The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arnold Roman. Roman joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He served with the 90th Bombardment Group in the Pacific as a B-24 radar bombardier. He traveled to New Guinea, Guam, Okinawa, the Philippines, Ie Shima and Tarawa. They attacked enemy airfields, railways, ground installations and oil refineries. Their unit was inactivated in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Vartanian. Vartanian was born 21 August 1924. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in December 1942. He served as a B-24 bombardier/navigator, and shares details of his training. He traveled to Marseilles, France in early 1945. He speaks of witnessing animosity between American black troops and American white officers in Marseilles. He traveled to a replacement depot in Naples, Italy, then onto Bari. Vartanian flew all his missions over Austria with the 456th Bomb Group. He was then reassigned briefly to the 376th Bomb Group in Italy, supporting Allied troops in Northern Italy. He then was sent aboard USS West Point (AP-23) and returned to the US around April of 1945. Vartanian served an additional 20 years in the Air Force Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wendell Wilkins. Wilkins joined the Army Air Forces around 1942. He completed radial engine and gunnery schools, and served as an aerial engineer. In 1943, Wilkins deployed to Italy. He completed 50 combat missions over Munich, North Italy, along Brenner Pass, Austria and Romania.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Wright. Wright joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1943. He completed training as a bombsight mechanic, and served aboard a B-29 with the 331st Bombardment Group, 20th Air Force. In 1944, Wright learned how to maintain the Norden bombsight. In April of 1945 he deployed to Guam. They completed missions over Japan, bombing enemy petroleum industries. He returned to the US in December of 1945. Their group was inactivated in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Carl Yerian. Yerian joined the Army Air Forces in August of 1942. He completed training as a pilot and received his wings in November of 1943. Yerian served as a B-24 pilot with the 376th Bombardment Group. He completed 51 combat missions over Italy, Austria, southern France and Germany. Yerian continued his service after the war ended, and participated in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He completed 32 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bernard Kahn. Kahn joined the Navy in December of 1942. Beginning July of 1943, he served as Third Class Signalman aboard USS LST-118. From April through July of 1944, Kahn participated in the Hollandia and Mariana operations. He was transferred to USS LST-605. From October of 1944 through July of 1945, he participated in the Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa operations. Kahn returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Winfred C Chamberlain. Chamberlain joined the Navy in August of 1942. He completed Midshipmen’s School and was commissioned as an officer. Chamberlain served as skipper aboard USS LST-696. From September of 1944 through January of 1945, he participated in the New Guinea, Leyte and Luzon operations. He transported some Seabees to Subic Bay, where they were constructing a submarine base. Chamberlain returned to the US and received an honorable discharge in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marian Kelly. Kelly joined the Army Medical Corps in October 1944 and was assigned to the hospital in Manila. There were two dozen women and 3,000 men aboard the transport ship, so Marines were stationed as guards to protect the women. At the hospital, she treated wounded soldiers from all over the Pacific. As a physical therapist, she found spinal cord injuries particularly frustrating because there weren’t known techniques for rehabilitation at the time. She spent her spare time exploring nearby islands and found Corregidor to be full of artifacts. While in the Pacific she also served on Morotai. Kelly married a captain in the Army and was discharged in 1945, as married women were prohibited from serving. She and her family returned to the States in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis A. Smith. Born in 1924, he joined the Army Air Force in 1942. After twenty-two months of flight training at various locations, he flew a B-17 aircraft to Scotland. He was sent to England and assigned to the 385th Bombardment Group at Great Ashfield station 155. He describes a mission to bomb the airfield at Grossostheim, Germany during the Battle of the Bulge as well as a mission to bomb Berlin. He tells a story about a mid-air collision involving two other planes that occurred during a mission to bomb a tank factory in Ulm, Germany. Only the tail gunner, Joe Jones, survived the collision. He also describes engine problems and an emergency crash landing when he was returning from a mission to Frankfurt, Germany. He discusses flak; flak suits; the experience of flying a B-17 airplane on a bombing mission; some of the specific planes that he flew; USO entertainment; and buzz bombs. He shares an anecdote about his tail gunner and the relief tube on a mission to bomb an oil refinery in Hamburg, Germany. He left the Air Force in 1945 after flying thirty-five …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Perry Kerr. Kerr enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1943. He completed gunnery school in Denver, Colorado, graduating as corporal. In 1945 he was assigned to the 466th Bomb Group, crew number 792 in Attlebridge, England. Aboard a B-24 Kerr served as a gunner in the forward turret directly behind the pilot and copilot. He also toggled bombs, as they did not have a bombardier. They completed 12 missions. Kerr provides some details of his missions. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Toombs. Toombs was born in 1924. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in October of 1942. He completed Airplane Mechanics’ School, which included work on B-24s, then onto Gunnery School. In late 1943, Toombs was assigned as Flight Engineer/Gunner aboard a B-24 with the 493rd Bomb Group. They traveled to England, and he completed 24 missions over Normandy, France and Germany in both the B-24 and B-17. He recalls a story of their plane being shot down over Brussels. In October of 1944, Toombs was summoned to Squadron HQ and returned to the US. He opted to remain grounded at Langley Field, Virginia, on aircraft maintenance. Toombs was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Glaze. Glaze was born on 2 January 1925. He joined the Army Air Forces Cadet Program in January 1943. He was commissioned as a B-17 Aerial Navigator and joined the 483rd Bomb Group, 860th Bomb Squadron in Debach, England. Glaze flew 28 bombing missions over Germany and Normandy. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Lynn. Lynn joined the Army Air Forces in December of 1942. He completed flight training and multi-engine schooling by October of 1943. He served as a B-24 co-pilot with the 784th Bombardment Squadron, 466th Bombardment Group in England. From April of 1944 through July of 1944, they completed 32 missions over France, including Normandy during D-Day, Germany, and Belgium. In July, Lynn returned to the US, and assigned to serve as a B-24 flight instructor in Smyrna, Tennessee through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Peterson. Peterson joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1944. Beginning in late 1944, he served as a B-17 ball turret gunner with the 18th Bombardment Squadron, 34th Bombardment Group in England. He completed 30 missions over Germany and German-controlled targets. Peterson returned to the US and was discharged in October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Garber. Garber joined the Army in December of 1942. He completed Radio Operator and Gunnery schools. He served with the 338th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bombardment Group in England. Garber completed 13 missions over Germany, Normandy and France. During a mission over Germany, his plane was shot down, and he and the crew were captured by German soldiers. Garber endured torture by his captors at Stalag Luft I and IV prison camps. Upon his liberation in May of 1945, he was returned to the US and honorably discharged in October.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Vickers. Vickers was born in 1923. He joined the Army in 1942, and served as a rifleman and a scout with the 36th Infantry Division. The Division landed in North Africa on 13 April 1943. They participated in operations in Italy, the south of France and Germany. Vickers was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Larkin Dilbeck. Dilbeck was born on 29 September 1918. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in several areas of Arkansas, helping farmers prepare their fields, building roads and log benches for Arkansas State Parks. He attended Eastern New Mexico State University in Portales, studying Forestry before being drafted into the Army in December 1942. He served with the 740th Tank Battalion, codenamed Daredevil, in the 9th Armored Division. Dilbeck worked as a loader on a Sherman tank. They participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Central Europe Campaign, and the Rhineland Offensive.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Caruso. Caruso joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He served as a radio operator and mechanic aboard a B-17 with the 385th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He traveled to England, bombarding industrial areas, air bases, oil refineries over Germany, France and pre-bombing before the Invasion of Normandy, completing 30 missions. In 1945, Caruso joined the Air Transport Command. He was discharged shortly after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Russell Chase. Chase joined the Army Air Forces around 1942. He served as a radio operator and gunner with the 447th Bombardment Group. He participated in 30 bombing missions over France and Germany. They supported the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Chase returned to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Murray Codman. Codman joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He served as an engineer and top turret gunner aboard a B-17 with the 447th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He completed 35 bombing and supply missions over Europe, including Germany and France. Codman was discharged as a technical sergeant October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Dietz. Dietz joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He served as a gunner aboard a B-24 with the 785th Bombardment Squadron, 466th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in England. He completed 26 missions over Germany, Holland and France. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, bombing bridges and railroad yards. Dietz returned to the US and received his discharge in November of 1945. In 2014, he received the French Medal of Honor for his assistance in driving the Germans out of France during World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with LeRoy Faulkner. Faulkner joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1943. He completed armament school and gunnery school by late 1944. Faulkner joined the 303rd Bombardment Group, 360th Bombardment Squadron in England. He completed 15 bomb missions as a B-17 nose gunner over Czechoslovakia and Germany. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Greene. Greene joined the Army Air Forces in late 1942. Beginning in 1944, he served as B-24 navigator with the 392nd Bombardment Group. He completed 30 missions over Germany and France. Greene returned to the US in 1945, and remained in the Reserves through 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Hyatt. Hyatt joined the Army Air Forces in November of 1943. He served as a B-17 pilot with the 385th Bombardment Group, completing 35 bombing missions over Germany and France. Hyatt returned to the US in January of 1945. After the war ended, he transported troops from Okinawa back to the States.