The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Forrest Biard. Biard graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934. From 1939 through September 1941, he completed full immersion in Japanese language and culture training in Tokyo. Biard was a cryptologic linguist, serving in all three Navy codebreaking units during World War II. In September, Biard was stationed at Pearl Harbor as a senior linguist for Station HYPO, the codebreaking unit at Pearl Harbor where he served as a language officer until August 1943. From February to May 1942, he was assigned to USS Yorktown (CV-5) as the radio intelligence officer under Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Biard’s translation and decryption work on JN-25 contributed to Allied efforts in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. From August to October 1943, he was sent to the codebreaking unit OP-20-G in Washington, also known as Station Negat. From November 1943 to April 1945, he was sent to the Station Cast codebreaking unit at Melbourne, Australia. While in Melbourne he deployed on several ships operating in the South Pacific. He worked in Melbourne to decrypt and translate captured Japanese Army code books for Douglas MacArthur, then used to accelerate the island-hopping …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenji Yanagiya. Yanagiya served as a warrant officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and flew over 100 missions. He describes serving as a fighter escort for Admiral Yamamoto when the admiral’s plane was attacked. He observed the bomber carrying the admiral’s staff go down in the ocean and saw the plane carrying Admiral Yamamoto go down into the jungle. Yanagiya also mentions seeing a P-38 trailing smoke. The interviewer states the P-38 was flown by Lieutenant Raymond Hine. Yanagiya tells of the Japanese flight commander reporting the incident to the commanding officer after the attack.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr. Clarence Mast. Mast had finished medical school in 1942 before joining the Navy. While serving at Camp Sampson, he treated an outbreak of spinal meningitis. He was then attached as a medical officer to the 112th Naval Construction Battalion and went to Quoddy, Maine before going to Hawaii to serve as a surgeon at Kaneohe. His next station was at Tinian, where his unit built very long runways for B-29 bombers. he was aboard an LST during a typhoon at Okinawa. He was there when the war ended and was discharged the following April.

Transcript of an oral interview with Mary Steele Leon. 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.

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 oral interview with Raymond F. "Hap" Halloran. Halloran grew up in Ohio and admits an early fascination with airplanes that led him into the Army Air Corps after he finished high school in 1940. By the end of 1942, Halloran had been called up for service in the Air Corps and trained asa navigator. He also volunteered for bombadier school. Halloran also speaks of training in B-29 bombers. In December, 1944, Halloran and his crew received orders to go overseas to Saipan. Halloran also speaks of his post-war friendship with Japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai. Halloran also describes being shot down over Japan in early 1945 and bailing out of his crippled B-29. Halloran came down in a parachute, landed in Tokyo and was captured. He suffered a sever ebeating by the civilians before military personnel got to him. Halloran then describes his long captivity as a POW. He also describes witnessing the fire bombing of Tokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945. Halloran also recalls being stripped naked and put in an animal cage. Then, Japanese citizens were allowed to view him in his cage for a day or …

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 James S. Bargsley. Bargsley grew up in Texas and joined the Navy in 1942. Once he finished training, he was assigned to duty on the USS Fallard (DE-222) and then the USS Bassett (APD-73). From San Diego, they departed for Pearl Harbor, knowing they were preparing for the invasion of Japan. In June 1945 they departed for Eniwetok Atoll, then to Guam, then to the Ulithi Atoll. On July 2, 1945, the ship reported to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier for duty. On August 3, 1945, the ship went to rescue the survivors of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). The survivors were transferred to the fleet hospital the next day. Then they went to New Guinea, where they heard of the atomic bomb being dropped, and in September to Manila. From the Philippines the ship went to Okinawa and then to Wakayama, Japan with the LCT convoy. The Bassett detached from her duties in November and Bargsley was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Delisle. Delisle enlisted in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor and went to basic training in Newport, Rhode Island. He was assigned to the Boston Navy Yard awaiting assignment and while there he went to Wentworth Institute for training on diesel engines and air conditioning. After 2-3 months of training, he was transferred back down to Newport and he was made a gunnery instructor, instructing crews from different ships that were anywhere near the area. He was there about eight months and transferred to Vallejo, California to pick up the USS Oakland but before he could report aboard he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, spending many months in hospitals. They were going to give him a disability discharge but he wanted to go back to active duty which he was allowed to do. He reported to the USS Oakland at Mare Island Shipyard. The Oakland left Mare Island in October, went to Pearl Harbor and joined the Pacific Fleet. The Oakland was involved in the invasion bombardment of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands and then came back to Hawaii. After Hawaii, the Oakland joined Task Force 38 …

