Interview with Dr. Peter Almond talking about the history radiation therapy. He outlines the various treatments including the x-ray, cobolt-60, betatron, magnetron, klystron and cyclotron. He also talks about the emerging field of proton therapy. He also describes the early history of radiotherapy at MD Anderson especially under the direction of Drs. Gilbert Fletcher and Leonard Grimmet.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Franke. Franke joined the Navy in December of 1942. He completed radio, radar and gunnery school. He first trained in an ABX with hand-crank antennas. He later traveled to Florida to train in the Grumman TBF Avengers. In February of 1944 he volunteered for night flying in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. His unit practiced night flying to and from the USS Independence (CVL-22). They also completed anti-submarine patrol missions. In 1944 they participated in the Palau and Philippine operations, supporting landings at Angaur Island, Mindanao and Luzon. Franke shares his experiences over Formosa of a battle between the night fighters and some Japanese bombers. They also covered landings at Lingayen and Leyte gulfs. After their outfit was broken up, he started a training group in Vero Beach, Florida.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ollie Schaetter. Schaetter shares some of his family history of their funeral home in Fredericksburg, Texas. He joined the Navy in December of 1943. In California he worked in the Chief Master at Arms office on the US Navy Hospital staff. Beginning in December of 1944 he served as Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd Class aboard the USS Goshen (APA-108). They traveled to the Marshall Islands, Okinawa and Guadalcanal. He worked for 6 months in the surgery department in the Philippines. He was discharged in April of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dorothy Davis Thompson. Thompson was born in Shanghai and graduated high school there in 1935. In 1937, when the Japanese invaded Shanghai she was at Columbia University in New York learning nursing. Her family fled to Manila. When she graduated in 1940, she went to be with her parents in the Philippines. She got a job as a Civil Service nurse in the obstetrics ward at Sternberg Army Hospital, met her fiancee there, and was working there when the Japanese invaded Luzon. Her fiancee was soon fighting on Bataan. She received some notes from him from Cabanatuan but never saw him again. (Don Childers was killed as a POW while en route to Japan aboard a hell ship that was torpedoed by a US submarine.) Thompson then describes caring for wounded and injured in the hospital until she was captured by the Japanese and removed with her father, mother and sister to the internment camp at Santo Tomas in January, 1942. Thompson speaks about the conditions inside Santo Tomas in the early days and how the Japanese had not been prepared to provide for civilian internees. She describes …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Cook. Cook joined the Navy in November of 1939, and completed submarine school. Beginning April of 1942, he served as a fireman aboard the USS Silversides (SS-236). He traveled to Japan and Truk participating in 2 successful war patrols. From November of 1944 through April of 1945 he was assigned to the USS Flasher (SS-249), traveling to the South China Sea and completing war patrols five and six, sinking two Japanese destroyers, Kishinami and Iwanami. After the war ended, Cook enlisted in the Army, when he was discharged as Chief Petty Officer in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Cullen. Cullen joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. In September he was assigned to the 90th Airdrome Squadron. In early 1944 they traveled to North Africa, through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Arabian Sea aboard HMHS Chantilly (63). He traveled into Upper Assam Valley and later into Jorhat, India, working in a message center at the base headquarters as a teletype repairman. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Long. Long joined the Navy on 10 December 1941. He completed boot camp and traveled to Pearl Harbor in January of 1942, where he worked at a submarine base, served guard duty and completed further training. He served as a Watertender 3rd Class aboard the USS Hinsdale (APA-120) beginning October of 1944. In February of 1945 they participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima, embarking and disembarking troops and valuable cargo, and serving as an auxiliary hospital ship. Beginning in April 1945, they participated in the Battle of Okinawa, though received a hit by a kamikaze airplane. Long was in the fire room at the time of the attack. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Riggs. Riggs joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1942. He completed Weather, Forecaster and Observer schooling by the spring of 1944. He served as a weather forecaster in the 12th Weather Squadron stationed in North Africa and Italy. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willie Ray Snow. Snow joined the Navy in May of 1943. He served as a Radio Technician Second Class, then a Petty Officer. In August of 1944 he traveled to New Guinea and Australia, and in January of 1945 he boarded the USS Flasher (SS-249). Snow participated in her sixth war patrol along the coast of Indochina. In February they sank a sea truck and a cargo ship with torpedoes. They completed patrols in April. Snow was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Whymark. Whymark begins with discussing witnessing the Battle for Britain as he was a teenager living in a rural community outside London. When he was seventeen, he joined the Royal Marines and trained at Chatham in 1943. After training, he boarded a ship bound for Sri Lanka and more training. Upon completion of jungle training in Sri Lanka, Whymark was assigned to HMS Illustrious, an aircraft carrier assigned to raiding the Japanese installations on Java and Sumatra. In 1944, Illustrious joined the US Navy Task Force 57 and attacked targets on Formosa and Okinawa. Whymark describes the kamikaze attack on Illustrious that he witnessed. Whymark