Choral Fest 2005 performance at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall

Recital performated at UNT College of Music Concert Hall.

Transcript of an oral interview with Al Heigel. When Heigel finished high school in June, 1944, he joined the Navy at Little Rock, Arkansas and went for boot training at San Diego. He was assigned as a radar operator and reported aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) at Pearl Harbor. Heigel describes the light carrier and its construction and features. He also speaks of the time the Independence was hit by a torpedo off Tarawa in 1943. Heigel then describes events off Okinawa: watching the USS Franklin (CV-13) being bombed off Okinawa; locating and shooting down kamikazes; describing battle stations; aircraft water landings; being in a typhoon, etc. After the war ended, the Independence served as a troop transport taking GIs back home to the US. He describes bunks in the hangar deck and arriving in Portland, Oregon. As the Independence was being prepared for the Bikini Atoll atomic tests, Heigel got off becuase he had the requisite amount of points allowing him to be discharged. He then entered the lumber business, married and raised family.

Transcript of an oral interview with Bill McClellan. He joined the Marine Corps in 1944 where he had training at Parris Island, Camp Lejeune and Camp pendleton before shipping out and joining his unit on Guadalcanal. On their way to Okinawa, the unit stopped off at Mog Mog for a beer bust. McClellan was among the first marines to land on Okinawa. After securing the northern portion of the island, his unit moved south. He was detached and spent 10 days assisting the Graves Registration commander in digging graves. A leiutenant from his company rescued him from this duty and sent him back to the rest of his company on the line. From Okinawa, McClellan went to Guam with his unit, then Yokosuka after the surrender. He spent over a year in Japan before being discharged in Corpus Christi, Texas in February, 1947. In 1950, he was called up for duty in Korea.

Transcript of an oral interview with Charles H. Britten. Britten was drafted into the Marine Corps after he finished high school in June, 1944. He trained at San Diego and at Camp Pendleton as a Marine scout and sniper. He was eventually assigned to the Headquarters Company, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division. He trained more on Guadalcanal in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. Britten shares several anecdotes about his time in battle on Okinawa. When the war ended, Britten and his unit were sent to China for occupation duty. He returned home in July, 1946 and was discharged.

Transcript of an oral interview with Charles Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick joined the Marine Corps in 1942. He had basic training at Parris Island, then was selected to go to Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia. He was eventually assigned to the Sixth marine Division as an artillery forward observer and joined the division on Guadalcanal before going to Okinawa. Kilpatrick discusses the fighting on Okinawa in the vicinity of Sugar Loaf Hill and the Horseshoe. After Okinawa was captured, Kilpatrick went to Guam, then to Japan for occupation duty. He also spent time in China during the occupation there, as well. Kilpatrick stayed in the reserves until he retired in 1962.

Transcript of an oral interview with Doug Aitken. When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Aitken was nineteen and in college in California. He remained in college, earned his degree and was commissioned an ensign upon finishing school in 1944. He then went to radar school and trained for a position in the combat information center (CIC) of a destroyer. He soon reported aboard the USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) in San Diego and headed for the Pacific. Soon, the Hadley was escorting other ships to Okinawa fo rthe invasion. Once there, the Hadley went on picket duty north of Okinawa on the lookout for kamikazes. Aitken describes a day in which the Hadley and other destroyers on picket station #15 off Okinawa were attacked by approximately 150 kamikazes in less than two hours. His battle station was inside the CIC. He also describes the Hadley being struck by three kamikazes and the crew abandoning ship. The Hadley was taken under tow to Kerama Retto for repairs, where she tied up alongside the USS Aaron Ward (DM-34), which had also been struck by numerous kamikazes. After repairs, the Hadley was towed to San Francisco. The war ended while she was …

Transcript of an oral interview with Dr. Edward Drea. Drea joined the Air Force in 1965 after college and trained as an intelligence officer. He was eventually assigned to the Fifth Air Force in Fuchu, Japan in 1968 where he monitored communications between communist countries. After a tour with the Air Force in Vietnam, Drea returned to Japan in 1971 to attend university on the G.I. Bill and study for a masters degree in international relations. He returned to work on a Ph. D. at the University of Kansas and was able to return to Japan for some doctoral work where an interest in the Imperial Japanese Army grew and matured. Upon completion of the degree, he took a position at the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as a civilian historian. The conversation drifts into breaking the Japanese code during World War II and using it to Allied advantage. From there, the conversation goes into Japan's decision to go to war against the United States. From there, it moves to the occupation of Japan after the war ended and the Imperial Japanese Army.