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 interview with Kenneth Zartman. Zartman joined the Army in May of 1940. After basic training he was sent to Hawaii. He joined the Coast Artillery stationed at Fort Kamehameha, and worked with the 3-inch guns. Zartman was stationed in Hawaii during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He provides vivid details of his experiences through that fateful day, including someone in their outfit shooting down a Japanese plane. In early 1942 Zartman was sent to an air base on Canton Island for nine months, where he worked as a stevedore. He then served on Makin Island, and joined the 6th Ranger Battalion. He participated in the Marianas Islands Campaign and the Battle of Saipan in 1944. Zartman was discharged in June of 1945.

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 oral interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett. He begins by discussing joining the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. Then he went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s, then to Fort Myers, Florida to fly B-26 bombers, and train to fly B-26s off aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles, traveling across the Pacific to Brisbane to be told they didn't have B-26s for the crews and the Colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers so they were sent up 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 since they were getting very shot up and gave them B-24s to fly, handed them the manuals and gave them a couple days to familiarize themselves with the planes, then sent them back up on bombing runs. He finished his tour …

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 interview with Admiral Noel Gayler. Gayler graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935. In 1940 he completed flight training. His first carrier assignment was aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3). He served as a fighter pilot flying an F4F-3 (Grumman Wildcat). He was transferred to the USS Lexington (CV-2), where in January of 1942 Gayler received the first of 3 Navy Crosses in aerial combat. He received his second Navy Cross escorting torpedo planes in an operation to destroy Japanese amphibious forces en route to conquer northern Australia. In May of 1942 he participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea, where he received his third Navy Cross. He then describes the sinking of the Lexington. He describes his experience as a test pilot and the various planes he flew. In 1944 Gayler returned to combat in the Pacific commanding Fighter Squadron 12. They traveled to Japan. He describes a number of experiences that followed, including serving as operations office under Vice Admiral McCain aboard the USS Randolph (CV-15), being aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) during the surrender, observing nuclear tests in Eniwetok, serving as deputy director of the Special Devices Center, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Massey. Massey joined the Marine Corps in the spring of 1943. He completed Aviation Administrative School. He served as the Administrative Chief with Marine Aircraft Group 45, and was responsible for personnel reports for their service squadron. They traveled aboard the SS Dashing Wave to Falalop in Ulithi, where they were stationed. Massey returned with his squadron to the US and was discharged.

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 oral interview with Jimmy Goldthorn. Goldthorn was drafted into the Army December 1, 1941 and went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From there he went to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas where he became part of the 6th Armored Division which was a training division. At Camp Chaffee, Goldthorn was made a tank platoon leader which included five light tanks. During maneuvers in July 1942, Goldthorn was involved in a serious accident and spent almost a year in an Army hospital. When he got out, he spent the next two years on limited service. First he was the Quartermaster for a POW camp in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. There were Italians in the camp at first then Germans. In the spring of 1944, he was transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington to the Combat Medics where he was the Administrative NCO in a headquarters company. When they found out about his injuries they told him he didn't belong there and they were going to send him home. He received a medical discharge (40% disabled) on December 7, 1944.

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 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 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 Jay Rye. Rye joined the Army in 1938 and trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Eventually, Rye made his way to the Philippines as an infantryman in January, 1941. He discusses fighting on Bataan and participated in the Bataan Death March. Rye describes the misery at Camp O'Donnell and burying comrades. He also spent a little time at Cabanatuan and witnessed and execution of a POW who attempted an escape. Eventually, Rye was sent aboard a hell ship to Japan. After arrival at Omori, Rye was put to work in a Mitsubishi steel mill. he describes the treatment he received when he was sick. He also worked in the railyard at Tokyo and recalls stealing food and other materials from train cars. Rye also bore witness to the destruction to Tokyo caused by the firebombing in March, 1945. Rye also details the account of his being liberated from the POW camp in Japan. Rye recalls spending time in a Seattle hospital before going to a hospital in San Antonio. He tried calling home only to find his mother had passed away afew months prior to his liberation and return …