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Oral History Interview with Arden E. Kersey, June 21, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arden E. Kersey, June 21, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arden E. ""Scotty"" Kersey. Kersey was attending the University of Nebraska when he entered the V-12 program. Upon learning to fly, Kersey elected to go into the Marine Corps. Prior to entering the service, Kersey learned to fly through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He also discusses flight training and the various aircraft he flew. He trained at Cherry Point, North Carolina until January, 1944, when he shipped to California in anticipation of going overseas. Kersey was attached to VMF-313 as part of Marine Air Group 12. They continued traineing on Hawaii before going to Midway Island in April, 1944 for more training. In August, VMF-313 boarded the USS Altamaha (CVE-18) and headed for the Solomon Islands. Their first combat missions were flying as escorts for bombers attacking Rabaul and other targets. He mentions a brief R&R in Australia. He also recalls combat flights in the Philippines and destroying an enemy convoy. Kersey flew 79 combat missions in the Pacific before returning to the US for some ferrying duty prior to being discharged.
Date: June 21, 2006
Creator: Kersey, Arden E.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Long, June 19, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert Long, June 19, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Long. Long joined the Navy on 10 December 1941. He completed boot camp and traveled to Pearl Harbor in January of 1942, where he worked at a submarine base, served guard duty and completed further training. He served as a Watertender 3rd Class aboard the USS Hinsdale (APA-120) beginning October of 1944. In February of 1945 they participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima, embarking and disembarking troops and valuable cargo, and serving as an auxiliary hospital ship. Beginning in April 1945, they participated in the Battle of Okinawa, though received a hit by a kamikaze airplane. Long was in the fire room at the time of the attack. He was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: June 19, 2006
Creator: Long, Robert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Riggs, June 9, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Riggs, June 9, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Riggs. Riggs joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1942. He completed Weather, Forecaster and Observer schooling by the spring of 1944. He served as a weather forecaster in the 12th Weather Squadron stationed in North Africa and Italy. He was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: June 9, 2006
Creator: Riggs, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Willie Ray Snow, June 12, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Willie Ray Snow, June 12, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willie Ray Snow. Snow joined the Navy in May of 1943. He served as a Radio Technician Second Class, then a Petty Officer. In August of 1944 he traveled to New Guinea and Australia, and in January of 1945 he boarded the USS Flasher (SS-249). Snow participated in her sixth war patrol along the coast of Indochina. In February they sank a sea truck and a cargo ship with torpedoes. They completed patrols in April. Snow was discharged in December of 1945.
Date: June 12, 2006
Creator: Snow, Willie Ray
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Whymark. Whymark begins with discussing witnessing the Battle for Britain as he was a teenager living in a rural community outside London. When he was seventeen, he joined the Royal Marines and trained at Chatham in 1943. After training, he boarded a ship bound for Sri Lanka and more training. Upon completion of jungle training in Sri Lanka, Whymark was assigned to HMS Illustrious, an aircraft carrier assigned to raiding the Japanese installations on Java and Sumatra. In 1944, Illustrious joined the US Navy Task Force 57 and attacked targets on Formosa and Okinawa. Whymark describes the kamikaze attack on Illustrious that he witnessed. Whymark was reassigned from Illustrious to HMS Swiftsure (08), a cruiser. When the war ended, Whymark went to Hong Kong and Shanghai aboard Swiftsure. He also shares stories about the time he spent on occupation duty at the British Embassy in Tokyo after the war ended.
Date: June 26, 2006
Creator: Whymark, Gordon
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Barrington Bluetell, July 1, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Barrington Bluetell, July 1, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Barrington Buetell. Buetell grew up in Georgia and was drafted when he turned 18 in 1944. He trained in Georgia before being shipped to Europe in early 1945. He was attached to a headquarters company and recalls liberating a concentration camp at Mulhausen, Austria. When th ewar ended, Buetell rotated back to tUS where he enrolled in college. While there, he completed the Air Force ROTC course and was commissioned just prior to the outbreak of the war in Korea. He eventually was reassigned to occupation duty in Germany, where he served in a constabulary force in Wiesbaden.
Date: July 1, 2006
Creator: Bluetell, Barrington
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Sidney Sherwood Yawn, June 17, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Sidney Sherwood Yawn, June 17, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sid Yawn. Born in 1924, Yawn graduated from high school in 1941 with the intention of playing professional baseball. He describes learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor and enlisting in the Navy in 1942 despite being underage. After attending Storekeeper?s School, he was assigned to CUB 9 which was tasked with setting up supply bases for Marines on Guadalcanal. He was a Storekeeper First Class. His unit was part of the first wave to land on the Treasury Islands as part of a diversionary force. He describes the landing, the operation of the supply base, and the living conditions. He was sent to Camp Peary, Virginia in 1944 where he played on the baseball team. He shares anecdotes about being issued Marine uniforms; soldiers building a still; his injuries from coral during a surprise air attack; operating a base movie theater; and contacting other soldiers after the war. At the end of the war, he signed a contract with the Yankees baseball team.
