The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L Cook. Cook was accepted into the Naval ROTC program at Rice University. Upon his graduation with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in April of 1943, Cook was commissioned into the Navy as an ensign. He became active in major ship repairs, and assigned to Mare Island, California, Pearl Harbor and Guam. In 1944, Cook helped outfit USS Baltimore (CA-68) to accommodate President Franklin Roosevelt in his travels to Pearl Harbor and Alaska. He was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Zapalac. Zapalac joined the Navy in February 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Alameda Naval Air Station for ordnance training. While there, he serviced PBYs that were used in flight training. His first assignment in the Pacific was loading ammunition onto an island near Tarawa. He suffered a bout of malaria while there. At Saipan he flew patrols, dropping rafts and supplies to stranded troops. He stayed on Saipan several years, doing odd jobs until he was transferred to Corpus Christi, where he ran the movie projector. Zapalac was discharged in 1947 and became an appliance repairman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L. Cook, speaking for his deceased brother Frank E. Cook. Cook served with the National Guard. He was assigned to Panama working as a patrol boat guard. In early 1943, Cook served as Executive Officer aboard PT-170 in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 10. While traveling from Panama to Noumea, on 3 August 1943, Frank and his crew were caught in a crossfire with the Japanese and Frank died 5 August.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry L. Knauber. Knauber joined the Army in January 1942. He completed basic training and Motor Maintenance School in Georgia. He served as a truck driver and mechanic in a service company in the 1st Infantry Division. In August, they went to England. Through May of 1943, they participated in combat through North Africa. In July, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. Beginning 6 June 1944, they participated in the Battle of Normandy. They continued on through France, Luxembourg, Belgium and into Germany by October, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge through January of 1945. Knauber and his division were in Czechoslovakia when the war ended in May. He returned home and received his discharge on 13 September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Prevninger. Prevninger was drafted into the Army in June of 1944. He was trained as a tanker and eventually became a gunner on a Stuart tank and was later transferred to a Sherman tank. Prevninger describes crossing the Rhine and advancing across Germany. He discusses how they handled German prisoners at the end of the war. Prevninger served in the occupation and was eventually discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Merle Volding. Volding was born 19 December 1923. He joined the US Army Signal Corps around late 1941. He completed extensive training as a radar technician at the School of Engineering at the University of Iowa. He then completed further engineering and cryptography training through the Army’s Specialized Training Program (ASTP). Around late 1944 through the end of the war, he worked in the SOPAC message center on New Caledonia. He shares details of life on the island. He returned to the US and received his discharge in February of 1946.

The National Museumn of the Pacific War presents an interview with Claribel Hannemann. Hannemann was born in Frederickaburg Texas in 1928. She discusses growing up during the Depression and being a teenager during the war and how the war affected her family.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arnold Peters. Peters joined the Navy in 1944. He served in the commissary department as a butcher at a Naval Air Base in San Diego. His wife worked as a cook for a children’s nursery at an aircraft factory. He ranked Petty Officer, Third Class, and received his discharge in early 1946.

The National Museumn of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nevin Sledge. Sledge joined the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in April 1942 after some Civilian Pilot Training prior to the outbreak of war. Upon completion of flight training, he became an instructor at Corpus Christi before deploying to the Pacific with Marine Transport Squadron 253 (VMR-253). Sledge shares several anecdotes about his time in the Pacific from Guam, Ulithi, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

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 oral interview with Raymond Carden. Carden was born in Oklahoma 15 September 1922. Upon graduating from high school in 1942 he joined the Navy. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego for six weeks before attending diesel engine school in Los Angeles for eight weeks. Upon graduating as a motor machinist mate he was assigned to the engine room aboard the USS Apache (AFT-67). He tells of participating in several invasions, including Guam, in which they assisted LSTs in withdrawing from the beaches. He tells of being attacked by Japanese planes during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. The crew shot down three enemy planes. The ship returned to the United States prior to the surrender of Japan and Carden was discharged in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene N. Fithian. Born in 1925, he joined the Navy in 1943. He describes basic training and living conditions in Great Lakes, Illinois. Following basic training, he was assigned to the Navy Overflow Annex from Treasure Island where he worked in the fleet post office becoming a Mailman, Third Class. He was then assigned to the destroyer, USS Farenholt (DD-491). On the Farenholt, he became a cook and was assigned as a leader on a 20mm and later a 40mm anti-aircraft gun. He shares an anecdote about becoming seasick within two hours after sailing out from San Francisco. He describes screening operations for the landings on Kwajalein and Guam and carrier fleet operations in the Philippine Island area and Peleliu. He comments on the kamikazes, rescuing downed pilots and survivors of damaged or sunken ships, bombarding shore targets and carrier operations in the Sakishima Gunto. He shares a story of taking pictures of the Japanese generals on Okinawa on their way to the peace talks in Manila. After arriving in South Carolina, he was transferred to the USS Caperton (DD-650) prior to its decommissioning. He was discharged from …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Brown. Brown was drafted into the Marines in March of 1944 and served in the 2nd Marine Division. He traveled to Eniwetok and Okinawa. In Okinawa his job was to help service the planes. They also traveled to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Glenn Kyzer. Kyzer was attending Auburn University when he signed up for the Army Air Forces in March, 1943. He was eventually selected for pilot training. He was commissioned and earned his wings in April, 1944. He learned to fly B-24s before being shipped to Italy and joining the 737th Bomb Squadron, 454th Bomb Group in December 1944. Kyzer recalls several missions in detail over Germany, Italy, Austria, etc. He flew 28 total combat missions. He was discharged in November, 1945 after flying back to the US.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Ed Spradling. Spradling grauated from high school and went to work for North American Aviation, building B-24s in Grand Prairie, Texas. When he was old enough, he joined the Merchant Marine. After training, he joined a ship in April, 1945 in San Francisco. Spradling discusses life abord a liberty ship and some of his experiences, including a trip to Manila.

