The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eve Tice. Tice was born 7 August 1923 in Calumet, Michigan. Graduating from high school in 1942, she went to work as a timekeeper at a Chevrolet Motor Company plant in Detroit, Michigan. She describes her duties. She met her future husband, who joined the Navy, and they were married when he came home on leave following boot camp. Her husband was assigned to the USS Franklin (CV13) at Newport, Rhode Island. She tells of seeing her husband when he came home on leave after the Franklin went to Bremerton, Washington for repairs November 1944. She and her husband took the train to Bremerton where they rented one room in a private home. She stayed there until the Franklin departed. She comments on censoring and V-mail letters. On 19 March 1945 she was notified that the USS Franklin had been damaged, her husband was a survivor and that the ship would be returning to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs. The ship arrived April 1945 and Mr. and Mrs. Tice remained in the area until he was discharged November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Tice. Tice was born in Detroit 3 January 1924. After joining the Navy in 1943 he went to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center for boot training. Upon completion of training he entered gunnery school in preparation for Armed Guard duty. After training, Tice served as instructor at the Armed Guard school for four months. He then volunteered for aircraft carrier duty and was assigned to a gunnery crew aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13). He went aboard late in December 1943. Tice recalls meeting a childhood friend, Bob Harrison, an armament specialist who was also on board. Soon after arriving at Pearl Harbor the Franklin sailed to the Marianas. He recalls the ship being involved in many operations including the Bonin Islands, Peleliu, Guam, Luzon and Iwo Jima. It was also involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where a Japanese aircraft crashed on the deck. He went into an ammunition magazine to wet down the area with water. He received a citation from Admiral Halsey for this action. He also describes burials at sea. The ship returned to Bremerton for repairs. On 19 March 1945 a …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gilbert Clark. Clark joined the Navy in February 1941 and trained at Great Lakes. After optical training, he joined the USS Helena (CL-50) at San Diego and served aboard as a rangefinder. Clark was aboard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He also describes some action he was involved in later around the Solomon Islands and describes when the Helena was sunk at Kula Gulf. Clark made it to an island and was rescued off it. He then was assigned to the USS Franklin (CV-13) when it was commissioned. He was aboard the Franklin when she was hit by a kamikaze. Clark was evacuated and assigned to shore duty in San Diego. He was discharged after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Lokey. Lokey joined the Aviation Cadet program in November 1943 and transferred to gunnery school in Laredo. Upon completion, he was sent to the Aleutian Islands as a top turret gunner with a B-24 crew. In 1944, while on his 11th combat mission, his plane was shot down by the Japanese Navy. His pilot made a landing in Russia where they were picked up and interrogated by the Russians. They were then taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in Siberia, where they remained for three months, surviving with very little to eat. Lokey weighed 200 pounds when he was shot down and only 125 when he returned to the States. From Siberia he was transferred to a fort in Baku. When the war ended, an American officer arrived from Moscow to escort the POWs back to the States. Lokey was later stationed at Reese Air Force Base as an instructor pilot of B-25s. He became a nuclear weapons instructor and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hichael Nedeff. Nedeff was born in 1925 in West Virginia. In 1943 he entered the Navy. After basic training, Nedeff shipped overseas and was assigned to USS LST-610 at Hawaii. Nedeff recalls transporting Army personnel to Angaur, going ashore and seeing an Army field hospital. He also was present unloading materiel at Leyte during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. At Lingayen Gulf, USS LST-610 was damaged by a Japanese suicide boat and returned to Hawaii. After the war, Nedeff spent some time in Japan. He recalls some of his interactions with Japanese civilians on a commuter train. Nedeff was discharged in April, 1946. He also relates his experience in getting the USS LST-325 back to the United States from Greece in 2000-2001 and delivering it to Evansville, Indiana where it is now a museum ship. Nedeff ends with a chronology of the ship’s activities and destinations while he was aboard USS LST-610 during the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Homer Faseler. Faseler joined the Army Air Forces in 