The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Weiblen. Weiblen signed up to be a flying cadet in the Army Air Forces when he was almost finished with high school. In May 1945, he was inducted into the Army and trained as an artilleryman. He was still in training when the war ended and was sent to Germany with occupation forces in November, 1945 and worked in a medical dispensary around Nuremburg. Weiblen managed to visit the war crimes trial at Nuremburg one afternoon and heard Russians reading evidence into the record. He was discharged in 1947 and went to school. Before the Korean War ended, Weiblen served as a case officer in Korea for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with August Hodde. Hodde joined the Navy in July 1943. He completed gunnery school, and served as a 40mm gun instructor through early 1944. Around November, Hodde served as a gunner’s mate aboard USS Hugh W Hadley (DD-774). At battle stations, he was gun captain on the portside twin 40mm. Beginning February of 1945, the Hadley escorted HMS Ranee (D03). Hodde describes their role during the Battle of Okinawa in April, helping protect against submarines and aircraft as the Japanese made final attempts to stop the invasion. He provides details of their 11 May attack by the Japanese, receiving bomb hits and downing numerous kamikazes. Hodde remained aboard as the torn Hadley was towed back to the US. He continued his service after the war, receiving his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Oweiss. Oweiss joined the Army in March 1943 and trained in Virginia. His first stop was in the Army Specialized Training Program until he transferred to a flight school. The Army had too many pilot trainees,so oweiss was tranferred to a parachute infantry training and became a paratrooper attached to the 127th Airborne Engineers, 11th Airborne Division. He shipped overseas t oLuzon, Philippine Islands, with them. He also went with the unit to Okinawa. He also shares anecdotes about occupation duty in Japan. After returning to the US, Oweiss was discharged in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with Arthur Monaghan. Monaghan was born in Houston in 1922. After attending boot camp, he was assigned to Torpedo school in San Diego. He relates the various aspects of training he underwent and tells of being assigned to the Motor Torpedo Base 16. In 1943 his unit boarded a ship and he tells of the living conditions on board. He relates incidents that occurred while stationed on several island of the Philippines as well as one of the Russell Islands, including the introduction of the Mark 13 Torpedo. He also recalls one of his officers falling victim to monkey fever, which lead to his death. Monaghan was discharged soon after his return to the US in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Warner. Warner entered the Army Air Forces in February 1942. He trained and served as an airplane mechanic. He was stationed in Africa and shares a few anecdotes. He returned to the US and was discharged in October, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Louis Justin. Justin volunteered for service in the Army Air Forces in March, 1943 and took the photography course in Denver. He went overseas to Tinian in November, 1944 where he worked in the photo lab developing images. On Tinian, he developed the film from the Enola Gay. After the war, Young returned to the US in January and received his discharge in February. Justin has some help during the interview from his daughter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harry Johnson. Johnson worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941, in forest preservation in the areas of firefighting and fire prevention. He then joined the Marine Corps prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed at Parris Island, South Carolina, and provides much detail of boot camp. In April of 1942 he went to American Samoa. He describes their uniform and equipment issued to them prior to their trip. He traveled to Guadalcanal in August of 1943 and served as a rifleman. He provides detail of life on Guadalcanal. He also describes the various diseases he witnessed on American Samoa and Guadalcanal. He discusses life in the infantry and his work as a Marine during the war. He was discharged in May of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lyle White. White joined the Navy in July of 1943. In Pearl Harbor he served as a carpenter, building new officers’ quarters. He talks about military life and provides some stories. He left for the South Pacific in March of 1944 aboard the USS General G. O. Squier (AP-130). He was part of the 123rd Construction Battalion. They went to Midway to empty bunkers of shells and build docks for submarines. He describes these experiences and the island. They also travelled to Samar, Philippines and built runways and Quonset huts. They built a causeway from Samar to Calaguan. White was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Furrer. Furrer joined the Navy in November of 1940. He completed Aviation Structural Mechanics School, and was assigned to Utility Squadron 1 at the Naval Station on Ford Island in mid-1941. He conducted aircraft maintenance. Furrer witnessed the first Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. He later served as a Barrier Operator aboard the USS Altamaha (CVE-18) in late 1942, traveling to Funafuti, and continued his service in the South Pacific through mid-1944. He was then assigned to Jacksonville, Florida, continuing aircraft maintenance work, where he remained through the end of the war. Furrer continued his service in the Navy, retiring in 1961.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ross Lowell Kastor. Kastor joined the Navy in the spring of 1944. In September, he was assigned to pre-flight School at Hensley Field in Dallas. He completed flight training in a Boeing-Stearman NS2. He was then transferred to Cuddihy Field in Corpus Christi, and trained aboard a Consolidated PB2Y. He graduated in June of 1945, and served as a flight instructor until December. Kastor was made second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and transferred to a Curtiss R5C Commando transport squadron at the Marine Corps Air Station at Ewa in Oahu. He worked as a command pilot, and delivered cargo from the Ewa base, to smaller Pacific islands, from which he transported military personnel back to Hawaii. Kastor served 14 months in the Pacific.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Huddleston Wright. Wright, an Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the Lost Battalion, concerning his experiences as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. Wright discusses the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944-1945), Phet Buri, Thailand (1945), and his liberation. Wright served in the Army through 1956. See Appendix starting on page 138.