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an ortal interview with Glynn Hull. Hull grew up on a farm in Iowa during the Depression. Hull entered the Army Air Forces in January 1943. He trained as a navigator. He was then assigned to a B-17 in the 551st Bomb Squadron, 385th Bomb GRoup and went to England in 1944. Hull discusses a few missions and other experiences. On one mission, Hull had to bail out and became a prisoner of war. He shares several anecdotes and experiences about being a POW in Germany.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James R. Snellen. Snellen was born 27 September 1926 in Bullitt County, Kentucky. He joined the Navy in April 1944 and went to Great Lakes Naval Training Center for boot camp. He then went to Fort Pierce, Florida for amphibious training as radioman and gunner on LCVPs. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Cofer (APD-62). At Leyte, Snellen saw the USS Mahan (DD-364) and the USS Lidde (APD-60) get hit by kamikazes. Afterwards, he boarded the stricken Lidde and scooped body parts over the side. While landing infantry on Mindoro, he observed the USS Nashville (CL-43) get hit by a kamikaze. In recalling one landing, in which the LCVP got stuck on a reef, Snellen saw the soldiers wading toward shore as a mortar round hit among them, killing them all. He also worked with underwater demolition teams at Borneo and tells of an attack on his ship during which crew shot down two Japanese planes. When Japan surrendered, the Cofer led six hospital ships through mine fields using a Japanese pilot arriving at Wakayama, Japan on 11 September. Upon departing, they sailed to Nagasaki and …

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an ortal interview with Eugene Ganske. Ganske attempted to join the Navy but wopund up in the Marine Corps instead in May 1944. He trained as an anti-aircraft gunner and eventually was sent to Tinian to guard B-29s. He also deployed to Okinawa after the invasion. After the war, Ganske went to CHina with the First Marine Division.

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an ortal interview with James Metcalf. Metcalf joined the Navy in December 1942 and attended aviation ordnance school in Oklahoma after basic training. Afterward, Metcalf was assigned as a gunner in Torpedo Squadron 13 (VT-13) and went aboard USS Franklin (CV-13) in January 1944. Metcalf flew raids on Guam, Peleliu, Okinawa, Formosa, and Iwo Jima while with VT-13. He was aboard the Franklin in March when it was attacked and severly damaged. He returned with the ship to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stewart Elder. Elder joined the Navy V-5 Program in 1942 and received his wings in November of 1944. He provides details of his flight training and the various of types of planes he flew. He was placed in a replacement squadron in Hawaii four months before the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan in August of 1945. They completed additional training exercises in Hawaii, and after the surrender he returned home. He completed over 1,000 hours of flying during operational training and additionally in the Ready Reserve. He was discharged around December of 1945.

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an ortal interview with Lester Wineland. Wineland joined the Navy in 1944 after finishing high school. After basic training, Wineland reported aboard USS Pringle (DD-477) in San Francisco. He served asa radarman aboard the ship and suffered from no end of seasickness. He recalls the kamikaze attack at Mindoro and was transferred from the ship just prior to it sailing for Okinawa. Wineland reported to officer training school in Pennsylvania. He was there when the war ended. Rahter than take a commission, he chose to be discharged.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Sidney Lanier. Lanier recalls growing up and working during the Depression. He entered the Navy in March, 1943 and trained in San Diego. With training complete, Lanier reported to PC-1230 at New Orleans. They travelled to New Caledonia and stayed on station there for about a year before heading to Peleliu. At Peleliu, Lanier was assigned to the USS ATR-33 but travelled considerably before reaching his new ship in New Caledonia. He was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles W. Carson. Carson was born in Ecorse, Michigan on 12 August 1925 and enlisted in the Navy in September 1943. Following basic training he attended aircraft mechanic school, graduating in June 1944. He shipped overseas on the USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43). He provides several interesting anecdotes of the trip to the New Hebrides archipelago, including the ceremony for crossing the equator and international dateline. He arrived on the island of Espiritu Santo in October 1944 and was placed in an aviation engine overhaul unit. Carson describes several of his experiences while on the island. Five months later he went to Guadalcanal where his duties consisted of repairing damaged aircraft near Henderson Field. He stayed on Guadalcanal for a few months and then transferred to Guam. He recalls attending USO shows at each of his duty stations. Carson returned to the United States in December 1945 and was discharged on 6 January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William E. Cooper. Cooper was born in Alameda, California 8 May 1925. Upon completing high school in 1943, he joined the Army and went to Oregon for training with the 13th Combat Engineers. He recalls being sent overseas aboard the USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43) and arriving at New Caledonia. He took part in the invasion of Leyte and witnessed a kamikaze plane crash into one of the troop ships. Upon landing he was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division and put in charge of a group of men assigned as stevedores. He then went to Ormoc and was assigned to Company A, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division as an infantryman. After participating on several combat patrols he was hospitalized with dengue fever. Upon being released from the hospital he was assigned to Company L, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and was in the first wave to land on Okinawa. As a combat engineer, his job was to blow up Japanese caves and fortifications. He comments that a childhood friend, Harold Gonsalves, was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as a result of his actions on Okinawa. Cooper …