The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hilton Lockhart. Lockhart joined the Army in February of 1941. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division. They traveled to England in early 1944 and participated in the Normandy landings. They moved into Bastogne, Belgium, participating in the Battle of the Bulge in December. Lockhart shares some stories of General Patton. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael J. Bauman. Bauman was born 14 September 1919 in Star City, Indiana. Joining the Army Air Corps in 1940, he went to Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio. He was then sent to Langley Field, Virginia where he volunteered for the bombardier program. Bauman and seven others began the training with no written instructions and very little equipment. In January 1941 he began practice bombing missions in a Douglas B-18 bomber. By May, Bauman was training in B-26s. He discusses the various attributes of each type of plane. Remembering 7 December 1941 he tells of being ordered back to the air field where they immediately began mounting machine guns and bomb racks on all the bombers. On 8 December they flew the planes to Muroc, California where he was assigned to the 22nd Bomb Group (Medium), 33rd Squadron. He relates several flying escapades that occurred prior to boarding the USS U.S. Grant (AP-29) for Hawaii. In March 1942 they flew to Townsville, Australia. On 10 April he flew his first bombing mission over Rabaul. He comments on the lack of success of the mission. Bauman flew sixteen combat …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Rowe. Rowe was a gunnery officer aboard the USS Remey. His first combat experience was bombarding Vabelthaup in the Palau Group, then the ship assumed screening stations for landing troops on Angaur Island, before heading for Manus and the Admiralty Group where they met up with the 7th fleet to begin the Leyte Gulf assault. Rowe discusses making torpedo attacks on the Japanese in the Surigao Straits, setting smoke screens and picking up crews from downed planes. He ancedotes about watching a failed kamikaze attack on the Missouri, being able to see a Japanese pilot's grin with gold teeth as he passed close to Rowe's station, being in San Francisco for VJ Day, and a dog on his ship biting a Japanese pilot who came on board. He also talks about food on board ship and getting mail.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Boesch. After high school Boesch went to summer school at the University of Texas at Austin, joined the enlisted reserve corps and was eventually 'called up'. He had basic training in Cheyenne, Wyoming and learned to drive a truck. In what he calls 'casual status', he was shipped (like cargo) on a Liberty ship which landed in Canistel, North Africa. Conditions on board the ship were atrocious - little food, water, etc. They were drilled, exercised and run in North Africa; conditions were pretty deplorable there too. They were then put on a convoy ship which landed in Bombay, India. From there they took a train (last class) to Calbutta, then Passam and finally Ledo where he was assigned to the 195th Engineering Company. Interview contains good descriptions of his living conditions during this time - they lived off the land, had some air drops and some supp,ies trucked in. Boesch contracted malaria and jungle rot during this time. He was working on the Burma Road when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lent Logar. Logar was born in Spring Valley, Illinois on 23 July 1920. After graduating from high school, he joined the Army Air Corps and had basic training at Fort Niagara, New York. He was then sent to Decatur, Alabama where he took primary flight training with Southern Aviation. He then went to Lamesa, Texas to a flight school dedicated to liaison flying where they trained in the L-5 Stinson. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the 115th Liaison Squadron and sent to Kunming, China. Upon his arrival in Kunming, he was transferred to the 19th Liaison Squadron. He tells of various experiences working with the Chinese Army and his involvement in the Salween Campaign to open the Burma Road. He relates his experience of transporting a Japanese commander to Taiwan for the signing of a surrender agreement of certain Japanese forces based in China. He also tells of delivering men of the OSS to sites within the jungles of Vietnam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bob Fagleson. Fagleson went to school at Virginia Tech and took the Civilian Pilot Training course. To continue flying he joined the Army Air Forces. He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri for classification due to an eye astigmatism. From there he went to Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin learning basic radio mechanics, and then on to radar school in Florida, then Control Net System training in Homer, Wisconsin. Once he graduated from CNS training he went to Camp Patrick Henry in Newport News, Virginia to board a ship heading to Bombay. He ended up in Chabour assisting with equipment arrival and transport. He was also located in Narin, bringing back planes from bombing missions and giving signal directions. He spent some time in Maran and the remainder in Michenau. After he finished his tour of duty he flew back to Karachi and took a ship back. He said that he got sick aboard the ship and was hospitalized for 6 months and partially paralyzed and got a medical discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Lawler. Lawler was born in Mount Pleasant, Texas 4 October 1918. Graduating from high school in 1936, he attended business college for two years before being employed in the accounting office of the Fort Worth Poultry and Egg Company. He was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1941 for several months prior to entering the US Army Air Corps cadet training program. Having received flight training at several bases, he completed his advanced training at Brooks Field, Texas and received his wings. His first