The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Francis Halloran. Halloran was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1922. He volunteered for the Air Corps at Dayton in late 1942. He had basic training at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, then initial flight training at College Station. He was accepted for navigation school at Hondo Air Base, Texas; then went to bombardier school at Roswell, New Mexico. He joined his bomber crew in Kansas where they trained in B-17s and B-24s. Finally getting their B-29, Halloran and his crew flew to Saipan via San Francisco, Hawaii, and Kwajalein, arriving 12 December 1944. Their first mission was over Iwo Jima. On their seventh mission on 1 January 1945, they were shot down over Tokyo. Halloran and 4 others bailed out through the bomb bay while 6 others went down with the plane. Initially beaten by civilians on the ground, he was taken by soldiers to a Kempeitai prison. There he was tortured and interrogated. After two months, the prison was bombed by U.S. aircraft and Halloran was moved to the Omori POW camp. He was liberated 29 August 1945. He spent considerable time in the hospital …

Lecture given Wednesday, February 25, 1998, 8:30 AM at Abilene Christian University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond F. "Hap" Halloran. Halloran grew up in Ohio and admits an early fascination with airplanes that led him into the Army Air Corps after he finished high school in 1940. By the end of 1942, Halloran had been called up for service in the Air Corps and trained asa navigator. He also volunteered for bombadier school. Halloran also speaks of training in B-29 bombers. In December, 1944, Halloran and his crew received orders to go overseas to Saipan. Halloran also speaks of his post-war friendship with Japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai. Halloran also describes being shot down over Japan in early 1945 and bailing out of his crippled B-29. Halloran came down in a parachute, landed in Tokyo and was captured. He suffered a sever ebeating by the civilians before military personnel got to him. Halloran then describes his long captivity as a POW. He also describes witnessing the fire bombing of Tokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945. Halloran also recalls being stripped naked and put in an animal cage. Then, Japanese citizens were allowed to view him in his cage for a day or …

Lecture given Tuesday, February 24, 1998, 11:00 AM at Abilene Christian University