The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George L. Craig. In 1943, when he was 18, he signed up for service in the Marine Corps in Richmond, Virginia. He had basic training at Parris island, South Carolina. After that, Craig went to Quantico, Virginia to Field Artillery School where he trained as a surveyor. Then, he had more training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before heading to Camp Pendleton, California where he joined the Fifth Marine Division. From there, he went to Hawaii for more advanced training at Camp Tarawa. Then, Craig speaks about landing at and fighting on Iwo Jima. He also talks about occupation duty at Sasebo, Japan when the war ended. Craig returnded home and attended the University of Maryland on the GI Bill and went into public education in Winchester, Virginia until he retired in 1985.

The National Museum of the Pacific war presents an oral interview with Howard Towry. Towry was born in Graham, Texas 17 December 1926. He quit school in 1943 and began driving a truck. Joining the US Marine Corps in January 1944, he went to San Diego for eight weeks of boot camp. After completing boot training, he was sent to Camp Pendleton where he joined the 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division for a short time. Towry was then sent to a tank destroyer unit at Camp Elliott. He learned to use various weapons and explosives. During November 1944 he boarded the USS Marathon (APA-200) bound for Pavuvu where he joined the 1st Marine Division, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Regiment as a tank driver. During March 1945 the regiment went to Okinawa where he was assigned to Headquarters Company of the 1st Regiment as tank liaison. Towry recalls being subjected to artillery fire that wounded him and killed two men with him. He describes the typhoon that hit Okinawa in October 1945. After the surrender of Japan the 1st Marines were sent to Tientsin, China to disarm Japanese troops and maintain order. Towry returned to the United States and was discharged …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Blanchard. Blanchard joined the Navy in February, 1943. His first assignment after boot camp was in an office at the Norfolk (Virginia) Naval Air Station. In early 1945, Blanchard reported aboard USS Franklin (CV-13). Blanchard was aboard USS Franklin (CV-13) when she was hit by Japanese bombs. He was below decks during the attack, suffered from smoke inhalation and was eventually transferred to USS Santa Fe (CL-60). Blanchard returned to the Franklin at Ulithi and went with it to Brooklyn. He was discharged in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Earnest Cochran. Cochran joined the Navy in May, 1940. When he finished boot training, he was sent to North Island Naval Air Station outside San Diego and trained further as an aviation machinist. He moved to Pearl Harbor with Utility Squadron 2 (VJ-2) in August, 1941. Cochran was on Ford Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Cochran left Hawaii for a school in Chicago in 1943. Then he moved to New Caledonia to serve in Utility Squadron 9 (VJ-9).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James H. Couch. Couch was born in Murrayville, Georgia 4 January 1923. He quit school in December 1941 and joined the Marine Corps. Upon completing boot camp at Parris Island, he went to Camp Lejeune for combat training with the Browning automatic rifle. Assigned to Company G, Second Battalion, 1st Marine Division, he boarded the USS George F. Elliott (AP-105) and sailed to Wellington, New Zealand. Leaving there, the division went to Fiji where they made practice landings. On 7 August 1942, he was in the third wave during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He recalls advancing to the Tenaru River and describes the Japanese night attack on 21 August 1942, led by Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, which resulted in hand to hand combat. His company had twenty-three men killed during the attack while the Japanese lost heavily. Couch also recalls the Japanese naval forces attacking the Marine positions and airfield on 14 September. During December he was sent to the 4th General Hospital in Melbourne due to a severe attack of malaria. He returned to the United States and entered the hospital at Balboa Park, California. Once he recovered, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman DeReese. DeReese joined the Army in January 1942. He was assigned to the 18th Field Artillery and served in the headquarters battalion in communications. He went with his unit to England in early 1943 for further training prior to the Normandy invasion. He landed at Normandy in early July. DeReese's unit was unattached to any larger unit. Instead, his artillery brigade was attached temporarily to several different units throughout the campaign in Western Europe. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. When the war ended, DeReese was shipped home and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marvin Fields. Fields joined the Navy in July 1942 and trained at Great Lakes. He went to diesel engine school and was then assigned to the engine room aboard USS LST-306. He shares several anecdotes about being in North Africa after the invasion. He shares two encounters with Sam Donahue, the bandleader. His LST was at Sicily when several air transports were shot down. He also shares anecdotes from landing at Salerno. Fields also was aboard USS LST-306 during the Normandy invasion and made over 50 trips across the English Channel delivering supplies to Omaha Beach. He stayed with the 306 for the duration of his time in the Navy and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Floyd H. Fulkerson. In January, 1942, Fulkerson joined the Army Air Corps and went into flight training, graduating and being commissioned in September, 1942. From there, he went to train in B-25s in South Carolina. From there, he went overseas to Australia in September, 1943. He received transfer from B-25s to P-38s in Australia and was assigned to the 475th Fighter Group, 431st Fighter Squadron in January 1944. Fulkerson flew some with Colonel Charles Lindbergh and Major Richard Bong. On one mission in the Philippines, Fulkerson was shot down and was rescued by Filipino guerrillas and returned to his base after five weeks.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Victor Liptrap. Liptrap was drafted into the Army and after basic training, volunteered for paratrooper training. Once overseas in New Guinea, Liptrap was assigned to the 711th Ordnance Company in the 11th Airborne Division. He travelled with this unit to Leyte in October, 1944. There, he joined the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as a replacement. He remained with the unit during the Luzon invasion. From there, he went to Yokohama for occupation duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Loyd. Loyd joined the Navy after finishing high school in 1941. He trained at San Diego until he was assigned to the boilers in the main engine room aboard the USS Neosho (AO-23). Loyd was aboard the Neosho at Ford Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Loyd's battle station was on the deck near the bow of the ship, so he got a good look at the action around the harbor. In February 1942, Loyd swapped duties with a man at Hickam Field and got off the Neosho. His new assignment was degaussing ships. Also while in Hawaii, he served aboard the USS Skenandoa (YT-336), an ocean going tugboat. In early 1944, Loyd was assigned to the USS Springfield (CL-66). He was aboard her when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Perez. Perez joined the Navy in August, 1943. From basic training, he went to radio school in Colorado. After radio school, Perez was assigned to a Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO) unit. Navy personnel were pulled from JASCO units while Perez was in Hawaii. Instead, he was assigned to USS Montrose (APA-212) and rode it to Leyte in time for the invasion. There, Perez helped establish shore to ship voice communications. Later, he boarded USS Goodhue (APA-107) and travelled to Ie Shima, where he again set up voice communication from shore to ship. When the war ended, Perez was on Luzon practicing landings for the invasion of Japan. The Goodhue delivered the Americal Division to Japan and returned with a load of former POWs. Perez received his discharge in April, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cleatis Roach. Roach joined the Army Air Forces in April, 1943 and had basic training at Sheppard Field, near Wichita Falls, Texas. After basic, he went to Texas Tech in Lubbock for preflight training. When he learned it would take a lot of time to learn to fly and then be assigned to a combat unit, Roach quit flight school and went to aerial gunnery school. After training, he was assigned to a B-17 crew and went overseas in December 1944. Once he reached England, his crew was assigned to the 452nd Bomb Group, 729th Bomb Squadron at Deopham Green, near Attleborough. He flew 17 or 18 combat missions over Germany before the war ended. He returned from Europe to train in B-29s when the Japanese surrendered. Roach was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hugh Story. Story finished college and immediately went into the Navy to train as an officer at the Midshipman School at Columbia University in January 1943. He volunteered for submarine duty and was assigned to USS Bluegill (SS-242). They started war patrols off New Guinea in April 1944. Story was aboard for 5 out of 6 war patrols and provides details about each: attacking ships with torpedoes and enduring depth charge attacks. When the war ended Story was in Chicago. He remained in the Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hearol