Interview with Gilberto S. Trevino, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He attended Texas A&M before serving in the Marine Corps. He was in the 28th Replacement Battalion when he was assigned to the 3d Marine Division and deployed to Iwo Jima. He discusses his first impressions of landing on the island. He describes the constructed Japanese defenses on the island and the use of Japanese Nisei interpreters to convince defenders to surrender. He returned to Texas A&M where he was in the Corps of Cadets (ROTC) and accepted his commission in the Army in time to serve in Korea. He eventually earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A&M and a doctorate degree in pathology from Michigan State University. He retired from service in 1976 with the rank of colonel.

Recital performated at UNT College of Music Concert Hall.

Jazz vocals concert performed at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

Interview with Donald Davis Kaiser, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, originally from Yoakum, Texas. Kaiser answers many questions regarding his training in the United States, to which he recalls that basic training was very difficult and miserable. The interview goes on to discuss his time while overseas in Vietnam including combat during the Tet Offensive in early 1968.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr Buckner Fanning. After graduating from high school, Fanning enlisted in the Marine Corps and went to boot camp at Paris Island. He states that the Marine Corps changed his life. Fanning went to Camp Lejune for basic training and was slated to go to Quantico to be commissioned. However, he didn't want to go there (neither did his buddies) so the Marine Corps sent them to Camp Pendleton where they were assigned to the 6th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. They went to Guam which had been partially secured. They had training (for the invasion of Japan) on Saipan and were held in reserve for Okinawa. They heard about the atomic bomb while training on Saipan. As soon as the peace treaty was signed, they were waiting outside the harbor at Nagasaki. Fanning describes landing in Nagasaki, the conditions there, what they did, and finding a little Methodist church that he started attending even though he couldn't understand a thing they said. While he was in Nagasaki, he was selected to represent the 2nd Marine Division at the firing competition in Hawaii. Later, they were moved them to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hershel Woodrow ""Woody"" Williams. Williams quit high school I nWest Virginia to join the Civilian Conservation Corps, which assigned him to Montana. He was there when Pearl harbor was attack and resigned from the CCC to joint the Marine Corps. The Marine recruiter told him he was too short, so Williams headed back to West Virginia. When the Marine Corps lifted the height requirement, he enlisted in May, 1943. After boot camp, he joined a newly-established flame thrower demolition special weapons unit in the 1st Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Third Marine Division and began training with them at Guadalcanal. From there, Williams went to recapture Guam. With Guam secure, Williams's unit went to Iwo Jima. He finally got ashore on 21 February. On 23 February, Williams used six flamethrowers to destroy seven fortified enemy-help positions that opened a gap in the Japanese line of defense. This action allowed more Marines and tanks to get farther inland and earned Williams the Medal of Honor. He also speaks of losing his good friend on Iwo Jima and retrieving the man's ring in order t oreturn it to his parents …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Ahr. Ahr joined the Marine Corps at 16 years old in November, 1942. He lied about his age. After training, he went overseas and was assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment. He arrived in time for the invasion of Guam. Ahr also was at Iwo Jima and shares several impressions and anecdotes of the battle.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Alden. Alden had just finished Marine Corps boot training in San Diego when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He began clerking in the recruit depot office in San Diego shortly after the war started because he could type. In 1944, Alden was assigned to Company A, 27th Marines at Camp Pendleton. He was in the first wave to land on Iwo Jima. He was wounded and evacuated to USS Pinkney (APH-2), which, when it was full a few days later, shaped course for Guam, the Hawaii. Once recovered, Alden went to Saipan to serve in a military police unit in May, 1945. He returned to the US and was discharged in November, 1945. While attending Southern Methodist University, Alden participated in the Air Force ROTC and took a commission upon graduating. He worked as a procurement officer all over the world retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Watson. Watson joined the Marine Corps in 1943, and went to San Diego for boot camp training, then to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, then to Camp Pendleton. He trained as an engineer. From Pendleton he was shipped to Eniwetok, then to Guam. He landed on Iwo Jima on the second day of the battle, and remained for thirty days. He recalls the flares coming in over him and how deafening the 105s could be. He went to Sasebo, Japan with the occupation forces for about six months and his job was to supply water. He also went to Nagasaki. He was in the service a total of 3 years and was discharged in San Francisco before going to college to earn a degree in Education.