Interview with Earl Smyth, Jr., a serviceman during World War II. He discusses his time aboard the USS Saratoga at the Battle of Midway and at Guadalcanal, where the ship sustained two torpedo attacks. He saw Pearl Harbor three days after the attack.

Interview with David Lee "Tex" Hill of San Antonio, Texas, a veteran from the United States Navy during World War II in the China-Burma-India Theater. The interview includes Hill's personal experiences while in the Navy, including memories of pre-war flight training in Florida, the Flying Tigers, and the Salween River Gorge attack.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Karl Everitt. Everitt joined the Navy in June of 1942. He served aboard the USS Electra (AKA-4), and worked on a salvage boat. They participated in the invasion landings on North Africa. He was transferred to shore in England, and assigned to the USS LST-48. Everitt participated in the Normandy landings. He was then assigned to join the 3rd Army, and participated with them through the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the US in the spring of 1945, and was discharged in November.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Manuel Garcia. Garcia was born in Goliad, Texas on 11 June 1920. He attended the Rincon Bend County School, a segregated school, until the seventh grade. In 1940, he joined the Army and underwent basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was then assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, 38th Infantry Regiment. The division moved to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. In 1943 the division went to Camp Shanks, New York where they boarded a ship bound for Ireland. After ten months of intensive training the division participated in Operation Overlord, landing on Omaha Beach on June 7 1944. Garcia describes leaving the transport ship to land on the beach and seeing wreckage and bodies stacked like wood. He was slightly wounded and went to a field hospital for treatment. Several days later he was severely wounded by German artillery fire. After being taken to another field hospital, he was placed aboard a Piper Cub and flown to the Army hospital in Cheltenham, England where surgeons amputated one of his legs. Garcia returned to the United States by a hospital ship and was placed in several military hospitals until …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Kovar. Kovar joined the Marine Corps in October 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion he was assigned to guard the Santa Ana Naval Lighter-Than-Air Station. He was then sent to New Caledonia, and he enjoyed his time in Nouméa. In New Guinea he joined L Company, 7th Marine Regiment, where he served as a bazooka-loader. His first landing was at Cape Gloucester, where he lived in a wet foxhole and defended himself against banzai-style attacks. Twice he received encouragement from Chesty Puller. His next landing was at Peleliu, where his amphibious tractor was one of the only ones to make it past the coral. He was wounded by machine gun fire on the final day of the Battle of Peleliu and received a blood transfusion in the field before being transferred to a first aid station. He was carried by the USS Solace (AH-5) to a hospital at the Admiralty Islands and then flown to a hospital at Guadalcanal. Kovar made a full recovery and was discharged in September 1945. He recalls a tremendous celebration on V-J Day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank McGuinn. McGuinn trained with the Navy as a part of the V-12 program. He was commissioned in early 1945 and joined the crew of USS Saratoga (CV-3). McGuinn describes the preparations being made for the invasion of Japan and life aboard ship. He also details an incident that he witnessed when a plane caught fire on the flight deck during training. McGuinn took part in Operation Magic Carpet and then traveled with the Saratoga for the bomb testing at Bikini Atoll. He describes seeing the two bombs go off and the effects of the test on the Saratoga.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Findley. Findley joined the Army Air Forces in July of 1942. He received pilot training at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona from both the Royal Air Force and United States. Upon graduation, Findley was eligible to wear the wings of both countries. He also completed Special Weapons Training. He served in Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Omaha, Nebraska setting up a missile safety program. Findley’s military career began with a year in India flying the Hump, where he made 103 missions. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1946, though continued his military career retiring from the USAF in 1973.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Norman. Born in 1919, he joined the Army Air Force in September 1941. He began his pilot training in early 1942. He served as a flight instructor in the Army Air Training Command at Marfa Army Airfield, Texas for two years. In September 1944 he was transferred to the Air Transport Command. He relates a story about landing a C-46 on Ascension Island en route to delivering it to England. Because he had experience flying four-engine airplanes, he was sent to India to fly C-87 and C-109 transport planes. He flew missions transporting fuel from Jorhat and Kermatola, India over ?the Hump? to Chengtu and Kunming for use by bombers and other airplanes operating out of China. He talks about the transport mission hazards, such as adverse weather conditions, the combustible nature of the cargo, mechanical failure, primitive navigation techniques, and flying at high altitudes over mountainous. He describes his plan of action in the event his plane crashed in the Himalaya Mountains. He mustered out when the war ended in 1945. The interview also contains information about his parents and siblings.