The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dag Larsen. Larsen volunteered to join the US Army Air Forces in October, 1942 and trained in New Jersey. He qualified to become a navigator and trained in Alabama, where he earned a commission. He flew 47 combat missions in B-24s against oil fields in Borneo, the Japanese naval base at Truk, the Philippines and other targets. Larsen returned from the Pacific in August, 1945. He stayed in the service after the war and served as a navigator for the Strategic Air Command and flew on B-29s, B-36s and B-52s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Louis Justin. Justin volunteered for service in the Army Air Forces in March, 1943 and took the photography course in Denver. He went overseas to Tinian in November, 1944 where he worked in the photo lab developing images. On Tinian, he developed the film from the Enola Gay. After the war, Young returned to the US in January and received his discharge in February. Justin has some help during the interview from his daughter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Francis McArdle. McArdle was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania on 4 June 1925. Upon joining the Navy in 1943, he was sent to Sampson, New York for boot training. He then went to Quincy, Massachusetts where he was assigned aboard the USS Quincy (CA-71) as a carpenters mate. He recalls a visit to the ship by General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to the invasion of Normandy. He describes the carnage on Utah Beach and picking up the dead out of the water and putting them into the ships refrigeration units. After participating in the invasion of Southern France, the ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia. Relating that certain modifications were made to the ship, he tells of President Franklin D. Roosevelt being brought aboard accompanied by his daughter Ann Roosevelt Bettinger for a trip to the Yalta Conference and remembers a personal encounter he had with the President. He also recalls Winston Churchill coming on board and comments on his demeanor. After returning the President to Norfolk, the Quincy joined the Pacific Fleet in 1945 and participated in a number of island invasions. McArdle describes the compliment of ships gathered …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fern Ward. Ward was born in Wausa, Nebraska on 16 January 1923. She grew up during the Great Depression years. Soon after joining the Navy (WAVES) in 1944, she was sent to Hunter College, Bronx, New York for six weeks of basic training. She was then sent to Indiana University in Bloomington where she studied bookkeeping for six weeks. Upon graduating she was classified as a Storekeeper 3rd Class and sent to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, California. She tells of the work she did and comments on the living conditions there. Ward concludes the interview by telling of her life following her discharge in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Larry Kiggins. Kiggins recalls his experiences through the Great Depression. He joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served as a deckhand aboard the USS Jefferson County (USS LST-845). They traveled to Hawaii in March of 1945 to unload cargo and complete amphibious training operations. In late 1945, they supported occupation landings on Japan and the Philippines. Kiggins continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in mid-1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Julian Allen Roadman. Roadman joined the Army Air Forces in the Fall of 1942. He served as a B-17G Aircraft Commander with the 401st Bomb Group, 612th Bomb Squadron. They deployed to England in late 1943. He completed 34 bombing missions over Germany, including tactical missions during the Battle of the Bulge. Roadman continued his service after the war, retiring from the Reserves in 1983.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rocelia Madison. Madison joined the WAVES in December 1943. She received basic training in New York and attended machinist school in Oklahoma. Upon completion, she was assigned to Corpus Christi, where she worked as an aviation machinist’s mate, servicing mostly PBMs and the occasional PBY. She got along well with her crewmates and received equal pay to the men. She married a sailor, Joe Wesley Harmon, and the two were discharged together. They bought their first house and attended school on the GI Bill, and Madison ran her own business for 30 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernice Pratt. Pratt learned sheet metal working at a National Youth Association school and was given a job repairing PBY seaplanes at Corpus Christi. She later joined the Army and received basic training in Georgia. Upon completion, she was assigned to Kelly Field, chauffeuring officers, running errands, and filing paperwork. She was transferred to Maxwell Air Force Base and became a pitcher on their competitive softball team. Pratt married a soldier; they were discharged together and started a family in 1949.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Green. Green joined the Navy in December of 1944. Beginning March of 1945, he served as a Fireman aboard the USS Nashville (CL-43). They provided support for the landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo. In September they traveled to the Philippines, where they were stationed when the war ended. They transported troops back to the US, where Green was discharged in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Lemond. Lemond was born in Tahoka, Texas on 6 November 1923. After enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was accepted into the pilot training program. Upon completing the various phases of training at different bases, he was sent to Ardmore, Oklahoma where he joined a B-17 crew as a co-pilot. After being assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron the crew flew a new B-17 to England. Lemond recalls in detail a mission over Augsburg, Germany in March 1944 in which his aircraft had a midair collision with another B-17. Only he and another crew member survived. He was befriended by members of the French Underground until he and a RAF crewman were exposed by a traitor. He comments about the treatment he received from members of the German Gestapo while imprisoned in the Fresnes, Val de-Marn prison. As American forces neared his place of imprisonment, his captors left and he walked out of the prison. Lemond was picked up by American forces and taken to Paris where he was debriefed before he returned to England and rejoined his unit. Soon thereafter, he returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Ley. Ley was born in Joliet, Illinois in 1925. When he completed boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, he then trained as a radio operator. In April 1943 he completed his training and was assigned to the USS Murphy (DD-603). In March 1944 they took on provisions and sailed to Londonderry, England. On 5 June 1944 the ship put to sea to lay a smoke screen during the Normandy landings. On D-Day, the ship was stationed off Omaha Beach and Ley saw masses of dead and wounded. He also saw the Army Rangers assaulting the cliffs of Point du Hoc, France. Ten days after the Normandy invasion, the Murphy returned to England for resupply. On 26 June they accompanied the USS Texas (BB-35) and participated in the bombardment of Cherbourg. Returning to England the ship took on a cargo of artillery shells affixed with a proximity fuse for delivery to Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria where Allied forces were gathering in preparation for Operation Dragoon. Ley describes picking up three German Luftwaffe personnel at sea. In 1945, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia came aboard to meet …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Sharkey. Sharkey joined the Navy and served in a mobile antiaircraft unit at Pearl Harbor. He served at CINCPAC headquarters at Pearl Harbor.