A guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J.C. Alston. Alston joined the Navy in August, 1941. He eventually reported aboard the USS California (BB-44) and served in the number 2 turret. Alston describes being present aboard the California when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, Alston stayed with the California repairing and refurbishing her. Alston was aboard for the in Leyte invasion in the Philippines and describes watching some of the action at Iwo Jima. Alston also speaks about life aboard the California during the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Earl Archer. Archer was born in Medaryville, Indiana on 10 December 1916. Quitting school after the ninth grade, he worked at various jobs until being drafted into the Army in September 1942. After completing basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, he was sent to Camp Clipper, California where he joined Company F, 123rd Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division. In 1943 the unit went to Hawaii where they had amphibious training. Boarding the SS Lurline, the division went to Finchhafen, New Guinea where they spent three months of dock duty. Then they went to Maffin Bay, New Guinea where they performed patrols. The regiment then went to Luzon, Philippine Islands where Archer was the leader of a light machine gun squad. He tells of various combat situations in which they were involved and tells of a night attack made by the Japanese forces. He was in a rest camp when Japan surrendered and his unit was sent to Takarazuka, Japan as part of the occupation forces. Archer describes some of the inter-action he had with Japanese civilians. He returned to the United States 21 December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford Ashby. Ashby was born in Effingham, Illinois on 11 June 1925. He became interested in amateur radio while in high school and joined the Merchant Marines in 1943. After passing tests related to radio operations he was assigned to the liberty ship, SS James B. Francis (1942) as a radio operator. He tells of the ship loaded with ammunition sitting in the harbor at Guadalcanal with hoses pumping water on the deck to keep it cool. He also observed Japanese air raids over the island of Morotai. Ashby’s ship also participated in the invasion of Luzon. Later, he was assigned to the SS Benjamin Grierson commenting on the excellent food served aboard Liberty ships. He comments on the excellent wages paid to Merchant seaman and the fact that the pay was doubled when the ship was within a war zone. He tells of the SS Grierson setting at Ulithi with 40 other merchant ships for three months following the Japanese surrender. After leaving the Merchant Marine he attended various colleges and he comments on his career prior to retirement.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arlos L. ""Curly"" Awalt. Curly was drafted into the Army shortly after he finished high school in August, 1944. After basic training, Curly describes getting overseas to Europe. He was shipped to England then sent to France before being assigned to a unit. Once he was in France, he was attached to a heavy mortar section in H Company, 2nd Battalion, 424th Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. Curly arrived as a replacement in the 10th ID during the Battle of the Bulge. Curly mentions the conditions and describes his activities. He also speaks about the death and burial of General George Patton. When the war ended, Curly worked in a displaced persons / prisoner of war camp sorting through the people and returning them to their homes. Curly finishes by speaking about awards he finally received from the Belgian government 60 years after the war ended and some of his experiences speaking as a veteran with local school children in Fredericksburg, Texas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Bailey. Bailey was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 16 February 1922 and graduated from high school in Waco, Texas in 1940. After attending Texas A&M for one year, he enlisted in the Army. He went to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas for basic training. While there, he was recruited by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to participate in an internal security program. Following basic entered the Corps of Engineers Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. On 2 February 1943 he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 386th Engineer Battalion, an African American unit stationed at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. In 1943, the battalion boarded the SS Louis Pasteur and sailed to Casablanca where they cleaned up the dock area to facilitate unloading cargo. He tells of the unit traveling by rail to Iran. Soon after arriving in Iran the battalion sailed to Naples, Italy. His platoon was sent to Anzio and assigned the task of removing land mines. Three of his men were lost while doing this job. He was assigned to oversee the construction of the largest Butler Building ever …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with R A Barbezat. Barbazet joined the Navy in 1939. He served as a second-class fireman aboard USS California (BB-44). They were moored on the southern side of Ford Island, the southernmost ship along Battleship Row when the Japanese attack occurred. Barbezat later served aboard USS Astoria (CA-34) until it was sunk during the Battle of Savo Island in August of 1942. He then served two years aboard USS Coral Sea (CVE-57). They completed naval operations supporting attacks on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Barbezat returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J.M. Barclay. Barcaly was born in Broadus, Texas 12 September 1923. Upon joining the Navy in 1941 he went to San Diego for boot camp. He then was assigned to the USS Utah (BB-31) as a helmsman. The ship was at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and Barclay recalls observing Japanese planes attacking the fleet and a bomb hitting the Utah. He abandoned ship and tells of Japanese planes strafing men in the water. He assisted in recovering bodies of sailors from the USS Arizona (BB-39). Later in the evening, among a group of sailors resting on an oil tanker, Barclay’s group was subjected to friendly fire, resulting in casualties. For several weeks before the attack, Barclay recalls seeing a foreign submarine on the surface near the ship on a daily basis. He would report the sighting to the captain but no action was taken. In early 1942 he was transferred to the USS Honolulu (CL-48). He recounts several battles and recalls the Honolulu having forty feet of her bow blown off by a torpedo. After a short period of shore duty Barclay was transferred to the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jerold Barnes. Barnes joined the Coast Guard in September of 1940. He recalls serving aboard one of the ships that was turned over to the English during the Lend-Lease program in 1941. He remained aboard his ship to help train the English crew. Barnes was present in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He completed Officer’s Training School at the Coast Guard Academy. He later served aboard the USS Shoshone (AKA-65), providing air and sea rescue services. He returned to the US and was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Barton. Barton joined the Navy and was trained as a radioman. He became a crewman on an Avenger torpedo bomber in October 1943. Barton flew off of the USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and the USS Tripoli (CVE-64) and performed anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. He describes how depth charges were dropped, the armament of the plane, and how they were trained to skip-bomb. Barton was then sent to the Pacific where he flew off of the USS Anzio (CVE-57) for the remainder of the war. He describes an incident where his plane had a failed landing and ended upside-down in the water. Barton had to break some glass in the cockpit to escape. He flew ground support missions over Okinawa. Barton discusses how the radio and radar functioned on his plane. He was discharged several months after the surrender.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Warren Bateman. Bateman joined the Navy in October of 1942. He went to Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp. From there he went to Miami, Florida as Third Class Storekeeper. He was then assigned to the USS PC-1126 that was being built in Bay City, Michigan. In 1943 his crew escorted a convoy from Miami to Panama, then to San Diego where he was transferred to the USS Roberts (DE-749). In January 1944 he went to midshipman’s school at Northwestern in Chicago and received his commission as ensign in May 1944. From January through December 1945 Bateman served on Fleet Admiral Nimitz’s CINCPAC staff detachment on Guam. He was one of three ensigns serving as Nimitz’s censors. He served as Chief Censor and Education Officer. He had personal contact with Admiral Nimitz and provides detail of his interactions with him. He later became a Intelligence Officer serving 20 years in the Navy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Beard. He was born in 1924. In 1943, he joined the United States Army Air Forces. Upon completing basic training, he underwent pilot training and became a B-24 pilot. After spending time in Panama, he was sent to New Guinea where he underwent jungle training. He then went to Clark Field, Philippine Islands. There he flew missions over Japan and he tells of seeing smoke residue from the atomic bomb blast. Beard returned to the US after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Beck. Beck was drafted into the Army in September, 1943 and went to basic training in Missouri. From there, he went to a trade school in New York to become an electrician. His first assignment was in the Aleutian Islands at Amchitka where he worked as an electrician rigging wiring and working on poles. He also went to Attu and helped build a landing strip on Shemya Island before returning to the US and being discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Bell. Bell finished college at Texas Tech before joining the Army Air Forces in 1942. He was commissioned and sent to India where he joined the 341st Bomb Group as an engineer officer. He shares several anecdotes about his experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Bicknell. Bicknell was drafted by the Army in December of 1942. He served with the 5th Armored Division and was sent to Europe where he drove an ammunition truck for the tanks. He provides details of his training and describes the light tanks they used. In February of 1944 they traveled to England and were attached to Patton’s 3rd Army. They landed on Utah Beach in July of 1944, and traveled through France and the southern part of Belgium, where he participated in the liberation of Luxemburg. Bicknell provides details of his experiences, including running from his ammunition truck when it was struck by a shell and enduring numerous attacks and casualties of fellow servicemen. Bicknell served 3 years with the 5th Armored Division. Bicknell was discharged in October of 1945.