The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John R. Ahlgren. In 1942, Ahlgren, a Navy communications officer, was assigned to Admiral Chester Nimitz's staff at Pearl Harbor. From 1946 to 1947 he was stationed in Russia and worked as a translator and attaché to the US Embassy in Moscow. Ahlgren left the service soon after his time in Moscow.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with B C Peters. Peters joined the Navy in September of 1942. He served with the 31st Seabee Battalion. From 1942 to 1943 he worked in Bermuda, building a refueling station as well as working with a survey crew. He worked on surveys for the construction of a submarine dock at St. Georges and a military highway near Hamilton. He was transferred to Camp Endicott, Rhode Island, where he was trained as Crew Chief of an 81mm mortar squad and his survey party made a topographic map of the area. They were later assigned to the mountains of Hawaii and he describes his living conditions there, and the scenery. They completed physical training and trained aboard an LCM as well. They traveled to Eniwetok and Iwo Jima. He provides great detail of landing at Iwo Jima and the battle that ensued. Peters’ group was there to repair the airfield closest to Mt. Suribachi, and then set up shop in foxholes on the island. He provides great detail of his experiences there. He assisted with the surveying and engineering of another airfield and describes his involvement. After Iwo Jima he returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henri Granier. Granier joined the Army in 1939 and received basic training at Fort Slocum. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 27th Infantry Regiment and sent to Schofield Barracks. He fired at Japanese planes as they left Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. His first experience of combat was on Guadalcanal in January 1942 when he survived a banzai attack in the jungle. While on night duty in the Solomon Islands, he heard a Japanese troop carrier approaching, so he quickly disassembled and reassembled a jammed 57-millimeter recoilless rifle, successfully defending his unit. He was wounded twice in combat, once by a piece of shrapnel and once by a Japanese saber. His unit was relieved and sent to New Zealand for reorganization. While there, the war ended. Granier returned to the United States and remained in the Army, twice deploying to Korea and twice to Vietnam. At the beginning of the Iraq War, he donned dress greens and showed up at a recruiting office, requesting to reenlist. He was 89 years old at the time.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leo D. Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Navy in December 1942 and trained at Farragut, Idaho. Eventually, he was assigned to the Amphibious Force and reported aboard USS LCI-70 at Tulagi. The USS LCI-70 was a variant and was converted to include several other guns to support infantry during a landing. Wilcox describes some action he saw aboardUSS LCI-70 in the Solomon Islands. He also discusses his role in the invasion of Leyte in October, 1944 and then Mindoro. During a typhoon, a ship drug anchor and collided withUSS LCI-70, which ended up beached after the typhoon. After getting off the beach,USS LCI-70 participated in the invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf. Wilcox describes the 70 being struck by a kamikaze. Wilcox also describes operations around Borneo. When the war ended, Wilcox was headed home to attend electricians school. Before he could go to school, he was assigned to the USS LST-611. He spent the next year decommissioning Seabee bases in the Pacific before being discharged in San Diego on his 21st birthday. He returned to the service, this time in the reserves and served aboard the USS Wedderburn …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Simmons. Simmons joined the Navy in July 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He received electro-hydraulics training and was assigned to the USS Davis (DD-395) as a gunner’s mate, his battle station in the lower forward handling room, sending up five-inch shells. He participated in the invasion of Normandy, providing support to troops landing on Omaha Beach. After escorting the USS Texas (BB-35) back to England and attempting a return trip with supplies, the Davis hit a mine and was sent to Scotland for repairs. Simmons returned to the States, where he was diagnosed with asthma and given a medical discharge. He claims to have not suffered any psychological impacts from witnessing drownings at Normandy, but his wife recalls that Simmons would become so nervous watching news reels that they would often leave the theater early together.