Transcript of an oral interview with Edmund K. Austin. Austin was drafted his junior year in high school (1943) and sent to Camp Greely in Oklahoma for basic training. From there he was sent to the Pacific and went into a heavy artillery unit (155 mm Long Tom outfit) that had been based on Christmas Island at the beginning of the war. Got bad jungle rot in the Philippines. After the Philippine operation (near the end of Luzon), his unit (532nd Field Artillery Battalion) was sent to Okinawa aboard a LST. They landed on Shishi Jima (small island off Naha) a day or so before the big invasion of Okinawa proper. Witnessed kamikaze attacks a saw several Navy ships hit. Japanese tried to invade Shishi Jima but they were not successful. Had a shell land in his gun pit but it was a dud. Later in the operation his unit was loaded on a barge and taken over to Okinawa, somewhere around Naha. Did lots of firing supporting the Army and Marines because their guns had the range. Operated for a while in the rain and mud. Assigned to a USO unit when the war was over. Austin was a …

Transcript of an oral interview with George Keith. Keith enlisted in the Navy Seabees in May 1942 and went to boot camp at Camp Allen in Norfolk, Virginia. From there, they were sent by train to Port Hueneme, California. They spent two months training there before they boarded a ship in San Francisco which sailed to Pearl Harbor. He stayed there with the 10th Battalion and worked two years in the Navy Yard switching equipment. Cook was there when they righted the USS Oklahoma. He came back to the States in 1945, first to Camp Parks, California and then they were shipped to Davisville, Rhode Island (Seabee base). After he was discharged, he went back to work at New England Bell which later became AT&T.

Transcript of an oral interview with Hal Javitt. Javitt enlisted in the Army Air Force in the latter half of 1942 when he was in a junior college because he didn't want to be drafted. He had basic training at a hotel in Miami Beach and then entered aviation cadet training (pre-flight) at Maxwell Field, Alabama. He started primary flight school in Bennettsville, South Carolina and then went to basic flight training at Shaw Field, South Carolina. He was selected for fighters and went to single-engine school in Florida where he got his wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He then went to a transition school and received training in the P-40 aircraft. From there he went to Bartow, Florida and learned to fly P-51 Mustangs and went through advanced training there. Eight of them left from Miami Beach (36th Street airport) in a Douglas C-54 transport and made their way to Karachi, India. He was assigned to the 311th Fighter Group in Chengdu, China, arriving there via Army Air Force transport. Javitt flew misions that interrupted the Japanese supply lines. After about 26 missions, he transferred to the 5th Fighter Group which was part of the Chinese American …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Schaefer. Schaefer was drafted into the Army in April, 1943. Once in, he passed the exam to become an air cadet. Instead of becoming a pilot, he was trained as a tail gunner and went overseas to Tinian to join the 505th Bomb Group. He flew in B-29s on several missions to Japan mining harbors or dropping bombs. He flew on 13 combat missions before flyting on a few prisoner of war supply missions. When the war ended, Schaefer flew home on a B-29 and attended college on the GI Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Clayton. Clayton was drafted into the United States Navy. After training, he joined the Amphibious Forces and was assigned to USS Alpine (APA-92). His crew made assaults on Guam and the Philippines. He was a yeoman for 2 years. He was aboard the Alpine when it was commissioned and decommissioned. After the war, the Alpine pulled troops out of battle zones in Japan and China. He was discharged in New Orleans.

Transcript of an oral interview with James Bennie. He and his family immigrated from Scotland in 1930, landing in Boston. Bennie went to aircraft maintenance school before the war and was drafted in the fall of 1942 while working for Civil Service, preparing aircraft for ferrying overseas. He went to basic training in Atlantic City and was put to work after that, first at Williams Field in Arizona and then Hobbs, New Mexico (on B-17s). He ultimately wound up going to India and getting fighters. He took a Pan American C-54 from Miami to Karahci, India. Then his group took a train across India to get an airplane (C-46) to fly the Hump into China. Started work in Chinkiang in April 1943 on P-40s. Chinkiang had the 27th, 26th, 17th and one other squadron; Bennie was in the 17th. Two American pilots and two Chinese pilots would fly together to make a four-man element. The airplanes had Chinese markings on them. Maintenace crews worked off of dirt and didn't have much equipment (like engine hoists). Chinese labor built the runways. After the war, Bennie got assigned to an American photo reconnaissance unit and eventually wound up in Shanghai. He left …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Boston. Boston was born 17 April 1924 in Philadelphia and joined the Marines 15 January 1942. After completing boot and advanced training, he boarded the USS George F. Elliott (AP-105) as a member of the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Battalion to participate in the invasion of Guadalcanal. He describes boot training, advanced training and combat scenarios encountered during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He also details the Japanese night attack at the Tenaru River. He lists by name those of company G that were killed during the action. Upon contracting malaria, he was sent to the 4th General hospital in Melbourne, Australia followed by stay in the Oakland Naval Hospital and the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. In August 1945 he was sent to Guam where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. In November 1945, he returned to the United States and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Leach. Leach joined the Navy in August, 1942 and after training attended diesel engine school in Missouri. After amphibious training at Little Creek, Virginia, Leach headed for Kentucky to join the crew of USS LST-78 in May 1943. In November, USS LST-78 was in on the invasion of Makin. Later, he made the landing at Kwajalein in early 1944. They spent a lot of time running supplies to Guam. In February, 1945, Leach returned to the US. When the war ended, Leach was in Farragut, Idaho having his teeth fixed.