1944 after he finished high school. Once out of basic training, Faseler went to aerial gunnery school. Then, he was assigned as a tailgunner aboard a B-17 and headed for Europe assigned to the 390th Bomb Group. He flew 10 combat missions and was discharged in February, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hannibal Tadlock. Tadlock joined the Navy in 1940. He worked as an oil king aboard the USS Nevada (BB-36). Tadlock was aboard the Nevada while docked at Pearl Harbor during the attack on 7 December 1941. He was then stationed on the USS Lexington (CV-2) in the fire room during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of 1942. He was then assigned to similar work aboard the USS Core (CVE-13) beginning December of 1943. They travelled across the Atlantic to England and Scotland, in search of German U-boats. They protected cargo and liberty ships and encountered German sailors from a bombed U-boat. In April of 1945 he was transferred to the USS Boxer (CV-21), working as a machinist’s mate. Tadlock was honorably discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Belt. Belt joined the Navy after earning a master's degree and went to midshipman' school. He earned a commission and reported aboard USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)in May 1943. Belt was aboard when the Tuscaloosa participated in the invasion of France and was at Iwo Jima. He also recalls being off Okinawa. Belt went aboard HMS Duke of York and met Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser one day. He also attended the Japanese Language School and was there when the war ended.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Jesse Copeland. Copeland joined the Navy in June, 1943. In September, Copeland was assigned to USS Haskell (APA-117) as a radio operator. Copeland made the invasion of Luzon in January, 1945 and provided shore to ship radio communication. He did the same at Okinawa. He remained with the Haskell throughout the war and upon returning to the US, was discharged in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Lepinski. Lepinski joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He completed pilot training and graduated in April of 1944. He continued training in a B-26, and traveled to Birmingham, Britain to serve with a replacement crew. They completed several bombing missions. In the summer of 1945 Lepinski was assigned to a B-26 stationed under the Eiffel Tower in Paris during an exposition, demonstrating how they won the war for France. He was discharged in January of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Braddock. Braddock was born 1 February 1919 in Big Spring, Texas. Joining the Navy during May 1942, he took boot training in San Diego. He was assigned to range finding school and describes the training he received. Upon graduation he was assigned to the USS Saufley (DD-465), which went to Guadalcanal in December, 1942. He describes the bombardment of the island. In May 1943 he was sent to several schools for additional training. Braddock was assigned to the USS Franklin (CV-13) in January 1944 and he describes various battles in which he participated. He recalls the ship being subjected to attack and damaged by kamikaze aircraft on 9 October 1944 and 30 October 1944 which resulted in many casualties. He tells of being evacuated to the USS Santa Fe (CL-60). The Franklin returned to Bremerton, Washington for repairs and he was sent to school again. While in school he was notified that the ship was hit by several bombs with over 700 killed.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Mildred Bauman. Bauman’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1923. She was born in Brooklyn, New York in November of 1926. Her family sent her back to Germany to live with her grandparents in Berlin in 1928. Bauman grew up in Germany during the Nazi reign and was 13 years old when World War II began. Being an American citizen, Bauman endured relentless harassment from neighbors and classmates. She vividly describes her experiences growing up and as a young woman in the early 1940s, including forced evacuations, Russians taking over, bombings, concentration camps and casualties. She was sent back to the U.S. in 1946 due to her American citizenship. From the early 1950s to the 1980s Bauman worked for Guaranty Federal in Dallas. She retired to Burnet, Texas. She speaks of desiring to compile her story into a book, though it wasn’t until 2014 that a book came to fruition, titled “Abandoned! The WWII Ordeal of an American Child Living and Surviving from 1928 to 1946 in Hitler’s Nazi Germany”, available at the Burnet County Library.