Interview with Glenn G. Morgan of Weatherford, Texas, who is a veteran of the United States Navy. In the interview, Mr. Morgan talks about his time before the war as well as his military training, travels, life on and the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and his survival at sea.

Interview with Lowell Dean Cox, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses joining the Navy and serving aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He was on board when the cruiser was attacked by a Japanese submarine and survived for five days in the water before being rescued.

Interview with Oral interview with Hermi Salas, a U. S. Marine during World War II. Salas was assigned to the Third Marine Division and was present for the invasion of Guam in the Mariana Islands. He was wounded on Guam and evacuated to a hospital ship, the USS Solace. He also participated in the Iwo Jima landings. After a few weeks at Iwo Jima, Salas was wounded again and placed aboard the USS Solace. He discusses his experiences in the hospital recovering from the wounds he received in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Eventually, he made his way back to San Antonio. He also discusses a brief leave at home before he reported to prison guard duty in Corpus Christi. Upon being discharged after the war, Salas went to radio school and worked at Kelly Air Force Base in the Civil Service.

Interview with James William "Bill" Harrison, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He explains how he joined the navy in San Diego without going to boot camp. He worked on an oil tanker that shipped out to Pearl Harbor a month after the attack there and transported fuel out of San Diego to various ships at sea. He was then transfered to Admiral Nimitz's public relations department. There he and two others wrote stories about the action in the Pacific theater, particularly about the Battle of Midway. They also contributed to a radio show and worked with the national press corps. He then worked at the Naval Air Station in Seattle before traveling to Hilo, Hawaii to meet with soldiers who had returned from Tarawa. In Texas, he attended officer training school and college at Southwestern University. After the war ended, he studied at the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma for law school. He recalls an incident in which his office released a story about a cat that had kittens on board a cruiser; they reported this good news from the Pacific prior to the Battle of Midway. He also met Admirals Nimitz …

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.

Interview with Glenn G. Morgan, a bugler in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He was a bugler aboard the USS Indianapolis and experienced a kamikaze attack during the Okinawa campaign. He also describes transporting the crate that contained the first atomic bomb to Tinian, the ship's sinking, and the four days and five nights he spent in a life raft waiting to be rescued.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Gilbreath. Born in 1925, he was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1943. As a member of a mortar team in the 4th Division, he first saw military action on Roi-Namur. He describes a mortar and his role on a mortar team. He relates an incident in which LSTs, including his own USS LST-39, caught fire and exploded in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He describes action on Saipan, including landing; combat; friendly fire; Japanese Banzai attacks; and civilian suicides. He also recounts an incident on Saipan in which the Japanese soldiers used civilians to draw fire in order to locate U. S. military positions at night. He talks about living conditions on Saipan after the invasion and mentions radio broadcasts of Tokyo Rose. After the invasions of Saipan and Tinian, he went to Hawaii to prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima. He talks about seasickness and refueling an LST while at sea en route to Iwo Jima. He describes landing and combat on Iwo Jima. He sustained a shrapnel wound, but was treated and sent back to his unit. He speaks about the living conditions in various …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Johnnie Singleton. Singleton entered the Navy at 16 in June 1941 and trained at Corpus Christi. Singleton is African American and served as a mess attendant in a segregated Navy. He went aboard the USS Maryland (BB-46) at Pearl Harbor in September 1941. On December 7, 1941, Singleton was in the officers' galley when the Japanese struck. He went to his battle station in an ammunition handling room below deck. Next, Singleton describes the invasion of Tarawa and seeing bodies floating in the water. After Tarawa, the Maryland went to the Marshall Islands, Eniwetok and Kwajalein. Then, they went to Truk and Saipan. The Maryland got hit in the bow one night by a torpedo while they were in the harbor at Saipan. The battle of Leyte Gulf was next for the Maryland and she was one of the battleships at Surigao Strait. A kamikaze crashed into her later during the battle and she had to go to Bremerton for repairs. After repairs, the Maryland rejoined the fleet and sailed for Okinawa. The Maryland took another kamikaze hit off Okinawa with Singleton was trapped below deck at his …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Ladd. Mr Ladd was sworn into the Navy July 12, 1938. After boot camp, he was assigned to the USS Maryland (BB-46) which was stationed in Long Beach and San Pedro, California at the time. The Maryland moved to Pearl Harbor in the late summer of 1941. Ladd was a gunner's mate on one of the 5-inch broadside guns. On December 7, 1941, the guns were secured and the ammunition was locked up. It took them about ten minutes to get to where they could start shooting back at the Japanese planes. Ladd tells the story of shooting down two or three American planes early in the morning of December 8th that were trying to land. He also talks about getting men out of the ships that had been sunk in the harbor including the Oklahoma that had capsized next to them. Just before Christmas 1941, the Maryland was patched up enough to sail for Bremerton, Washington for repairs. Afterwards, she went back to Pearl Harbor. Ladd was transferred off in late October 1943 and went to gunnery school in Washington, DC for three months. After school, …

