The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Starke. Starke joined the Army Air Forces in March of 1942. He completed flight training and graduated at Williams Field, Arizona, in July of 1943 as a P-38 pilot. He provides details of his flight training and the various planes he flew. In November he traveled to Guadalcanal and joined the 44th Fighter Squadron, 13th Air Force. Starke served as a P-38 Lightning pilot and completed 121 missions throughout the Pacific, including Sansapor, Bougainville and Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Luzon and the Philippines. His squadron flew combat missions and escorted B-24 bombers. Starke provides vivid details of several missions and describes how they acquired the name “Vampire Squadron.” He was discharged in July of 1945. He remained in the Reserves for 20 years and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Hyak. Hyak joined the Army Air Corps in August 1940 and received clerical training at Fort Logan. He received glider pilot training in Roswell. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 477th Bomb Group, where he served as a technical clerk assisting the first sergeant. In November 1942 he went to England, where he kept maintenance records and ran troubleshooting for the bomb group as an engineer clerk specialist. He recalls one plane, nicknamed Fuddy Duddy, which flew 90 missions before finally being decommissioned. On D-Day he witnessed thousands of American planes overhead, which came as a total surprise to him. While in England he met his brother and cousin at the Imperial Hotel. Hyak returned home in July 1945 and was discharged. He joined the inactive reserves and was called to Nevada to participate in nuclear bomb experiments in 1950. He recalls being knocked down by the blast from his post in a trench. He attributes numerous lifelong ailments and disabilities to his exposure to radioactivity, including blindness. Hyak was discharged a second time in September 1952.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Cwalino. Cwalino joined the Navy in 1943. He served as a Gunner’s Mate aboard USS David W. Taylor (DD-551) through the ship’s decommissioning in August of 1946. They traveled to Iwo Jima, Tarawa and to the Philippines, escorting carriers and covering landings with naval gunfire. Cwalino was discharged in late 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Strehle. Strehle joined the Navy in November 1942. He was sent to school to become a torpedoman and then joined the commissioning crew of USS David W. Taylor (DD-551). Strehle describes depth charging and sinking a Japanese submarine. He describes how depth charges functioned and how they were deployed. Strehle discusses the ship hitting a mine and the damage control performed. He volunteered to go into the damaged area to remove ammunition and recover the bodies of four shipmates. Strehle took part in the occupation of Japan and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vincent J. Colan. Born in 1914, he joined the Naval Militia in New York in 1932 on his eighteenth birthday. In January 1941, he was transferred to a destroyer, the USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-156), which was part of the Banana Fleet that protected the Panama Canal. He shares an anecdote about learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor while on liberty in Panama. For eleven months, the destroyer escorted ships from Guantanamo to Panama without the benefit of radar or sonar. He shares the story of how he became an ensign. In 1944, he was transferred to the USS David W. Taylor (DD-551). He shares an anecdote about his cancelled liberty in New Orleans, Louisiana on New Year?s Eve, 1944. After the destroyer escorted a convoy to Panama, it was sent to Pearl Harbor to become part of the anti-submarine screen for oil tankers and, later, for the Pacific Fleet. He recounts his actions as Damage Control Officer when the ship struck a mine. He comments on the importance of the extensive emergency drilling. He describes the role he and his Damage Control party played in aiding …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Larry Caid. Caid joined the Army in September of 1944. He served as a light machine gun specialist with the 33rd Infantry Division. He arrived in the Philippines in February of 1945, participating in the Battle of Luzon and the liberation of the islands. He served on occupation duty in Honshu, Japan after the war ended. He was discharged in 1946, though continued his service in the Reserves, retiring as a colonel in the Field Artillery in 1974.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Dillon. Dillon entered the Navy in April 1942 before finishing high school. After basic training in Rhode Island, he went to radio operator school in New York City. From there, Dillon volunteered for submarines and headed for training in Connecticut. He was then assigned to the USS Sailfish (SS-192) in January 1943. Dillon shares several anecdotes of his time aboard the Sailfish during various war patrols with a lot of detail about daily life aboard a submarine. Dillon served in the communications department, monitoring the radio, radar and sonar.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Ward. Ward joined the Navy in June of 1940. He served aboard USS President Adams (APA-19) as a Higgins Boat Coxswain. They deployed to Guadalcanal, landing Marine forces ashore. He later served in a boat pool ashore in the vicinity of Henderson Field. In September of 1942, Ward served in the Gunnery Department aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3), working as a hot shell man. Ward was aboard the Saratoga during the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the New Georgia Campaign, the invasion of Bougainville, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign and the Battle of Iwo Jima. In May of 1945, Ward was transferred to a repair base in San Diego for shore duty. He was discharged in October of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Cyril Conn. Conn joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1942. He served as an aircraft mechanic with the 27th Air Depot Group. From May of 1943 through the fall of 1945, he was stationed in New Guinea. Conn was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Butler. Butler joined the Army in March of 1943. He volunteered to join the paratroopers and completed jump school in Fort Benning, Georgia. In June of 1944 he traveled to Sicily. In August he was assigned to Head Quarters Company 509th, Parachute Infantry Regiment. They traveled to Naples where he served in a machine gun squad. They moved on to southern France, then on to Belgium where their job was to hold a cross road in Manhay. Butler shares his experiences through combat with the Germans, working under the commanding officer General James Gavin and fighting in extreme cold weather conditions. Their battalion defended a 7 mile stretch of terrain between Soy and Hutton, beating off repeated attacks by the German 2nd SS Panzer Division. He returned to England in March of 1945 and was discharged in August.