assignment was as a pilot flying Curtis 0-52 observation planes for the Aerial Observation School at Brooks Field. His next assignment was communications officer and flight officer at Esler Field, Louisiana. He joined the 12th Bomb Group, 82nd Squadron in Sicily during which he flew eight combat missions. He describes the armament of a B-25G bomber and tells of the stress created on the aircraft when using the 77mm nose cannon. In early 1944 the unit was sent to India and attached to the British Tactical Air Command. He discusses various missions flown and tells of pioneering the use of napalm …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Moore. Moore joined the Army and trained at Fort Riley, Kansas before being shipped to Burma and attached to the 475th Infantry Regiment. After some time as a rifleman, he was made a combat medic. He describes several battles with the Japanese in the jungles of Burma. Moore was wounded but stayed with the other surgeons and medics. After securing Burma, Moore was transferred to Kunming, China to teach Chinese Nationalists how to use small arms. After the war, Moore was on duty as a clerk in Shanghai. He received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rocky Agrusti. Argusti was born on 7 July 1924 in Waterville, New York into a family of nine children. Four of the boys and one of the girls served during World War II. Two of the boys were killed in action during the war. Prior to being drafted, he worked as a steam engine fireman with the New York Central Railroad. Upon entering the US Army in 1943, he was sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for basic training. After receiving advanced training at several other bases, he was assigned to the 701st Railway Grand Division, 721st Railway Operations Battalion. In December 1943 the battalion was sent to the West Coast where they boarded the SS Mariposa bound for Bombay, India. Upon their arrival in India, Argusti went by train to Parbatpur, India. He recalls that the barracks, called bashas, were constructed of straw. A fire occurred that burned down the majority of the dwellings. He tells of operating railroad engines transporting supplies to Ledo, India for shipment into the interior of China by air transport or overland by the Ledo Burma Road. Following the surrender of Japan, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl DeLeeuw. DeLeeuw joined the Army Air Forces in late 1941 and was shipped to Australia right as the war was beginning to assemble P-40s. From there, he went to India and was an airplane mechanic involved in maintaining the planes flying supplies over the Himalaya Mountains to China and bombing Burma. He was released from the service in September, 1945 and went to work for United Airlines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bryce Taylor. After finishing high school in 1942, Taylor joined the Marine Corps and had basic training at San Diego. After basic, Taylor was assigned to the base band in San Diego. He arrived at Pearl Harbor in February, 1944 and was part of the base band there for two years. Taylor recalls playing Taps in the evening several times on the USS Arizona (BB-39). His band also played regularly at the hospital at Aiea. After a while, he was recruited by Bob Crosby to tour parts of the Pacific and play concerts: Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima. He returned home and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with L.D. Cox. He discusses joining the Navy and serving aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He was on board when the cruiser was attacked by a Japanese submarine and survived five days in the water before being rescued.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ludwig Matzat. Matzat joined the Army in 1944. In January of 1945 he joined the 128th Regiment, Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Division, at New Guinea as a replacement. Matzat served as a rifleman. His outfit also participated in the Battle of Luzon, moving the Japanese back into the Caraballo Mountains. He shares details of his combat experiences, being the sole survivor on one mission, and receiving a shell fragment wound to his back. Matzat was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Eckert. Eckert joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He completed aircraft welding school at Kelly Field, and served with the 40th Air Depot Repair Squadron. They traveled aboard the USS Hermitage (AP-54) to Freemantle, Australia and landed at Bombay, India in December of 1943. His squadron was assigned to Calcutta, and they repaired airplanes at Dum Dum Air Field. They also worked on Guam and Okinawa, where they arrived 3 days before the war ended. Eckert returned to the US and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harlan E. McLean. McLean was born in Burlington, Iowa on 6 June 1924 and entered the Army Air Forces in December 1942. McLean took basic at Scott Field, Missouri and was sent to Michigan State University for enrollment in a college training detachment. He describes his life while taking classes in preparation for cadet training. Upon completion of the college courses, he was sent to Vernon, Texas for primary flight training, then to Enid, Oklahoma and Victoria, Texas for secondary flight training. He graduated and was commissioned 27 February 1944. His first assignment was at Chatham Field, Savannah, Georgia where he trained in B-24s. After completion of the transitional training he went to Mitchell Field, New York, to await an overseas assignment. After arrival in England, he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group, 508th Bomb Squadron as a B-17 co-pilot. He flew 24 combat missions and describes several. After Germany surrendered, McLean’s group transported Frenchmen, who had been prisoners of the Germans, back to France and comments on their physical condition. He returned to the United States during June 1945 and went into the Reserves. He recalls …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Francis Halloran. Halloran