The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Norman Price. Price was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces in May 1942. He served as a B-17 pilot and flew missions during the Guadalcanal Campaign. He was selected to serve with the 509th Composite Bomb Group, 393rd Bomb Squadron. Price became a qualified B-29 commander, and piloted the bomber titled Some Punkins, arriving at Tinian in June 1945. On 6 August he made the final check of the Enola Gay and other aircraft as the expeditor for the mission. After the war, Price remained active in the Air National Guard at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

Transcript of an oral interview with Raymond A. Dembinski. Dembinski begins by recalling some experiences from his childhood growing up during the Great Depression. He joined the Naval Reserve in 1935 and went on active duty in September, 1941 when he was assigned to the USS Sacramento (PG-19). He describes his role in the attack on Pearl Harbor, then mentions how he was transferred to the USS Bogue (CVE-9) and spent two years on convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic. In 1944, Dembinski was transferred to the USS Bataan (CVL-29) and was involved in the Marianas Turkey Shoot. Toward the end of the war, Dembinski was transferred to the USS Robert K. Huntington (DD-781), the ship he cruised home aboard after the war ended.

Transcript of an oral interview with Orrin W. Johnson. In March, 1942 Johnson joined the Marine Corps while in law school at the University of Texas. He took his officer's basic course at Quantico, Virginia. Whe nhe completed it, he was a newly-minted 2nd lieutenant and assigend to an artillery battalion as a forward observer. When he went overseas in 1943, his first stop was New Zealand for more training. Then, Johnson's unit went to Bougainville i nNovember, 1943 to capture the island from the Japanese. Johnson relates several experiences he had while on Bougainville. Johnson also relates several anecdotes about his experiences fighting on Guam, including a banzai attack by the Japanese. After the battle at Guam, Johnson was made a captain and promoted to S-3 (the operations officer for the 4th Battalion, 12th Marines) before the Iwo Jima campaign. After the battle, JOhnson shiiped back to the US to go to Advanced Artillery School. When the war ended, Johnson stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve and returned to law school using the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Davis. Davis joined the Navy in August 1941 after having already received basic training in the Navy ROTC. He was assigned to the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Arlington, where his duty was to review personnel files and select which officers would be assigned to submarines. He claims that for a period during the war, every man aboard a submarine was chosen by him. He was later transferred to the USS Amick (DE-168), where he volunteered for wheel duty in addition to serving in the ship’s office. His battle station was on the flying bridge as the captain’s talker, wearing a large telephone helmet. In the summer of 1943 he traveled to North Africa, which he found to be extensively damaged by the war. After attending steno school in Lake Geneva, he was transferred to the USS Bremerton (CA-130). One day, he was assigned to write the discharge papers for nine men; he added his name to the list, submitting discharge papers for 10 men, and arrived home in August 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Edwards. Edwards joined the Army Air Forces in 1944. He was trained as an aircraft engine mechanic and was sent to the Philippines where he became a crewman on an A-26 bomber. Edwards describes how his plane flew missions with P-61s as escorts and gives some detail on the types of targets that were selected. He talks about how his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and forced down during an attack on a Japanese airfield. Edwards was captured and interrogated by the Japanese. He describes the treatment that he received and how he lost half of his total body weight in his six months as a POW. Edwards was liberated at the end of the war, hospitalized in Tokyo, and returned to the US where he reenlisted and remained in the service until 1949.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bianca Cunningham. Cunningham was born in Brazil to an Italian mother and a German Jew who was a sculptor and architect that had won a competition to build the Presidential Palace. Eventually Cunningham traveled with her mother to her hometown in Capri where she remained throughout the war. She witnessed life under Mussolini, the German occupation, bombing of Naples, and the American occupation. Cunningham became a hostess for the American Red Cross and met and married an American soldier after the war had ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Weldon Kaspar. Kaspar joined the Army Air Forces in 1944 and received basic training in Amarillo. He wanted to be a pilot, but was ineligible due to poor eyesight. He received aircraft radio mechanic training at Truax Field. He was in Boca Raton maintaining equipment at a training center for high-altitude bombing when the war ended. He reenlisted as a supply clerk for one year and was in the Reserves for three years. He went to Coyne Electrical School on the GI Bill. Kaspar’s wife, Sheila L. Mack, served as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps from 30 March 1945 to 20 June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Peter Hennessey. Hennessey attended a