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 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 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 Ellsworth Jung. Jung joined the Army Air Corps in November, 1940, became an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer and was at Hickam Field when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In February, Ellsworth was sent to Midway Island with his unit before going to the Solomons. Ellsworth flew on 69 combat missions and describes several of them. Afterwards, he returned to the US and was assigned to a training unit. He was discharged in June, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ken Barhite. Barhite was born in Alden, Iowa on 9 January 1921. Graduating from junior college, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Wolters, Texas for thirteen weeks of basic training. He was then sent to Chenango, Pennsylvania for four weeks of advanced training prior to being sent to San Francisco where he boarded a liberty ship for a twenty-two day voyage to a replacement center in New Caledonia. After four weeks he was sent to Fiji where he joined the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal) in July 1943. The unit was sent to Bougainville where they performed patrols and were involved in some combat. He witnessed friends killed and wounded during these actions. While there, he was selected to attend 18 weeks of Officer’s Candidate School (OCS) in Australia. Upon his graduation in June 1945 he received his commission as a second lieutenant. He reported to the 158th Regimental Combat Team in Manila to prepare for the invasion of Japan. After the war, the unit boarded a ship for Japan as part of the occupation forces. Barhite returned to the United States in November 1945 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenneth Spray. Spray joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training at Great Lakes. During sonar training, he developed a system to cheat the tests; however, on patrol in Florida he was the first to detect an enemy submarine. In 1944, he deployed to the Pacific aboard the USS Sierra (AD-18) and completed his shellback initiation just before a torpedo attack. In Manus, Spray worked around the clock repairing radar, sonar, and depth-finding equipment on numerous ships. He survived relentless kamikaze attacks while working on the USS Howard (DD-179) at Lingayen Gulf. In 1945, he received orders to Pearl Harbor for radar school. Experiencing engine trouble 400 miles out, the crew threw their personal belongings overboard to lighten the load. When the war ended, Spray was stationed on Guam for three months before being discharged. He earned a master's degree in material science and metallurgic engineering and enjoyed a lengthy career with the Clark Equipment Company.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Traute (Gertrude) Manning. Born in 1907 in the East German town of Koenigshuette, she moved, along with her engineer husband, to the Dutch East Indies to build roads. She shares anecdotes of her time in Java and Borneo, the living conditions and living among the Dutch community. When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, her husband was taken and held in an internment camp and she and her son, Robert, were imprisoned for the remainder of the war. Her infant son, Max, was placed in a Dutch orphanage and was located only hours prior to being shipped to Australia. She describes her time in the prison camps of Werfstraat, Tangerang and Aadek under the Japanese. She was liberated in September, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Woodrow Graham. Graham joined the Navy in 1942 at the age of 27 and received basic training in California. He attended yeoman school at the University of Indiana and was trained in coding and decoding messages at Harvard. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Navy Department in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the medals and awards division, sending out Purple Hearts. He was reassigned to Admiral Nimitz’s office at Pearl Harbor, operating a machine for encrypted communications. Graham worked closely with Nimitz and found him to be humble and hard-working. Graham was invited to the signing of the surrender at the end of the war but chose to go home instead. He returned to work for his former employer and received a big promotion.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ray Kuhlow. Kuhlow provides a history monologue during the 60th Anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Kuhlow served 21 years on active duty in the Navy, through World War II and the Korean War. He worked aboard the USS California (BB-44) in forward turret two, and they traveled to the Hawaiian Islands. He describes the maneuvers of the Japanese carriers and planes prior to and on the day of December 7, 1941. His ship pulled into Pearl Harbor on Saturday evening, December 6. Kuhlow explains in detail the events that unfolded that night and into the next day. He provides a description of how the Battleship Oklahoma and the Battleship Arizona were attacked. He also details his crew’s actions aboard the California in response to the Japanese attack on the island. His crew worked for months cleaning and repairing the ship, and in December of 1942 brought the ship back to the States for modernization and repairs. In February of 1943 Kuhlow went back out to the South Pacific aboard the California, participating in many engagements including the Marshalls, the Marianas, and the Philippines. He details their interaction …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Zeno P. King. King was born in Mexia, Texas in 1919. After graduating from a military school in 1936 he accepted a music scholarship at Southern Methodist University. He entered the Army on 5 February 1942 at Victoria, Texas and played in the post band until he was accepted into the Army Music School at Fort Myer, Virginia. He was made a warrant officer and assigned as the leader of the 83rd Infantry Division band. He formed a fifty-six piece band and explains the selection process and the responsibilities of a band director. He indicates band members were trained infantrymen. In his case, King went to disposal and demolition school for four weeks before returning to the band. King’s unit departed Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky for Liverpool in May 1944. Two weeks after the Normandy invasion, King and his unit landed on Omaha Beach to provide security for division headquarters. He received orders to provide thirty-two men from his unit to act as stretcher bearers. After completing this assignment the group was assigned to 3rd Army and put in charge of the German prisoner of war enclosure at Dinan, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Erick Nygaard. Nygaard joined the Navy in December of 1941. He joined the Civilian Pilot Training program and describes this experience and flying a Piper Cub. He provides some description of his pilot training. He was commissioned in February of 1944 and was sent to Hawaii and served as a replacement pilot for the carriers in the Pacific. He served as a fighter pilot in Halsey’s Third Fleet aboard 3 carriers including the USS Intrepid (CV-11), the USS Hancock (CV-19), and the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). He provides some detail of his experiences in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. While aboard the Hancock, Nygaard describes the carrier being hit by a kamikaze. He became a shellback and describes his initiation. He remained in the Active Reserve until 1955.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dean Earl Wilson. Wilson joined the Army Air Corps in May of 1941. He completed Communications School and Radio School, serving as a Maintenance Technician. Throughout 1942, he served at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, overseeing aircraft and control tower radio maintenance. Wilson shares his experiences living and working on the island. In 1943, he continued his work on New Georgia. In 1944, Wilson completed additional schooling in cryptography. He returned to the US after the war ended and received his discharge around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eduardo Cajiuat. Cajiuat was a student in Manila when the Japanese invaded. He recalls being in the city while it was occupied by the Japanese and some of the food shortages and some of the economic repercussions. Cajiuat had an older brother who served as a guerrilla and a sister who spied on the Japanese. He also recalls the Americans liberating the city. Cajiuat became a minister and emigrated to the United States in 1964.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Kinsey. Kinsey has assistance from his son during the interview. Kinsey joined the Marine Corps and was assigned to the 13th marines, 5th Marine Division. He landed on Iwo Jima on the first day of the battle. He remained at Iwo Jima for the duration of the battle. He was in a communication outfit and his job was to establish and maintain lines of communication. Kinsey was exposed to radiation at Nagasaki after the war and continued to suffer from radiation poisoning well after the exposure.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Keifer Marshall. Marshall played football at the University of Texas and then joined the Marine Corps in early 1944. He describes his time in boot camp and infantry training. Marshall was sent to Guam as a replacement for the 3rd Marine Division. He describes in detail landing on Iwo Jima and the ensuing battle. Marshall discusses how his unit was trapped in Cushman’s Pocket and was rescued by a tank. He also discusses locating landmines and a network of Japanese defenses. Marshall was sent back to Guam to prepare for the invasion of Japan and returned to the US in time for Christmas of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robin Meece. Meece was born in Middletown, Ohio on 7 October 1926. When called into the Navy in 1944, he went to the San Diego Naval Training Station for boot training. Upon completion of boot training, he was assigned to the USS Mobile (CL-63) for on-the-job training (striker) as a radar operator. He briefly describes his job and several actions in which the ship was involved. After the surrender of Japan, he was a member of the occupation forces and discovered a cave with eight Japanese submarines hidden in it. He also went to a prisoner of war camp to aid in the release of the Allied POWs. In January 1946 the Mobile went to Seattle, where it was decommissioned. Meece was assigned to shore patrol duties upon his return to the US and served in this capacity until his discharge in 1946. He concludes the interview telling of his employment as an electrical engineer with Rockwell/Boeing, working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after receiving a college degree through the G.I. Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with C B Slaughter. Slaughter was born in 1920, and joined the US Army Air Forces in January of 1942. He served as a C-47 pilot in the 5th Air Force in Townsville, Australia. He was transferred to the Air Transport Command. He made flights between Australia and New Guinea and New Caledonia. He returned to the US in mid-1944, and was assigned to a glider unit at Bergstrom Field, Austin, Texas, where he remained through the end of the war. Slaughter continued his service as a career Air Force officer and combat veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel in 1971.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sarah Kay Dukote. Dukote decided to become a neruse after having her appendix removed when she was a teenager. She finished high school in 1938 and went to nursing school in Kentucky, completing the course in September 1941. She joined the Army the day after he attack on Pearl Harbor. Her first assignment was at Fort Knox in the tuberculosis ward and the venereal disease ward. In late 1942, Dukote was transferred to a hospital in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks. She stayed there a few years and returned to the US just before the war ended. SHe opted for discharge when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bruce Greig. Greig enlisted in the reserves and was called to active duty with the Army Air Forces in February 1943. He was sent to radio school and then radar school. Greig served stateside before being sent to Saipan as a part of a service group for the 73rd Bomb Wing. He describes the conditions on Saipan and how the airbase grew. Greig describes how he worked in a shop and specialized in a black box that was a part of early airplane radar units. He was then sent to Guam and eventually back to the US where he was discharged in February 1946.