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Johnnie Lee Pechal. Pechal was drafted into the Navy in July 1943 and went to San Diego for boot camp. Pechal’s first assignment was in a Naval hospital in New Orleans, then Camp Lejeune for further training with the Marines, then Camp Pendleton, after which he was attached to Company B in the 5th Medical Battalion in the 5th Marine Division. In January 1945 they boarded a troop ship bound for Iwo Jima where his company did not go in until the fifth day of the invasion. He was on the island 26 days serving as a corpsman before getting wounded on 22 March 1945. He was at home on leave when the Japanese surrendered and then went to Sasebo with occupation forces. They set up a hospital though there was little need for trained corpsmen.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Farritor. Farritor enlisted in the Marine Corps on 2 July 1941 in Des Moines, Iowa. He completed boot camp in San Diego. In July 1942 he joined the Second Marine Division. In September 1942 his unit helped open Camp Pendleton. While there he met Bob Hope, who introduced him to Frances Langford, Jerry Colona, Les Brown and Bing Crosby. They headed to Auckland, New Zealand in January 1943 on the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22). Eleanor Roosevelt visited them in New Zealand and Farritor laughed with her about taking Atabrine tablets, which she took along with the rest of the men. They moved to Guadalcanal in April 1943. He talks about living in six-man tents and anticipating Washing Machine Charlie. He was in Guadalcanal from April to late September 1943. They landed at Bougainville on 1 November 1943. At Bougainville, he encountered Japanese fire. They returned to Guadalcanal and remained there from January until May 1944. Then his group secured Guam. Then, they headed to Iwo Jima, landing there on 26 February 1945 halfway between Hot Rocks and Futatsu Rock. He was at Iwo Jima for thirty-six days of …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Curtis McGowen. McGowen enlisted in the Marine Corps in January, 1944. When finished with basic training, McGowen went to field telephone school. McGowen landed in the fifth wave at Iwo Jima and set up communications between shore and ships. He spotted for naval gunfire with his communications team. When the battle ended, he headed back to Hawaii and was there when the war ended. He then went to Guam to set up telephone communications on the island before leaving for the US. He was discharged in April, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Chester Ahr. Ahr joined the Marine Corps in December, 1941. He trained in San Diego and shipped overseas in October, 1942 to Guadalcanal where he was attached to a base services unit, which assisted the Seabees and Army engineers in construction projects. He also was in the invasion of Guam, where he was wounded and evacuated. Once he returned to his unit, Ahr got very sick and missed the invasion of Iwo Jima. Shortly afterwards, he was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jimmie C. Thomas. Thomas was born in Ada, Oklahoma 1 May 1923. He was attending Texas A&M University when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He joined the Navy and went to Del Monte, California for three months of pre-flight before going to Norman, Oklahoma for three months of advanced training. Upon completion, he was sent to Corpus Christi Naval Air Station where he trained in the SNJ-T6 trainer. After graduation, he was assigned to fly PBYs at Jacksonville, Florida. After returning from a training flight to Guantanamo, Cuba he was transferred to a Patrol Bomber Squadron and sent to Hutchinson, Kansas for advanced training in a PBY4. Afterwards, he went to California where he selected his crew. They went to the Consolidated Aircraft plant to pick up a new PBY4-2. The crew then flew to Hawaii where they spent four weeks before joining a squadron on Tinian. The crew named their plane Cover Girl and contacted Milton Caniff to provide them with a sketch for nose art. The squadron was transferred to Iwo Jima where they flew combination missions of air sea rescue while seeking Japanese shipping to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Larry Hermes. Hermes was attending Rice University when the war started. He enrolled in the Navy’s V-12 program and graduated with a commission in September, 1944. His first assignment was aboard USS LCI(G)-471, which he caught in Guam, and consisted of persuading holdout Japanese to surrender. Next, they headed for Iwo Jima, where they were attacked by shore batteries while supporting underwater demolition team activities two days prior to the invasion. Hermes was asked later to conduct the burial at sea, which he did. He also shares other stories from just off Iwo Jima. Hermes comments on how LCI(G)s were used as gunboats supporting units ashore. When the war ended, he made his way back to the US and took USS LCI(L)-552 from the west coast, through the Panama Canal, to South Carolina where he was in charge of decommissioning it.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Evan Aron Roberts. Roberts was born in November 1933, and joined the Marine Corps Reserve at the Naval Air Station in Dallas in 1951. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, and was stationed at South Camp Fuji, near Gotemba, Japan. In early 1953, he was deployed to Iwo Jima to clean up unexploded ordinances and other hazards on the island around Mount Suribachi, and participate in training maneuvers. Roberts’ job was to review and log the remains of Japanese fortifications in caves and holes, including food items, ammunition, and cases of rifles, pistols and medical supplies. After review, the items were left, and the caves and holes were detonated and closed up. Roberts also worked in Okinawa and with Task Force 77 off the coast of China. He returned to the US and received his discharge as a corporal in 1955.