The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alan Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt enlisted in the Army Air Forces in July of 1942. He describes the planes he flew during training, including the PT-19, the BT-13 and the UC-78. Hildebrandt was commissioned and received his pilot rating in November of 1943. Upon graduation he trained on the B-26 at Laughlin Field. Hildebrandt served as a pilot in the 95th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force. They first traveled to Morocco, North Africa, then to northern Italy and Southern France. Their job was to bomb Marshaling yards, bridges and troop replacements. Hildebrandt describes some of his missions. He flew a total of 64 missions and was discharged in July of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas L. Stafford. Stafford joined the Army in March 1943. He was trained as a quartermaster and sent to England as a replacement. Stafford volunteered to join the 6th Combat Engineer Amphibious Special Assault Brigade which was attached to the 29th Infantry Division. He describes landing on the wrong part of Omaha Beach on D-Day being sent to find a sergeant who had combat fatigue. Stafford was then sent to the 87th Infantry Division where he participated in front line combat from the Battle of the Bulge through the end of the war in Germany. He became a platoon leader and eventually received a battlefield commission. Stafford discusses crossing the Rhine under heavy fire and seeing Buchenwald soon after it was liberated. One of his proudest achievements occurred when he accepted the surrender of two German division near the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leonard Kliff. Kliff enlisted in the Army Air Forces in August of 1943. He trained as a bombardier in the AT-7. After graduation he went to Biggs Field near El Paso for additional training in B-17s. He served as a flight officer. He was sent to an air base in Lincoln, Nebraska, and while at the base the war ended. In October of 1945 he went to Traux Field in Madison, Wisconsin and was discharged.

Transcript of an oral interview with Peter N. Karegeannes. Born in 1923, he joined the Navy in 1943. He subsequently volunteered to be a Corpsman in the Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 5th Marine Division, 26th Regiment, 2nd Battalion serving with Headquarters Company and later with Fox Company. After receiving medical training in handling casualties on the front lines, he was sent to Iwo Jima. He landed on Red Beach in the thirteenth wave on the first day of the battle. He describes the difficult landing and fighting as well as being targeted by Japanese artillery when rendering medical aid to soldiers. He also mentions Mount Suribachi and tactics for attacking Japanese soldiers in caves. He was hit by shrapnel and evacuated to a hospital ship. After the Japanese surrender, he was sent to Sasebo, Japan. He describes the behavior & living conditions of the Japanese people. He also describes experiencing a typhoon in Japan. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Bland. Bland joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served as Signalman Third-Class aboard the SS Francis Preston Blair (1943). They traveled to Australia, New Zealand, India and Manila picking up and delivering cargo. Bland served aboard the ship until it got stranded on Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during a cyclone in 1945. Bland continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Everill. Everill joined the Army in November 1942 and enlisted in the aviation cadets program. He washed out of flight school due to slight vision impairment but was accepted to a liaison flying school soon after. With prior civilian flight experience, he was soon approved as a pilot and assigned briefly to the 47th Liaison Squadron before transferring to the 115th. He was sent to India and Burma as an L-5 pilot, offering assistance to the Mars Task Force, evacuating casualties, delivering supplies, and carrying out reconnaissance. He was next stationed in China, where he transported OSS personnel. After the war, Everill was in charge of 600 men aboard a troop train. When they arrived at their destination on New Year’s Eve, he went against a lieutenant’s orders and dismissed them all. Everill returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Feller. Former Major League baseball player Feller heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as he was traveling to Chicago to sign his 1942 contract with the Cleveland Indians. Upon arriving in Chicago he made a personal call to his friend Gene Tunney. Tunney flew to Chicago and was present when Feller was sworn into the Navy on 9 December 1941. He underwent boot training at Norfolk, Virginia. He was then assigned to the USS Alabama (BB-60) as a gun captain and participated in convoy duty in the Atlantic. In August 1943, the Alabama returned to Norfolk for supplies, and then sailed to the New Hebrides. Feller stayed in good physical shape by throwing the baseball while on board and participating in inter-service games on various islands. He participated in the Marianas Turkey Shoot as well as the invasions of Guam and other islands. Returning to the United States in 1944 he was named the baseball coach of the Great Lakes Naval Station baseball team. He was discharged in 1945and signed as a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Fournier. Fournier joined the Navy in March of 1944. He completed Diesel School and other mechanical engineering schools the Navy offered. He completed boot camp at Great Lakes. He served aboard the USS Surfbird (AM-383) as a