Veteto. Veteto joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps until he was called to active duty in early 1943. He then joined the Army Air Forces and trained as an aerial gunner in Kingman, Arizona. He also trained as a bombardier and was commissioned. Veteto went overseas in December 1944 to England. On a mission over Berlin in February, Veteto’s plane was shot down and he bailed out. On the ground, he met another crewman and they walked out, eventually reaching Poland and contacting the Russians. The Russians took them to Odessa where they boarded a ship and were repatriated in Italy. Upon returning to the US, the war ended and Veteto took his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard R. Brandenburge. In January 1942 he transferred into the Army Air Force and began basic training at Shepherd Field and finished at Foster Field, graduating in February 1944. He received his wings and commission. He went to California and flew P38s, P39s, P40s and P51s. He loaded the P51s onto a small carrier in Pearl Harbor and moved to Tinian Island in March 1945. After Iwo Jima was secured they flew there to serve as escorts between the islands in their P51s. He discusses his experiences with Japanese bonsai raids, flying missions over Japan, escorting B29s, shooting at Japanese fighters and unfortunate casualties of planes and crew. His first mission as escort began April 1945, and he completed 26 missions overall. After he was discharged he had to stay in the reserves and completed a tour in the Korean War. He joined the reserves unit in San Antonio at Kelly Air Force Base, flying transports: C-46s, C-119s and C-124s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Charles. Charles was born in Picher, Oklahoma in 1919. Placed in a foster home at sixteen years of age he was encouraged to complete high school and attended college. On 6 June 1940 he joined the US Marine Corps and went to San Diego for boot camp. After boot training he was selected for Marine Corps Field Intelligence Training. When he completed this training he was ordered to proceed to Shanghai. Prior to arrival, his orders changed and he was assigned aboard the USS Houston (CA-30). He describes being in the battles of Makassar Straits, the Java Sea and Sunda Straits. When the Houston sank, Charles became a prisoner of war. He tells a vivid tale of torture, abuse and malnutrition during a trip on a hell ship to Changi Prison Camp. There, he experienced dreadful conditions, diseases, starvation and death. Prisoners worked as slave laborers on the Burma—Siam Railroad. He was with a group of prisoners moved to Camp Kanchanaburi, near Bangkok, Thailand. He recalls continued mistreatment and starvation and describes atrocities he observed including the beheading of Australian prisoners of war. After the surrender of …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rocky Agrusti. Argusti was born on 7 July 1924 in Waterville, New York into a family of nine children. Four of the boys and one of the girls served during World War II. Two of the boys were killed in action during the war. Prior to being drafted, he worked as a steam engine fireman with the New York Central Railroad. Upon entering the US Army in 1943, he was sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for basic training. After receiving advanced training at several other bases, he was assigned to the 701st Railway Grand Division, 721st Railway Operations Battalion. In December 1943 the battalion was sent to the West Coast where they boarded the SS Mariposa bound for Bombay, India. Upon their arrival in India, Argusti went by train to Parbatpur, India. He recalls that the barracks, called bashas, were constructed of straw. A fire occurred that burned down the majority of the dwellings. He tells of operating railroad engines transporting supplies to Ledo, India for shipment into the interior of China by air transport or overland by the Ledo Burma Road. Following the surrender of Japan, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Otis M. Cox. Cox was born in Harlan, Kentucky on 10 May 1923. Soon after graduating from high school in 1941, he joined the US Army Air Corps. Upon completion of basic training at Shreveport, Louisiana he was sent to Ft. Logan, Colorado to attend a technical training school. He recalls various air bases to which he was assigned and of the various jobs he performed. During the course of his time in the service, he learned radio operator procedures through on the job training. After undergoing crew training, he was sent to India where he joined the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron. He flew 44 round trip flights over the Himalaya Mountains. He returned to the United States during November 1945 and was discharged the following month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl DeLeeuw. DeLeeuw joined the Army Air Forces in late 1941 and was