Date: June 17, 2006
Creator: Yawn, Sidney Sherwood
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Burks, June 27, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Burks, June 27, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Burks. Burks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 17 January 1923. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended the University of Oklahoma until October 1942, at which time he joined the US Army Air Forces. He began a pilot training program, but the Army terminated it. In August 1943, he underwent basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas for twelve weeks. In November, he went to gunnery school at Laredo Air Field in Texas. He was then sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to a B-24 crew as the ball turret gunner. In April 1944 the crew flew to Wheeler Field, Hawaii where they underwent advanced training with the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, 7th Air Force. In September 1944 they moved to Kwajalein where they participated in bombing missions over Truk and Wake Islands. During October 1944 they moved to Guam where they flew forty missions over various islands including seventeen missions over Iwo Jima in preparation for the invasion. Burks relates his personal experience of capturing a Japanese soldier while on Guam. He returned to the United States in March …
Date: June 27, 2006
Creator: Burks, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Dimminger, July 5, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Dimminger, July 5, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Dimminger. Dimminger worked for Hammond Aircraft and Consolidated in 1939, building aircraft. He joined the Navy in March of 1942. Beginning in mid-June Dimminger served as Aviation Metalsmith Third Class aboard the USS Hornet (CV-8). From August through October they operated around the Solomon Islands. On 26 October, during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the ship was struck and sank by a dive bomber and torpedo plane attack. He was transferred to the USS Bougainville (CVE-100), and they transported aircraft to the Marshall, Admiralty and Mariana islands. In February of 1944 he was stationed in Honolulu for shore duty and worked as First Class Petty Officer in charge of the supply depot for plane parts. He was discharged in 1945.
Date: July 5, 2006
Creator: Dimminger, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Darl Good, June 30, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Darl Good, June 30, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Darl Good. Good volunteered for service in the Army, enlisting in January, 1941. Good trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He also attended a clerical school and worked in the headquarters at Fort Knox making sure the armored divisions had spare parts for their vehicles. After a few years there and promotion to warrant officer, Good transferred to the 918th Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company where he learned to drive a variety of vehicles (tanks, jeeps, trucks, etc.). They shipped over to England in 1944 and eventually set up an auto parts warehouse in Brussels. Good returned to the US and was discharged in November, 1945.
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: Good, Darl L.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alvin Lerman, July 18, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alvin Lerman, July 18, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alvin Lerman. Lerman joined the Navy in September 1942. He entered into flight training and earned his wings in March 1944 prior to being assigned to VC-94. His unit boarded the USS Shamrock, Bay (CVE-84). Lerman offers several anecdotes of flying combat missions during the liberation of the Philippines, and the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Date: July 18, 2006
Creator: Lerman, Alvin J.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jerry Lewis, June 28, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Jerry Lewis, June 28, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jerry Lewis. Lewis was born in Diamond, Missouri 18 February 1925. At sixteen he joined the Navy and trained at San Diego. He then attended radio school, after which he was assigned to the USS Frankford (DD-497). In June 1943 the ship traveled through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Virginia. He recalls participating in convoy duty to Casablanca. He recalls relying on a tank as a fire control director during Operation Overlord. In October 1944, the ship returned to the United States and Lewis was transferred to the USS Harding (DMS-28). After the crew was trained in the use of mine sweeping gear the Harding sailed to Pearl Harbor. During March 1945, they sailed to Ulithi where they joined Task Force 58. After participating in mine sweeping operations during the invasion of Okinawa the ship was assigned to picket duty. The ship, damaged by a bomb from a kamikaze, was taken to Kerama Retto Island for repair. Lewis recalls having armed sentries on board at night to repel efforts by Japanese soldiers to board anchored ships. Returning to the United States, Lewis entered flight training at Norman, Oklahoma. …
Date: June 28, 2006
Creator: Lewis, Jerry
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Oliver, July 6, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Richard Oliver, July 6, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Oliver. Oliver was born in Weleetka, Oklahoma on 29 June 1920. After graduating from high school in 1939, he joined the US Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 11th Squadron, 7th Bomb Group as a bombardier. On a January 1943 flight to Canton Island the B-24 in which he was flying crash landed in the sea. Oliver tells of his recovery from the injuries he sustained and his subsequent assignment to a B-17 crew. In February 1943, on a mission over Rabaul the plane was damaged due to fighter intercept and anti-aircraft fire leading to a forced crash landing in a New Guinea swamp. He tells a riveting tale of the harrowing journey through the leech infested swamp and eventual arrival at a native village. The crew was then rescued and hospitalized. The plane was discovered in the New Guinea swamp in 1972. Given the name “Swamp Ghost” it was reclaimed and taken to Honolulu, Hawaii in 2013.
