The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Buchanan. Buchanan joined the Navy in 1939 and was assigned to the USS Holland (AS-3). He was then sent to submarine school and joined the USS Cachalot (SS-170) to work on diesel engines. Buchanan was on duty the morning of the attack on Pearl Harbor and describes the events that he witnessed from the Navy Yard where his ship was undergoing repairs. He describes seeing the plane that launched a torpedo on the USS Helena (CL-50) fly overhead. Buchanan discusses the three war patrols that he was a part of and details life on board a submarine. He was discharged for medical reasons in June 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Milton Loss. Loss joined the Navy in January 1942. He was assigned to the USS Haddo (SS-255) and took part in a patrol off England. Loss describes the Haddo receiving new engines at Mare Island. He discusses the arrival of Captain Nimitz and how well he was liked by the crew. Loss participated in five war patrols. He describes his duties as a Quartermaster, planning a torpedo attack, and problems with malfunctioning torpedoes. Loss also discusses life onboard a submarine. He served on the Haddo through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Cowden. Cowden joined the Navy in November 1944. He joined the crew of USS LST-1001 as a deck seaman. Cowden describes taking part in the second wave of the invasion of Okinawa and mentions seeing several attacks by kamikaze planes on nearby ships. He describes his battle station on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun and how it operated. Cowden also details his ship being severely damaged during two typhoons. He remained aboard until the ship was decommissioned in 1946 and he left the service a few months later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Cornelius. Cornelius joined the Navy in July 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) as a seaman. He arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after the attack and saw oil was still burning on the water in the devastated Battleship Row. As the war began, Cornelius became a cook aboard ship. His battle station was in the kitchen, preparing sandwiches for the nearly 3,000 crewmen at their stations. He enjoyed working the midnight shift, and one evening Admiral Halsey stopped by and invited Cornelius to join him for a cup of coffee. Halsey chatted with Cornelius for about 15 minutes, asking him about his work, and wished him well. After the war, Cornelius returned home and remained in the Navy another 15 years. He was discharged in October 1960.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carlyle Herring. Herring joined the Navy in November 1937 and received basic training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) where he tended to aircraft as they landed on the flight deck. He recalls losing a half dozen scouting planes to friendly fire after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During general quarters, Herring manned the gun director of a five-inch mount. He describes different techniques used for targeting enemy aircraft, such as shooting into the ocean just ahead of a torpedo plane, creating a wall of water for the plane to crash into. Herring was engaged in numerous battles throughout the war but felt that each one simply amounted to another day’s work. He retired from the Navy after 20 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lloyd Howser. Howser joined the Navy in late December 1941. Beginning March of 1942, he served with the deck force aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6). In April, they escorted USS Hornet (CV-8) on the Doolittle Raid. From June through November, they participated in the battles at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and Guadalcanal. In June of 1944, they served in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Howser returned to the US and was discharged in early 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Armand Maffuccio. Maffuccio begins with some anecdotes about growing up during the Depression. He joined the Navy in 1942. In 1943, Maffuccio boarded the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and served as a baker and in damage control. He describes his duties as a baker. He received a furlough to go home in early 1945 because his mother was dying. He finished the war in Banana River, Florida as a baker at a naval base.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edwin Smith. Smith joined the Navy in 1943 at the age of 15 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) where he joined a work division, primarily cleaning and painting the ship. His battle station was at the gun director of a 40-millimeter mount, where his duties included maneuvering the barrel and pulling the weapon’s trigger. When a kamikaze hit the ship’s number one elevator off of Okinawa, Smith felt helpless as he watched the plane dive down. However, once the plane struck, Smith recalls the crew springing into action in an organized fashion, despite the chaotic nature of the event. Smith returned home and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Zafft. Zafft joined the Navy in 1943 and was assigned to USS Enterprise (CV-6) as a ship fitter. He corresponded with his brother in code, to avoid censorship. He survived several close calls in combat. When the ship was hit by a kamikaze at Okinawa, Zafft only survived because he had been relieved of his post early that morning by a sailor who subsequently perished in the explosion. Zafft helped fight the resulting fires and kept a piece of the fuselage as a souvenir. After returning to the States with the Enterprise, Zafft was discharged in March 1946. He joined the Enterprise Association and served as its president. Through a Japanese historian who was researching the kamikaze attack on the Enterprise, Zafft donated his piece of the fuselage to an exhibit at the Kanoya Naval Air Base Museum which names and honors the men killed that day. Zafft was especially grateful for the opportunity to pay homage to George Barker, the man who died in his place.