The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George W. Peterson. Peterson was born on a farm near Hermitage, Missouri on 20 November 1918 and was drafted into the Army in 1941. After basic training at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas he went to Fort Riley and was assigned to the mechanized cavalry, training with armored cars and jeeps. Next, Peterson went to Norfolk, Virginia to work in a Ground Observer Corps Filter Center where aircraft and submarine contacts were plotted. After three months he went to Richmond, Virginia as a supervisor over civilian volunteers. After making application, he was accepted into the Army Air Corps cadet training program. He went to Kessler Field, Mississippi for training and took college preparatory classes prior to being sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for ten weeks. In early 1943 he went to Thunderbird Field, Arizona for preflight training. Peterson trained in various planes at several bases and received his wings at Marfa, Texas. He then went to Albuquerque, New Mexico for training in B-24s before being selected for B-29 bomber training at McCook, Nebraska. Upon completion, his crew picked up a new B-29. They flew to Guam and were assigned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Knuth. The Great Depression caused Knuth and his father to relocate often due to financial hardship. After the tenth move, Knuth sought refuge in the Navy in 1944. After basic training he was assigned as a deckhand to the USS Tulsa (PG-22). His battle station was at the 20-millimeter trunnion, unloading spent magazines. In his spare time he managed to converse with Chinese crewmen, despite the language barrier. Arriving in the Philippines in October 1944, the Tulsa was put on escort duty but was rarely used, due to its tendency to outpace other ships. Often under attack by enemy planes in the Philippines, the crew also had to be alert to Japanese saboteurs hiding under boxes that were floating down the river. In 1945, the ship’s name was changed to the USS Tacloban and erroneously received supplies bound for the new Tulsa, which happily included phonograph records. Knuth took an interest in electronics and learned to operate a film projector. Before returning home, he weathered five typhoons, and after arriving safely in November 1945 he stayed in the service another year.

Transcript of an oral interview with Ernest Cothren. Cothren joined the Marine Reserves on his birthday (19 Feb) in 1943 and they called him in about two months later. He went to ordnance, radio and radar schools and finally went to bombardier and gunnery school in El Centro. He was put in a SCD squadron (VMSB-943) and put aboard a carrier in January and sailed for the Marshall Islands. They were in the 4th MAW and supported the 4th Marine Division. He couldn't fly combat missions because he wasn't 18 so he flew submarine patrol. He switched from SBDs to TBMs (and changed squadron number to VMTB-242) after the Marianas. After training on the TBMs in Hawaii, they were taken to the Caroline Islands and were part of the Fifth Fleet. They were put off on Fayette and flew missions against Yap and surrounding islands. From there they went to Guam and then Tinian and ended up flying patrol duty around Saipan and Tinian. When the U.S. got ready to hit Iwo Jima, his squadron went aboard a carrier (CVE) in the harbor at Saipan and bombed Iwo Jima. About 3-4 days after they raised the flag, his unit flew …

Transcript of an oral interview with Enid Cothren, nee Barton. Cothren joined Great Britain's Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1942 when she was 20. The ATS was the women's branch of the British Army. After two weeks training, she was assigned to a company in her hometown of Winchester where she worked in the quartermaster store. She discusses rationing in Britain during the war. She married an American in the medical corps during the war and left the ATS. She moved to the UNited States in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Victor Kuhn. Kuhn was born 1 August 1921 into a family of 13 children. He tells of living on a farm and growing up during the Great Depression. In July 1942 he enlisted in the Navy and attended boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois. Upon completion of boot camp, he was selected to attend radio school at the University of Chicago where he learned Morse code and radio procedures. Before he graduated, his father became sick and was unable to work the farm. Through the efforts of the Red Cross he was temporarily released from the Navy to assist his father. In July 1944 he was called back to active duty. Kuhn went through boot camp again and went to radio school again, this time at Bainbridge, Maryland. Upon completion of the basic radio course he was assigned to Japanese Radio Intercept School at Cheltenham, Maryland. He learned to copy Japanese messages using a typewriter and recalls that the school was considered Top Secret and was heavily guarded by a contingent of US Marines. Upon completing the radio intercept course he was sent to Hawaii. His duty was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Viola Kaplan. Kaplan was a first-year student at DePaul when the war started. She left the university to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in the spring of 1942 and received basic training in Kansas. Given her background as a math major, she was assigned as a logician to headquarters in New Guinea, where ships were loaded before invasions. Kaplan alone determined how best to fill each ship with troops and supplies. She worked under MacArthur and found him to be an unfriendly, forceful person. Kaplan contracted malaria and was treated on New Guinea. She felt the medical care was excellent, but she was taken off duty and sent home after her third outbreak. Kaplan resumed her studies, this time at UCLA, finishing at Rutgers. At the Northwestern medical school, she was the first woman to become director of finance and administration. In her 90s she was working for the census as a statistician.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Redfearn. Redfearn joined the Marine Corps after studying mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. He received basic training in San Diego. After serving as a drill instructor, he was assigned to the 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. On account of his mathematical aptitude, he was selected as a forward observer, relaying target information to the artillery. Redfearn referred them to aerial photos, directing their attention to specific locations and calling for slight adjustments once firing began. At Bougainville, the enemy was so close that the artillery had to improvise by putting sandbags under their front wheels to adequately elevate gun tubes. Redfearn was injured while handling ammunition and returned to the States, where he was assigned guard duty in Bethesda. He received a medical discharge at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Walker. Walker joined the Navy in September 1943 after taking a course in navigation at Georgia Tech. He then attended midshipmen’s school at Columbia University. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Canberra (CA-70), where he served as assistant navigator. He enjoyed seeing the beautiful sunsets on the Pacific before his evening star-sights. His ship supported landings at Kwajalein and Hollandia and first encountered enemy fire at Truk. They bombarded Iwo Jima in preparation for the eventual landing but did not realize the Japanese were untouchable in their underground passageways. Walker held a temporary assignment in the combat information center aboard the USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) at Luzon, where a carrier beside them was sunk by kamikazes. He then rejoined the Canberra at Ulithi. While he was away, the Canberra was hit with a torpedo. He attributes its survival to the superb damage-control skills of Captain Early. Walker returned home when the war ended and was discharged in New Orleans.

Ensemble concert presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall.

Trombone studio concert performed at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall.

New Music concert performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

A senior recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music (MM) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

Organ concert performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.