his experiences through the Great Depression. He joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served as a deckhand aboard the USS Jefferson County (USS LST-845). They traveled to Hawaii in March of 1945 to unload cargo and complete amphibious training operations. In late 1945, they supported occupation landings on Japan and the Philippines. Kiggins continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in mid-1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Julian Allen Roadman. Roadman joined the Army Air Forces in the Fall of 1942. He served as a B-17G Aircraft Commander with the 401st Bomb Group, 612th Bomb Squadron. They deployed to England in late 1943. He completed 34 bombing missions over Germany, including tactical missions during the Battle of the Bulge. Roadman continued his service after the war, retiring from the Reserves in 1983.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rocelia Madison. Madison joined the WAVES in December 1943. She received basic training in New York and attended machinist school in Oklahoma. Upon completion, she was assigned to Corpus Christi, where she worked as an aviation machinist’s mate, servicing mostly PBMs and the occasional PBY. She got along well with her crewmates and received equal pay to the men. She married a sailor, Joe Wesley Harmon, and the two were discharged together. They bought their first house and attended school on the GI Bill, and Madison ran her own business for 30 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernice Pratt. Pratt learned sheet metal working at a National Youth Association school and was given a job repairing PBY seaplanes at Corpus Christi. She later joined the Army and received basic training in Georgia. Upon completion, she was assigned to Kelly Field, chauffeuring officers, running errands, and filing paperwork. She was transferred to Maxwell Air Force Base and became a pitcher on their competitive softball team. Pratt married a soldier; they were discharged together and started a family in 1949.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Green. Green joined the Navy in December of 1944. Beginning March of 1945, he served as a Fireman aboard the USS Nashville (CL-43). They provided support for the landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo. In September they traveled to the Philippines, where they were stationed when the war ended. They transported troops back to the US, where Green was discharged in July of 1946.

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 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Sharkey. Sharkey joined the Navy and served in a mobile antiaircraft unit at Pearl Harbor. He served at CINCPAC headquarters at Pearl Harbor.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Maurice Penick. Penick joined the Navy in 1943. He completed Radio Operator and Submarine Schools by mid-1945. He was stationed at a submarine base on Mare Island in California, and had not yet been assigned to a submarine when the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6. Penick assisted in decommissioning the USS Hammerhead (SS-364). He worked in the ship’s company on the base through his discharge in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Lowry. Lowry was drafted into the Coast Guard in August of 1942. He served in the flag semaphore telegraphy system. Additionally, he guarded merchantmen at night. He was transferred to the Baltimore Harbor Coast Guard Office and worked in the Identification Office and as a teletype operator. He also participated in the Navy V-12 program. He completed Midshipman school and served aboard the USS PC-819. Their job was to sweep Dutch Harbor, Alaska for submarines using sonar. He provides detail of the PC-819, and life aboard the ship. His job aboard was Communications Officer, Engineering Officer and later, Executive Officer.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Elkington. Elkington joined the Navy in April of 1942. He trained in fire control and radar in San Diego. He was assigned to the USS Chicago (CA-29). His job aboard was fire control. Their ship was in the Pacific, at New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. The Chicago sank in 1943 and Elkington gives detail of this event. He also served aboard the USS Helena (CL-50) and traveled to the Solomon Islands. His job aboard was lookout and operating a searchlight. He describes his experiences aboard this ship, and the events of its sinking. Three of the five battles he was in include the Battle of Kula Gulf, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Surigao Strait. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Hahnemann. Hahnemann joined the Navy in December of 1942. He was trained as an aviation machinist and was assigned to USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). Hahnemann describes his duties related to the maintenance of the flight deck arresting gear. He mentions how he was acquainted with George H. W. Bush. Hahnemann gives an overview of some of the actions he was involved in, particularly going through several typhoons and seeing kamikaze attacks. He was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James G. Graff. Born in 1925, he was inducted into the Army in 1944. Following basic training in Camp Hood, Texas, he was transferred to Co. C, 1st Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division. The Division was part of the Ardennes Campaign where he shares an anecdote about fighting alongside the 784th Tank Battalion. He describes battles on the banks of the Ruhr River or Maas, the cold weather and problems due to frostbite. He explains how his most frightening times were during the Battle of the Bulge and hardships from the weather. He was discharged from the Army following the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joel C. Schnitz. Born in 1921, he went on active duty in November of 1943. He describes basic training and living conditions at Camp Maxie in Paris, Texas. Following basic training, he was assigned to the 103rd ???Cactus??? Division before deploying overseas from New York Harbor in August of 1944 aboard the USS Monticello. He shares an anecdote about his time on board, seeing Spain and Portugal and his time is Marseilles. As part of the 1st Battalion, 404th Infantry Regiment, he served as a runner from platoon to command post and saw some action around Steige in Southern France. After hospitalization, he left England for home in January and was discharged in El Paso, Texas in February 1945.