The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Israel Berger. While attending medical school, Berger took an officer’s correspondence course with the Navy in May 1942. After interning at the Norfolk Naval Hospital and completing the V-12 program, he boarded the USS Drew (APA-162) as a general medical officer, traveling between Oahu and Saipan. Berger was relieved to be treated kindly despite being one of only two Jewish men on his ship. Despite having grown up in a kosher home, he set his cultural differences aside and ate what everyone else ate. While supporting action at Samar and Okinawa, Berger dealt with very few serious injuries, although he encountered many fatalities. One of his most sobering experiences involved helping a 12-year-old Japanese girl who stepped on a mine. By the end of the war, Berger had made lieutenant. He was inclined to join the Naval Reserve but decided instead to return home and care for his ailing mother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert G. Bass. Bass was born in Walnut, Illinois on 18 November 1922. He was drafted into the Army in February 1943. After three months of basic and combat military police training at Fort Riley, Kansas, Bass was accepted in the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Indiana. The program was disbanded in early 1944 and Bass was sent first to an armored infantry unit and then to the 243rd Combat Engineers, training at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. On 22 October 1944 the unit sailed to Europe. After a brief stay in England, they crossed the English Channel to La Havre. In December, they were in Belgium in the area where the Battle of the Bulge was being fought. In early 1945 they were on the move to Germany attached to the 1107th Engineering Group, doing road work, clearing mines and building bridges in support of the 87th Infantry. They built a pontoon bridge across the Rhine, crossed, and continued east to Schmolln. They were there when Germany surrendered. Bass and the unit were sent to Erfurt to process German prisoners of war. Erfurt being in the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James C Chandler. Chandler joined the Marine Corps in the spring of 1943. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Amphibian Battalion. Chandler participated in the battles of Guam and Okinawa. He returned to the US and was discharged in December of 1945

