The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert W. Meyer. Meyer was born in Olympia, Washington on 3 September 1924. After graduating from high school in 1942, he was drafted into the Army on 15 May 1943. He was placed into the Army Specialized Training Program. Following 13 weeks of basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, he was sent to the University of Alabama for 3 months of specialized training. He was accepted for flight training, but returned to the infantry in April 1944. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 263rd Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, he went overseas in September 1944. Reassigned as a machine gunner to Company A, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Meyer saw combat in Belgium, Germany, and Luxemburg. He was captured by the Germans on 18 December 1944 while fighting near Longsdorf, Luxemburg. He spent the next 4 months in various prisoner of war and labor camps, including Stalag IIA north of Berlin. In April 1945, as the Russians approached Stalag IIA, the German guards fled. Essentially free, Meyer first tried to avoid the Russians but finally advanced with them to the Elbe River where he was reunited with US forces. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Art Goethe. Goethe dropped out of high school after contracting tuberculosis. Upon recovery, he worked as a roofer at the Army barracks. In 1942, he enlisted in the Navy, with his parents’ permission. Despite his abbreviated education, he scored well on examinations and went on to radio school. He transferred in and out of many outfits as a radioman, working on a wooden sub-chaser, an LTA blimp, and an airship rescue unit before boarding the communications ship SC-1066. At Iwo Jima, while anchored off the beach to assist LCVP landings, he took note of communications about the tremendous death toll. After his discharge, Goethe returned home, earned his GED and then a Master’s in education, ultimately becoming a school teacher.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Dyches. Dyches joined the Marine Corps in April of 1944. He served with the 4th Marine Division, 24th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company G. Dyches traveled to Maui for additional training. He participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. On his fifth morning on the island he was seriously wounded from an exploding grenade thrown into his fox hole. Dyches spent over a year and a half in various hospitals recovering from his wounds and was awarded the Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged in August of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jay Rutherford. Rutherford joined the Navy in early 1943. He served as a Boatswain's mate aboard USS Harris (APA-2). In April, they traveled to the Aleutians, participating in the Battle of Attu. In December, after the Battle of Tarawa, they went to Pearl Harbor. While there, Rutherford had unexpected blindness, was treated and remained in service aboard the Harris. They participated in the Battle of Kwajalein in January 1944. Then, Rutherford was transferred to Pearl Harbor, and served with a flotilla under Rear Admiral Eugene Coffin. Later, he was assigned to the USS USS LCI(R)-644, where he participated in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After the war, Rutherford continued his service with the occupation forces in Yokohama, Japan. He returned to the US in February of 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Ott. Ott joined the Navy in 1944 upon graduating high school and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion of gunnery school and air/sea rescue training, he was assigned to a rescue boat stationed at Elba. There he was part of an eight-man crew that recovered B-29 and seaplane crews attempting to land at Kwajalein and Elba, respectively. When the tower notified them of a crash, Ott’s boat rushed to the scene and deployed a swimmer who loaded people, dead or alive, onto a floating stretcher. It was Ott’s responsibility to shoot at sharks if necessary. Once aboard, survivors would be treated by the crew’s hospital corpsmen. Typically, less than half of an aircrew survived a crash, but Ott felt it was important also to recover bodies for proper burial whenever possible. After two years abroad, Ott returned home and was discharged in early 1946.

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

Lecture given Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at Abilene Christian University

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Franklin Paulsen. Paulsen joined the Navy in March of 1943. He served as Quartermaster 2nd Class aboard USS North Carolina (BB-55). In December of 1943 they joined forces and bombarded the island of Nauru in the Philippines. Going into early February of 1944 they participated in the Gilbert Islands operation. They later bombarded Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian. Additionally, they operated in the North China Sea. Paulsen recalls steering the North Carolina into Tokyo Bay in September of 1945. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Phillip Kruzick. Kruzick joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1942. He trained as a mechanic in the Signal Corps, working in the truck division until he joined the 73rd Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force. In August of 1944, they deployed to newly constructed airfields on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Kruzick served as a rifleman on the runway during raids on the island. He shares details of some of the bombing missions the pilots flew. He returned to the U.S. and was discharged in Augusto f 1945.