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernadine Bircher. Bircher was working as a psychiatric nurse in October 1943 when she joined the Army Nurse Corps. Upon completion of basic and specialized training, she deployed in June 1944 to a station hospital in Holland. Her unit was short on anesthetists, so Bircher volunteered, despite having no specific training. Nurses and doctors at the adjacent operating tables assisted Bircher with her first patients, and she began assisting an orthopedic surgeon. Casualties arrived from the Battle of the Bulge, often presenting with self-inflicted wounds in a desperate attempt to get off the front lines, requiring amputation and debridement. When the hospital's mess hall was bombed, glass shattered everywhere, resulting in several enucleation procedures. After serving in several mobile units, Bircher returned home in December 1945 and was discharged, returning to her work as a psychiatric nurse.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Betty Blalock. Blalock joined the Navy in 1945 and received basic training in Yonkers. She was assigned to the hospital corps and sent to the amputee ward at Quantico. Once a day, an airplane would arrive with amputees whom Blalock would visit and encourage. She remembers them as having good morale. After the war, she was discharged and married a tech sergeant, Hugh Blalock, who went on to serve in the Air Force for 30 years. She and her husband spent 10 years with Air America in Laos, Saigon, and Bangkok. While there she opened three kindergartens, taking a 12-hour train, a bicycle ride, and a boat taxi twice each week to teach classes. Blalock says that she’s led an interesting life and has gone around the world about five times.

Guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charlie Boswell. After boot training in San Diego, he was assigned to the USS Tennessee in April 1941. The Tennessee was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 tied up on the inside of the USS West Virginia, next to the pier. Boswell's battle station was as an ammunition handler on one of the 5-inch guns. He went down there and stayed there all day, sending up rounds. Boswell states that the Tennessee took two bombs hits. After about seven or eight days and they had blasted the big concrete pillars to give the Tennessee enough room to get out, they went to Bremerton, Washington along with the USS Pennsylvania and USS Maryland. After repairs, the Tennessee operated out of San Francisco. In September 1942, the Tennessee put back into Bremerton for additional work. Boswell was transferred to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the USS Waller (DD-466), a new Fletcher-class destroyer. The Waller sailed through the Panama Canal and ended up in the Solomon Islands, around Guadalcanal, where they joined up with four cruisers and four other destroyers. They operated out of an island called Tonagawa for two …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Melvin Brandenburg. Brandenburg joined the US Army in September 1942. He was assigned to the 78th Infantry Division, 310th Infantry Regiment. He provides details of his extensive infantry training. They arrived in England in late October 1944, then crossed to Le Havre, France in late November 1944. They participated in the Battle of the Bulge, where Brandenburg was wounded on 16 December. He provides details of their actions during this battle. They relieved the 82nd Airborne Division during occupation duty in Berlin. Brandenburg returned to the US and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Brashear. Upon completion of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), Brashear joined the Army Air Corps and earned his wings in 1941. He then spent three years at Merced Army Flying Field as a flight instructor and was promoted to director of training. He joined the 499th Bomb Group, 878th Bomb Squadron in 1944 as a B-29 pilot. In June 1945, he led 500 planes on a raid over Kobe. His horizontal stabilizer was shot by a Gekko, and the plane limped seven hours back to Saipan as the Iwo Jima strip was overcrowded. He participated in the first incendiary raids on Japan. Upon returning, his plane was covered in soot and he smelled of burning flesh. Rotated out before the war ended, Brashear was in Honolulu on V-J Day. Discharged into the reserves, he flew a crop duster for a few years before returning to active duty with the Air Force, performing weather reconnaissance in the Korean War and radar bomb scoring during the Cold War.

Jazz Lecture Series presentation by Michael Brecker on March 3, 1984 at 9:30AM at the UNT College of Music. Includes lecture and performance by Michael Brecker, saxophone, interspersed with questions from the audience.

Jazz Lecture Series presentation by Michael Brecker on March 3, 1984 at 2:00PM at the UNT College of Music. Includes lecture and performance by Michael Brecker, saxophone, interspersed with questions from the audience.