was reassigned from Illustrious to HMS Swiftsure (08), a cruiser. When the war ended, Whymark went to Hong Kong and Shanghai aboard Swiftsure. He also shares stories about the time he spent on occupation duty at the British Embassy in Tokyo after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sid Yawn. Born in 1924, Yawn graduated from high school in 1941 with the intention of playing professional baseball. He describes learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor and enlisting in the Navy in 1942 despite being underage. After attending Storekeeper?s School, he was assigned to CUB 9 which was tasked with setting up supply bases for Marines on Guadalcanal. He was a Storekeeper First Class. His unit was part of the first wave to land on the Treasury Islands as part of a diversionary force. He describes the landing, the operation of the supply base, and the living conditions. He was sent to Camp Peary, Virginia in 1944 where he played on the baseball team. He shares anecdotes about being issued Marine uniforms; soldiers building a still; his injuries from coral during a surprise air attack; operating a base movie theater; and contacting other soldiers after the war. At the end of the war, he signed a contract with the Yankees baseball team.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Burks. Burks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 17 January 1923. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended the University of Oklahoma until October 1942, at which time he joined the US Army Air Forces. He began a pilot training program, but the Army terminated it. In August 1943, he underwent basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas for twelve weeks. In November, he went to gunnery school at Laredo Air Field in Texas. He was then sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to a B-24 crew as the ball turret gunner. In April 1944 the crew flew to Wheeler Field, Hawaii where they underwent advanced training with the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, 7th Air Force. In September 1944 they moved to Kwajalein where they participated in bombing missions over Truk and Wake Islands. During October 1944 they moved to Guam where they flew forty missions over various islands including seventeen missions over Iwo Jima in preparation for the invasion. Burks relates his personal experience of capturing a Japanese soldier while on Guam. He returned to the United States in March …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Darl Good. Good volunteered for service in the Army, enlisting in January, 1941. Good trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He also attended a clerical school and worked in the headquarters at Fort Knox making sure the armored divisions had spare parts for their vehicles. After a few years there and promotion to warrant officer, Good transferred to the 918th Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company where he learned to drive a variety of vehicles (tanks, jeeps, trucks, etc.). They shipped over to England in 1944 and eventually set up an auto parts warehouse in Brussels. Good returned to the US and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jerry Lewis. Lewis was born in Diamond, Missouri 18 February 1925. At sixteen he joined the Navy and trained at San Diego. He then attended radio school, after which he was assigned to the USS Frankford (DD-497). In June 1943 the ship traveled through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Virginia. He recalls participating in convoy duty to Casablanca. He recalls relying on a tank as a fire control director during Operation Overlord. In October 1944, the ship returned to the United States and Lewis was transferred to the USS Harding (DMS-28). After the crew was trained in the use of mine sweeping gear the Harding sailed to Pearl Harbor. During March 1945, they sailed to Ulithi where they joined Task Force 58. After participating in mine sweeping operations during the invasion of Okinawa the ship was assigned to picket duty. The ship, damaged by a bomb from a kamikaze, was taken to Kerama Retto Island for repair. Lewis recalls having armed sentries on board at night to repel efforts by Japanese soldiers to board anchored ships. Returning to the United States, Lewis entered flight training at Norman, Oklahoma. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Raymond. Raymond joined the Navy in 1940. He was sent to the USS New York (BB-34) where he started as a deck seaman and became a quartermaster. Raymond describes the duties of a quartermaster in the Navy. He was then sent to the USS Biloxi (CL-80) and took part in the commissioning. Raymond went to the Pacific and describes the types of missions the Biloxi performed and the armament of the ship. He discusses his ship being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa and how the repairs were made. Raymond also describes the refueling process and how the lack of fuel contributed to the loss of a destroyer during a typhoon. Raymond mentions seeing the damage at Nagasaki and evacuating POWs. He retired from the Navy in 1960.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Kewley. Kewley joined the Navy in September of 1941. He completed Electric Hydraulic and Advanced Gunnery School. He served aboard the USS Richmond (CL-9). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Richmond escorted transport ships carrying troops to the South Pacific. In 1942, they were instrumental in driving the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands. Kewley recounts his experiences through the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in March of 1943. In mid-1943, he was assigned to the Officer Messenger Mail Center in the Marshall Islands. He was discharged in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with L.T. Tracy. Tracy completed Machinist School prior to entering the service. Tracy joined the Navy in December of 1940 and immediately went aboard the USS Lexington (CV-2). He participated as a gunner in the Battle of the Coral Sea. His spine was injured during this battle. In late 1942 Tracy was assigned to the USS Nevada (BB-36). They participated in the invasions of Attu and Kiska, as well as supporting the Normandy and Marseilles landings. Tracy was then transferred to the USS Texas (BB-35). They provided gunfire support during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was discharged for medical reasons in January of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob Campaign. Campaign joined the Navy in March 1943 and attended the University of Iowa for pre-flight training. He describes a training device consisting of a mock cockpit that would be flipped over and lowered into a swimming pool, giving pilots a chance to practice releasing their harnesses while hanging upside down, submerged in water. He finished his training at Corpus Christi and Fort Lauderdale, transitioning into combat airplanes. He was then assigned to VT-15 aboard the USS Hornet (CV-12). After the shakedown cruise, Campaign was transferred to VF-79 as a night fighter pilot aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Margaret Gardner. Gardner married Russell Emmett Edwards on 2 November 1943. Edwards joined the Navy in 1941. Gardner provides some details of Edwards’ flight training in Florida, where he was selected for a night fighter squadron. He completed additional training in Charleston, Rhode Island aboard the Grumman F6F Hellcats. Gardner notes the various places she and Edwards lived while he was training in Florida and Rhode Island. She also provides some details of their pending wedding date, which policy implored must take place after Edwards received his wings. Edwards completed his flying missions from aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) and was killed in action 6 January 1945. Gardner provides details of how she learned of Edwards death. She attended 28 of the CVLG 41 VF-41 reunions over the last 58 years to maintain contact with Edwards’ crew members she had met during his flight training days.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ben Howden. Howden joined the Navy in 1942. He received preliminary flight training Wisconsin and Iowa and further training in Corpus Christi, Melbourne, and Vero Beach. Upon completion, he was assigned to VF(N)-106 and then transferred to a squadron aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22). He performed combat air patrols and anti-submarine patrols for three months in the Philippines. Howden traveled through a typhoon during his return to the States and was discharged when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rubin Peterson. Peterson joined the Navy in June 1942 and received training at Iowa State College and the University of Georgia. He received training in instrument flying at Whiting Field and formation flying at Barron Field. Upon completion of dive bomber training in DeLand, he was assigned to a night fighter squadron aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22). On his first mission, he shot down a Betty bomber at Palau. He then bombed freighters near Leyte amidst antiaircraft fire. On his night missions, he used the 40-mile range of his radar to close in on planes until he had a visual on them. At the end of his tour, he witnessed a destroyer sunk by a typhoon. Peterson returned to the States in February 1945 and instructed pilots on using radar until he was discharged at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jim Scanlon. Scanlon joined the Navy in November of 1942. He served as an aviation radio technician with the VF-41 Night Fighter Squadron. Scanlon provides vivid details of his training, and how he was involved with his missions. Scanlon was one of eleven radio technicians. They oversaw 25 airplanes in their squadron. He then served aboard the USS Hancock (CV-19) beginning November of 1944. Upon returning to the United States in October of 1945, he was assigned to the Naval Air Station in Klamath Falls, Oregon. His discharge date is not noted.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jesse T. Barker. Barker joined the Navy and entered the V-5 Naval Aviation Program in April 1941. Completing his training at Pensacola in September, he received his wings and commission. Upon arriving in San Diego, he was assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and traveled to Pearl Harbor. After additional training, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-5) and participated in the invasion of Guadalcanal. A group of twelve pilots were temporarily assigned to Henderson Field and Barker describes missions he flew. He recalls harassment by a Japanese plane called Washing Machine Charlie. Returning to the US he reported to the Vero Beach, Florida Naval Air Station to serve as a dive bomber instructor. After serving there for one year he volunteered for night fighter training and was sent to Quonset Point, Rhode Island. He describes the procedure of using radar in flying night missions. After six months of training he went to Pearl Harbor where he underwent advanced training. He was then assigned to the USS Independence (CVL-22) and relates his experiences during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was then transferred to the USS Intrepid …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arden E. ""Scotty"" Kersey. Kersey was attending the University of Nebraska when he entered the V-12 program. Upon learning to fly, Kersey elected to go into the Marine Corps. Prior to entering the service, Kersey learned to fly through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He also discusses flight training and the various aircraft he flew. He trained at Cherry Point, North Carolina until January, 1944, when he shipped to California in anticipation of going overseas. Kersey was attached to VMF-313 as part of Marine Air Group 12. They continued traineing on Hawaii before going to Midway Island in April, 1944 for more training. In August, VMF-313 boarded the USS Altamaha (CVE-18) and headed for the Solomon Islands. Their first combat missions were flying as escorts for bombers attacking Rabaul and other targets. He mentions a brief R&R in Australia. He also recalls combat flights in the Philippines and destroying an enemy convoy. Kersey flew 79 combat missions in the Pacific before returning to the US for some ferrying duty prior to being discharged.