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Reed. Reed was born in Alice, Texas on 28 August 1922. Prior to joining the US Army Air Corps in 1942, he participated in the Civilian Pilot Training program. Upon entering the Air Corps he was sent to California and after testing, he was selected for pilot training. He tells of the various phases of flight training and the types of aircraft he flew. After graduating and receiving his wings, he was sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico for multi-engine transitional training in the B-24 bomber. Upon completing the training he was ordered to Fresno, California to pick up a crew. The newly formed crew flew numerous training missions until June, 1944, when they picked up a new B-24 and flew to Foggia, Italy. Upon their arrival the crew was assigned to the 456th Bomb Group, 745th Bomb Squadron. He describes in detail the intricacies involved in flying a mission, from the wake-up call through the debriefing following the mission. Reed flew thirty-five missions and was recalled into the service during the Korean War. He served as a B-29 instructor at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas until his …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Margaret Zarzanello. Zarzanello graduated from St. Mayfield Nursing School in 1944, and joined the Navy. She was stationed in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island where she worked in hospitals discharging patients. She was recalled again during the Korean War. Zarzanello shares her experiences during training, enlisting, her family and working as a nurse.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Roper. Roper was born in Atchison, Kansas in 1922. He left college in 1941 and joined the United States Marine Corps. Upon completing boot camp he was sent to Parris Island and assigned to heavy artillery of the 5th Defense Battalion. He landed on Funafuti in the Ellice Islands on 2 October 1941. The only contact with the outside world was with a Navy boat that would come from Samoa weekly. He remembers there were two pontoon airplanes based on the island used for reconnaissance. During one evening patrol the pilot spotted a raft containing Eddie Rickenbacker and two others. The plane picked up the three men and taxied 40 miles before they were put aboard a small yard patrol boat. Others who had been with Rickenbacker when their plane went down were recovered from another atoll. Roper also tells of his life after leaving the Marine Corps, which included writing a book about 37 chaplains who were prisoners of the Japanese.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd Loomis. Loomis joined the Navy in March of 1940. He served as Fireman Second-Class aboard the USS West Virginia (BB-48) and deployed to Pearl Harbor. He then transferred to the USS New Orleans (CA-32). They were moored in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. In February of 1942, he was transferred to Treasure Island, in California, placing a converted yacht into commission. They completed patrol missions between Diamond Head and Barber’s Point in Hawaii. He later went aboard USS Mamo YT-325, a yard tugboat, towing barges around Johnston Island and Midway Island. Loomis was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Allen Faust. Faust graduated from the Naval Academy in 1936. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, along with his wife who worked at the Office of Naval Intelligence. He then completed Submarine School at the Naval Submarine Base in New London. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Faust took command of USS R-7 (SS-84), an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine, conducting anti-submarine patrols in the shipping lanes between Bermuda and the northeastern coat. In 1945, Faust deployed to the Pacific and took command of USS Trepang (SS-412). He traveled to Guam, the coast of Japan, Kwajalein and Pearl Harbor. After the war ended, he continued his service until the early 1960s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Skirvin. Skirvin was born on a farm in Iowa on 26 January 1922. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade to work on the farm. In 1942 he was drafted into the Army and spent six week of infantry basic training at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. He then went to Fort Bliss, Texas where he was assigned to the Troop G, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He recalls training as cavalry with horses until early 1943 when the horses were taken away and the unit became infantry. Trained as a Browning automatic rifle (BAR) operator, he boarded the USAT Maui with an advance detail bound for Brisbane, Australia. Upon their arrival they began four weeks of intensive jungle training. This was followed by four weeks of amphibious training. Skirvin’s unit went to New Guinea and the Admiralties where they were involved in combat. While there, Skirvin developed a severe case of Shingles, which hospitalized him for two weeks. Eventually, his unit boarded the USS La Salle (AGF-3) and landed on Leyte in October 1944. He recounts various experiences while there, including a banzai charge, loss …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Spangler. Spangler joined the Marine Corps in January 1942. He went through basic training at Paris Island and describes his experiences. Spangler was sent to radio school and joined an artillery unit. He deployed to Guadalcanal and operated a Pack 75mm howitzer. Spangler discusses receiving Thanksgiving during the battle for Bougainville. He also talks about his experiences during the invasion of Guam including an overview of the landing operation, the artillery firing star shells at night, and seeing war dogs. Spangler also describes seeing his first African-American Marine unit. He returned to the U.S. in November 1944 and joined a V-12 program. Spangler describes going to Times Square to celebrate VJ day. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Wilhelm. Wilhelm joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served as a Gunner’s Mate aboard USS El Dorado (AGC-11) from August of 1944 through August 1945. They served as a communications ship through the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Wilhelm was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Mnichowicz. Mnichowicz was born in Chicago, Illinois on 10 November 1927. He joined the US Navy in 1944 and attended boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Following boot camp he was assigned to the engine room of the USS Pochard (AM-375). He tells of the ship being involved in the laying of smokescreens and minesweeping operations prior to the invasion of Okinawa and of the shooting down of Japanese aircraft during the operation. He also tells of the ship sweeping mines in both Sagami Bay and Tokyo Bay prior to the surrender of Japan and of being one of the first Americans to set foot on Japan following the surrender. Mnichowicz was discharged in 1946, but reenlisted shortly thereafter and retired from the Navy in 1967.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Salvatore Rascati. Rascati was born in New Haven, Connecticut on 12 May 1925. Entering the Navy in 1943 he attended boot camp at Sampson, New York. He then attended electrical school for four months followed by several months of training at the motion picture technical school in Brooklyn, New York. He was then assigned to the USS El Dorado (AGC-11). In 1944 the ship went to Guam at which time Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner came on board with his staff. Rascati tells of the ship participating in the invasion of Iwo Jima and taking many of the Marine casualties on board. He also tells of the ship participating in the invasion of Okinawa and General Simon Bucker and Ernie Pyle being on board. Following the Okinawa operation the ship went to Manila. While there they heard about the atomic bomb attack. The ship returned to the United States soon after the Japanese surrender.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene Conklin. Conklin was born on 4 December 1923 in Chanute, Kansas. After graduating from high school he attended junior college and participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he entered the Naval Aviator Cadet program. After taking primary training at Norman, Oklahoma he was sent to Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Texas for advanced training. Upon graduation he was sent to Daytona Beach where he began flying the SBD dive bomber. After six months of training in the SBD he was assigned to Air Group sixteen aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16). He tells of attacking various islands in the Pacific and his participation the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He admired for Admiral Mitscher for turning on the carrier lights, thus allowing many of the returning pilots, including Conklin, to make a night landing. He began flying an F6F Wildcat on photo missions over assigned targets, before and after bombing raids, to ascertain the damage. After a cessation of hostilities was announced, he and three other pilots were assigned the responsibility of photographing Tokyo to facilitate dropping supplies to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Schuck. Schuck joined the Army Corps of Engineers in 1943. He completed Officer Candidate School and was assigned to the Engineer Aviation Training Detachment. He learned how to build roads and airports. Schuck was a platoon commander in the 1902nd Engineer Aviation Battalion. In the spring of 1945 they traveled to Ie Shima and completed work on an airfield. Schuck describes his work and experiences on this island, as well as what he witnessed as the Battle of Okinawa began. After the war was over, they traveled to Japan and built an airfield there. His unit was disbanded and he was assigned to the 808th Engineer Battalion. They completed an airdrome on the west side of Tokyo Bay. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Larry Delewski. Delewski joined the Navy around 1942. He attended gunnery school in Newport, Rhode Island and completed a program at the Naval Gun Factory for Advanced Hydraulics in Washington, D.C. In early 1944 he was then assigned to the USS Laffey (DD-724). He provides some details of the destroyer, including its weaponry. Delewski served as Mount Captain and was in charge of gun mount number three, located on the stern. They traveled to Normandy, France and were present for D-Day in June of 1944, supporting ground troops by firing over 1,000 rounds at targets including bridges, tanks and troop concentrations. They continued their support at Normandy through the Battle of Cherbourg. Upon receiving some damage to the ship, they traveled back to the United States. In late 1944 they traveled to the Philippines and participated in the Battle of Ormoc Bay. In April of 1945 they were involved in the Battle of Okinawa, where they were heavily attacked by Japanese kamikazes. He was discharged some time in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Laverne Arnic. Arnic joined the Army Air Forces in October of 1942. He was assigned to an Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington for two-and-a-half years and served as a guard. Around mid-1944 Arnic was sent overseas to the Pacific. He did not participate in any combat and was assigned as a guard of Japanese prisoners-of-war on the Island of Okinawa until the end of the war. He was discharged around 1945.