The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Freeman. Freeman was born in Chapman, Kansas on 5 September 1922. Upon enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was sent to Maxwell Air Force Base, Georgia for basic training. He tells the various training planes he flew prior to receiving his commission. Upon graduation he was sent to Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington where he began on the job training as the co-pilot of a B-17 bomber. Freeman recalls his various assignments until December 1943 when he reported to Cannon Army Air Base, Clovis, New Mexico for transitional training in the B-29 bomber. Upon completion of training he was assigned to the Air Transport Command and began flying planes to India. Following the Japanese surrender, he returned to the United States where he began flying weather mapping missions. This was followed by assignment in the Pacific where he flew geographical mapping missions. Freeman concludes the interview by telling of his life after being discharged in January 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Schaefer. Schaefer was 11 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked. While in high school, Schaefer worked part-time and contributed the entirety of his wages to the household. He accumulated war savings stamps, participated in bond drives, and collected scrap metal to support the war effort. His family supplemented their meat rations by raising rabbits. In 1950, he joined the Air Force, with a professional background in photography. He reported to the Wright-Patterson Motion Picture Department in Dayton, Ohio. In 1951, as part of a national effort to deploy combat camera teams worldwide, he was assigned to the newly formed Air Photographic and Charting Service and sent to Germany to conduct photographic surveillance of the occupation and rehabilitation of Europe. In 1957, he became a photographer for the DOD and the White House. During the course of his career, he filmed historic figures such as General de Gaulle and President Kennedy. In Vietnam, he couriered classified material into Saigon, receiving a Purple Heart after taking fragments from a grenade. Schaefer was then promoted to oversee all out-of-country photography and worked on the film, A Day in the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Leiby. Leiby was born in Pennsylvania in 1923 and worked in a defense plant after finishing high school in 1941. in 1942, he passed the aviation cadet exam and was called up for active duty in January, 1943. He trained as a navigator at Selman Field, Louisiana for eight months before flying a new B-17 to North Africa. From there, Leiby went to Forge, Italy to join the 99th Bomb Group. He was shot down on his 39th mission and captured by the Germans in Italy in April 1944. In early 1945, Leiby was transfered to a POW camp near Nuremburg. From there, he was marched to Moosburg. During the march, he attempted escape, but was recaptured. After being liberated, Leiby returned to the US and attended an intelligence school. He also served in a military police unit in Massachusetts. He eventually attended Georgetown University and stayed in the inactive reserves. Leiby eventually made his way into the Foreign Service where he went to Vietnam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Deverl Goode. Goode was born in 1922 and joined the Army after one semester of college. He received basic training at Camp Wolters and landed on Leyte in 1944 with the Americal Division. He was sent to Cebu as a scout. Cut off behind enemy lines for several days, he subsisted on bananas, wild potatoes, and rainwater. He spent several months on Negros Island using a flamethrower to clear caves of enemy holdouts; one cave turned out to be a makeshift Japanese hospital. After the war ended, he was a guard at Sugamo Prison, where he escorted Tokyo Rose and Saipan Sue to their interrogations. He encountered several imprisoned American sergeants there, presumed to be spies. He visited Hiroshima, where only a small bit of steel infrastructure and bricks were left standing. Goode returned home and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garland John Robinson. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Robinson joined the Army Air Corps. Having already earned a Bachelor of Arts, he was interested in becoming a mechanic and was assigned to the so-called 3rd Attack Group, 89th Squadron as an assistant engineering officer. Stationed on a racetrack in Australia, Robinson maintained B-17s and socialized with locals. He transferred to a group in New Guinea, where he worked closely with famed mechanic-pilot Pappy Gunn. When his unit began to run out of airplanes, Robinson and his crew salvaged a wrecked plane that they then flew to Australia for rations, nicknamed the Steak and Eggs Special. Toward the end of the war, Robinson returned home and married his sweetheart.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Stanley Holzhauer. Holzhauer joined the Navy in late 1943 and received basic training at Farragut. Upon completion of signal school, he was assigned to a beach party with the USS Hansford (APA-106), assisting the 27th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat at Camp Pendleton before deploying to Iwo Jima, where he landed in the sixth wave. On the way in, a shell went through his tank and exploded in the water behind him. The volcanic ash on the beach made it so that his tank could not land, so Holzhauer exited into the water, losing all but his generator and signal lamp. The first message he relayed back to the ship was a request for Marston matting so that tanks could maneuver over the beach. His party suffered heavy casualties, immediately losing their two radiomen, doctor, and assistant beach master. Holzhauer survived and continued to serve aboard the Hansford until his discharge in April 1946. He attended school on the GI Bill and became the dean of students at a large high school. Before the war, his family had been so poor …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John McKelfresh. McKelfresh joined the Navy soon after the war began, leaving behind his career as a schoolteacher. Upon completion of officer training at Northwestern, he was assigned to the USS Hansford (APA-106) as assistant navigator and legal officer. In reviewing ingoing and outgoing mail, he consoled the many recipients of Dear John letters. He also had to let go of a highly skilled navigator who committed the indiscretion of broadcasting the ship's whereabouts via coded letters to family. At Okinawa, a young sailor was killed in an innocent but reckless competition to see who could unload their landing craft the quickest. McKelfresh chose to record the death as merely accidental, casting no blame on anyone. After the war ended, McKelfresh visited a holy site in Japan and was stunned by its beauty and tranquility. He returned home and was discharged soon after.