The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Zeno P. King. King was born in Mexia, Texas in 1919. After graduating from a military school in 1936 he accepted a music scholarship at Southern Methodist University. He entered the Army on 5 February 1942 at Victoria, Texas and played in the post band until he was accepted into the Army Music School at Fort Myer, Virginia. He was made a warrant officer and assigned as the leader of the 83rd Infantry Division band. He formed a fifty-six piece band and explains the selection process and the responsibilities of a band director. He indicates band members were trained infantrymen. In his case, King went to disposal and demolition school for four weeks before returning to the band. King’s unit departed Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky for Liverpool in May 1944. Two weeks after the Normandy invasion, King and his unit landed on Omaha Beach to provide security for division headquarters. He received orders to provide thirty-two men from his unit to act as stretcher bearers. After completing this assignment the group was assigned to 3rd Army and put in charge of the German prisoner of war enclosure at Dinan, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with C B Slaughter. Slaughter was born in 1920, and joined the US Army Air Forces in January of 1942. He served as a C-47 pilot in the 5th Air Force in Townsville, Australia. He was transferred to the Air Transport Command. He made flights between Australia and New Guinea and New Caledonia. He returned to the US in mid-1944, and was assigned to a glider unit at Bergstrom Field, Austin, Texas, where he remained through the end of the war. Slaughter continued his service as a career Air Force officer and combat veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel in 1971.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vernal Bracken. Bracken joined the Army Air Forces in mid-1943. He served as a B-26 bombardier with the 320th Bomb Group, 444th Bomb Squadron, completing 25 combat missions over France and Germany. He continued his service after the war, retiring in 1970.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.