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Romer. In 1943 he was a civilian single-engine flight instructor at an Army Primary Flying School in Helena, Arkansas. He then joined the Ferry Command in Memphis, Tennessee where he received twin-engine training and worked as a civilian pilot ferrying airplanes. He shares an anecdote about leading a flight of six airplanes from Brazil to Ascension Island. After attending four-engine flight school, he went to Mitchel Field in Long Island, New York. He describes the conversion of B-24 bombers into C-109 fuel transports. The Army gave him an appointment as a flight officer and sent him to Shamshernagar, India. He flew missions transporting fuel over ?the Hump? to Chengtu and Kunming for use by bombers and other airplanes operating out of China. He flew C-87 transport planes, which were converted B-24 bombers. He talks about the hazards involved in the transport missions over the Himalaya Mountains, such as encountering Japanese planes, adverse weather conditions, and engine failure. He relates a story about drifting off course as well a one about losing three engines. He also mentions Japanese radio propaganda. Additionally, he comments on some of the activities …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Englert. Englert joined the Army in April of 1943. He traveled to Calcutta, India, and worked with the Military Police stationed there. He worked on patrol at the docks. He also joined the Z Force in Kunming, China, where he worked as a telephone operator, with the Red Cross, and as a librarian on the base. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James E. Holden. Holden joined the Army and trained at Camp Swift, Texas in 1943. He was assigned to a replacement battalion and eventually shipped to Burma where he joined Merrill's Marauders. He joined them before the Myitkyina campaign. He got injured by a fall and was eventually evacuated back to Lido. He returned to his unit in time for them to relocate to Kunming. He was detached to temporary duty at Kweiyang helping build a Red Cross station. He was there when the war ended and witnessed some fighting between the Chinese Nationalists and communists. Holden was discharged in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with W. A. (Bill) Henderson. He discusses his time as a bombardier and navigator on a B-24 in the China-Burma-India Theater. His crew made bombing runs along the Burma Railway and hit the bridge over River Kwai (Mae Klong), and also flew runs to supply gasoline to various bases in China, India and Burma. He ancedotes about the food and living quarters on the bases and saving his co-pilot's life after a bullet tore through the plane's nose wheel into the man's leg, then helping the pilot land the crippled plane.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Barry Atkins. In 1928, Atkins was appointed to the Naval Academy and graduated in 1932 and was assigned to the USS Tennessee (BB-43). He was aboard at Long Beach, California during the 1933 earthquake. After that, he was transferred to the USS New Mexico (BB-40). his next assignment took him aboard the USS Mahan (DD-364). In 1941, Atkins was assigned to the USS Parrott (DD-218) in Manila Bay. He was aboard the Parrott during the Battle of Balikpapan in January 1942. When Atkins returned to the US in August, 1942, he was assigned as commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 8 and sent to New Caledonia that November. His squadron became operational in New Guinea in December. He recalls setting up the PT base at the Morobe River and several patrols and encounters with Japanese shipping. In late 1943, Atkins returned to the US and asked for a destroyer. In October 1944, Atkins was given command of the USS Melvin (DD-680) at Manus Island. From there, the Melvin escorted the Leyte landing forces to the Philippines, then took up station guarding the Surigao Strait. He made a torpedo …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frederick Vinson. Vinson joined the Navy in March of 1942. He completed Midshipmen’s school, Recognition school and Gunnery school. He was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 25. Vinson served as a Lieutenant Senior Grade Squadron Gunnery Officer aboard the USS John Rodgers (DD-574). In 1943 they raided Marcus Island, Tarawa and Wake Island, participated in the Bougainville and Gilbert Islands campaigns. Going into 1944 they were involved with the Marshall Islands Campaign, the Battle of Kwajalein, the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Guam where they received a commendation for their work. They continued on through the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1945 they participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Vinson provides vivid details of his experiences through each of these battles. He was discharged in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Ramsey. Ramsey joined the Navy in 1941 and attended aviation radio school in Alameda, California. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, where he served as radioman in Patrol Squadron 1 and then Patrol Squadron 11. He describes the special treatment given to radiomen so that they could be well-rested and alert. During the attack on Kaneohe, Ramsey helped to shoot down the attack force's highest-ranking officer, Lieutenant Fusata Iida, commander of the Japanese 3rd Air Group. Ramsey was sent to San Diego eight months later to pick up a new plane, but his records were lost, and he was instead sent to the South Pacific on the USS Denver (CL-58), captained by Robert Carney. Ramsey flew night patrols at the Solomon Islands and covered the invasion of Bougainville. On the way to the invasion of the Philippines, his ship became lost in a typhoon. Ramsey used his aviation training to give the ship’s bearings to the radio officer. When the Denver arrived at Leyte, Ramsay witnessed the HUMS Yamashiro sink. The Japanese refused to be rescued by American lifeboats. Ramsey saw …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Linton “Pete” Estes. Born in Clayton, New Mexico 19 December 1920, Estes graduated from the University of Texas. He and his brother John took Civilian Pilot Training courses together. The brothers then took advanced training and upon receiving their licenses, became instructors for Wichita Falls (Texas) Air Transport Company training pilots for the military. Through the fall of 1941 Estes taught and graduated one class of future Army pilots and one class of future Navy pilots. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the brothers signed on to The Central Instructor School at Kelly Field, Texas and upon completing the course, were commissioned and became military flight instructors. Later, by coincidence, both were ordered to report to Anchorage, Alaska. Upon arrival the brothers were assigned as operations officers in the Aleutians. Estes was sent to Adak and his brother John to Amchitka. While on Adak, Estes flew mail and supplies to outlying islands. After a few months both were transferred back to Anchorage, from which they flew various staff members and supplies to different destinations. While the brothers were on leave, Japan surrendered and soon thereafter, both were …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James McClelland. McClelland joined the Navy in 1939 and after training was assigned to the USS Helena (CL-50). He cruised with the ship to South America before heading for Pearl Harbor. He was aboard during the Japanese attack and was burned badly enough to be evacuated to the hospital on shore. He was returned to the US and after recovering, began training people in fire control. McClelland was discharged in September, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Vrana. Vrana was born in Moravia, Texas on 21 March 1921 and attended school in a two-room building. He enlisted in the Navy in 1940. After eight weeks of boot training at San Diego, he went to Pearl Harbor assigned aboard the USS California (BB-44). After serving a while in the Motor Launch Division, he became a striker in a fourteen inch gun turret. He describes the working conditions within a turret, the job assignments and procedures involved in firing the guns. He recalls experiences during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941 during which the ship sustained bomb and torpedo damage. Following the attack, he was assigned to clean up the bodies of his dead shipmates. The ship was taken to Bremerton for repairs during which time he went to the naval gun factory at Annapolis for eight weeks of training. Afterward, he returned to the California. Vrana was aboard ship during the invasions of the Mariana Islands and during the Battle of Surigao Strait. The ship was hit by a kamikaze during the invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf. After being repaired the California went …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Lee ""Tex"" Hill. He discusses his time with the Flying Tigers and with Air Force Fighter Groups flying missions in China, particularly the Salween Gorge bombing to keep the Japanese from crossing into China there.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr. James E.T. Hopkins. Hopkins was born in Howard County, Maryland on 19 January 1915. Following high school, he attended The Johns Hopkins University graduating from the Medical School in 1941. He volunteered to go overseas with the Johns Hopkins Hospital Unit and was transported to Fiji aboard the SS President Coolidge (1931). On Fiji, they built the barracks out of reeds and bamboo and the hospital was a prefabricated building. In 1943 he volunteered to go to Guadalcanal and was assigned to the148th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion as a battle surgeon. On July 18 he was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division whose assignment was to capture Munda air field. He recalls the combat conditions encountered by the battalion and of the heroic actions of Private Roger Young, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He comments on the number of cases of war neurosis (shell shock) that were treated. Heeding a call by President Roosevelt for volunteers for a dangerous mission, James was sent to Bombay, India where he joined the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). It was commanded by Frank D. Merrill and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr. Wesley Furste. Furste was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 19 April 1915. Having attended Harvard Medical School, Dr. Furste joined the US Army Medical Corps in August 1942 and was sent to the Field Medical Service School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, he was sent to Kunming, China and assigned as a surgeon in the United States Army 22nd Field Hospital. He tells of training various Chinese people in medical procedures and of treating combat casualties of the Salween River battle and the battle for Tengchong. He describes the various preventative measures taken to combat malaria. Following the surrender of Japan, Furste returned to the United States and continued his medical internship and training going into private practice in 1951. He is of the opinion that his wartime experiences prepared him for being noted as a world authority on gas gangrene and tetanus.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Witts. Witts was born in Texas 13 December 1920. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Texas until 1941. Leaving college during his senior year, he joined the FBI as a special agent in training and before completing the training he resigned and joined the US Army Air Corps in October 1941. After training at various installations he became a navigator in 1944. Witts received combat training in PBY5A aircraft at Kessler Field, Mississippi. He tells of picking up an aircraft at Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia and flying to New Guinea where the plane and crew were assigned to the 13th Air Force. He describes the various types of missions flown and strong relationships the crew members formed. He tells of the living conditions encountered and the various types of landing strips from which they had to operate. Following the surrender of Japan he returned to the United States on a troop ship, received his discharge and reentered the University of Texas from which he graduated with a law degree.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Julius Casarez. Casarez was born in Austin, Texas on 9 May 1920. Upon joining the Army in December 1941, he had basic training in El Paso, Texas. Assigned to a machine gun anti-aircraft unit, he tells of sailing in convoy to Karachi, India. During July 1942, the unit moved to New Delhi. After six months they flew to Kunming, China. He describes traveling on the Burma Road to the Mekong River where they engaged in combat with the Japanese. In February 1945, Casarez returned to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford E Rice. Rice dropped out of high school when calls for the draft began. Needing his parents’ permission to join the military, he joined the Navy after his father insisted that he eschew the Marine Corps. Rice was assigned to the destroyer USS Dunlap (DD-384). His first mission involved protecting President Roosevelt on a trip to Kiska, Aleutian Islands. As a mere seaman, Rice was initially stationed at a 40mm gun. In late 1943, he learned to clean the guns and was promoted to gunner’s mate. His executive officer treated him like a brother, and they passed time by sketching what they saw during the war. From Alaska, the Dunlap went to the Marshalls for shore bombardment. In the Bonin Islands, the Dunlap destroyed three Japanese ships and rescued prisoners from the water. At Iwo Jima, he snapped photos of the American victory. Despite once being knocked into the water by a typhoon, Rice returned home safely and was discharged at the end of the war.