Interview with Jack Kleiss, a pilot during World War II. He discusses training for carrier landings on USS Enterprise; the arrival of VMF-211 aboard Enterprise and their delivery to Wake Island; and the attack on Pealr Harbor on 7 December 1941. Kleiss was in a dive bomber and attacked Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, where he earned the Navy Cross.

Interview with Sam H. Snoddy, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He served in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. After training, he participated in the initial landing at Saipan where he was wounded in the knees and shoulder on the beach by shell fragments. He was loaded onto a hospital ship with several other casualties before going to Hawaii to recuperate. He participated in the Okinawa campaign and spent time at Nagasaki on occupation duty. After being discharged, he went to college on the G. I. Bill, and eventually settled in Texas, where he worked in the oil industry.

Interview with Valentin R. Ybarra regarding his experiences during World War II. He discusses his wartime experiences in Peleliu and Okinawa as well as occupation duty in Japan and China. He also had an assignment in Spain. He remembers the Cuban Missile Crisis, the revolt in the Dominican Republic, and his service in Vietnam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jimmy Tiller. Tiller went to A & M right out of high school in May 1943 and when he was 18 they all went into the military (December 1944). He took basic infantry training at Camp Hood and then went to Fort Ord, California for more training, climbing out of ships and onto landing barges. They were put on Liberty ships in July 1945 that sailed out of Seattle, Washington for Pearl Harbor. His ship joined a convoy there and they ended up on Okinawa (August 1945) where they joined the 27th Infantry Division. After a short time on Okinawa, they flew to Japan (Adsuki Field) where they started their duty as occupation troops. Tiller was a member of an Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon on Okinawa and in Japan. When the 27th Infantry was shipped home, Tiller was transferred to the 519th military police (MP) outfit in Yokohama. While in Japan, Tiller escorted the Emperor and was the Sergeant of the Guard of MP's that were guarding the war crime trials. Tiller was on occupation duty in Japan for one year and provides many interesting stories of his …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walt McKinney. McKinney joined the Navy around 1944. He worked at the Naval Ammunition Depot in Fallbrook, California, dismantling depth charges. He later served as Yeoman Third-Class on the island of Guam for 4 months, where McKinney processed enlisted men deployed to the Pacific and returning to the US. He then worked aboard the USS Lunga Point (CVE-94). He returned to the US and was discharged in August of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Stanton. Stanton joined the Navy in 1943 after his brother Joe disappeared on the Yangtze River as part of the South China Sea Patrol. Stanton received basic training at Camp Farragut. Upon completion, he went to gunnery school in Newport, Rhode Island, and was assigned as a gunner’s mate to USS Rapidan (AO-18), where he spent two years in the Atlantic, stopping at Murmansk, Oran, Casablanca, and the Caribbean. He returned to California via the Panama Canal. While on liberty, he visited his mother, who supported troops on the home front by giving over 450 servicemen a place to stay. Stanton was stationed at the Aleutian Islands for a time and recalls the perils of hundred-mile-an-hour winds (williwaw) and giant ocean swells. While loading a ship, he broke his ankle and was sent to the hospital at Bremerton. After recovery, he was assigned as a coxswain aboard the oceangoing rescue tug USS ATR-61. While aboard, he transported divers to Manila Bay to recover plunder from sunken Japanese ships and classified equipment like ciphering machines from American ships. He gives a first-hand account of the poverty and devastation …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Drachnik. Drachnik graduated from the Naval Academy in June of 1942. He served aboard USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11), transporting cargo and troops for the invasion of Guadalcanal. They made several resupply and reinforcement voyages to Guadalcanal and Tulagi in support of the campaign, and returned to the US in January of 1943. Beginning October of 1943 through October of 1945, Drachnik served as Executive Officer aboard USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692), completing patrol duty during the battles of Leyte and Luzon. He completed 30 years of service, retiring in 1972.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Snyder. Snyder was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 8 July 1918. He was working for the Kansas City Star newspaper when he was drafted in November 1941. After completing basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, he applied for Officer Candidate School. He was accepted and sent to the Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky for training. Upon graduating, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and ordered to report to the 14th Armored Division at Camp Chafee, Arkansas. After participating in maneuvers he was named Public Information Officer for the division. Soon thereafter, he went to New Caledonia with the 25th Infantry Division. While there, he wrote hometown stories about various servicemen and sent them to their hometown newspapers for publication. Leaving New Caledonia, he joined General MacArthur’s Headquarters at Hollandia, New Guinea. Snyder was present during the invasions of Morotai, Leyte and Corregidor and describes the combat he observed. He recalls landing at Atsugi Airfield, Japan and being aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) when the Surrender Agreement was signed by members of the Japanese delegation. Following the ceremony, Snyder visited