Transcript of an oral interview with John De Haven. Upon finishing college at Bowling Green University in 1940, deHaven was drafted into the Army. He applied for and was accepted into the Army Air Corps, whereupon he earned his commission in 1942. De Haven served as a flight instructor for a while and then volunteered for service in the Chinese American Composite Wing and went to India. He flew P-40 airplanes against various targets against the Japanese in China. De Haven was back in the US when the war ended and he elected to get out of the service.

Transcript of an oral interview with Jon Pensyl. Pensyl went into military service in November, 1942. Pensyl lists many places in the US where he received flight training. He finally made his way overseas in 1944. His assignment took him to India initially for a little more training. Finally, he made it to a base in Hunan Province, China and flew combat missions against the Japanese there. Pensyl was in the 17th Squadron, 5th Fighter Group. His unit was part of the Chinese American Composite Wing. He flew P-40 and P-51 airplanes. He also describes being shot down, parachuting to the ground and being rescued by Chinese guerrilla fighters. With help from the Chinese, Pensyl made it back to an American base and was reunited with his unit after being absent for two weeks. Pensyl also decsribes the Japanese surrender in China after the end of hostilities.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph T. Smith. Smith was drafted and entered the Army in October, 1942. He was assigned to the 92nd Evacuation Hospital and trained with them as soon as he entered the service. He shipped overseas to Australia in June 1943. After treating casualties from the New Guinea campaign, Smith's unit relocated to Hollandia and then went to Biak. On Owi, his unit dealt with a scrub typhus epidemic. Later, they went to the Philippines and set up on Luzon. His hospital ward treated many of the Cabanatuan POW camp survivors after they were rescued. General MacArthur paid his ward a visit, too. When the war ended, Smith's unit went to Japan and set up their hospital in Nagoya. Smith returned tot he US and was discharged in January, 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Karl E. Momsen. Momsen joined the Marine Corps and trained at Parris Island, South Carolina before reporting to Camp Pendleton. He sailed to Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Arenac (APA-128), then Guam in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. Momsen carried the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) in his squad. He landed on Okinawa in the second wave on 1 April 1945. Momsen briefly describes being wounded in action.

Transcript of an oral interview with Les Caffey. He was born near Ballinger, Texas, grew up on a farm near Brady, Texas and when he finished high school in 1944, he joined the Navy because his brothers and friends had all joined the service. He had two months training in San Diego, then went aboard a troopship to Pearl Harbor. From there, Caffey was assigned and went aboard the USS Wichita (CA-45). He speaks of towing the USS Canberra (CA-70) after it suffered a torpedo hit off the coast of Formosa. Caffey also speaks of watching from the deck of the Wichita planes from VF-2 come in and land on the illuminated deck of the USS Lexington (CV-16) after operations in the Philippine Sea. As the cruiser was headed into Buckner Bay to soften up Okinawa prior to the invasion, Caffey describes near misses by a torpedo and a kamikaze. After the war ended, the Wichita sailed to Nagasaki where Caffey describes scenes of destruction. After that, the Wichita was sent to Philadelphia for decommissioning and Caffey got his discharge shortly thereafter. He made his way back to Brady and reunited with his folks.

Transcript of an oral interview with Lieutenant Commander Louis G. Lacy. Lacy enlisted in the Navy in July, 1941 after he graduated from Texas Christian University. He received orders to report to officer training school in Chicago shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After getting commissioned, Lacy went to Naval Mine Warfare School in Virginia for more training. From there, Lacy was assigned to the USS Adroit (AM-82) briefly. After that, he was assigned to the USS Starling (AM-64). Before long, he was assigned back to Virginia for more mine warfare training. Then he was ordered to report aboard the Starling, which he did at New Caledonia. From there, the Starling provided minsweeping duties for convoys in and around the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Lacy then describes being present for the invasion of Guam. From there, the Starling went back to California for some overhaul work before heading back out, this time for the invasion of Okinawa. Lacy was serving as the ship's Executive Officer at this point. Their duty was to sweep for mines prior to the invasion. Lacy also speaks of being attacked by kamikaze planes off Okinawa. In November, 1945, Lacy rotated home and was …

Transcript of an oral interview with Marcus R. Neuhaus. Born in 1917, he was drafted into the Army in March 1942. He describes being processed into the military in Arkansas and then transported by train to Victorville, California. He was assigned to bombardier training school where he issued bombsights along with a stabilizer and a 45-caliber gun to trainees. He describes the secret nature of the equipment. After two and a half years, he was sent to Deming, New Mexico and, later, to San Antonio Texas where he was involved with airplane part supplies. He describes being transported to Washington aboard a steam train as well as conditions aboard a World War I vintage ship en route to Okinawa. He mentions the method of disposal of Japanese corpses on Okinawa. He also talks about his visit to the suicide cliffs. He describes the outdoor movie theater and the use of tracer bullets on Okinawa to celebrate the end of the war. He was discharged in January 1946. The interview also includes information about his parents and his wife.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Goss. Goss joined the Marine Corps in April of 1943. He joined the Marine Raiders, training in boat landings and as a mortar man. He traveled to New Caledonia and Guam, and participated in the invasion of Saipan in June of 1944. He shares a number of anecdotal stories about general life in the service. He was discharged in December of 1945.