Interview with Jack Kleiss, a pilot during World War II. He discusses training for carrier landings on USS Enterprise; the arrival of VMF-211 aboard Enterprise and their delivery to Wake Island; and the attack on Pealr Harbor on 7 December 1941. Kleiss was in a dive bomber and attacked Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, where he earned the Navy Cross.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walt McKinney. McKinney joined the Navy around 1944. He worked at the Naval Ammunition Depot in Fallbrook, California, dismantling depth charges. He later served as Yeoman Third-Class on the island of Guam for 4 months, where McKinney processed enlisted men deployed to the Pacific and returning to the US. He then worked aboard the USS Lunga Point (CVE-94). He returned to the US and was discharged in August of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Archibald Rackerby. Rackerby joined the Marine Corps on 27 December 1941 and took basic training at San Diego. From there he went to officer’s training at Quantico and earned a commission in January 1943. At New Caledonia, Rackerby was assigned as a weapons platoon commander in the Third Raider Battalion. He was in combat on Bougainville but was injured in the neck in a training exercise on Guadalcanal in January, 1944. He was sent back to a hospital in the US. Upon recovery, he was sent to command a guard unit at a naval ordnance plant in Idaho. When the war ended, Rackerby stayed in the Reserves, retiring as a colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis Asher. Asher was born 24 December 1919, in Maywood, Illinois. He graduated from high school in 1937 and was drafted into the Army on 10 December 1941. After basic, he was assigned to the 125th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division as company clerk in the Headquarters company. The regiment was stationed in California and responsible for the defense of the coastline. Asher took the tests for warrant officer and was promoted and assigned to the 67th Signal Repair Company. The company was responsible for repairing all the wire and radio equipment carried by the infantry into battle. In March 1945 his company was transferred to Aix, France where after several weeks they received word of the German surrender. He recalls that the company was then embarked on a ship which transited the Panama Canal en route to Japan as part of the first wave of the planned invasion in November, when word was received in August 1945 that the Japanese had surrendered. He says that his company landed in Japan on September 7, 1945 and travelled to Kobe where they were quartered under the stadium built for …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Fleming. Fleming joined the Navy in 1943. He completed Radio School and served as a radio operator aboard the USS Drew (APA-162), beginning October of 1944. They transported troops to and from Saipan, Guam and Japan. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fiske Hanley, II. Hanley was born in Brownwood, Texas in 1920. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1943, and joined the Army Air Forces. Completing an advance engineering course at Harvard University he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 504th Bombardment Group as a B-29 flight engineer. Hanley and crew flew to Tinian and began bombing missions over Japan. During his seventh mission Hanley’s plane was shot down. He and the co-pilot were the only survivors. Interned as a special prisoner of the Kempeitai, he was to be to be tried and executed. He describes in detail his experience as a prisoner existing in overcrowded, filthy cells, lacking medical treatment and starved on meager rations.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral monologue by Nubuo Kishiue. Kishiue, the son of Japanese immigrants, joined the Army in November 1941 and received training at Camp Robertson. After the war began, he was granted leave to help his family relocate to an internment camp. Upon his return, he was sent to language school at Camp Savage. He was then assigned to the 27th Infantry Division and shipped to Saipan. There he served as a medical interpreter for civilians at Camp Susupe. He occasionally accompanied personnel on intelligence missions, scouring battlefields for paperwork in the aftermath of firefights. After the war, and during a sweep of the island, Kishiue was nearly killed by a Japanese soldier who refused to surrender. Kishiue later returned home and rented land to farm. He believes the discrimination his family faced before the war, including being unable to own land, was remedied by the Nisei soldiers who proved their loyalty to America. Kishiue ultimately purchased his own land and farmed until his retirement in 1990.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sister Mary Aquinas Nimitz. She begins by relating information about her aunts and uncles on her mother's (Freeman) and her father's (Nimitz) sides of the family. She also sums up her school years by relating all the places she moved to during the period leading up to the war. Nimitz also relates several stories about her parents and her life in a religious community. She also speaks of her parents activities during the war while she lived with her mother in Berkeley, California. She mentions her siblings and their children.