Nagasaki, Japan and vividly describes the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gilbert Vera. Vera was born in Benavides, Texas 5 March 1918. After graduating from high school in 1937, he worked various jobs until being drafted into the Army. After his induction, he was sent to Camp Wallace, Texas for three months of basic training. Vera was then sent to Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia for six months training on communication equipment including the switchboard and telephone lines. Upon completion of the training he went to Fort Dix, New Jersey for debarkation. After a twelve day journey traveling in convoy, he landed at Casablanca, North Africa as part of the 15th Air Force. Soon after arrival, Vera was subjected to attack by German aircraft. He tells of the work he did in the communications center. After a year the unit moved to Manduria, Italy where they remained until Germany surrendered. Vera returned to the United States and was discharged September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Burns. Burns joined the Navy in June of 1943. He completed the Navy V-12 Program. He was commissioned as ensign in May of 1945, and assigned to a destroyer escort. They conducted submarine patrol. He worked in numerous departments aboard the ship, and they remained along the coast of Florida. He was transferred to California for amphibious training. Burns continued his service in the Navy, receiving his discharge in 1958.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Millard Schwartz. Schwartz was drafted into the Army in December of 1942. He provides details of his weapons training and boot camp. He served with A Battery, 919th Field Artillery, 94th Infantry Division. They traveled to Scotland in August of 1944, and landed on Utah Beach on 7 September. Schwartz shares his experiences traveling overseas aboard the troop ship, the Queen Elizabeth and his time spent in London. His division relieved another in the St. Nazaire area serving to maintain security against the pockets of 50 to 60,000 Germans there. Going into December they traveled to Belgium and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, where they were attached to General Patton’s 3rd Army. They were assigned to an area around the Siegfried Line, near Eschweiler, Germany. He provides vivid details of his experiences through this battle. He was honorably discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marguerite Loveless. Loveless was born in Centerville, Texas in 1921. After attending Houston Brown College she was employed by the Texas Department of Public Welfare. She married Cleatus “Chuck” E. Loveless in 1941. She tells of her husband joining the Army Air Corps soon after the declaration of war and of the numerous moves and living conditions they encountered and of the long lasting relationships that developed with many of the people she met. While her husband was serving in the Philippines she was employed at Harmon General Hospital in Longview, Texas, and tells of German prisoners of war working maintenance at the hospital.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Allen Barker. Barker was born 29 July 1922 in Sairlie, Texas. He joined the Army Air Corps in August 1942. Following completion of basic training in Greenville, Texas he was assigned to the signal corps. He was shuttled around to various bases in the United States and finally boarded a troop ship, USS General A.E. Anderson for a 30 day sea trip to Bombay, India. His unit built a base about 60 miles northwest of Imphal, India. After the Japanese surrender he was involved in closing various bases in India until being shipped back to the United States and receiving his discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with C Everette Smith. Smith joined the Navy in September of 1943. He completed Hospital Corpsman School. He was assigned as a corpsman aboard LST 291. In March of 1944 they traveled to England. They participated in the Normandy landings off Omaha Beach in June of 1944. They made 26 trips to France, treating many casualties with basic First Aid in their small hospital aboard ship. Smith provides vivid details of his experiences aboard as a corpsman. Beginning in March of 1945, through the end of the war, he was assigned to the Subic Bay Naval Hospital. He was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard L Hamil. Hamil joined the Navy in 1942 and received basic training in Newport. He studied diesel engines in Virginia, although it was strictly book-learning as there were no engines available to practice on. Upon completion, he was assigned to the engine room of USS LST-447, his battle station at a 40-millimeter gun, as a loader. His ship carried supplies and Marines throughout the Pacific, often coming under attack. They were struck by a kamikaze at Okinawa, which caused an explosion and killed half a dozen of their crew. When Hamil abandoned ship, kamikazes nearly hit the ship that rescued him. Hamil was sent home on 6 April 1945 and discharged in October.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Eggebeen. Eggebeen was born 29 November 1917 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. One of nine children and tells of family life during the Depression. Graduating from high school in 1935, he held various jobs until drafted into the US Coast Guard in 1942. After undergoing basic training at Curtis Bay, Maryland he attended diesel electrician’s school in New York City. He was assigned to the crew aboard a yacht commandeered by the Coast Guard owned by a Milwaukee businessman. The boat, stationed at Greenport, Long Island, did anti-submarine patrol at the entrance to New York Harbor. He mentions the boat’s crew compliment and armament. After serving aboard the yacht for thirteen months, he was sent to the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. After graduating as an ensign in 1944, he was sent to the 9th Naval District in Chicago. While there, he was ordered to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to