West Point prep school and helped his widowed mother run the family business. After earning a business degree at the University of Texas, he enlisted in the Army and became an aviation cadet in September 1941. After earning his wings in April 1942, he became an instructor in Douglas, Arizona. Hennessey flew every model of B-25 produced and was promoted to captain. Hoping to see combat, he volunteered for a bomber assignment but V-E Day occurred soon after. He was then transferred to Pampa, Texas, again as an instructor. Making flight commander and squadron commander, he would often fly with struggling students to assess their instructors. While doing so, he once avoided disaster by saving a plane from a violent spin. Hennessey joined a night squadron as commander, but it was soon disbanded near the end of the war. He was released from active duty in October 1945 with over 2,000 hours of flight time.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Combs. Combs was attending a vocational school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. During his senior year, he worked for a company that manufactured parts for military planes. He was then drafted into the Navy in March 1943 and sent to quartermaster school. Combs then had motor torpedo boat training to study their engines, radio, radar, and gunnery. Upon completion, he was assigned to PT-515 as a quartermaster stationed in Southern England. During the invasion of Normandy, his boat’s job was to protect the western flank of landing crafts from Schnell boats and also to assist ships with the rescue and recovery of wounded and deceased. In August 1944, while patrolling the French coast, the boat was by a Schnell boat. Combs waited in London for repairs, enduring buzz bombs and blackouts. He returned to the States in March 1945 and served as an instructor until his discharge in November. Combs finished college on the GI Bill and went on to a career in engineering.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Peters. Peters joined the Navy in February 1944 and was trained as a motor machinist mate. He was sent to USS LSM-96. Peters describes the machinery he worked on and his usual duties. He describes an incident when the enlisted men in the engine room repainted pipes to fool a new officer and the disciplinary action that followed. Peters mentions unloading equipment at Okinawa and seeing a merchant ship get hit by a torpedo. He discusses how his ship was used to haul ammunition and fight fires caused by kamikaze attacks. Peters describes being sent to China at the end of the war and being transferred to LC(FF)-789. He was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wendell R. Benson. Benson joined the Navy in August of 1943. He was trained as an electrician and then attended submarine school in Groton, Connecticut. Benson then joined the crew of the USS Trutta (SS-421) for three war patrols. He details the advantages of the Tench-class submarines over their predecessors. Benson also tells an amusing story of how the crew celebrated the announcement of the Surrender with a swim call.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hubert Douglas Crotts. Crotts joined the Marine Corps in July 1941. He was trained as a tanker, but realized he was claustrophobic. Crotts became a ground guide for the tanks and helped direct their fire from outside of the vehicle. He was sent to the Pacific as a part of the 2nd Marine Division. Crotts landed at Tarawa and tells of the difficulties that the tanks faced. He was awarded a Navy Cross by Admiral Nimitz. Crotts met Admiral Nimitz earlier on the island after the battle. He had a short conversation in which Nimitz asked several questions about the battle. Later, Crotts landed with his unit on Saipan where he was wounded while directing tanks. He was evacuated to a hospital and underwent several operations for his wound. Crotts left the service soon after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lewis Burke. Burke enlisted in the aviation cadet corps and was called up in January 1943. Burke primarily reads a testimony that details his experiences in the Army Air Forces. He also reads details about the combat missions he flew over Europe with the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd Bomb Squadron between November 1944 and April 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Glenn W. Taylor. Taylor joined the Army in July 1941. He graduated from flight school in June of 1942 and served with the 345th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force as a B-25 pilot, completing over fifty low-level combat missions in New Guinea. Around 1944, he returned to the US as a B-25 instructor. In late 1944, early 1945, Taylor went to the China Burma India Theater, where he flew over fifty more low-level attack missions. Taylor became the squadron commander and returned to the US in November of 1945. He continued his career in the military, retiring in 1968.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Ponder. Ponder joined the Army Air Forces in January 1942. He received basic training and aviation mechanic training at Sheppard Field. He was then sent to a B-25 manufacturing plant for advanced mechanical training. Upon completion, he was assigned as a flight engineer to the 345th Bomb Group in South Carolina. At Port Moresby and Clark Field, he supervised the ground maintenance of B-25s. Ponder returned home and was discharged in October 1945. He became a full-time employee of the Texas Air National Guard, retiring as chief of aircraft maintenance.