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 Charles Stackpole. Stackpole joined the Navy Reserves before the start of World War II and was in the Hospital Corps. He went on active duty to Great Lakes and they put him to work in the recruit receiving line. After some additional work at the hospital there, he was sent to Alameda and put aboard the SS Matsonia which sailed for Espiritu Santo. From there they went on a coastal tramp steamer to Noumea, New Caledonia where they set up a fleet hospital, MOB 7, Mobile Hospital. It later became Fleet Hospital 107. Stackpole describes in good detail what they went through in setting-up the hospital, the excellent doctors they had, and the great leadership of their commanding officer, Captain Espaugh. They were receiving causalities from the Guadalcanal campaign. The hospital ships would stand-off Noumea, the patients unloaded onto barges, and then taken to either the Navy or Army hospitals on Noumea. Stackpole also describes in good detail the kind of work they did with the patients. Next, they started bringing in the casualties from Bougainville. He also talks about patients from the USS Gambier Bay which was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rickie Feuille. Feuille left the University of Texas Law School the day after Pearl Harbor and enlisted in the Army soon thereafter. After serving for about five months with the Signal Corps in Arizona, he was sent to Air Corps OCS in Miami, Florida and commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduation. His first assignment was with an Air Corps service outfit in Pendleton, Oregon. Within a few months, he was sent to Thermal, California to the 13th Air Service Group. The Group went to Hawaii for jungle training and was split into two groups; Feuille was assigned to the 386th Air Service Group. The 386th went aboard a ship in early January 1945, headed for Iwo Jima but stopped in Saipan first; which was were the invasion fleet was staged. His ship was hit by a kamikaze while in the harbor at Saipan. His unit was put on another ship and they stayed off the beach until February 23rd when Feuille led an advance party of his group to the beach. He saw the famous flag raising and describes seeing bodies everywhere as well as wrecked vehicles; …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James William ""Bill"" Harrison. He begins by explaining how he joined the navy and started in San Diego without going to boot camp, then working on an oil tanker that shipped out to Pearl Harbor a month after the attack, then transported fuel out of San Diego to various ships at sea, then he was transfered to Admiral Nimitz public relations department. There he and two others wrote stories about the action in the Pacific, particularly about the Battle of Midway, they contributed to a radio show, working with the national press corps, then working at the Naval Air Station in Seattle, then to Hilo and meeting with soldiers back from Tarawa, then to Texas to go to officer training school and college at Southwestern University, then to University of Texas and University of Oklahoma for law school after the war. He ancedotes about the office releasing a story about a cat that had kittens on board a cruiser so they could report good news in the Pacific prior to the battle of Midway and meeting Admirals Nimitz and Byrd, typing up a letter for Elliott Roosevelt to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hermi Salas. Salas was assigned to the Third Marine Division and was present for the invasion of Guam in the Mariana Islands. He was wounded on Guam and evacuated to a hospital ship, the USS Solace. He also participated in the Iwo Jima landings. After a few weeks on Iwo Jima, Salas was wounded again and placed aboard the USS Solace. He discusses his experiences in the hospital recovering from wounds received in battle at Iwo Jima. Eventually, he made his way back to San Antonio and discusses a brief leave at home before reporting to prison guard duty in Corpus Christi. Upon being discharged after the war, Salas went to radio school and worked at Kelly Air Force Base in the Civil Service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Harker. Harker entered the Navy with a direct commission in July 1944. Upon arriving at Pearl harbor, he assumed duties as the engineering officer aboard USS LCI(G)-474, going aboard in November. When Harker’s LCI went close to shore to support the underwater demolition teams prior to the landing at Iwo Jima, his ship was shot up by shore batteries and had to retire from the line. After everyone transferred to a destroyer, the 474 rolled over and sank. Harker was transferred to USS LCI(G)-449 and travelled back to Saipan. Before the war ended, Harker was assigned to LST-226. He shares a few anecdotes about being aboard it. He was recalled for the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn G. Morgan. He was a bugler aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and discusses a kamikaze attack during the Okinawa campaign, carrying a crate to Tinian that contained the first atomic bomb, the ship's sinking, and the four days/five nights he spent in a life raft waiting to be rescued.