The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Willis Gathright. Gathright was born on 3 December 1924 and graduated from high school in 1942. Upon being drafted in June 1943 he went to eight weeks of boot training at the US Naval Training Station in San Diego. This was followed by twelve weeks of sonar training at the West Coast Sound School at Point Loma, California. He describes how a sonar unit works. After graduating from the sonar school and receiving gunnery training at in Algiers, Louisiana, Gathright was assigned to Patrol Craft Escort 849. On 18 June 1944, the ship arrived at Brisbane, Australia where Army radio equipment was placed on board manned by a crew of ten Army soldiers. Gathright recalls the ship being part of the fleet during the invasion of Leyte acting as the radio relay between the USS Blue Ridge (AGC-2) and General McArthur’s headquarters in Australia. After participating in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf at Luzon, the ship remained in Manila until February 1945 when they were ordered to Morotai, where they joined the Australian Fleet for the invasion of Tarakan, Borneo on 1 May 1945. Gathright describes the ship …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Bischoff. Bischoff joined the Army in December of 1942. He served with the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion. They arrived in England in April of 1944. They invaded Normandy on D-Day plus 2. Bischoff and his unit fought across France and into Germany during the summer and early winter of 1944. In December they participated in the Ardennes Campaign, ending the war near the Czechoslovakian border. Bischoff returned to the US and was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ann Drake. Drake was born in the Philippines on 31 August 1937. Her mother was from North Borneo and her father was an American. In 1941 the family lived to Manila and she recalls 8 December 1941 when the Japanese began bombing the city. She fondly remembers her father saying goodbye to the family for it was the last time they ever spoke to him. She recalls the Japanese taking her mother and siblings to Santo Tomas internment camp. Drake and her two sisters were placed in the Holy Ghost Convent for children while her brothers remained at Santo Tomas. In January 1944 the girls and their mother were again sent to Santo Tomas where they were united with the boys. Drake describes the living conditions and the scarcity of food. Internees were supposed to receive Red Cross packages monthly, but received only three packages during their confinement. Drake comments on the day they were freed and how she presently feels about the Japanese. After the surrender of Japan, Drake learned her father had been interned at Cabanatuan concentration camp for several years before being put on a …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Don Ennis. Ennis was born in 1931 in Manila, Philippines. Ennis and his family were living in Manila in December 1941. He recalls daily air raids until the occupation of Manila by the Japanese at the end of December. In January of 1942 his father was interned in Santo Tomas Internment Camp. The remainder of their family was placed under house arrest and by May of 1943 they were all issued orders to report for internment at Santo Tomas. Ennis vividly describes the camp, their living conditions, their work assignments, their communication with the Japanese guards and their transfer to Los Baños Internment Camp in April of 1944. They were liberated in February 1945 by nine C-47 aircraft, dropping B Company of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dwight Clark. Clark was born into a family of ten children in New Carlisle, Indiana. Upon being drafted into the Army in February 1943 he underwent basic training, which was followed by attending weapons school at Camp Hood, Texas. In school he learned to be a gunsmith and artillery mechanic. After eighteen months of training, his unit, the 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, was sent to Fort Ord, California where they had amphibious training in Monterey Bay. They were sent to Bougainville from which they participated in the invasion of Luzon. On 23 February 1945, the unit was attached to the 11th Airborne, participating in the raid on the Los Banos Internment Camp. Clark tells of the raid and the aftermath. He expresses his admiration for General MacArthur. Clark returned to the United States in December 1945, and received his discharge a month later. Clark concludes with details about his life as a minister and teacher until his retirement.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edith Chamberlin. Chamberlin’s mother was from Poland, her father was from England, and she was born in Shanghai, China. Her father was a cinematographer and was offered a job in the movie industry in the Philippines. She speaks of their life in the Philippines prior to the war. After the Japanese invaded the Philippines, she and her family were taken to Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. They remained there from January of 1942 through their liberation in February of 1945. After the war, their family re-established their life in the Philippines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Mendez. Mendez joined the Army in 1940. He joined the First Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. In the spring of 1943 Mendez traveled to Brisbane, Australia, clearing eucalyptus forest and setting up camp for the division, where he remained for six months. In October they went to New Guinea for a few months training in jungle warfare, then on to the Admiralty Islands through October of 1944. He provides details of his living and food accommodations on the islands, and occasional intermittent fighting with the Japanese. They then participated in the Philippines Campaign, capturing Tacloban and Samar. He also served in rescuing civilian prisoners in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Mendez served in the Philippines from October of 1944 through August of 1945, then returned to the US for discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Fullerton. Fullerton joined the Army in September of 1941. He served with the 75th Ordnance Company at the Ordnance Depot