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert W Pearson. Pearson joined the Army Air Forces around 1943. He served as a flight engineer aboard a B-29 with the 20th Air Force, 314th Bomb Wing, 21st Bomb Group. Beginning in February of 1945, they traveled between Guam, Saipan and Tinian. Pearson describes life on Guam and his work aboard their B-29, also referred to by the crew as the Oily Boid. Their mission was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese home islands and the destruction of its war-making capability. They completed both bombardment and search and rescue missions. Pearson returned to the US after the war, receiving his discharge in December.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Stevens. Stevens was born 1 November 1924. He joined the Navy in May of 1943. He completed Aviation Radio School and Aerial Gunnery and Radar School by late 1943. Stevens served as a Radioman Gunner aboard a TBF torpedo bomber. In the spring of 1944, he joined a composite squadron, which participated in aerial combat operations while attached to USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85). They conducted additional flight missions to and from the Makassar Strait (CVE-91). They conducted anti-submarine patrol off Maui and around Leyte Gulf, and bombing missions over Ishigaki, Japan. They supported the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Stevens returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945, early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ernie Bowdre. Bowdre joined the Navy in mid-1943. He served as a Storekeeper aboard a liberty ship and traveled to Noumea, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. He was then assigned to USS President Jackson (APA-18). In 1943, they participated in the Bougainville Campaign, transporting troops from island to island. They landed troops in the reinforcement landing at Lingayen Gulf and Iwo Jima. Bowdre recalls the ship being hit by enemy fire at Iwo. In June of 1945, they completed two round-trips to Manila before the cessation of hostilities. Bowdre returned to the US and received his discharge in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Vickers. Vickers was born in 1923. He joined the Army in 1942, and served as a rifleman and a scout with the 36th Infantry Division. The Division landed in North Africa on 13 April 1943. They participated in operations in Italy, the south of France and Germany. Vickers was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard K. Bentley. Bentley finished high school in Oklahoma nad joined the Navy in October, 1942. After boot camp, Bentley served with a Marine communications unit in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea before being assigned aboard the USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy William Rouch. Born in 1924, he joined the Marine Corps in July, 1942. He describes boot camp in San Diego, California. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. He describes the conditions on board ship en route to Camp Pakarariki, New Zealand. The Division was transported to Guadalcanal in January 1943. He talks about the deplorable living conditions on Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Tenaru River. He describes landing as part of the second wave on Tarawa and how the fighting was up close and personal. He explains how the BAR squads were used and reorganized following Guadalcanal and Tarawa. He also shares a story of the LCTs and LSTs being sunk off of Hawaii during night maneuvers before leaving for Saipan. He then describes the street fighting and banzai charges the 2nd Marine Division endured on Saipan during the Battles of Garapan and Charan Kanoa. He shares an anecdote of being injured on Tinian and his family being informed when in fact it was another Rouch who was injured during the battle. Following his discharge from the Marine Corps in July of 1946, he …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Litters, Jr. Litters was attending Texas A&M (class of 1943) when the war started. His class was graduated early so they could begin active military service. He was commissioned and attached to an anti-aircraft artillery unit. In December, 1943, he shipped out for the Pacific. In January, 1944 his unit, the 208th Anti-aircraft Artillery battalion, arrived at New Guinea. Litters eventually got so sick with malaria and dengue fever, and with a severe knee injury, he was shipped back to the US in May, 1945. Litters was discharged and began teaching at Texas A&M University before beginning to ranch. He also tells a ashort story about being a Distinguished Alumni from Texas A&M and talking to former President George HW Bush.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Everett Scarr. Scarr joined the Navy in 1944. He served with the deck force aboard the USS Black (DD-666). He recalls his experiences through the battles of Leyte and Okinawa, and serving with occupation forces in Japan after the war. Scarr returned to the US and received his discharge in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Shealy. Shealy joined the Navy in August of 1940. Beginning February of 1941, he served as Seaman First Class mess cook aboard the USS Canopus (AS-9) until they scuttled the ship in April of 1942, upon the surrender of Bataan. Shealy was taken to Corregidor for duty in the 4th Battalion Reserve, of the 4th Marine Regiment. He was captured in May and imprisoned in Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan Prison, a Japanese prison ship, and Osaka Prison. Shealy returned to the US in late 1945, and completed thirty years of service.