Interview with David Braden, architect and Army Air Forces veteran. In the interview, Braden speaks about his impressions of General Curtis LeMay in the Pacific Theater during World War II, his assignment to Saipan, Mariana Islands, for bombing operations against the Japanese homeland, LeMay's arrival in the Marianas and changes in bombing techniques, the thirty-five mission limitation and improvement in aircrew morale, his functions as a B-29 navigator, LeMay's decision to conduct incendiary night rights at 5,000 feet, the strategic importance of Iwo Jima for bomber crews, and his assessment of how LeMay's policies made a decided difference in ending the war.

Interview with building contractor and Marine Corps veteran Donald Boots. The interview includes Boots' personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, childhood, boot camp, camouflage school, training in beachhead organization with the 4th Pioneer Battalion, mopping-up operations on Kwajalein, rest and retraining on Maui, being assigned as a BAR man, invading Saipan, and assaulting enemy caves on Saipan. Boots also talks about the stress of battle, returning to Maui for rest and retraining, the invasion of Iwo Jima, Japanese resistance on the Iwo Jima beaches, the rescue of his friend, his role in organizing the beach operation at Iwo Jima, establishing beach defenses on Iwo Jima, evacuating and returning to Maui, retraining and refitting for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.

Transcript of an interview with John Rich, journalist and Marine Corps veteran (4th Marine Division), concerning his experiences as a Japanese language interpreter/interrogator in the Pacific Theater during World War II and his observations as a journalist while covering the proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Rich discusses his pre-war career in journalism; U.S. Navy Japanese Language School, University of Colorado, 1942-43; assignment to the 4th Marine Division, 1943; Roi-Namur and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, 1944; interrogation of Japanese prisoners-of-war; Saipan and Tinian, Mariana Islands, 1944; Iwo Jima, 1945; coverage of the Tokyo war crimes trials for International News Service, 1946; reminiscences about covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's meeting with the press after the Atlantic Conference with Winston Churchill off Argentia, Newfoundland, August 10-15, 1941.

Transcript of an interview with George E. Charland, a Native American Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences during World War II. Charland discusses his experiences with the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his experiences with the 2nd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, at Guadalcanal, 1942; his experiences with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at Tarawa, 1943; his experiences with the 4th Marine Division at Saipan and Tinian, 1944, and Iwo Jima, 1945; medical discharge in April, 1945.

Interview with Martin L. Allday, an Army WWII veteran from Austin, Texas. Allday discusses his experiences at the Battle of Okinawa, including being drafted and basic training, transiting the Pacific, assignment to the 96th Infantry Division and arrival on Okinawa, events of the fighting on the Shuri Line at Zebra Hill, being wounded, evacuation and recovery, returning to Okinawa, clean-up operations, souvenirs, and adjustment to civilian life. An appendix includes a letter typed by Allday for a panel discussion of the battle, a map of the battle from "The Second World War: a Complete History" by Martin Gilbert, a veteran's questionnaire from the Admiral Nimitz Museum he filled out, and a one-page biography.

Interview with Raymond F. "Hap" Halloran, businessman and U.S. Army Air Force WWII Veteran (878th Bomb Squadron, 499th Bomb Group, 73rd Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force) concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II.

Transcript of an interview with John Ruddick, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the destroyer USS Melvin during World War II in the Pacific Theater. Ruddick discusses the Marianas invasion, the Carolines invasion, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Battle of Surigao Strait, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Kurile operations, and the occupation of Japan.

Transcript of an interview with William Hatcher, a World War II Army veteran (29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force). Hatcher discusses concerning his his childhood and education; family's experiences in the Great Depression; decision to attend University of Tennessee-Knoxville and major in mechanical engineering; memories of Pearl Harbor attack; decision to join U.S. Army Enlisted Reserve Corps in 1942; 1943 call-up; basic training at Ft. Belvoir, Va.; instruction in engineering, communications, and radar repair at City College of New York and Chanute Field, Ill.; assignments to Truax Field, Wis., and Boca Raton, Fla.; meeting future wife, Jean E. Sheppard, at USO Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.; transfer to B-29 unit and bases in Neb. And Kan.; deployment to Guam with 29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force, March 1945; details of high-altitude radar repair work; aspects of daily life for American soldiers stationed in Guam; descriptions of devastation of Japan, including Hiroshima; transfer to base on Tinian; return to U.S. in February 1946; wedding; return to UT-Knoxville using GI Bill benefits; work at Oak Ridge; decision to transfer to University of New Mexico for Mrs. Hatcher's health; career with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Convair Corp. of Fort Worth; …

Interview with Zenji Abe, an Imperial Japanese Navy veteran, concerning his experiences as a dive-bomber pilot during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, his participation in the Aleutians Campaign in June 1942 and the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" in May 1944, and the surrender of Rota Island on September 2, 1945.

Transcript of an interview with Fiske Hanley, an aeronautical engineer and Army Air Forces veteran (398th Bomb Squadron, 504th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force), concerning his experiences during World War II, including as a flight engineer aboard B-29s in the Pacific Theater and as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese.

Interview with J. .C. Armstong, an Army Air Forces veteran (20th Bomb Group), concerning his experiences as a B-29 pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bombing missions from Guam and Saipan to Japan, 1945; Japanese flak and fighter opposition.