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Pondich. Pondich joined the Navy in April 1944 and received basic training at Samson. Upon completion, he was assigned to a supply depot at Tacloban where he operated a forklift and oversaw Japanese and Filipino laborers. The depot received food from the ships coming into the harbor, some of it frozen as far back as 1936. The food would then be stored in Quonset huts until it was transferred to ships that supplied the occupation forces. Pondich was injured while trying to secure an eight-mile stretch of supplies laid out along the beach, when a tsunami threatened to wash them all away. Upon his recovery, he was assigned as a storekeeper aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6), where he marveled at the ship’s organized supply system. His injury, however, proved to not be fully healed, so Pondich returned home and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Blood. Blood joined the Naval Reserves when war started in Europe. He was called to active duty in early 1941. After boot camp in Newport, he received specialized training in signaling and radio communication. In early 1942, Blood joined a radio maintenance group and boarded USS Lexington (CV-2). He was then transferred to Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2) aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3). He transferred again, to USS Enterprise (CV-6) and Fighter Squadron 6 (VF-6) as a petty officer and third class radioman. Near Guadalcanal, Blood was on the flight deck and realized after launching aircraft that he was in danger based on radar readings and radio chatter. He took cover below deck just before enemy aircraft strafed and bombed the deck. In August 1944, Blood received orders to go to advanced radio school. Upon completion, he stayed on as an instructor, making chief before the war ended. He turned down full lieutenancy in favor of returning home. Blood later rejoined the Navy and accumulated 23 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Blazek. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Blazek received a deferral to work for Electro-Motive Diesel and to study at the Armour Institute. He was accepted as a Navy cadet in December 1942, studying gunnery and navigation at Corpus Christi before earning in wings in July 1944. Upon completion of carrier qualification and night training, he joined Torpedo Squadron 90 (VT(N)-90). Blazek flew to Ulithi to board USS Enterprise (CV-6). During his first time being catapulted off the ship, he suffered minor vertigo. Blazek flew nighttime missions over Okinawa. After his final flight, he returned to his bunk moments before a kamikaze struck the ship just a few rooms away. With flights halted, Blazek had little to do aboard ship until he transferred to Kingsville as a tactical instructor specializing in night torpedoing. Blazek was discharged in late 1945 and joined the Reserve. He was called back to active duty in the late 1950s and accumulated over 20 years of active duty before retiring as director of Navy recruiting in his district.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arthur Kropp. Kropp joined the Navy in October 1942. Upon completion of radio and aerial gunnery school, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 20 (VT-20) as a third class radioman. His plane was equipped with a Norden bombsight and as such was guarded by the Army at all times. Kropp boarded USS Enterprise (CV-6) in July 1944. In the Philippines, mechanical issues forced his plane to conduct a sea landing, and the crew spent the night floating in a raft. At Leyte Gulf, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross in relation to sinking the Musashi and a hitting the Ise. Kropp briefly transferred to USS Lexington (CV-16) in November 1944 and sailed to French Indochina and Hong Kong, surviving a typhoon. Kropp stayed in the Navy until October 1948, when he left to begin a lifelong career with Ford Motor Company.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Kleiss. Kleiss graduated from the Naval Academy in 1938 and became a dive-bomber pilot. He describes how he earned his nickname, Dusty, by making an uninvited landing at Ewa Field and causing a large dust cloud that disrupted Marine Corps flight operations. Kleiss discusses his training and early career as an aviator. He describes early tactics that naval aviators used and how they evolved under the direction of Admiral Halsey. Kleiss describes in detail his experiences while attached to USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Midway. He discusses some of his involvement with Operation Paperclip at the end of the war. Kleiss retired from the military in March of 1962.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Wetherel. Wehterel joined the Army Air Forces in July 1942 and served as a ground crewman in the 312th Bomb Group. He went overseas with them to New Guinea and fought at Buna. He stayed with the 312th BG for the duration of the war, going to the Philippines and Okinawa. His job was driving the fuel truck and moving airplanes. Wetherel shares anecdotes about his experiences on the various islands during the invasions. He was discharged in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Jeffers. Jeffers joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in Illinois. He received diesel engine maintenance and repair training at submarine school in Connecticut. Upon completion, he was assigned to the engine room aboard the USS Threadfin (SS-410) as a fireman, first class. He participated in the tracking operation that led to the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato. He was transferred to the USS Menhaden (SS-377) and was the first to welcome Admiral Nimitz during a change of command ceremony. Jeffers was discharged in 1946 and went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering as well as a law degree.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Bennett Lee. Lee joined the Army Air Forces soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He discusses the training he received to become a fighter pilot. Lee was sent to England in October 1944 to fly P-51s. He completed 52 missions over Europe with the 79th Fighter Squadron. Lee describes what it was like to fly a P-51 and details some of the highlights his of missions. He details one mission in which he encountered German ME-262 jet fighters and discusses how one of his fellow airmen destroyed eight planes. Lee mentions seeing the last performance of Glenn Miller. He left the service in December 1945.

Recital presented at the UNT Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.