in Fort Santiago, Manila, Philippines. From there he was assigned to the island of Bohol with the 81st Division of the newly organized Philippine Army as an instructor. In January of 1942 his division was sent to Iligan, where they ran out of ordnance supplies. His job was to search for and purchase materials and food for the 81st Filipino Division. In April of 1942 he worked with the 73rd Infantry Regiment in Malabang to fight against the Japanese. They were captured at Dansalan, Lanao. Fullerton provides vivid details of his extensive work in the Philippines and experiences as a prisoner of war at Camp Keithley. He shares personal accounts of the Japanese executing fellow servicemen, exhaustive marching, malnourishment and work in the rice paddies and steel mill. Upon returning safely back to the US he was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Helen Beattie. Beattie was born in the Philippines, where her parents were missionaries. She provides details of her family history. She and her family lived in Lugazpi, Philippines. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, they landed five miles from her home. Beattie provides vivid details of her family and friends attempts to run and hide from the Japanese. They were captured in January and allowed to live in a compound of houses, not an internment camp. Sometime in 1942 they were taken to Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. Beattie shares her experiences there as a fifteen-year-old girl, separated from her family. They were later transferred to Los Baños Internment Camp and rescued in February of 1945. They returned to the US in May of that same year.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Bucher. Bucher was born on Hainan Island, in the South China Sea, in March 1936. When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Bucher was 5 years old living with his family in Manila, Philippines. He describes the events that followed in Manila. Bucher and his family were allowed to stay in their home, though not leave their compound, until the summer of 1944. They were all then transferred to Los Baños Internment Camp. His father was under forced labor in the camp, while his mother would teach school to Bucher, his siblings and other children. He describes their living conditions, food accommodations, what he was allowed and not allowed to do as a child in the camp, his interactions with the Japanese guards and their rescue in February of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Hencke. Hencke joined the Army in 1942 and served with the Armored Force at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He joined the 12th Armored Division, 44th Tank Battalion. They traveled to New Guinea, where he shares details of his living and food accommodations. He participated in a rescue operation of prisoners in Leyte. In February of 1945 they were the first tank battalion to enter the city of Manila and liberated American and Allied civilian prisoners interred in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Also included in the transcript is a copy of a response letter Hencke wrote in 1999 to a Japanese student at Abilene Christian College, answering several of his questions regarding his experience in the military.

Interview with John Wilson, an officer in the U. S. Army during World War II. Wilson was born in Illinois but attended high school in the Philippines after his father accepted an engineering position there. He graduated from high school in 1939 and then enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, where he participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. He graduated and took his commission in the Army in 1943. After Officer Candidate School (OCS), he was assigned to an engineering unit slated to participate in the invasion of the Philippines. He eventually landed on Luzon. On Luzon he was assigned temporary duty with a small Philippine Civil Affairs unit that was made up of officers and men who had relatives interned by the Japanese in the Philippines. His small unit made their way to Santo Tomas where he liberated many friends and old school mates. A few weeks later, Wilson liberated his father, a civilian internee at Los Banos. Wilson remained with his unit constructing hospitals in the Philippines in anticipation of the casualties expected from the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

Transcript of an oral interview with John Wilson. Wilson was born in the Philippines and graduated high school there in 1939. Upon graduating, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin and participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. He graduated and took his commission in the Army in 1943. After Officer Candidate School (OCS), he was assigned to an engineering unit slated to participate in the invasion of the Philippines. He eventually landed on Luzon. On Luzon he was assigned temporary duty with a small Philippine Civil Affairs unit that was made up of officers and men who had relatives interned by the Japanese in the Philippines. His small unit made their way to Santo Tomas where he liberated many friends and old school mates. A few weeks later, Wilson liberated his father, a civilian internee at Los Banos. Wilson remained with his unit constructing hospitals in the Philippines in anticipation of the casualties expected from the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Neville Stopford. Stopford was born in Manila, Philippine Islands in 1932. He attended a boarding school in Baguio. Soon after the 1941 invasion, the Japanese ordered all those captured to pack a few personal belongings and they were marched and interned at camp John Hay. The captives were separated into two groups, women and children in one group and men in the other. No members of his family were with him as they were interned in Santo Tomas. He recalls being at the camp until June 1942 at which time he was taken to Santo Tomas and reunited with his family. Stopford discusses the shortages of food and tells of the captors pilfering Red Cross packages. He remembers that the camp was set up as a democratic government by the inmates, having a police department, a school and three elected officials for the restricted self-government. He recalls that these internee officials were executed by the Japanese prior to the surrender of the camp.