Transcript of an oral interview with Al Heigel. When Heigel finished high school in June, 1944, he joined the Navy at Little Rock, Arkansas and went for boot training at San Diego. He was assigned as a radar operator and reported aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) at Pearl Harbor. Heigel describes the light carrier and its construction and features. He also speaks of the time the Independence was hit by a torpedo off Tarawa in 1943. Heigel then describes events off Okinawa: watching the USS Franklin (CV-13) being bombed off Okinawa; locating and shooting down kamikazes; describing battle stations; aircraft water landings; being in a typhoon, etc. After the war ended, the Independence served as a troop transport taking GIs back home to the US. He describes bunks in the hangar deck and arriving in Portland, Oregon. As the Independence was being prepared for the Bikini Atoll atomic tests, Heigel got off becuase he had the requisite amount of points allowing him to be discharged. He then entered the lumber business, married and raised family.

Transcript of an oral interview with Al Heigel. When Heigel finished high school in June, 1944, he joined the Navy at Little Rock, Arkansas and went for boot training at San Diego. He was assigned as a radar operator and reported aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) at Pearl Harbor. Heigel describes the light carrier and its construction and features. He also speaks of the time the Independence was hit by a torpedo off Tarawa in 1943. Heigel then describes events off Okinawa: watching the USS Franklin (CV-13) being bombed off Okinawa; locating and shooting down kamikazes; describing battle stations; aircraft water landings; being in a typhoon, etc. After the war ended, the Independence served as a troop transport taking GIs back home to the US. He describes bunks in the hangar deck and arriving in Portland, Oregon. As the Independence was being prepared for the Bikini Atoll atomic tests, Heigel got off becuase he had the requisite amount of points allowing him to be discharged. He then entered the lumber business, married and raised family.

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.

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. There is a photograph and a short biography of Hill after the interview transcription.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Francis R. Ferry. Ferry grew up in Nebraska and taught for a year before joining the Navy in 1942. He had enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program prior to enlisting. He trained on the N3N, the SNJ, the OS2U, the BT, the SBC3 and other types of aircraft. He was assigned to be a dive-bomber, flying the SB2C Helldiver. Ferry was initially assigned to VB-14 and left aboard the USS Wasp to the coast of Venezuela where he continued training. He was reassigned to VB-82 and left on the USS Bennington (CV-20) for Pearl Harbor. The ship joined Task Force 58.1 for Japan. He flew his first combat mission over Tokyo. He was involved with burning the beaches on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He then was involved in the attack on the Japanese ship Yamato. His air group was the lead group in on the first strike, and Ferry himself dropped rockets and bombs that may have been hits. His wife Genevieve Ferry briefly discusses what her experiences were on the homefront.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Buell. While attending college in Iowa, Buell took advantage of the Civilian Pilot Training program and earned a pilot's license in 1940. He volunteered for the Navy and went to flight school at Pensacola, Florida, where he earned his wings and a commission in November, 1941. He was assigned to go aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) as a member of Scouting Squadron 5 (VS-5) and arrived in time for the Battle of the Coral Sea. His squadron suffered enough damage to be removed from the Yorktown prior to the Battle of Midway. Buell was assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and flew search and rescue missions from her during the Battle of Midway. After that battle, Buell was transferred to yet another carrier, the USS Enterprise (CV-6), prior to the invasion of Guadalcanal. While flying off the Enterprise, Buell and ten other pilots had to land on Guadalcanal at Henderson Field. They and their dive bombers then became members of the Cactus Air Force. Buell describes the living conditions on Guadalcanal as opposed to those aboard an aircraft carrier. His group finally got off Guadalcanal and returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with R. Bruce Porter. After a few years of college at the University of Southern California, Porter joined the Marines as an aviation cadet. After training on the F4F, Porter was assigned to Squadron 111 and shipped out on the USS Garfield to American Samoa. Porter mentions training with and talking with Joe Foss when his squadron passed through Apia. Porter then went to Turtle Bay, New Caledonia. He next flew F4F's in Guadalcanal in 1943. Their squadron then switched to the Corsair plane. Porter then started moving ""up the slot"" toward Japan gradually moving north with his squadron. Later, Porter returned to the states to train on F6F's and joined a night fighter squadron. He was assigned as a squadron commander in Okinawa. He discusses blowing up a plane with a ""baka"" bomb on it. Porter's record is an ace, with five official kills and one probable. Porter witnessed the surrender party preparing for the official surrender. He stayed in Japan for four months after the occupation.

Handwritten letter from Betrice Kirkland to Charles Stasny thanking him for the letter he sent her following Theodore Kirkland's, her brother, death in the war and reminisces on memories she had with him. She encloses a copy of the chaplain's letter and mentions that her brother, Theus Kirkland, will be returning to service soon either to the Islands or pilots' training in California.