Date: July 6, 2006
Creator: Oliver, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph Ramos, August 1, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Joseph Ramos, August 1, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Ramos. Ramos joined the Army Air Forces in June of 1942. He served with a troop carrier squadron aboard a C-47, as a radio operator. He attended a number of USO shows. They traveled to northern Morocco, where he was in charge of an identification, friend or foe (IFF) system box. He traveled on to Algeria, Sicily, North Africa, Iran delivering drop tanks. Ramos flew with a photo reconnaissance unit aboard a B-17. His troop carrier squadron supported the invasion of Southern France in August of 1944. Ramos was discharged in September of 1945.
Date: August 1, 2006
Creator: Ramos, Joseph
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lewis Whitaker, July 28, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Lewis Whitaker, July 28, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lewis Whitaker. Whitaker joined the Army in May of 1944. He served in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 264th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division. In the fall he was sent to England, then traveled from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France aboard the SS Léopoldville (1929), for deployment into the Battle of the Bulge. During their transfer their ship was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-486. Once ashore, Whitaker served as a rifleman and fought from Northern France to Germany and Austria, receiving a Combat Infantryman Badge. He was discharged in June of 1946.
Date: July 28, 2006
Creator: Whitaker, Lewis
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Arlos L. Awalt, July 6, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arlos L. Awalt, July 6, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arlos L. ""Curly"" Awalt. Curly was drafted into the Army shortly after he finished high school in August, 1944. After basic training, Curly describes getting overseas to Europe. He was shipped to England then sent to France before being assigned to a unit. Once he was in France, he was attached to a heavy mortar section in H Company, 2nd Battalion, 424th Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. Curly arrived as a replacement in the 10th ID during the Battle of the Bulge. Curly mentions the conditions and describes his activities. He also speaks about the death and burial of General George Patton. When the war ended, Curly worked in a displaced persons / prisoner of war camp sorting through the people and returning them to their homes. Curly finishes by speaking about awards he finally received from the Belgian government 60 years after the war ended and some of his experiences speaking as a veteran with local school children in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Date: July 6, 2006
Creator: Awalt, Arlos L. (Curly)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Cannon, July 7, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Cannon, July 7, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Cannon. Cannon served as coxswain of an LCM at Buckner Bay during the initial assault on Okinawa, delivering food and supplies to the beach. LCMs were able to navigate the coral, no matter the tide, so Cannon worked around the clock, laying smoke screens at night and dodging flak and kamikazes during the day. After the war ended, Cannon stayed another six months, delivering cargo from one ship to another. He returned home in February 1946 and became a truck driver.
Date: July 7, 2006
Creator: Cannon, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with L. W. Gregg, July 16, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with L. W. Gregg, July 16, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Loren W. ""Bud"" Gregg. Gregg grew up in Indiana and was attending college in Michigan when he volunteered for service in the Navy late in December, 1941. He was trained at Great lakes and then reported aboard the USS Talbot (DD-114). He recalls being at Dutch Harbor, Alaska when the Japanese attacked. Buetell also speaks of the conversion operation the Talbot underwent in order to transform her into the USS Talbot (APD-7), a high speed transport. From there, the Talbot proceeded to the Solomon islands where Buetell discusses landing troops on beaches. Buetell also discusses working with UDTs and landings in the Philippines. Buetell served asa gun captain and recalls shooting down some Japanese aircraft around Luzon. He also recalls serving aboard the Talbot as she made landings at Okinawa and then was on picket duty in the area just to the north. In October, 1945 Buetell mustered out of the Navy.
Date: July 16, 2006
Creator: Gregg, Loren W.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Searcy Griffin, July 20, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Searcy Griffin, July 20, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Searcy Griffin. Griffin joined the Navy in 1942. In October he was assigned to the USS Bull (DE-693). They traveled to Bermuda, Aruba and Northern Ireland. In May of 1943 Griffin was assigned to the minesweeper USS Scuffle (AM-298). In mid-1944 they transported supplies for a convoy to Pearl Harbor, swept mines in French Frigate Shoals, escorted a convoy to Eniwetok and arrived at Leyte in December of 1944. In January of 1945 they participated in the pre-invasion sweeps at Lingayen Gulf. Additionally, they provided antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection for the transports. In February they began pre-invasion sweeps in Manila Bay in preparation for landings at Mariveles and Corregidor, encountering Japanese attacks. In July of 1945 they traveled to Balikpapan and provided support to YMSs performing the pre-invasion sweep. They returned to the United States in April of 1946.
