Transcript of an oral inerview with Norman Dike. Born in Atlanta, Illinois, on April 18, 1923. Enlisted in the Navy on March 12, 1942 and was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for recruit training. He was sent to Radioman School at the University of Idaho on May 25, 1942. Upon completion in August, as a Third Class Radioman, he was sent to Bainbridge Island, Washington to learn Japanese code. He recalls meeting Merry Miles, the second in command at SACO, at a party he gave for the SACO team at a Chinese restaurant. A short time later he volunteered for hazardous duty outside continental United States and was in Washington, DC where he met Captain Metzger who represented the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO). Sent to San Pedro, California by train. He recounts his experiences on the train. Upon arrival in San Pedro he was embarked on the USS Hermitage (AP-54) a captured Italian liner converted into a troopship. He recalls some of his experiences on the Hermitage including the Crossing the Line ceremony where he became a Shellback. After arriving in Bombay, India he recounts the journey across India by rail and steamboat to a Himalayan airfield where he was …

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert Clark. Born in Colby, Kansas Clark joined the Navy in San Diego in 1940. Before completion of the training he was assigned to the USS Tennessee (BB-43) in Pearl Harbor. He recounts various training missions over the following months, including gunnery exercises. He recounts relaxing in the turret of one of the 14-inch guns during the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked. He describes the efforts made by him and other sailors to extricate the Tennessee from its nest with West Virginia, USS Olkahoma and USS Arizona and sail out of Pearl Harbor. He recalls that the Tennessee then sailed to the United States and into Bremerton Naval Shipyard for repairs. Over the next several months he recalls several missions to engage in battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway, where the Tennessee saw only limited action. He describes other cruises into waters off Alaska, but also without incident. At the end of 1942 he volunteered for duty with the Sino-American Cooperative Association (SACO) and was sent to Long Beach, California and the USS Hermitage, a captured Italian luxury liner that had been converted into a troopship. He recalls …

Transcript of an oral interview with George Allen Barrett. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in January 1922, he enlisted in the Navy in January 1940. He completed Recruit Training in San Diego and was transferred to the Hospital Corps School at the Naval Hospital San Diego in April 1940. Upon graduation in July 1940, he was assigned to the Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In July 1941 he was transferred to the USS McDonough (DD 351) where he recalls that on the morning of December 7, 1941, the McDonough was in Pearl Harbor undergoing repairs. He remembers the crew reassembling the propulsion machinery and the ship getting underway to out of the harbor. He recalls that McDonough remained homeported out of Pearl Harbor and conducted various patrols into the South Pacific theater. He recounts that in February 1942 McDonough collided with the USS Colorado (BB-45) in heavy seas. Later in 1942 he was assigned to the Oakland Naval Hospital, where he recalls his duties and his subsequent marriage. He states that he requested reassignment and was transferred to a Combat Utility Battalion in San Bruno, California for training in anticipation of the upcoming invasion of a Pacific island (unnamed). He states …

Transcript of an oral interview of Joseph D. Keenan. Raised in Chicago, he spent two years at Notre Dame University and when the war started, volunteered for Naval Aviation duty. Following Pre-flight School at Iowa University, he attended flight training at Naval Air Station, Chicago, where he was later diagnosed with chronic air sickness. He was disenrolled and entered the V-12 program at the University of Wisconsin. Upon graduation in September 1944, he was commissioned and ordered to Fort Pierce, Florida for Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) training. He describes the nature of the training and conditions at Fort Pierce. Upon completing UDT training in December 1944 he was sent on a troopship to Calcutta, India. After traveling by train to a camp in Eastern India, he flew over "The Hump" in a C-47 to Kunming, China and then on to Chungking and headquarters of Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO). He relates that after four weeks in Chungking he was flown with a team to a location near Amoy. Leading the team was Lieutenant Phil H. Bucklew, a professional football player who later became known as the father of Navy Special Warfare. The team made its way to Chenchow with orders to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Gibbons. Gibbons joined the Army in January of 1943. He shares details of his training and working at a German Prison Camp in Atlanta, Nebraska through September of 1943. He then transferred to Camp Clayburn, Louisiana training as a heavy equipment repair mechanic. In May of 1945 he traveled to Okinawa, where he worked as an engineer, setting up camp and machine shops. He worked in Okinawa through the end of the war and reenlisted, serving as a military policeman at Fort Knox until February of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Sledge. Sledge volunteered for service as a bombadier and anvigator in the Army Air Corps and earned a commission. In November, 1942, Sledge received orders to go to India. Once there, his crew was attached to the 10th Air Force and flew bombing missions mainly into Burma. Sledge recalls an incident in which he bombed Japanese ships. Unbeknownst to him, the ships contained Allied prisoners of war. Sledge recalls years later making contact with POWs aboard the ships he bombed. He also mentions briefing General LeMay later in his career. He also participated in the atmoic tests at Bikini with an aerial photography unit. During the Korean War, Sledge flew a few combat missions using guided bombs. For the remainder of his career, Sledge worked with guided missiles.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Eugene Kelly. Kelly joined the Army Signal Corps in September of 1943. He provides some details of his training. He was sent to New Guinea in the spring of 1944 and served as a replacement. He then traveled to Brisbane, Australia, working as a clerk in a Signal Corps office for one year. Kelly describes his life and work in Australia. From there he was assigned to Hollandia, then to the Philippines in May of 1945. He shares his experiences in Manila after the invasion, and how the city was devastated. Kelly remained in Manila until January of 1946 and was discharged in February.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hack Langstaff. Langstaff joined the Naval Reserves around 1938, and went on active duty in June of 1941. After flight school, he was selected and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in June of 1942. Langtaff completed carrier training in October, flying a Grumman F3F and F4F. In 1943, he was assigned to the Russell Islands, completing missions over Rabaul and Bougainville. Beginning June of 1945, Langstaff was assigned aboard the USS Puget Sound (CVE-113), flying Corsairs. They traveled to Tokyo Bay, just as the Japanese surrendered. He was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Eberle. Born in 1921, he enlisted in the Navy in 1939. He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron VT-6 of the Enterprise Air Group. He describes events on the USS Enterprise (CV-6) while at sea during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He shares an anecdote about the remains of Admiral Kidd. He relates stories about the Battle of Midway; escorting to the USS Hornet (CV-8) in conjunction with the Doolittle Raid; the sinking of the USS Wasp (CV-7); the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and the loss of the USS Hornet; and experiencing a typhoon while on an aircraft carrier. He also shares stories about being an aircraft maintenance officer in San Diego, California. He retired from the Navy Reserve in 1976.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Russell. Russell joined the Marine Corps in January of 1942. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Division. They landed on Guadalcanal in late 1942 and completed reconnaissance patrol missions. In September of 1943 they went to New Guinea, where they were staging to invade New Britain in the Battle of Cape Gloucester. Russell was wounded during this battle and transferred to an Army hospital in Brisbane, Australia. No longer fit for combat, Russell was shipped back to the US in September 1944, and he was discharged around July of 1945.