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Major General Carey Randall. Randall was born in Gloster, Mississippi, 15 November 1912. Entering Louisiana State University In 1930 he participated in ROTC and in 1935 accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps. Upon acceptance, he was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for additional training. Afterwards, he was assigned to the shipyard at Bremerton, Washington as platoon leader in one of the guardhouses. In 1937 he was sent to Shanghai, China and assigned to the 4th Marine Regiment. Leaving China in 1939, he was assigned as an aid to the commanding general at Quantico, Virginia. In early 1941 Randall received orders to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) as senior marine officer. He recalls 7 December 1941, when he was on temporary shore duty when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Going aboard the Enterprise he served as the anti-aircraft control officer and participated in the battle of Midway. He then received orders to report to San Diego to help organize the 9th Marine Battalion. In January 1943 the unit left California and went to New Zealand where they continued their training. They went to Guadalcanal and assisted in mop-up …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gene F. Dauer. Dauer joined the Marine Corps and trained at San Diego. While on leave after training, he missed returning in time to join his original unit and shipped out later to Hawaii. Eventually, he landed at Iwo Jima on D+4 four days after the initial assault. His duty on Iwo Jima included driving ambulances and working in the field hospital ward. He was on Hilo when the war ended and describes a tsunami on that island after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Starling. Starling joined the Marine Corps in June 1942. When he went overseas, he joined the 12th Marines on Guadalcanal for more training as an artillery forward observer. He landed on Guam and describes combat there as well as on Iwo Jima. Starling was wounded and evacuated. He was in the hospital when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Lambert. Lambert joined the Navy in 1944 and after training was assigned to a personnel carrier (it's unclear which ship he served aboard). He recalls his experiences landing Marines at Iwo Jima. Lambert was discharged in October, 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Gourley. Gourley joined the Navy in 1944. Once he finished boot camp, he was assigned to USS President Adams, (APA-19) bound for the invasion of the Philippines. When he arrived at Iwo Jima, Gourley went ashore for several days to help unload supplies. After the war, Gourley remained aboard and made several trips to Japan to haul troops back home. He took his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Barger. Barger joined the Navy in October 1943 and trained as a motor machinist. He was then assigned to USS LST-716 and went aboard it in Indiana. He rode it down the rivers, through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific. He recalls unloading materials at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also recalls being caught in the Sea of Japan in a tsunami that grounded his LST miles offshore. He was still aboard when USS LST-716 was handed over to the Chinese in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Randy James. James was born in Waco, Texas in 1924. In November 1941, he quit high school and joined the US Marine Corps. He was in the mess hall when he received word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As he had done some radio work prior to his enlistment he was selected to be a member of a Marine radio show with the Mutual Blue Network. He tells of the type of work they did with the coast-to-coast network. He requested an assignment in a combat outfit and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division in New Zealand. As a non-commissioned officer, James was selected to be in the 5th Marine Division and was sent back to the US. Recalling the invasion of Iwo Jima he tells of the shortage of food and water and describes the wounding of the officer who was his team leader. Later, he was wounded by shell fragments. He returned to Hawaii where his unit began retraining in preparation for the invasion of Japan. He heard about the atomic bomb being dropped and describes his reaction upon learning of the devastation …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Huffines. After graduating from high school, Huffines enlisted in the Marine Corps and was shipped to San Diego for boot camp. After boot camp, he went to telephone school at Camp Pendleton, then went into the 3rd Battalion, 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division. John trained for 7-8 months, then he was shipped out to the Hawaiian Islands, in Oahu from late 1944-early 1945. Upon arriving in Hawaii Huffines helped unload Coca Cola off ships for the entire Pacific area. They left from there to Iwo Jima. Once in Iwo Jima, they landed on Green Beach, at the foot of Mount Suribachi. His outfit supported the 28th Marines. Their 105mm Howitzers were set up at the bottom of Suribachi shooting into the caves. With the help of Rufus Taylor, he established a switchboard up to the front lines. He returned to Hawaii with the 20th Marines in late March. After his service he went to college.