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Golson. Golson joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and trained at San Diego. Once overseas, he was assigned as a 60mm mortar man in the 4th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division. He was with them during the invasion of Guam. Golson describes some of the conditions of battle and his experiences in combat at Okinawa. He also shares anecdotes about occupation duty in Yokosuka before being discharged from the Marines in April, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Travis Smith. Smith joined the Army Air Forces in September 1942. He qualified as a pilot trainee and began training in San Antonio. In May, 1944, he graduated and received his commission. Smith went overseas to the Philippines, arriving in March, 1945. Later, he moved to Okinawa and flew bomber escort for bombing missions to China and Japan. He flew over 50 combat missions before the war ended and then went to japan on occupation duty. Smith was discharged in 1946, but stayed in the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Emmett Gumm. Gumm received an appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy and, upon graduating, elected to go into the US Navy in early 1944 as an ensign. He was assigned to USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703) as an engineering officer. His destroyer was attached to Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet and screened the carriers. He also recalls picket duty off Okinawa and being present in Tokyo Bay during the surrender ceremony. Gumm chose not to stay in the Navy after the war and was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Maurice Penick. Penick joined the Navy in 1943. He completed Radio Operator and Submarine Schools by mid-1945. He was stationed at a submarine base on Mare Island in California, and had not yet been assigned to a submarine when the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6. Penick assisted in decommissioning the USS Hammerhead (SS-364). He worked in the ship’s company on the base through his discharge in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robin Meece. Meece was born in Middletown, Ohio on 7 October 1926. When called into the Navy in 1944, he went to the San Diego Naval Training Station for boot training. Upon completion of boot training, he was assigned to the USS Mobile (CL-63) for on-the-job training (striker) as a radar operator. He briefly describes his job and several actions in which the ship was involved. After the surrender of Japan, he was a member of the occupation forces and discovered a cave with eight Japanese submarines hidden in it. He also went to a prisoner of war camp to aid in the release of the Allied POWs. In January 1946 the Mobile went to Seattle, where it was decommissioned. Meece was assigned to shore patrol duties upon his return to the US and served in this capacity until his discharge in 1946. He concludes the interview telling of his employment as an electrical engineer with Rockwell/Boeing, working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after receiving a college degree through the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joe Camp Pearce. Pearce joined the Navy in November of 1944. He served as an instructor on the Link Trainer and radio navigation in Atlanta, Georgia and Pensacola, Florida. Pearce did not go overseas, though remained an instructor for the duration of the war. He received a discharge in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bobby Dee Williams. Williams joined the Navy and upon completion of basic training was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), in May 1945. As a yeoman striker, he was responsible for maintaining personnel records and issuing liberty cards. He also recorded the proceedings of captain's masts. Williams printed out the plan of the day and delivered it all over the expansive ship, and through that he befriended and was able to curry favor from cooks and storekeepers. When the ship was struck by a torpedo at Okinawa, the yeomen barely felt the impact and went on with their normal duties. When his father fell ill in April 1946, Williams received a hardship discharge. He was recalled to active duty from the reserves for the Korean War, serving aboard PCE-846 in the Caribbean.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Randolph Bonney. Bonney joined the Navy in August of 1941. He trained as a pilot, including qualifying for carrier landings on Lake Michigan. Bonney also completed advanced instrument training in Corpus Christi, Texas. He served as an advanced flight and instrument instructor through the end of the war. Bonney served 23 years in the Navy working as a pilot, and also served 43 years as a reserve.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Ray. Ray was born 12 July 1923. He joined the Marine Corps in July of 1942. In late 1942, he traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii aboard USS Henderson (AP-1), and was assigned to the 6th Defense Battalion on Midway. He was in charge of a 90mm anti-aircraft gun on Sand Island. Ray was on the island through late 1944, and shares details of his time and life on the island. He was then transferred back to Parris Island, South Carolina, and served as a drill instructor until the end of the war. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bernice Harriet Wallis George. George served with the US Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) beginning October of 1942. She was trained for a highly secret project designed to crack the German Enigma encryption. She then was assigned to Washington, DC, where she worked on the prototype decryption devices called bombes. George continued her work through December of 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gene Roush Jerabek. Ms. Jerabek was born 12 December 1917, graduated from high school in 1935 in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, and earned her Nursing Certificate at Jefferson Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia. She joined the US Army Nurse Corps in September 1941, serving in North Africa and Italy. She married Lieutenant George Jerabek on 1 June 1944 in Naples, Italy. She returned home in the spring of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Horace Edwards. Edwards joined the Army Air Forces in February 1943. He received basic training at Sheppard Field, radio training at Harlingen, and aerial gunnery training in Sioux Falls. He completed his training as a B-24 radio operator gunner in Holyoke. He was transferred to Godman Field, where he served as a B-25 radio instructor to the Tuskegee Airmen. Towards the end of the war, he was stationed at Columbia Army Air Base as part of a ground control approach unit, helping pilots learn to land blind in preparation for poor weather and blackouts. Edwards returned home and was discharged in 1945. He remembers V-J Day as a time of celebration in crowded streets.