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Les Skelton. Skelton joined the military in July 1942 after being persuaded by his Polish-American college roommate to fight Nazi Germany. Being of Jewish decent and growing up in a small town with some Nazi sympathizers, Skelton was itching to fight. His training was intense, his instructors harassing him midflight to induce combat-level stress. Hoping to become a P-38 pilot, after flight training he was instead assigned to a B-17 crew. As part of the 8th Air Force, he carried out bombing missions in Europe, often targeting railroads and factories. Between July and December 1944, Skelton had 35 missions. His most harrowing experience was navigating antiaircraft fire over Cologne. During one flight, Skelton was shot in the back of his helmet and rendered unconscious. On other missions, he encountered enemy aircraft and could sometimes spot the trails of V-2 rockets. Once, he was faced with an Me-109 flying straight at him, when enemy aircraft’s wings detached, causing the plane to plummet. Skelton returned home and was discharged in the spring of 1945, having earned seven Air Medals.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dave Hollis. Hollis joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942. He had prepared for his aviation cadet examination by taking a class at the Douglas Aircraft Company, where he worked. He received basic training and pre-flight training in Santa Ana. From there he went to Meadows Field for basic flying in the Vultee BT-13 then to Luke Field with the AT-6. Upon completion he was assigned to a B-29 crew but was rotated out due to a shoulder injury. After recovering, he was transferred to the 2nd Air Force flight test center Alamogordo. In June 1945 he was sent overseas and flew nine missions against Kyushu.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Darrow. Darrow joined the Army Air Forces in December of 1942. He completed Electrical Specialist School and B-29 Armament School by 1943. Darrow served with the 73rd Bombardment Wing, 500th Bombardment Group, 883rd Bombardment Squadron as a side gunner aboard a B-29. Beginning in mid-1944, they traveled to Hawaii, Kwajalein, Truk, Iwo Jima and Saipan. They completed their first combat mission against a submarine base at Truk in November. They participated in high altitude raids against industrial targets in Japan through early 1945, and supported landings on Iwo Jima. Darrow was in Saipan when the war ended. He continued serving in the military, completing 28 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Hanna. Hanna was born in Pennsylvania and joined the Marine Corps before his 18th birthday. He had basic training in California and shares a few anecdotes from that time. After he completed training, he was shipped to Pavuvu where he joined the Seventh Marines, First Marine Division. He landed on Okinawa in the eleventh wave ashore and shares many stories about combat. Hanna was eventually wounded by a Japanese hand grenade. When the war ended, Hanna went to China to repatriate Japanese troops to the Home Islands. When Hanna returned home in 1946, he elected to be discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bill Dingfelder. Dingfelder joined the Army Air Forces in July of 1943. He completed Armament School in early 1944, and served as an armorer-gunner aboard a B-17. He was assigned to the 15th Air Force, 97th Bomb Group, 341st Bomb Squadron. By April of 1945, Dingfelder had completed 35 missions over Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Yugoslavia attacking oil refineries, marshalling yards and aircraft factories. He continued his service after the war, receiving his discharge in March of 1952.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Lincoln. Lincoln joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1941. He was assigned to the 82nd Bomb Squadron, 12th Bomb Group. He completed training in military correspondence and typing, and served as the Operations Officer for his squadron. In December, they were transferred to Sacramento, California to assist with war games aboard B-18 bombers. In the spring of 1942, they were transferred to Esler Field in Louisiana. During a physical at Camp Livingston Hospital, Lincoln learned he had a pilonidal cyst. After multiple surgeries on the cyst, he did not return to his squadron until 1944. He was assigned to Santa Ana Army Air Base, and completed Flexible Gunnery School, graduating in February of 1945, he served as a bombardier aboard B-29s with the 19th Bombardment Group. They were transferred to Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas, and went to pick up a new B-29 in Seattle, but the war ended. Lincoln continued his service and retired in 1964.