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arthur Burry. Burry was born in Rocky Ford, Colorado 28 March 1924. He was inducted into the Army Air Forces in January 1943 and received flight training at various bases. After completing gunnery school, he was assigned to the 45th Fighter Squadron, which flew P-47 fighter planes. Traveling by merchant ship, Burry arrived at Iwo Jima in February 1945. He relates an incident where the Japanese made a banzai attack on the air field resulting in several pilots of the 15th Fighter Group being killed. He describes being on a strafing mission to Japan when his plane suffered engine failure and he bailed out. He tells of tying himself to his rubber dingy and surviving a typhoon. On his sixth day at sea he was picked up by the crew of the submarine USS Trutta (SS-421). He was transferred to the USS Peto (SS-265) and taken to Guam. After going to Hawaii for R & R he returned to Iwo Jima and received orders to return to the United States. He was discharged in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with June Brandenberger. Brandenberger finished high school in 1943 and was married later I n1944 to an officer in the Army Air Forces. She worked for a telephone company in San Antonio during the war. Brandenberger shares what it was like to be married with a small child and a husband overseas toward the end of the war. She describes his homecoming and what life was like after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Deward Terry. Terry was born in Bristol, Missouri in 1925. After graduating from high school, he attended business school for six months at Southeast Missouri College. He joined the Marine Corps in August 1943 and underwent boot training at San Diego. Upon graduating, he went to Camp Pendleton, where he joined the 5th Marine Division and attended the Communications School. He then went to Camp Tarawa, Hawaii for training with a forward observation team with the artillery. He recalls landing at Red Beach on Iwo Jima and being unable to move for four days due to heavy mortar and artillery fire from the Japanese defenders. He had a close encounter with a Japanese soldier and recalls the death of a close friend. After the surrender of Japan, Terry’s unit went to Japan where they performed guard duties for six months before returning to the United States. Upon his return, Terry was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Dyches. Dyches joined the Marine Corps in 1943. After boot training, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division. He landed at Iwo Jima and served as a BAR man carrying the Browning Automatic Rifle. He landed on the first day of the invasion and was wounded and evacuated on the fifth day. His wounds kept in various hospitals for over a year. He was discharged in August, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charlie Adams. Adams enlisted in the Marine Corps in March, 1943 and after training was assigned to the Fifth Marine Division. He landed late on the first day of the invasion of Iwo Jima. He remained there for 36 days. He served as a radio operator and describes much of the combat conditions he encountered on the island as well as some of the Japanese tactics. He was one of 13 of his original company of 248 men to walk off Iwo Jima unhurt. Adams also describes some of his experiences in Nagasaki, Japan during the occupation. He returned to the US and was discharged in March, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Bowell. Bowell entered service in the Navy in February 1942 and trained as a signalman and on sonar. In February, 1944 he was assigned to USS Defense (AM-317). Bowell speaks about the relationships he developed aboard ship. He also mentions minesweeping and kamikaze attacks off Okinawa and talks about fire support for the Marines on Iwo Jima. Bowell also recalls going into the water to rescue men from other vessels. When the war ended, Bowell’s ship swept mines off Japan. He remembers a typhoon off Okinawa and being discharged in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral history with Marcus Worde. Worde enlisted in the Army Air Corps in September, 1941. He was in flight school at Uvalde, Texas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He trained in B-17s, B-24s and B-29s. He served as a flight instructor for B-24s. When, Worde went overseas, he was assigned to the 421st Bomb Squadron, 504th Bomb Group on Tinian. From there, Worde flew combat missions over Japan in a B-29 until he was shot down in May, 1945 and became a prisoner of war. Worde describes his experiences as a Japanese POW and the treatment he endured until the war ended.

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 …