was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1922. He volunteered for the Air Corps at Dayton in late 1942. He had basic training at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, then initial flight training at College Station. He was accepted for navigation school at Hondo Air Base, Texas; then went to bombardier school at Roswell, New Mexico. He joined his bomber crew in Kansas where they trained in B-17s and B-24s. Finally getting their B-29, Halloran and his crew flew to Saipan via San Francisco, Hawaii, and Kwajalein, arriving 12 December 1944. Their first mission was over Iwo Jima. On their seventh mission on 1 January 1945, they were shot down over Tokyo. Halloran and 4 others bailed out through the bomb bay while 6 others went down with the plane. Initially beaten by civilians on the ground, he was taken by soldiers to a Kempeitai prison. There he was tortured and interrogated. After two months, the prison was bombed by U.S. aircraft and Halloran was moved to the Omori POW camp. He was liberated 29 August 1945. He spent considerable time in the hospital …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Peter Chu. Peter's son Alan Chu also participates in this interview. Peter Chu discusses the Japanese occupation in Nanking, China in 1937 when he was 10 years old.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Cotner. Cotner joined the Navy in March of 1945. He completed radio operator, anti-aircraft and underwater demolition training. He served aboard the USS General William Mitchell (AP-114). They traveled to Guam, and other Pacific islands to pick up and transport soldiers and Marines. Cotner returned to the US and received his discharge in December of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Mabel Miller. Miller was born 5 October 1925 near Floresville, Texas. She shares her recollections of her childhood, life during the war, and how she met her husband, who served in World War II. Miller provides details of her husband’s service in the war, and their life and family together.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Zeller. Zeller was born in Fulton County, Indiana on 14 July 1924. Soon after graduating from high school he joined the Army Air Forces. After indoctrination training, he was sent to the Carey Jones School of Aeronautics in Newark, New Jersey. There he had four weeks of training on aircraft engines. He was then sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri where he was subjected to six weeks of basic training. On 6 October 1943 he departed Newport News, Virginia on board the SS Marine Robin for a twenty-one day trip to Bombay, India. He recalls the ship being under attack by German bombers using guided missiles. His ship received some damage while another ship in the convoy was sunk. Upon arriving in India he was assigned as crew chief with the 48th Air Depot Group. Zeller’s unit performed maintenance on various aircraft including P-51 fighters, P-38 fighters and B-25 bombers. He recalls that following the surrender of Japan, over one hundred fifty aircraft at the field were purposely destroyed. Zeller returned to the United States in February 1946 and was discharged shortly thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Cloakey. Cloakey joined the Marine Corps in October of 1940. He served with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. In 1941, they traveled to Iceland where they supplemented British troops to defend against a German attack on the island. In the fall of 1942, Cloakey deployed to Samoa and was assigned to the 3rd Raider Battalion. He participated in the Solomon Islands Campaign in 1943, and shares anecdotes of him and his fellow servicemen.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank G. Reynolds. Reynolds was drafted into the Army in July, 1943. After training and after being shipped overseas, Reynolds was assigned as a medic to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. Reynolds was in the second wave to land at Omaha Beach at Normandy on D-day, 6 June 1944. He relates his experiences at Normandy and St. Mere Eglise. He finally was evacuated after a while on the line. When he was fit for duty again, he was assigned to 1341st labor Supervision Company. Part of his duties included watching over displaced people and guarding German prisoners of war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Nelson Granzella. Granzella joined the Navy and served aboard the USS Omaha (CL-4), based in the French Riviera. He traveled to Italy, North Africa, Turkey, and Greece during the Spanish Civil War. After the invasion of Poland, he stayed in Portugal for a few months and was then reassigned to the USS Wapello (YN-56). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was tasked with removing oil from the surface of waterways. He was then assigned to the USS Dash (AM-88), sweeping mines around Tulagi. He was transferred to the USS England (DE-635) as chief quartermaster, tracking the stars and relaying information to the navigator. Granzella also helped sink several Japanese submarines near Papua New Guinea. He would plot the submarines’ movements based on information given to him by sonar operators and then relay the information to the bridge. After the war, Granzella became a specialist in photo intelligence based in Washington, D.C.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Reynolds. Reynolds joined the Royal Air Force on 4 September 1939 and entered active duty in July of 1940. He completed flight training and received his wings in March of 1941. Reynolds served as a flight instructor in Ontario and returned to England in early 1943 as a pilot officer. He continued serving as an instructor to the 8th Air Force, training Americans in map reading and how to navigate through cloudy, European skies. He later joined the 101st Squadron, piloting Wellington and Lancaster aircraft. They completed five bombing missions over Germany several missions to retrieve British former prisoners of war for repatriation. He recalls his memories of VE-Day.