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Baugh. Baugh joined the Merchant Marine in 1944. He shares details of his training. He served as Messman in the Steward Department aboard a T2 tanker, the SS Mobile Bay. In early 1945, they deployed to England to deliver fuel. Baugh shares details of the ship and general life aboard. He later joined the union and worked aboard a merchant ship, delivering cargo to Panama, Venezuela and Columbia. After the war ended, Baugh continued his service in the union for an additional 23 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vernon Wild. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on 11 June 1925. Soon after graduation from high school in 1943, he was drafted into the Navy and attended boot camp at Camp Perry, Virginia. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the 106th Construction Battalion at Camp Endicott, Rhode Island. After six months of training, he was sent to Port Hueneme, California. In April 1945, the unit departed for Ie Shima where the unit constructed an airfield. Wild tells of his various duties while on the island. He remained on the island until 1946. Upon returning to the United States, he received his discharge. Wild concludes the interview by telling of his life following his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sam Harris. Harris joined the Army in February of 1942. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. He traveled to Australia in July of 1943, participating in the line defense at Brisbane. In early 1944, as part of the reconnaissance force, Harris was shipped to Ora Bay in New Guinea and made landings on the Admiralty Islands. In October he invaded the Philippine Islands, and ultimately helped in liberating Santo Tomas Internment Camp prisoners. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jim Calvert. Calvert joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1943. He is one of two pilots in the US who carried the wings on his uniform of 3 Air Forces, including the US, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the Chinese Air Force. Calvert served as a C-47 pilot with the Air Transport Command and flew missions over China, India, and Burma, including flying over the Himalaya Mountains, the Hump. He returned to the US and was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frances W. Lipe. Lipe recalls anecdotes and events from the life of her father, Colonel Worthington. Her father joined the Army in 1917 and trained as a veterinarian. Her father was on Bataan when the US forces surrendered there in 1942. Her father escaped and was captured by the Japanese and taken to Manila. From there, he went to Formosa and then on to Mukden, Manchuria.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ramon Nelson. Nelson joined the Army in 1942, and graduated from the Morgan Park Military Academy. He served as an infantry officer with the 7th Infantry Division and participated in the battles of Attu, Kwajalein, Leyte and Okinawa. Following the Japanese surrender, the division was stationed in Korea. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Swan. Swan was born in Corvallis, Oregon in 1927. Upon joining the Coast Guard in 1944, he was sent to boot camp at Alameda, California. Completing training, he was assigned to radio school in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His training lasted over five months and after graduation he applied for LORAN (Long range navigation) training. Being accepted, he was sent to Groton, Massachusetts for four weeks of training. Upon completion of the training, he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he began working with the public information office. He tells of some of his experiences while working with the office.

Transcript of an oral interview with Taisuke Maruyama. He was born in 1922. After finishing the sixth grade, Mr Maruyama took an exam for Navy pilot school and passed; he was 15 or 16 at the time. At that time, preparatory flight school (navy basic training) for the Navy was one and one half years. Once he completed this, Maruyama entered flight training, which lasted for one year. After flight training, he was ordered to the carrier Hiryu; to be a scouting member of the 97th torpedo plane, a Kate. He was not assigned as a pilot but as a scout. In July/August 1941, the Hiryu escorted the invasion fleet when the Japanese Army landed in French Indo-China. Mr Maruyama saw his first combat on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor; the first wave (183 planes). His target was the USS Oklahoma and he had the job of releasing the torpedo; it hit. He was 19 years old. After the attack, the carriers returned to their own harbors and the planes went to bases. Mr Maruyama states that either the pilot or the scout could be the leader on the plane. At Midway, he was still a scout but was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Ross. Assigned to the 267th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, he describes training and living conditions at camp Joseph T. Robinson. He describes crossing the Atlantic in November 1944 as well as being transported to Weymouth, England. He also recalls narrowly missing being transported on the SS Léopoldville (1929) and arriving at Cherbourg, France in December 1944. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge near Lorient, France. When the war ended in Europe, he was in placed in charge of supplies for two general hospitals near Arles, France. He was subsequently transferred to the 4289th Provisional Supervision Company. He talks about taking charge of SS Troops in Vienna and setting up a hospital in Wels, Austria. He recalls the entertainment in Vienna. He was discharged in April 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Warnes. Warnes joined the Navy in 1936. He was first assigned to USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), serving aboard until September of 1937. He was then transferred to the Asiatic Fleet, aboard the USS Alden (DD-211). They traveled back and forth between Manila, Philippines and Chefoo, China. He worked on the ship as a cook and radio striker. Around spring of 1939 they traveled to North China, where their ship was assigned to the South China patrol for diplomatic courier duty along the coast. In the summer of 1940 Warnes was promoted to Third Class Radioman and transferred to the USS Langley (CV-1) as a radio operator. By the fall of 1940, they were operating in Manila. In February of 1942 the Langley was sunk off Java. Warnes and the surviving crew, were transferred to the USS Pecos (AO-6), which was also sunk in March of 1942. He provides details of each fateful event, including their rescue aboard the USS Whipple (DD-217). In April he traveled back to the US aboard the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22). At Terminal Island, California, Warnes was assigned to a submarine chaser, SC-538 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Restorff. Restorff joined the Navy in August of 1940. He served as Seaman First Class, and later moved to the Engineering Division aboard the USS Balch (DD-363). They worked guard duty on the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Restorff volunteered for the Asiatic Fleet and was sent to Manila, Philippines. His job was refueling PBY aircraft and transporting ammunition to cruisers, destroyers and submarines in combat. In late 1941 he was assigned to the USS Langley (CV-1) and traveled to Australia, where they picked up Army personnel and pilots. He provides some details of the carrier. In February of 1942 the Langley was scuttled after an attack by the Japanese, and Restorff recalls surviving that fateful day. He later completed Diesel School and served aboard PC-618, a submarine chaser, as an engineman. He remained in the Navy until 1960.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Kleiss. Kleiss discusses training for carrier landings on USS Enterprise; the arrival of VMF-211 aboard Enterprise and their delivery to Wake Island; and the attack on Pealr Harbor on 7 December 1941. Kleiss was in a dive bomber and attacked Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, where he earned the Navy Cross.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gerold (Jerry) Haynes. Haynes grew up in Mississippi and went to Memphis, Tennessee to join the Navy in 1939. He was assigned to the USS California and went to Pearl Harbor. The California was bombed December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Haynes describes the recovery efforts. In March 1942 he was reassigned to the USS Sante Fe (CL-60). He was on a 5 in/38 gun. He discusses sinking a ship in the San Bernadino Strait. In 1945, he rescued two survivors from the USS Franklin and received a citation. He describes the experience of pulling survivors from the ocean. NOTE: Haynes identified the USS Tingey (DDS-539) but the action described (Attu, Tarawa, USS Franklin rescue) supports the USS Santa Fe (CL-60).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Zayda Baron. Baron was born in 1933 in the Philippines. Her father, Leon Oreonez, was the captain of a guerrilla unit. When the Japanese came to her home looking for her father, she fled and was separated from her parents for some time. Eventually, her older brothers worked at resisting the Japanese. When the war ended, Baron returned to school. She comments on the conditions of the Filipino populace during the Japanese occupation.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Archibald Rackerby. Rackerby joined the Marine Corps on 27 December 1941 and took basic training at San Diego. From there he went to officer’s training at Quantico and earned a commission in January 1943. At New Caledonia, Rackerby was assigned as a weapons platoon commander in the Third Raider Battalion. He was in combat on Bougainville but was injured in the neck in a training exercise on Guadalcanal in January, 1944. He was sent back to a hospital in the US. Upon recovery, he was sent to command a guard unit at a naval ordnance plant in Idaho. When the war ended, Rackerby stayed in the Reserves, retiring as a colonel.

Transcript of an oral interview with Taisuke Maruyama. He was born in 1922. After finishing the sixth grade, Mr Maruyama took an exam for Navy pilot school and passed; he was 15 or 16 at the time. At that time, preparatory flight school (navy basic training) for the Navy was one and one half years. Once he completed this, Maruyama entered flight training, which lasted for one year. After flight training, he was ordered to the carrier Hiryu; to be a scouting member of the 97th torpedo plane, a Kate. He was not assigned as a pilot but as a scout. In July/August 1941, the Hiryu escorted the invasion fleet when the Japanese Army landed in French Indo-China. Mr Maruyama saw his first combat on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor; the first wave (183 planes). His target was the USS Oklahoma and he had the job of releasing the torpedo; it hit. He was 19 years old. After the attack, the carriers returned to their own harbors and the planes went to bases. Mr Maruyama states that either the pilot or the scout could be the leader on the plane. At Midway, he was still a scout but was …