Interview with Robert D. Haines, an American prisoner of war during World War II. He discusses the attack on Clark Field in the Philippines on December 8, 1941, as well as his experiences on the Bataan Death March. He also tells of his time spent as a prisoner of war under the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell, Cabanatuan and Bilibid prison in Manila. He encountered his brother, who was a civilian internee, at Bilibid. From there, he rode on a hell ship for 39 days to a POW camp in Formosa (Taiwan). When the Americans began bombing Formosa, Haines was moved via another hell ship to Tokyo, Japan. Not long after, he was liberated and returned to San Francisco, then Denver.

Interview with Lewis R. Hopkins, a pilot during World War II. He describes growing up on a farm in Georgia, going to college at Berry, and working for Sears, Roebuck, and the Royal Typewriter Company before joining the U. S. Navy. He tells an anecdote about joining the navy so he could go to New York to see the World's Fair, since he had heard the Atlanta Reserve would be making a trip to the Fair. He began flight training in Florida in December 1940, finished the next September, then drove cross-country to San Francisco after the Pearl Harbor attack. He eventually joined the USS Enterprise in April 1942 and saw the B-25 bombers in the Doolittle Raid take off. He was part of Bombing Squadron Six and trained under Commander Best to learn how to do scouting flights, navigation, and dive bombing. He then describes his participation in the Battle of Midway, the hours before take-off, his first view of the Japanese fleet, and his bombing mission. He was later assigned to the USS Hornet and had to fly off to a little island so that planes from the USS Wasp could land on the Hornet after their ship …

Interview with Mary Steele Leon, a secretary for the U. S. Navy during and after World War II. She joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and was trained as a secretary. Her first assignment was in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. The CNO at the time was Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. After the war, she served as personal secretary for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz while he was CNO. She was discharged in 1946.

Interview with James (Jim) Phinney, an aircraft electrician for the U. S. Navy during Wold War II. He discusses joining the Navy, going through boot camp and becoming an aircraft electrician. He was assigned to the USS Lexington but abandoned ship after it was hit by a torpedo. He was rescued and was then sent to San Diego to be reassigned to the USS Enterprise. He mentions being at Guadalcanal and later aboard a sub-chaser. The crew crossed the Equator and consequently participated in an initiation ceremony, during which time Admiral Halsey was nearly shot by one of the ship's pilots who forgot to lock his gun. He also recalls some of the food he ate while at sea.

Interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. He then went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s. At Fort Myers, Florida he flew B-26 bombers and trained to fly them off of aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles. He traveled across the Pacific to Brisbane only to be told that they didn't have B-26s for the crews; the colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers, so they were sent to New Guinea to fly B-17s and supplement the crews for those bombers. From there they made bombing runs or "Washing Machine Charlie"-type runs to keep people awake at night on various Japanese targets in the islands, particularly the base at Rabaul. In fall of 1943, the Army grounded the B-17s due to the damage they had incurred and replaced them with B-24s. The men received manuals and were given only a few days to familiarize themselves with the new planes. They were then sent on bombing runs. He finished his tour of duty at …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Martin L. Clayton. Clayton was born in Marshall, Texas 23 September 1920. Joining the US Marine Corps 26 February 1942 he completed boot camp in six weeks. After undergoing intensified combat training he was placed in the 17th replacement outfit, at San Diego, Clayton was then shipped to Melbourne, Australia. He was assigned to 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Having spent twenty-five months in combat he describes conditions encountered on Peleliu, New Britain and Okinawa. He was subjected to a bayonet charge, witnessed injury and death of friends and personally capturing three Japanese soldiers.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Trudy Varrs Harris. Harris was born in Buffalo, New York in 1926. She attended Hockaday Private School and graduated in 1941. She joined the American Women’s Voluntary Service during the summer as a 15 year old driver whose job was to pick up military officers in a command car at various locations and take them to defense plants and various offices. During this time her sister worked in a hospital and her mother rolled bandages for the Red Cross. The interview was concluded with members of an audience posing questions concerning Trudy’s opinions about rationing, the surrender of Germany, the atomic bomb, etc.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Forest Rees. Rees was born in Beeville, Texas, 23 May 1926 and was accepted into the Navy’s V-12 Program on 1 July 1943 and enrolled at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. Following two semesters, he was sent to basic training at Great Lakes, Illinois and upon graduation, was enrolled in aviation machinist’s school. He was next transferred to the engine overhaul and testing section at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas. Over the course of the following two years, he describes working on every radial engine used by the Navy. He was separated from the Navy at Camp Wallace, Texas on 20 May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Mr. Leslie Brandes. Brandes served in the Corps of Cadets and graduated from Texas A&M in 1941 with a commission in the infantry, though he did not begin active duty until June of 1942. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force as a second lieutenant. He traveled to Scotland aboard the Queen Mary. He completed flight training school as a Flight Control Officer in September of 1943, and was stationed in England with the 91st Bombardment Group. He worked as an Air Traffic Controller, and provides details of his work, room and board accommodations at his base, witnessing casualties and his travels to London. He participated in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, and shares his experiences through these fateful battles. He was discharged as a major in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Hewson. Hewson joined the Navy in April of 1943. He went to Alameda Naval Air Station and formed Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68), comprised of 12 TBMs and 16 Wildcats. He worked as a storekeeper striker. Beginning in spring of 1944 Hewson served as Storekeeper 2nd Class aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70). He oversaw all aviation mechanical supplies. They traveled to Pearl Harbor and Saipan. They participated in the Battle of Samar in late October of 1944, which Hewson provides vivid details of this event. They returned to San Diego in November. He was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bruce Heard. Heard worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1937 to 1939 as a baker and he build houses and benches at a national park. He joined the Army in April of 1944, and served as a Tech Sergeant with the 1260th Combat Engineers Battalion, Headquarters Company. He provides details of his training. He traveled to France in late 1944. His battalion was attached to the 3rd, 7th and 15th Armies at different times. They moved into Nuremberg, Hanover and Berlin, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. His job was to build bridges and haul ammunition to the Infantry and Artillery on the front lines. He shares some of his experiences through this battle, including casualties of fellow servicemen, bomb attacks and living accommodations. He was discharged around the spring of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bill Brenner. Brenner joined the Army Air Corps in 1940. He completed medical training at Harris Health Hospital in San Francisco. He was assigned to Hamilton Army Field overseeing sick call, surgical procedures and inspecting quarters. He completed training to work as a flight surgeon. He joined the 34th Pursuit Squadron as a flight surgeon. They traveled to the Philippines in November of 1941, and participated in the Battle of Bataan. Their squadron was nearly wiped out, and Brenner and his fellow survivors continued on fighting in the infantry. He shares his experiences through the Bataan Death March and his time in Camp O’Donnell and Cabanatuan. Once rescued out of the camps, Brenner joined the 200th Medical Corps of New Mexico.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Weldon Hamilton. Hamilton was born 21 July 1921. He joined the US Army Air Corps in 1940. After completing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri he attended cook and baker school. After graduation, he was assigned to the 34th Pursuit Squadron and was sent to the Philippines. After arriving at Manila, the unit was sent to De Carmen Field on 29 November 1941. On 8 December 1941 the Japanese launched the surprise attack in which every plane in the squadron was destroyed. On 25 December the unit became infantry and was placed in defense of the beach at Quanah Point. Surrendering to the Japanese on 9 April 1942, Hamilton participated in in the Bataan Death March as a prisoner of war. He describes the brutalization, both physically and mentally, by the Japanese captors. In 1944 he was put aboard the hell ship Mata Mata Maru for a sixty-two day trip to Japan. Upon arrival, he was placed in Fukuoka Camp 17 at Omuta, Japan which was across the bay from Hiroshima. He spent one year in the camp before being liberated.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Brown. Brown quit high school and joined the Army Air Corps in October, 1940. He was assigned as a medic to the 34th Pursuit Squadron and shipped to the Philippines in November, 1941. Brown describes the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and the destruction of Clark Field outside Manila. He goes on to describe the fighting on Bataan during the early months of 1942. The 34th Pursuit Squadron lost most of its equipment, so Brown and many others were attached to the infantry and fought as infantrymen on Bataan. Brown then describes experiences along the way to Camp O'Donnell during the Bataan Death March. In June, 1942, Brown and other POWs were sent to Cabanatuan. He stayed there working in the ""Zero Ward"" until he was shipped to a slave labor camp in Mukden, Manchuria in October, 1942. There, he continued working in a medical ward. The Russians finally liberated the camp and Brown left China aboard the hospital ship USS Relief (AH-1) headed for Okinawa, then Manila. Finally, Brown made it back to the US, recovered in a hospital in California, was discharged and re-enlisted, making …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Taylor. Taylor was born in Salesville, Texas on 23 March 1923 into a family of ten boys and six girls. He had only one term of formal schooling and then worked as an itinerate laborer from the age of four. Enlisting in the US Army in 1941 he was sent to Fort McDowell, California. Several months later he boarded the USAT Republic for Manila, Philippines where he joined the 31st Infantry Regiment. He discusses the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and tells of various combat situations, including one in which he was wounded and subsequently awarded the Silver Star. He describes surrendering on 9 April 1942 and the forced march out of Bataan. After spending time at Camp O’Donnell, he was later taken to Cabanatuan where he was hospitalized for malaria, dysentery and yellow jaundice. In July 1943, he was among 500 other prisoners of war put aboard the Matsu Maru which took them to Fukuoka, Japan. There, the POWs were put to work as slave laborers in the coal mines. He describes the conditions under which they worked and the treatment they received from their captors. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Carlos Montoya. Montoya joined the National Guard in 1938. He was assigned as a Battery Clerk for Troop A, cavalry. In January of 1941 he traded his horse for anti-aircraft, joining the 200th Coast Artillery, continuing to serve as a Battery Clerk corporal. They were transferred to the Philippines in August of 1941, providing air defense for Clark Field while based at Fort Stotsenburg. After the 8 December 1941 attack made upon Clark Field, Montoya and his unit were captured by the Japanese in 1942. Montoya became a prisoner-of-war, suriving the Bataan Death March. He was then captive in the Philippines Bilibid Prison for 1 year and 9 months, then transferred to a prison camp in Niigata, Japan, Camp 5B for 1 year and 11 months. He provides vivid details of these events in his life. He was liberated in August of 1945, and given a disability discharge in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert D. Haines. He discusses the attack on Clark Field in the Philippines on 8 December 1941 as well as his experiences on the Bataan Death March. He also tells of his time spent as a prisoner of war under the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell, Cabanatuan and Bilibid prison in Manila. He encountered his brother, who was a civilian internee, at Bilibid. From there, he rode on a hell ship for 39 days to a POW camp at Formosa. When the Americans began bombing Formosa, Haines was moved via another hell ship to Tokyo, Japan. Not long after, he was liberated and returned to San Francisco, then Denver.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Orby Ledbetter. Ledbetter joined the Texas Army National Guard in 1937 as a soldier in the Texas 36th Infantry Division, 142nd Infantry Regiment. He provides details of serving in the Texas Guard and remaining with the 36th Infantry Division throughout the war. He describes his experiences completing basic training through numerous camps and traveling overseas aboard the SS Argentina. Beginning in April of 1943 Orby served in the North African Campaign and also landed at Salerno, Italy. He was captured by the German Army in September of 1943 and remained a prisoner of war at Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, Germany until April of 1945. Ledbetter provides vivid details of these experiences. He was discharged in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gabriel Chapa. Chapa was born in Alice, Texas on 7 August 1925. Upon being drafted into the US Navy in 1944, he was sent to San Diego for boot training. Soon after finishing the training he was assigned to USS LCI-470. He participated in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa. He describes being in a typhoon and of the decision being made to beach the ship to prevent it from sinking during the storm. The ship returned to San Diego and Chapa was discharged in April 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Kopkey. Kopkey joined the Army Air Forces in January 1942. Later in September, he was shipped overseas to England where he served as an ordnanceman in the 366th Bomb Squadron.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Olson. Olson joined the Army as an Infantry officer in June 1940 after graduating from West Point. He was assigned to the Philippines, at Fort McKinley, with the 57th Infantry Regiment. Olson was among those who surrendered to the Japanese and endured the Bataan Death March. At the prisoner-of-war camp, the Japanese assigned administrative duties to Olson. When prisoners were moved to another camp, Olson stayed behind and tended to those too weak to travel. Olson was then sent to work at a factory in Japan. After the armistice, Olson persuaded the guards to let him travel to Osaka with a Nisei. During his travels, he stayed in the Emperor’s suite at the Miyako hotel in Kyoto, which was occupied entirely by the American military. While there, he arranged for the liberation of his camp and was assigned to coordinate the evacuation of other camps. Olson returned home and enjoyed a long and prestigious career with the military. He retired in 1982 as the vice president of international development for Black and Veatch.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Jacobs. Jacobs joined the Navy in March of 1942. In 1943 he was transferred to Hawaii, serving on the staff of Commander Gilbert Wren. He served there until the end of the war. Jacobs’ job was working with operations on all new missions and selecting all officer personnel that fit the demands of those operations. He provides some details of his work with Port Director, Captain Hyman Rickover with the atomic submarine force. His discharge date is not noted, though he left the service after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Warren. Warren was born in 1925 and graduated from high school in 1943. After being drafted in July 1943, he was sent to Camp Wheeler near Macon, Georgia for basic training. Upon completion of basic, he went to Glasgow, Scotland and arrived there 25 January 1944. He then went to Plymouth, England where he was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment which began intensive training in preparation for participation in Operation Overlord. Warren describes the equipment he carried as he boarded an LCVP for transportation to the beach and tells of the craft being hit by enemy fire. He was wounded and sent to a hospital in England. During August 1944, he returned to his unit at Vire, France. The unit was involved in the battle for the Port of Brest and he recalls seeing a large number of dead German soldiers. At Maastricht, Holland the division joined the 2nd Armored Division to move through the Siegfried Line. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and crossed the Ruhr River. After the Germans surrendered, the division was sent to Bremerhaven, Germany as part …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert de Jong. De Jong was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1922 and enlisted in the Navy in 1942. After boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois he was sent to school in Boston for training as a yeoman. Upon completion of the training he was assigned to the executive officer aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16). Soon after he went aboard, it proceeded to Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal. His battle station was as a loader on a 20mm gun. On 4 December 1943 the Lexington was hit by a Japanese torpedo and returned to Bremerton, Washington for repairs. Remembering various actions in which the Lexington was involved, he tells of the momentous decision by Admiral Mitscher to turn on the carrier’s lights to act as a guide for returning aircraft during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He also recalls a kamikaze hitting the Lexington, which killed every man on the gun on which he had previously been assigned. The ship put into Ulithi for repairs. During February 1945 the Lexington returned to Pearl Harbor at which time de Jong was transferred to yeoman’s …