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lawrence Barrett. Barrett joined the Marine Corps in December of 1943. He served as an aerial gunner, combat cameraman and ground and motion picture photographer. Barrett worked as a combat aircrewman with Marine Air Group 32 in the Pacific and the Philippines, completing 25 combat missions by 1945. After the war ended, he served with the occupation forces in Tsingtao, North China. He returned to the US and was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vernon Grim. Grim joined the Army Air Forces in June of 1942. He volunteered as a glider pilot, and trained for one year in Pittsburgh, Kansas. He was then selected to train as an aviation cadet, and served as a B-17 pilot. In March of 1944 he deployed to England. He joined the 92nd Bombardment Group, 407th Bombardment Squadron. He completed 32 missions, including support operations for the Normandy invasion, the Battle of Saint-Lô and advancing ground troops into Germany. Grim returned to the US in October of 1944. He was assigned to Laredo, Texas to fly for the Frangible Bullet Project, and also served as a military surplus officer. Grim continued his service after the war, receiving a discharge in November of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Freeman. Freeman was born in Chapman, Kansas on 5 September 1922. Upon enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was sent to Maxwell Air Force Base, Georgia for basic training. He tells the various training planes he flew prior to receiving his commission. Upon graduation he was sent to Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington where he began on the job training as the co-pilot of a B-17 bomber. Freeman recalls his various assignments until December 1943 when he reported to Cannon Army Air Base, Clovis, New Mexico for transitional training in the B-29 bomber. Upon completion of training he was assigned to the Air Transport Command and began flying planes to India. Following the Japanese surrender, he returned to the United States where he began flying weather mapping missions. This was followed by assignment in the Pacific where he flew geographical mapping missions. Freeman concludes the interview by telling of his life after being discharged in January 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Leiby. Leiby was born in Pennsylvania in 1923 and worked in a defense plant after finishing high school in 1941. in 1942, he passed the aviation cadet exam and was called up for active duty in January, 1943. He trained as a navigator at Selman Field, Louisiana for eight months before flying a new B-17 to North Africa. From there, Leiby went to Forge, Italy to join the 99th Bomb Group. He was shot down on his 39th mission and captured by the Germans in Italy in April 1944. In early 1945, Leiby was transfered to a POW camp near Nuremburg. From there, he was marched to Moosburg. During the march, he attempted escape, but was recaptured. After being liberated, Leiby returned to the US and attended an intelligence school. He also served in a military police unit in Massachusetts. He eventually attended Georgetown University and stayed in the inactive reserves. Leiby eventually made his way into the Foreign Service where he went to Vietnam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Schaefer. Schaefer was 11 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked. While in high school, Schaefer worked part-time and contributed the entirety of his wages to the household. He accumulated war savings stamps, participated in bond drives, and collected scrap metal to support the war effort. His family supplemented their meat rations by raising rabbits. In 1950, he joined the Air Force, with a professional background in photography. He reported to the Wright-Patterson Motion Picture Department in Dayton, Ohio. In 1951, as part of a national effort to deploy combat camera teams worldwide, he was assigned to the newly formed Air Photographic and Charting Service and sent to Germany to conduct photographic surveillance of the occupation and rehabilitation of Europe. In 1957, he became a photographer for the DOD and the White House. During the course of his career, he filmed historic figures such as General de Gaulle and President Kennedy. In Vietnam, he couriered classified material into Saigon, receiving a Purple Heart after taking fragments from a grenade. Schaefer was then promoted to oversee all out-of-country photography and worked on the film, A Day in the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Hardin. He was born in Brock, Texas 25 December 1921. His three other brothers served in the military during World War II. Two were killed in action. After graduating from Howard Payne College at Brownwood, Texas, Hardin entered the Naval Officer’s Candidate School program and was sent to Columbia University for sixteen weeks of training. Upon being commissioned, he was sent to San Diego for small boat training. While there he saw several USO shows danced with Marilyn Monroe. Upon completion of small boat training, he was sent to Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the USS White Marsh (LSD-8). After the invasion of Iwo Jima, he was transferred into Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) 17. He describes the intensity of the UDT training. Based on Guam, Hardin’s team participated in the invasion of Okinawa. During the operation, a close friend and team member was killed. While on Saipan, he witnessed the loading of the first atomic bomb that was dropped over Japan. While based on Guam, he was designated as a mail censor. Following the surrender of Japan, he returned to San Francisco and assisted sailors to …