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James L. Bell, Jr. He joined the Marine Corps in August, 1944. After basic training in California, he was sent to the Parker Ranch in Hawaii where he practiced maneuvers. He describes landing on Red Beach and fighting on Iwo Jima when he was in the 5th Marine Division. He discusses the placement of the American flag on the island, the Japanese tunnels, and the suicides of Japanese soldiers. After Iwo Jima, he joined the 2nd Division in Hawaii. When the war ended, he served ten months as part of the occupational force in Japan before being discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Espie. Although Espie was enrolled at Indiana University and joined the Army ROTC with intentions of being commissioned, he grew anxious about the draft and decided to enlist in the Navy in December 1942. Upon completion of quartermaster school, he embarked on amphibious training and was assigned to USS LST-734. He was at the helm in the Panama Canal and was an expert in dead reckoning at sea. At Guadalcanal he was trained on lessons learned at Tarawa, in preparation for transporting landing craft to Peleliu. There he watched Imperial Japanese marines from the shore as the island was assaulted. After transporting a group of engineers from Hollandia to the Leyte Gulf invasion, Espie survived enormous debris raining on his LST after a nearby ammunition ship exploded. Espie was eventually recommended to the V-12 program, returning to the States to attend Princeton University. When Japan surrendered, the program continued for another year but wound to a close before Espie received his commission. He was discharged into the Fleet Reserve and completed his degree on the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Caposella. Caposella left his studies at Ohio State University to join the Navy in March 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes and attended radio school in Bedford Springs. After completing amphibious training at Camp Bradford and Fort Pierce, he was assigned to the USS Ostara (AKA-33) where he rode in LCVPs transporting troops and supplies throughout the Pacific. Although it was not well-armored, it survived floating mines that bounced off the ship. Arriving at Manila toward the end of the war, Caposella witnessed great devastation and poverty. He recalls the hesitation of Japanese citizens when his ship brought the initial occupation forces ashore. After the war ended, he brought Marines to China, where he noticed the local population had very few women, presumably a result of kidnapping comfort women. Caposella was discharged in June 1946 and resumed his studies at Ohio State University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Theodore Anderson. Anderson was drafted into the Navy in April of 1943. He graduated from the hospital corps in San Diego and worked at Long Beach Naval Hospital. As a hospital corpsman Anderson was assigned to the 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division artillery group H & S Battery in the fall of 1944. They traveled to Saipan in preparation for the Battle of Iwo Jima. Anderson provides details of his experiences at Iwo Jima, including serving as a roaming hospital corpsman on the island, how he was severely wounded by a mortar and witnessed the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi. He was discharged in October of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Olian Perry. Perry went to boot camp in San Diego. They were supposed to have ten week's of training but only had seven before they were shipped overseas on the Mastonia, landing in New Zealand. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 18th Marines, 1st Battalion, Company "C" as a dynamite man. After some training on New Zealand, they went to Guadalcanal on a troop ship. Once onshore, they started digging their foxholes but couldn't get any sleep because of washing machine charlie coming over. Perry talks about the land crabs crawling into their foxholes after the Japanese would bomb or shell the island. After Guadalcanal, he went back to New Zealand and then to Tarawa. Perry went into Tarawa on a Higgins boat and describes it as "just murder"; he went over the side of the boat and into waist deep water. Perry states "men were dropping around you side by side". After Tarawa, they went to Parker Ranch in Hawaii for R&R. From there they went to Saipan and Tinian. Perry describes seeing a man and woman come out, throw their kids over the cliff, and then jump in right after …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Caposella. Caposella left his studies at Ohio State University to join the Navy in March 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes and attended radio school in Bedford Springs. After completing amphibious training at Camp Bradford and Fort Pierce, he was assigned to the USS Ostara (AKA-33) where he rode in LCVPs transporting troops and supplies throughout the Pacific. Although it was not well-armored, it survived floating mines that bounced off the ship. Arriving at Manila toward the end of the war, Caposella witnessed great devastation and poverty. He recalls the hesitation of Japanese citizens when his ship brought the initial occupation forces ashore. After the war ended, he brought Marines to China, where he noticed the local population had very few women, presumably a result of kidnapping comfort women. Caposella was discharged in June 1946 and resumed his studies at Ohio State University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Theodore Anderson. Anderson was drafted into the Navy in April of 1943. He graduated from the hospital corps in San Diego and worked at Long Beach Naval Hospital. As a hospital corpsman Anderson was assigned to the 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division artillery group H & S Battery in the fall of 1944. They traveled to Saipan in preparation for the Battle of Iwo Jima. Anderson provides details of his experiences at Iwo Jima, including serving as a roaming hospital corpsman on the island, how he was severely wounded by a mortar and witnessed the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi. He was discharged in October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Espie. Although Espie was enrolled at Indiana University and joined the Army ROTC with intentions of being commissioned, he grew anxious about the draft and decided to enlist in the Navy in December 1942. Upon completion of quartermaster school, he embarked on amphibious training and was assigned to USS LST-734. He was at the helm in the Panama Canal and was an expert in dead reckoning at sea. At Guadalcanal he was trained on lessons learned at Tarawa, in preparation for transporting landing craft to Peleliu. There he watched Imperial Japanese marines from the shore as the island was assaulted. After transporting a group of engineers from Hollandia to the Leyte Gulf invasion, Espie survived enormous debris raining on his LST after a nearby ammunition ship exploded. Espie was eventually recommended to the V-12 program, returning to the States to attend Princeton University. When Japan surrendered, the program continued for another year but wound to a close before Espie received his commission. He was discharged into the Fleet Reserve and completed his degree on the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Israel Berger. While attending medical school, Berger took an officer’s correspondence course with the Navy in May 1942. After interning at the Norfolk Naval Hospital and completing the V-12 program, he boarded the USS Drew (APA-162) as a general medical officer, traveling between Oahu and Saipan. Berger was relieved to be treated kindly despite being one of only two Jewish men on his ship. Despite having grown up in a kosher home, he set his cultural differences aside and ate what everyone else ate. While supporting action at Samar and Okinawa, Berger dealt with very few serious injuries, although he encountered many fatalities. One of his most sobering experiences involved helping a 12-year-old Japanese girl who stepped on a mine. By the end of the war, Berger had made lieutenant. He was inclined to join the Naval Reserve but decided instead to return home and care for his ailing mother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert G. Bass. Bass was born in Walnut, Illinois on 18 November 1922. He was drafted into the Army in February 1943. After three months of basic and combat military police training at Fort Riley, Kansas, Bass was accepted in the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Indiana. The program was disbanded in early 1944 and Bass was sent first to an armored infantry unit and then to the 243rd Combat Engineers, training at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. On 22 October 1944 the unit sailed to Europe. After a brief stay in England, they crossed the English Channel to La Havre. In December, they were in Belgium in the area where the Battle of the Bulge was being fought. In early 1945 they were on the move to Germany attached to the 1107th Engineering Group, doing road work, clearing mines and building bridges in support of the 87th Infantry. They built a pontoon bridge across the Rhine, crossed, and continued east to Schmolln. They were there when Germany surrendered. Bass and the unit were sent to Erfurt to process German prisoners of war. Erfurt being in the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James C Chandler. Chandler joined the Marine Corps in the spring of 1943. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Amphibian Battalion. Chandler participated in the battles of Guam and Okinawa. He returned to the US and was discharged in December of 1945

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James L. Bell, Jr. He joined the Marine Corps in August, 1944. After basic training in California, he was sent to the Parker Ranch in Hawaii where he practiced maneuvers. He describes landing on Red Beach and fighting on Iwo Jima when he was in the 5th Marine Division. He discusses the placement of the American flag on the island, the Japanese tunnels, and the suicides of Japanese soldiers. After Iwo Jima, he joined the 2nd Division in Hawaii. When the war ended, he served ten months as part of the occupational force in Japan before being discharged.

Transcript of an oral interview with Olian Perry. Perry went to boot camp in San Diego. They were supposed to have ten week's of training but only had seven before they were shipped overseas on the Mastonia, landing in New Zealand. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 18th Marines, 1st Battalion, Company "C" as a dynamite man. After some training on New Zealand, they went to Guadalcanal on a troop ship. Once onshore, they started digging their foxholes but couldn't get any sleep because of washing machine charlie coming over. Perry talks about the land crabs crawling into their foxholes after the Japanese would bomb or shell the island. After Guadalcanal, he went back to New Zealand and then to Tarawa. Perry went into Tarawa on a Higgins boat and describes it as "just murder"; he went over the side of the boat and into waist deep water. Perry states "men were dropping around you side by side". After Tarawa, they went to Parker Ranch in Hawaii for R&R. From there they went to Saipan and Tinian. Perry describes seeing a man and woman come out, throw their kids over the cliff, and then jump in right after …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Atys Daniel Brunson. He discusses his family history, childhood, education and what led him to joining the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.