Fireman and First-Class Diesel Specialist, beginning November of 1944. He provides details of the minesweeper, various mine-types and life aboard the ship. They traveled with their sister ship, the USS Toucan (AM-387). Throughout 1945 they completed 85 mine sweeps of the East China Sea and around Japan. They returned to the U.S. in April of 1946 and in June the ship was decommissioned and Fournier was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Haw. Haw joined the Navy in April of 1943. He completed Hospital Corps and Operating Room technician training. He completed Amphibious Training with the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in California. In 1945 he traveled with the 5th Marine Division aboard the USS Hansford (APA-106) to participate in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Haw was wounded during the battle by an explosion. From Iwo he participated in the Battle of Okinawa. Haw provides details of his training and aiding the wounded during battles. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Lamb. Lamb participated in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. He joined the Navy around 1940. In April of 1941 he traveled to California for basic training and Ordnance School. He joined Utility Squadron 2 (VJ-2) and traveled aboard the USS Ramapo (AO-12) to the Philippines. On 6 December 1941, they stopped over at Pearl Harbor. Lamb was on the island when the Japanese attacked the next day. He remained on Ford Island until December of 1942, assisting with debris clean up. He served as Ordnanceman aboard an unnamed, in the South Pacific, transporting airplanes and supplies.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Reynolds. Reynolds left high school to join the Navy in 1939. In March 1940 he was assigned to USS Maryland (BB-46). Anchored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked, Reynolds was writing a letter to his girlfriend when the war began. He manned his battle station, despite being barefoot, and then helped fight fires on a nearby fuel tanker. He later transferred to USS Halawa (AOG-12) as a gunner’s mate. In August 1942 he was sent to gunnery school and upon completion joined an amphibious base in England, where he met an English woman who would become his wife. While on shore patrol duty, Reynolds was alarmed one evening when Downtown London was suddenly crowded to the point where he could not move. This was how he learned that the Germans had surrendered. V-E Day celebrations lasted until four in the morning. After being discharged from the Navy, Reynolds joined the Army and went served in Korea and Vietnam, retiring after 26 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fletcher Taylor. Taylor joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and received training as a navigator in Miami. At the beginning of the war he was sent to the Panama Canal, patrolling in B-17s for ships and submarines. He was then transferred to India as a B-24 navigator, where he flew 30 missions, some as long as 13 hours. His first mission was to disable the electrical components of a coal mine in China that was critical for Japanese steel production. While the mission was successful, he believes there were several hundred Chinese casualties. Taylor participated in missions bombing the Andaman Islands, Bangkok, Rangoon, and Mandalay. He returned to the States for pilot training at Fort Worth. Upon completion, he was sent to staff school. At the end of the war, he was assigned to retrieve a plane from England. Taylor returned home and spent 25 years in a secret censorship program run by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with C.R. Walters. Walters joined the Army in March 1943 and received basic training at Fort Belvoir. Upon completion, he began a degree in mechanical engineering under the Army Specialized Training Program. In March 1944 he was transferred to the 102nd Infantry Division and sent to Cherbourg, France. He was in combat as a platoon sergeant from mid-October until April 1945. German soldiers surrendered to his unit at the Elbe River. After the war, Walters was assigned to a prisoner-of-war camp formerly run by Germans. He was tasked with making arrangements for Russian prisoners to return home. Walters remained in Europe with the occupation forces until May 1946. He completed his degree in mechanical engineering and was assigned to an engineering unit that primarily built airfields. Walters retired from the service in 1957.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lindsey Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Navy in November of 1942 and completed machinist school. He was sent to Alaska and then assigned to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) beginning in January of 1943. His job aboard was in the number two fire room, operating the boilers. Throughout 1943, he participated in the Aleutian, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns. In 1944 Wilcox participated in the Mariana campaign and the Battle of Tinian, and in March of 1945, the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa. When the Indianapolis sank, Wilcox was one of the remaining crew set adrift before being rescued. He describes events leading up to, during and after this fateful event. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wesley Fronk. Fronk joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942 after starting college at the University of North Dakota and working as a mechanic for Lockheed. He received basic training in Fresno and was sent to engineering and operations clerical school. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 347th Airdrome Squadron. He was sent to India, where his unit supported the 4th Combat Cargo Squadron, 1st Combat Cargo Group. In his spare time, he helped build engines on the flight line. His unit dropped aerial supplies to British troops in Burma, American mountainside detachments, and the OSS. Supplies for Chinese troops included oats for their mules, since they had no motor vehicles. These missions were flown in C-47s, and after the war the unit switched to the larger C-46s, moving Chinese Nationalist troops to where they would face off against the Chinese Communists. Fronk returned home and was discharged in December 1945. He began a civilian career with the Department of Defense and retired after 48 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harry Gill. Gill joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1942. After basic training, he traveled to New Guinea for additional training in jungle fighting and helped build a sawmill, officers housing and the mess hall. He describes his 3 years living and working in the jungle. He was transferred to the other side of the mountains in New Guinea, to a town called Finschhafen, where he served as an airplane mechanic. He worked on B-25s, B-24s, P-38s and P-51s. They also traveled to Numfoor Island, Australia and the Philippines. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hoyt Richardson. Richardson left pharmacy school to join the Navy in 1942. Upon completion of corpsman training, he treated soldiers with PTSD. One of his unofficial duties was helping Eleanor Roosevelt with her parrots. Upon transferring to Bethesda as a pharmacist's mate, Richardson had the occasion to chat with FDR, who was receiving physical therapy. He deployed to New Guinea, specializing in the prevention of tropical diseases. Richardson himself suffered various ailments while there but was able to protect others from malaria, dengue fever, and dysentery. In the Philippines, he worked beside native doctors before returning to the States. He worked aboard USS Colorado (BB-45) during demobilization before returning to school on the G.I. Bill and earning his pharmacy degree.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Comet. Comet, the son of a coal miner, left school in the eighth grade and entered the workforce after his father suffered a debilitating injury. When Comet initially volunteered for the Navy, he was refused because his family depended on him. In 1943, he successfully enlisted and was sent to gunnery school. Upon completion, he was assigned to USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) as the pointer on a gun crew. Traveling through a typhoon en route to the Philippines, Comet scrambled to secure a loose gun on the deck. While on patrol duty, the ship engaged enemy vessels, and Comet fired upon their spotter planes. When the ship took multiple hits and was sunk at the Battle off Samar, Comet rescued an officer and abandoned ship. He played dead in the water, still under fire. Comet was rescued two days later and reassigned to the Puget Sound ammunition depot until his discharge in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jesse Dwain Holmes. Holmes joined the Navy in 1944 and attended boot camp in San Diego. Upon completion of gunnery school, he boarded the SS John T. McMillan (1943) as an armed guard. After joining a convoy at Leyte, the crew was at general quarters every hour for air raids. Whenever the ship laid smoke screens, Holmes didn’t fire a single round, for fear of engaging in friendly fire. He returned home briefly after 10 months at sea and redeployed to Okinawa, where he fired a 3-inch gun at kamikazes. He then served on Guam as a postman to enjoy some shore duty. Holmes sailed to Wake Island after the war ended and went ashore for its surrender. After being discharged in December 1945, he was grateful to return home unscathed despite the Naval Armed Guard's heavy casualty rates.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Harden. Harden left school at 16 years old and joined the Navy in 1944. After basic training in Norfolk, he was assigned to USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). Aboard ship, he was assigned to the first deck division. His battle station was at a five-inch gun, retrieving spent shells. He survived a typhoon en route to the Philippines, only to enter into combat at the Battle off Samar. Harden abandoned ship and climbed aboard a raft after throwing away his leaking lifebelt. Three enemy ships passed Harden before he was finally rescued. Harden finished the war in Seattle, painting ships and stacking ammunition until his discharge in late 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest Huffman. Huffman joined the Navy in January 1944 and received basic training in Bainbridge and gunnery training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) as a pointer on a five-inch gun mount. He was then transferred to the bridge as a talker, relaying information from the CIC to the gunnery officer. While on the midnight watch, he was among the first to become aware of the Japanese fleet’s presence in the Surigao Strait. The Samuel B. Roberts put out a smoke screen and waited to fire until they were within striking distance of the enemy fleet. As the Battle off Samar began, the skipper dodged shells until the enemy zeroed in. The Samuel B. Roberts took several hits, while the nearby USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) was dramatically aflame. The crew abandoned ship and watched the Samuel B. Roberts sink. Huffman was rescued 52 hours later and returned home safely. He was discharged in May 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.