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Sberro. Sberro was born 12 November 1923 in New York City. At an early age the family moved to Miami, Florida where he graduated from high school. In January 1943, he was drafted into the Army Air Forces and took basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After three months he was sent to Seymour Johnson Airfield, North Carolina to attend airplane mechanic school. After completing the course, he went to Chanute Field, Illinois where he was schooled in aviation electronics. Upon graduating he was sent to Walker Army Airfield in Hays, Kansas where he worked on B-17s and B-29s. After spending some time in Seattle, he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he boarded a ship bound for Guam. Upon arriving on Guam, he was assigned to the 20th Air Force, 330th Bomb Group, 457th Bomb Squadron as a B-29 airplane mechanic. He was assigned to a team sent to recover the remains of a crew killed in the crash of a B-29. Sberro also tells of seeing a heavily damaged B-29 crash on the runway with the loss of the entire crew. He returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Seserino Calderon. Calderon was drafted into the Army in September, 1942 and trained in California. He was trained and assigned to the 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division and sent to Guadalcanal in late 1942. He served as a 60mm mortar man. After a brief invasion of Munda to take an airfield, Calderon enjoyed some rest at New Zealand before the invasion of the Philippines. His unit landed at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Calderon returned to the US and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford Kantz. Mrs. Marion Kantz assists with the interview. Kantz entered the US Army Air Forces October 1941. He received training at Sheppard Field, Texas and served as a flight officer flying B-24s. He went on to Fort Benning and served as a C-47 pilot. Kantz became an aircraft commander in the 100th Troop Carrier Squadron, towing and dropping gliders and paratroopers. They were stationed in Nottingham, England. When the war was over they brought many French POWs out of Germany back to France. They also took supplies to the front for the American troops, and brought out the wounded. He came back to the States in October 1945, and remained on active duty until 1963 when he retired. After the military he became a teacher.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Elizabeth L. (Liz) Irvine. Irvine was born 5 July 1927 in Baguio, Philippine Islands, where her parents were teachers. They lived most of the time in Manila, until the outbreak of WWII, at which time they were imprisoned in 1942 by Japanese forces in Santo Tomas Internment Camp for the next three years, until liberation in early 1945. After the war ended in 1945, she and her parents moved to the United States. Liz shares intimate details of their experiences in the camp.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Yvonne Goodier Charles. Charles was born 10 September 1926 in Silver City, New Mexico. In November of 1933, her father was offered a mining job in Manila, Philippines and their family moved. In early 1942, after the outbreak of WWII, Charles and her family were imprisoned by Japanese forces in Santo Tomas Internment Camp, where they remained until their liberation in early 1945. Charles shares intimate details of their experiences in the camp.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James O., Cotton, Knight. Knight joined the Army in July of 1943. He served as Technician Fourth-Class with the 3197th Engineer Pipeline Detachment, Combat Engineers. They were deployed to New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, operating a tank farm that pumped gasoline for military planes and vehicles. He then served on Emirau Island for 13 months, where their job was to cut the supply line of the Japanese base located 80 miles from their base. In early 1945, they traveled to Leyte to work a tank farm. where they were located when the war ended. Knight returned to the U.S. in January of 1946 and received his discharge in February.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Officer. Officer joined the Navy in May of 1944. He completed radar school in Point Loma, California. In April of 1945 he went to the New Hebrides Islands, and served aboard a transport ship as a radar operator. He then traveled to Auckland, New Zealand where he went aboard the submarine chaser USS PC-588. His crew traveled around New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Tulagi and the Marshall Islands looking for submarines. He describes the weaponry aboard the PC-588, and his work on sonar duty. They never found a submarine. After the war was over he assisted with looking for downed men in the Pacific. He describes his initiation as a Shellback. He was discharged as Radar Man 3rd Class in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garland John Robinson. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Robinson joined the Army Air Corps. Having already earned a Bachelor of Arts, he was interested in becoming a mechanic and was assigned to the so-called 3rd Attack Group, 89th Squadron as an assistant engineering officer. Stationed on a racetrack in Australia, Robinson maintained B-17s and socialized with locals. He transferred to a group in New Guinea, where he worked closely with famed mechanic-pilot Pappy Gunn. When his unit began to run out of airplanes, Robinson and his crew salvaged a wrecked plane that they then flew to Australia for rations, nicknamed the Steak and Eggs Special. Toward the end of the war, Robinson returned home and married his sweetheart.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Seserino Calderon. Calderon was drafted into the Army in September, 1942 and trained in California. He was trained and assigned to the 161st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division and sent to Guadalcanal in late 1942. He served as a 60mm mortar man. After a brief invasion of Munda to take an airfield, Calderon enjoyed some rest at New Zealand before the invasion of the Philippines. His unit landed at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Calderon returned to the US and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James O., Cotton, Knight. Knight joined the Army in July of 1943. He served as Technician Fourth-Class with the 3197th Engineer Pipeline Detachment, Combat Engineers. They were deployed to New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, operating a tank farm that pumped gasoline for military planes and vehicles. He then served on Emirau Island for 13 months, where their job was to cut the supply line of the Japanese base located 80 miles from their base. In early 1945, they traveled to Leyte to work a tank farm. where they were located when the war ended. Knight returned to the U.S. in January of 1946 and received his discharge in February.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Officer. Officer joined the Navy in May of 1944. He completed radar school in Point Loma, California. In April of 1945 he went to the New Hebrides Islands, and served aboard a transport ship as a radar operator. He then traveled to Auckland, New Zealand where he went aboard the submarine chaser USS PC-588. His crew traveled around New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Tulagi and the Marshall Islands looking for submarines. He describes the weaponry aboard the PC-588, and his work on sonar duty. They never found a submarine. After the war was over he assisted with looking for downed men in the Pacific. He describes his initiation as a Shellback. He was discharged as Radar Man 3rd Class in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Good. Mrs. Good assists with the interview. Good went into the Army in October 1941. He landed at Normandy with the 178th Signal Repair Company. He relates a few anecdotes about his time in Europe during the Normandy campaign and the Battle of the Bulge; he also saw some friends from home at random in Europe. He also recalls working closely with a unit of Moroccan soldiers. When the war ended, Good returned to the US and was discharged. He had some trouble adjusting to civilian life, but soon became readjusted.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Brown. Brown was born 7 January 1921. In 1942, he was drafted into the US Army and underwent basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was then sent to San Luis Obispo, California for advanced training. Upon completion of the training, his division was sent to New Guinea. He was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Regiment, G Company as a platoon scout and point man. He also recalls a kamikaze attacking a ship he was aboard just prior to landing in the Philippines. Brown witnessed the burial at sea of the seamen killed by the attack. He recalls that the unit was in combat for 112 continuous days. During this time, he contracted malaria and was hospitalized for several weeks. After Japan surrendered, his unit was sent to Korea. He spent three months in Korea before returning to the United States. He was discharged 25 December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Stanley Holzhauer. Holzhauer joined the Navy in late 1943 and received basic training at Farragut. Upon completion of signal school, he was assigned to a beach party with the USS Hansford (APA-106), assisting the 27th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat at Camp Pendleton before deploying to Iwo Jima, where he landed in the sixth wave. On the way in, a shell went through his tank and exploded in the water behind him. The volcanic ash on the beach made it so that his tank could not land, so Holzhauer exited into the water, losing all but his generator and signal lamp. The first message he relayed back to the ship was a request for Marston matting so that tanks could maneuver over the beach. His party suffered heavy casualties, immediately losing their two radiomen, doctor, and assistant beach master. Holzhauer survived and continued to serve aboard the Hansford until his discharge in April 1946. He attended school on the GI Bill and became the dean of students at a large high school. Before the war, his family had been so poor …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John McKelfresh. McKelfresh joined the Navy soon after the war began, leaving behind his career as a schoolteacher. Upon completion of officer training at Northwestern, he was assigned to the USS Hansford (APA-106) as assistant navigator and legal officer. In reviewing ingoing and outgoing mail, he consoled the many recipients of Dear John letters. He also had to let go of a highly skilled navigator who committed the indiscretion of broadcasting the ship's whereabouts via coded letters to family. At Okinawa, a young sailor was killed in an innocent but reckless competition to see who could unload their landing craft the quickest. McKelfresh chose to record the death as merely accidental, casting no blame on anyone. After the war ended, McKelfresh visited a holy site in Japan and was stunned by its beauty and tranquility. He returned home and was discharged soon after.