Date: July 20, 2006
Creator: Griffin, Searcy
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William Raymond, June 26, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William Raymond, June 26, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Raymond. Raymond joined the Navy in 1940. He was sent to the USS New York (BB-34) where he started as a deck seaman and became a quartermaster. Raymond describes the duties of a quartermaster in the Navy. He was then sent to the USS Biloxi (CL-80) and took part in the commissioning. Raymond went to the Pacific and describes the types of missions the Biloxi performed and the armament of the ship. He discusses his ship being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa and how the repairs were made. Raymond also describes the refueling process and how the lack of fuel contributed to the loss of a destroyer during a typhoon. Raymond mentions seeing the damage at Nagasaki and evacuating POWs. He retired from the Navy in 1960.
Date: June 26, 2006
Creator: Raymond, William
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Sam D. Jones, January 22, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Sam D. Jones, January 22, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sam D. Jones. Jones joined the Army in 1937. He served with the 12th Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston. Jones details his duties caring for the horses and how caissons operated. He discusses camp life and talks about the exercises his unit participated in. Jones tells an interesting story about his last ride before his horse was retired and tells how that horse was given a military burial many years later. He left the Army in 1940 and volunteered to join after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jones spent a year working in a message center at Camp Wallace and then was transferred to the 86th Infantry Division. He went to Europe and describes the severe cold encountered upon their arrival in the winter of 1944-45. Jones routinely led a convoy of two and a half ton trucks from the front to ammunition depots to keep the 105mm howitzers in his unit supplied. He describes being strafed by a German plane when fully loaded with ammunition. Jones describes interactions with the German people. He returned to the US and was discharged soon after the surrender of Japan.
Date: January 22, 2006
Creator: Jones, Sam
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joe Jeanes, May 31, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Joe Jeanes, May 31, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joe Jeanes. Jeanes joined the Navy in 1942 at 15 years old. He completed basic training at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was assigned to a PBY Squadron. They patrolled the Gulf of Mexico. In 1944, Jeanes was shipped to New Guinea and Hollandia. He worked for a Seabee outfit for a short period of time. He served aboard USS Ward (DD-139) until it sank in October of 1944, and then transferred to Manila until the end of the war. Jeanes returned home and was discharged in late 1945.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Jeanes, Joe
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Burle Hawthorn, August 10, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Burle Hawthorn, August 10, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Burle C. Hawthorn. Hawthorn joined the Navy around 1943. He served as an aviation metalsmith aboard USS Chandeleur (AV-10), a seaplane tender, in the Pacific Theatre. Beginning in early 1944, they transported men, aviation equipment, torpedoes, bombs and other cargo throughout the South Pacific islands. Hawthorn shares stories of taking Marines to Guadalcanal, New Hebrides, and Palau. They provided tender services for several patrol squadrons during the invasions of the Palau Islands, the Philippines, Ulithi, and Okinawa. After the war ended, they traveled to Japan, tending seaplanes taking part in the occupation, returning to the US in late 1945 when Hawthorn was discharged.
Date: August 10, 2006
Creator: Hawthorn, Burle
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John O'Keefe, August 10, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John O'Keefe, August 10, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. O’Keefe. He was born in Centralia, Illinois 13 June 1923. After high school he worked for the Illinois Railroad until he was old enough to join the Navy in 1942. After training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, he was assigned to Diesel Service School in Chicago. After six weeks, he went to patrol boat school at Melville, Rhode Island. O’Keefe and several other PT boat replacements, boarded the Robert C. Greene for a 43 day trip to New Hebrides. At Tulagi, he was temporarily assigned to work on PT-107, part of Patrol Boat Squadron 5. He was then assigned to PT-184, in Squadron 11. He recalls the need for one hour rotations by the boat diesel engineers, due to extreme heat in the engine room. He visited a small island and found group picture of Amelia Earhart, a Japanese officer, a missionary and a native boy. Following Navy orders to report any evidence regarding Amelia Earhart, they contacted headquarters. Three days later, a PBY arrived with an officer from Naval Intelligence, who took possession of the picture. After making inquires as to the disposition …
Date: August 10, 2006
Creator: O'Keefe, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History