pick up USS LST-886. The crew took the new LST through the Panama Canal to San Diego. The ship, loaded with supplies, set sail to participate in the invasion of Leyte. They were recalled and went to Guam. The …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Runkle. Runkle joined the Marines in December of 1942. He provides some details of boot camp in San Diego, including training with the 4th paratrooper battalion for one year. He served with the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. In January of 1945 they traveled to Eniwetok and Saipan before landing on Iwo Jima on 19 February. Runkle was in the 5th wave. He fired the 81mm mortar. He provides vivid detail of his experiences at Iwo from February through 27 March. Runkle was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Christian W. de Marcken. De Marcken was born 24 January 1928 in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium. His father, Gustave immigrated to the United States, became a citizen and served in the US Army during World War I. Later he worked for the Hammond Organ Company, which sent him to Brussels. In 1939 the US embassy advised he and his family return to the United States. He did not leave Belgium, which was soon occupied by Nazi Germany forces. The de Marckens were American citizens and under the protection of the American embassy. This changed in December 1941 when Germany declared war against the United States. While the children were allowed to attend a private school and the family was permitted to rent a large home, a German guard was placed in the home. De Marcken recalls harboring a young Jewish boy in the home for a year and periodically hiding downed Allied flyers until arrangements could be made for their escape. He describes periodic night visits by the German Secret Service in which they thoroughly searched the home. He tells of the arrest and placement of his father into …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Jerome. Jerome joined the Navy in August of 1944. He was assigned to the engineering division, operating evaporators and other engine room machinery. He served aboard the USS Benevolence (AH-13). In July of 1945 they departed for the Pacific, providing hospital services, preventive medicine and casualty evacuation. They were with the Allied fleet in Tokyo Bay during the surrender of Japan. They processed liberated Allied prisoners of war through November 1945 and returned to the U.S. in December. Jerome was discharged upon returning to the U.S.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Elnora Geer. Geer finished high school in 1933 and went to work as a telephone operator in McKinney, Texas. When the war started, Geer was married and had one child with another on the way when her husband was drafted in early 1944. Before her husband shipped overseas, she moved out to California with her babies. He was en route to the Philippines when the war ended and she was on hand to greet him upon his return to New Orleans.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Cadle. Cadle joined the Army Air Forces in October, 1942 after working in a naval gun factory. He passed the exam and was accepted for pilot training. He earned his wings and commission in May, 1944. He then learned to fly B-24 bombers and was shipped to England and was assigned to the 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. He describes a few missions over Europe in detail, including one in which he bailed out of a crippled bomber and was rescued by the Russians. Cadle describes his ordeal with the Russians and getting back to England. He also served in Korea as a forward air controller, spending over 2 months with the infantry.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Pedro De La Garza. De La Garza was drafted into the Army in December of 1942. He was assigned to the 329th Medical Battalion, 104th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Timberwolf Division. His military occupation specialty was ambulance orderly. From September of 1944 through July of 1945 he participated on the front lines in the European Theater. He traveled to France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, crossed the Rhine River and was located at the Elbe River when Germany surrendered. He provides details of his work, his travels and his experiences during nighttime combat. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles R. Clark. Clark was born in 1918 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1939. His first assignment was as a gunnery officer aboard the USS San Francisco (CA-38). Next, he served aboard the USS Fairfax (DD-93) as an engineer. He also served aboard the USS Texas (BB-35) as a radio officer. Clark attended submarine school after the war started. After graduation he served on the USS O-2 as torpedo, gunnery and engineering officer. He later became the executive officer. His next assignment was to the USS Dace (SS-247) as an engineer. He spent a year on this boat and made seven war patrols. After promotion, he commanded the USS Sennet (SS-408). In May 1945 on war patrol in the Sea of Japan, the Sennet sank four enemy vessels. After the war, Clark administered the submarine sonar school in Florida before being assigned to the USS Quillback (SS-424). Clark also served as captain aboard the USS Hawkins (DD-873). Next he was assigned as embassy naval attaché in Havana, Cuba. He also commanded the USS Tidewater (AD-31). Clark concluded his career in 1967 as naval attaché in Madrid, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernice Loewe. Loewe was an aircraft fabric and leather worker at Scott Air Force Base between 1943 and 1953. She replaced fabric on ailerons from B-17s and B-24s. Other of her duties included repairing flight jackets, boots, and bags, and fitting helmets with cups to house receivers for the radiomen. Just before D-Day, she went out to the air strip to make a repair onsite. There she was met with a long row of idling B-17s, their crews melancholic; later that evening, the planes all departed.