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Susan Magnuson DeVoe. DeVoe completes this interview with her sister Karen Magnuson. She shares her family’s story of residing in an internment camp in Manila for 2 years. Her parents were citizens of the United States, and traveled to Manila, where her father was manager for Know Brothers Uber Alles, an import/export company in 1938. Susan and Karen were both born in the Philippines. Her mother was 7 months pregnant with Susan when the Japanese invaded the Philippines, and shortly thereafter they were all taken to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. She provides some details of their time in and liberation from the camp. Additionally, she shares what life was like getting settled back in the US and how her mother came to write a book on their experiences in the camp.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Smalling. Smalling graduated in August of 1941 from the University of Texas with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a commission as ensign, Engineering Specialist in the Naval Reserve. He volunteered for submarine duty and served as a lieutenant commander aboard USS S-11 (SS-116). They conducted photoreconnaissance of Iwo Jima before the 1945 invasion, and detected and tracked the Japanese battleship Yamato prior to its being sunk. He also served aboard USS Spearfish (SS-190) and in January of 1945, USS Hackleback (SS-295).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with H.G. Eastwood. Eastwood was attending Eastern New Mexico University in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the Navy and trained at Farragut, Idaho where he graduated from the navigator school. He was sent to New Caledonia and assigned to PT boats (USS PT-247). He describes the armament and propulsion of the 70 foot Higgins boat and the actions and procedures of the navigator during a torpedo attack run. He tells of working with code talkers concerning downed flyers, probable targets, etc. Eastwood also describes PT-247 being hit by Japanese shore batteries on 5 May 1943 resulting in fatalities, the sinking of the boat and his recovery by a sister boat. He was sent to the Samson Naval Hospital in Geneva, New York for recovery. Upon recovering, he was send to Colgate University to attend classes in PT boat operations. Upon completion of the course he was commissioned an ensign. Soon thereafter he received a medical discharge as a result of wounds.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dana S. Green. Green joined the Army Air Forces in March, 1943. Ha made it through pilot training before switching to radio operator/gunner. Once Green arrived in England in October, 1944, he was assigned to the 305th Bomb Group in Chelveston, England. When the war in Europe ended, Green was shipped to California to await reassignment to a B-29 crew.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Waite Higgins. Higgins joined the Navy in late 1943. Beginning in 1944, he served with the deck force aboard a carrier. They traveled throughout the Pacific Islands, and he recalls burials at sea. Higgins recalls participating in the Battle of Okinawa. In August of 1945, they traveled to Tokyo Bay in Japan. He returned to the US and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Kolar. Kolar joined the Army in June of 1943. He served as a mechanic with the 997th Engineer Treadway Bridge Company. Beginning February of 1944, they deployed to England. They landed on Omaha Beach 2 weeks after the initial invasion. He was later transferred to the 95th Infantry Division, 379th Infantry Regiment. They traveled into France and, by November, captured the forts surrounding Metz and repulsed enemy attempts to cross the river. They traveled into Germany and participated in ongoing battles for several months, holding their position until the war ended. Kolar returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Erick Miller. Miller began learning to fly in 1939. He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1940, and was sent to Cranfield, England. He piloted the Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, and shares his experiences through the Battle of Britain. In November of 1940 through early 1941 Miller was posted to a Canadian squadron of Beaufighter airplanes assigned to night fighting in Britain. Their duty was to ward off German bombers as they came over the North Sea. He recalls how thankful he was when the Americans joined in the war effort in Europe. Miller completed additional missions through Le Havre, France, Gibraltar and Africa. He was also assigned to military intelligence work. He remained a pilot through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with J L Cunningham. Cunningham joined the Marine Corps in late 1942. He served in combat infantry with the 4th Marine Division, and participated in amphibious assaults in the battles of Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Cunningham was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Spradlin. Spradlin joined the Navy in 1943. He completed gunnery school. Beginning January of 1944, he served aboard the USS Porterfield (DD-682) as a watertender, tending to the fire in the boilers. They escorted convoys from the US to Pearl Harbor, the Marshall Islands, Tinian, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In early 1945 their ship was hit by a kamikaze, and they traveled back to the US. Spradlin was assigned to USS White Marsh (LSD-8). After the war ended, Spradlin served in the Navy an additional 14 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Jackson. Jackson joined the Navy in 1942. He served as Machinist’s Mate Second Class in the engine room aboard the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). While aboard the ship, Jackson recalls bombarding and covering landings on 34 islands in the Pacific, including the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Saipan, Australia, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He shares his experiences going through a typhoon. In March of 1943 they participated in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. He was discharged in late 1945.