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Pedro Alvarez Vasquez. Vasquez was drafted into the Army around 1943 and assigned to the 87th Armored Field Artillery. In 1944, they were deployed to England. Vasquez traveled throughout France and Germany with the tanks, in charge of gasoline, ammunition, serving as an assistant driver and working the machine guns. He recalls his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the US in November of 1945 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John W. Smith III. Jean assists with the interview. Smith was born 15 February 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He speaks about his father’s participation with the Manhattan Project. Smith’s father, John W. Smith II, was an electrician and completed contract work for the government at Huntsville Arsenal in Alabama, Oak Ridge in Tennessee and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Smith recalls traveling with his family each time his father was relocated for work. He was 12 years old when the war in the Pacific started, and he shares memories of life in the US as a child during wartime. He served in the Navy from 1946 through 1947, then entered the Air Force. He was assigned as a navigator with the 764th Bombardment Squadron, 461st Bombardment Wing. He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, retiring in 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Murphy. Murphy joined the Navy in late 1942. After boot training at Great Lakes, he went to quartermaster school in Rhode Island. Upon completion, Murphy was assigned to USS Carlson (DE-9). He was on the commissioning crew and rode it through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. He was transferred off the ship, underwent further training, and was assigned to ACORN-44 and sent to Okinawa. He arrived at Okinawa when the fighting was winding down and set up a seaplane base on Buckner Bay. He remained on Okinawa until he had enough points t oreturn to the US and be discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Abe. Abe’s wife Yukiko is helping with this interview. Abe was born 29 May 1934 in Ewa, Hawaii, to Japanese immigrant parents. His father was the supervisor of the Ewa Sugar Plantation. He and his family were living on the island, 8 miles west of Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese attacked. Abe was 7 years old at the time, and he provides vivid details of his experiences, witnessing the bombing of military installations, being confined to his house, blackouts and his parents being directed to destroy any documents written in Japanese. From 1956 through 1958, Abe served in the US Army, 4th Infantry Division.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with O. Harold Mainer. Mainer joined the Navy in October, 1940 and trained at San Diego. He was then assigned as a deckhand to USS Helena (CL-50) and caught the ship in Hawaii in late 1940 and was still aboard during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which he describes. Mainer was aboard when Helena sank at Kula Gulf. Then, Mainer was transferred to USS Munsee (ATF-107), an ocean going tug, for the remainder of the war. He was discharged in January 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Scott. Scott joined the Marine Corps in October 1943 and trained at San Diego. In February 1944, he shipped to Hawaii and the 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Tarawa. He was on a 75mm pack howitzer at Saipan and recalls details about the invasion. Scott share several anecdotes from his experiences on Saipan. He was at Okinawa, but his unit remained in reserve without going ashore. He also recalls details about the occupation of Japan, where he remained until the end of the year. Scott returned to the US and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Curtis Whiteway. Whiteway joined the Army in December 1943 and trained at Fort Knox. He was attached to the 99th Infantry Division and landed in France in September of 1944. He recalls a friendly fire incident that reduced his company to 18 men. He also mentions liberating various concentration camps. He had a comrade die in his arms and he shares anecdotes from during the Battle of the Bulge and other combat experiences. He received three Purple Hearts. When the war ended, Whiteway went back to France. His records were misplaced and he was finally sent home and discharged in March, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Ehinger. Ehinger was drafted into the Navy in October of 1943. He graduated as Ensign from Supply Corps School in January of 1944, with training in record keeping, payroll and supplies. He was assigned to the USS Lamson (DD-367). They traveled to Hawaii, then to Majuro in the Marshall Islands. From there, they went to Eniwetok and connected with the Seventh Fleet. In December of 1944 the Seventh Fleet traveled to Ormoc Bay, to reinforce the troops remaining on the island after the invasion of Leyte. They were hit by a kamikaze and Ehinger details this event. After repairs in Bremerton, Washington they were sent to Iwo Jima to supply the Marines and where he witnessed the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi. From March through August 1945 they traveled the Philippine Sea picking up any pilots that got lost or had to ditch. After the war ended they went to Kyushu to inspect Japanese ships. They returned to San Diego and Ehinger went to Rhode Island in charge of shipping surplus property that was being made available to contractors. He was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Fortmeyer. Fortmeyer joined the Navy in February of 1945. He served as Fireman First Class aboard the USS Chickasaw (AT-83). They conducted salvage and rescue operations around Wake Island, the Hawaiian Islands, and along the coast of the United States. Fortmeyer continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edwin Stewart. Stewart joined the Navy in November of 1943. He completed sonar school in mid-1944, and served as Sonar Man Third Class aboard the USS Wyman (DE-38). They conducted anti-submarine warfare through Saipan, where Stewart recalls sinking Japanese submarines. They also conducted escort duty of their fleet ships between Ulithi and the Philippines. In early to mid-1945, they supported the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Stewart returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clinton Langstaff. Langstaff joined the Navy in early 1943 and qualified for the V-12 program and received college instruction in pre – med in Montana, then at Northwestern University. Upon commissioning and some anti-submarine warfare officer training, Langstaff was scheduled to go aboard a vessel when the war ended. He stayed in the reserves and was eventually discharged in the 1950s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Odd Aarstad. Aarstad joined the Navy in August 1944 and trained to be a corpsman. Upon completion of training, Aarstad reported to the Annapolis Naval Hospital where he served and treated wounded and sick patients. Eventually, Aarstad worked on artificial limbs for amputees. He also served at a rehabilitation station in Philadelphia where people were being fitted for prosthetic legs. Aarstad was discharged in October 1946.