shipped to Australia right as the war was beginning to assemble P-40s. From there, he went to India and was an airplane mechanic involved in maintaining the planes flying supplies over the Himalaya Mountains to China and bombing Burma. He was released from the service in September, 1945 and went to work for United Airlines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bob Fagleson. Fagleson went to school at Virginia Tech and took the Civilian Pilot Training course. To continue flying he joined the Army Air Forces. He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri for classification due to an eye astigmatism. From there he went to Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin learning basic radio mechanics, and then on to radar school in Florida, then Control Net System training in Homer, Wisconsin. Once he graduated from CNS training he went to Camp Patrick Henry in Newport News, Virginia to board a ship heading to Bombay. He ended up in Chabour assisting with equipment arrival and transport. He was also located in Narin, bringing back planes from bombing missions and giving signal directions. He spent some time in Maran and the remainder in Michenau. After he finished his tour of duty he flew back to Karachi and took a ship back. He said that he got sick aboard the ship and was hospitalized for 6 months and partially paralyzed and got a medical discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Virgil Heidbrink. Heidbrink was a Master Sergeant in the Army. He was drafted in March 1944. He began basic training in Camp Barkeley, Texas then transferred to Brigham City, Utah for joint training at Bushnell Army Hospital where he was assigned to clerk duty in the hospital headquarters. In November 1944 he boarded the USS General John Pope (AP-110), destination Bombay, India. From there they went to Ledo, Assam and he was assigned to a Basha, an Indian hut. With his Army issued typewriter he served as a clerk, typing and drafting letters for the colonel until about April 1945. He headed to Kunming, China with Convoy Number Fifty. He and two others made up the medical section of that convoy. Arriving in Kunming he was on detached service at an already established hospital there called the 95th Station Hospital, finally taking over the 96th Station Hospital. He served in the admitting section of the hospital. He moved on to Shanghai and served there until May 1946. He was discharged in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Lawler. Lawler was born in Mount Pleasant, Texas 4 October 1918. Graduating from high school in 1936, he attended business college for two years before being employed in the accounting office of the Fort Worth Poultry and Egg Company. He was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1941 for several months prior to entering the US Army Air Corps cadet training program. Having received flight training at several bases, he completed his advanced training at Brooks Field, Texas and received his wings. His first assignment was as a pilot flying Curtis 0-52 observation planes for the Aerial Observation School at Brooks Field. His next assignment was communications officer and flight officer at Esler Field, Louisiana. He joined the 12th Bomb Group, 82nd Squadron in Sicily during which he flew eight combat missions. He describes the armament of a B-25G bomber and tells of the stress created on the aircraft when using the 77mm nose cannon. In early 1944 the unit was sent to India and attached to the British Tactical Air Command. He discusses various missions flown and tells of pioneering the use of napalm …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Moore. Moore graduated from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene in January 1940. He was hired by the FBI after graduation and worked in Washington. In the fall of 1944 he joined the OSS and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy although he didn't go to OCS. OSS training occurred on Catalina Island, CA. In Kunming, China he worked with Chang Kai Shek (Nationalist troops) developing informants and demolition experts. He was supposed to go in with General Li Wen Li to the Wei Shin interment camp but didn't until after the war was over. He was in Kunming when the war ended. Discharged in June 1946 at Shanghai. Worked for the CIA after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Moore. Moore joined the Army and trained at Fort Riley, Kansas before being shipped to Burma and attached to the 475th Infantry Regiment. After some time as a rifleman, he was made a combat medic. He describes several battles with the Japanese in the jungles of Burma. Moore was wounded but stayed with the other surgeons and medics. After securing Burma, Moore was transferred to Kunming, China to teach Chinese Nationalists how to use small arms. After the war, Moore was on duty as a clerk in Shanghai. He received his discharge in 1946.