The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hayden Earl Reynolds. Reynolds was born in 1926 in Texas and joined the Marine Corps in January 1945. In April, he was shipped to Hawaii and joined the 4th Marine Division. He was on Maui when the war ended. He then shipped out to Guam and served as a highway patrolman there. Reynolds was discharged in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Lepore. Lepore was born in Boston in 1926 and joined the Navy at 15 years of age in August 1942. After boot camp, he attended gunnery school before joining the crew of USS Bogue (CVE-9). He joined USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) commissioning crew in January 1944. Lepore spent close to 500 days aboard the ship in the combat area and shares several anecdotes about his experiences, including one about George HW Bush.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Beard. He was born in 1924. In 1943, he joined the United States Army Air Forces. Upon completing basic training, he underwent pilot training and became a B-24 pilot. After spending time in Panama, he was sent to New Guinea where he underwent jungle training. He then went to Clark Field, Philippine Islands. There he flew missions over Japan and he tells of seeing smoke residue from the atomic bomb blast. Beard returned to the US after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Catenazzo. Catenazzo joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in July of 1938. He joined the Navy in February of 1940. When at port, Catenazzo was a boat engineer and at sea he worked with the boilers to make drinking water. He served aboard the USS Bridge (AF-1) and the USS Detroit (CL-8), which he was aboard during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. He provides great detail of their maneuvers on that fateful day. During the war, they brought a number of wounded sailors and Marines back to San Francisco. He was transferred to the USS McKee (DD-575) which he served aboard 1 year in the Southwest Pacific. They traveled to Guadalcanal, Guam, Tinian and Saipan. Upon crossing the equator, he became a shellback and describes his initiation. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Ernst. Ernst joined the Army and was assigned to an artillery unit in the 75th Infantry Division. He landed in France in October, 1944 and fought at the Battle of the Bulge attached to the 101st Airborne Division. He served briefly as a forward artillery observer. When the war ended, Ernst stayed in the Army and served in Korea and Vietnam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Warren Bateman. Bateman joined the Navy in October of 1942. He went to Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp. From there he went to Miami, Florida as Third Class Storekeeper. He was then assigned to the USS PC-1126 that was being built in Bay City, Michigan. In 1943 his crew escorted a convoy from Miami to Panama, then to San Diego where he was transferred to the USS Roberts (DE-749). In January 1944 he went to midshipman’s school at Northwestern in Chicago and received his commission as ensign in May 1944. From January through December 1945 Bateman served on Fleet Admiral Nimitz’s CINCPAC staff detachment on Guam. He was one of three ensigns serving as Nimitz’s censors. He served as Chief Censor and Education Officer. He had personal contact with Admiral Nimitz and provides detail of his interactions with him. He later became a Intelligence Officer serving 20 years in the Navy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Rowe. Rowe was born in Meridean, Wisconsin in 1926. He describes his family life during the Depression years. He joined the US Navy upon graduation from high school in 1944 and was sent to boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois. Upon graduation from boot camp, he was trained and graduated as a Watertender 3rd Class. He tells of his entire ship’s crew going to Portland, Oregon by train to board the newly constructed ship, USS Crockett (APA-14). He describes a number of missions in which the Crocket was engaged, including the invasion of Okinawa at which time the naval landing force was attacked by kamikazes. He tells of the elation felt by the crew members upon hearing of the atomic bomb followed by the news of the surrender of Japan. Upon his discharge in 1946, Rowe attended college under the provisions of the G.I. Bill followed by a career as an educator.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harmon Harris. Harris joined the Navy in May of 1944. He served with the 141st Construction Battalion. They traveled to the Marshall Islands and Kwajalein, building airstrips, houses and defensive structures.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Wray. Wray entered the Navy in 1942. He completed flight training in Kansas, California, and Texas. He was commissioned in August 1943 and sent to Opa-Locka, Florida to fly a Brewster Buffalo and completed various gunnery missions and field carrier landings. He joined the Composite Squadron 75 (VC-75) flying the FM2 and the F4F. His squadron was sent to Kaneohe, Hawaii and boarded the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79). They worked with Thomas Kincaid’s fleet, escorting troops up to Palau. They also supported troops in the Solomon Islands. He was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, escorting troops. He was aboard the Ommaney Bay when it was struck by a kamikaze. He abandoned ship and was picked up by the USS Patterson (DD-392), then transferred to the USS New Mexico (BB-40) and was aboard during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. He was transported back to California in 1945. The Navy then sent him to Daytona Beach Naval Air Station as an instructor. He was discharged in 1946 and joined the Naval Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Beck. Beck was drafted into the Army in September, 1943 and went to basic training in Missouri. From there, he went to a trade school in New York to become an electrician. His first assignment was in the Aleutian Islands at Amchitka where he worked as an electrician rigging wiring and working on poles. He also went to Attu and helped build a landing strip on Shemya Island before returning to the US and being discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Bailey. Bailey was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 16 February 1922 and graduated from high school in Waco, Texas in 1940. After attending Texas A&M for one year, he enlisted in the Army. He went to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas for basic training. While there, he was recruited by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to participate in an internal security program. Following basic entered the Corps of Engineers Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. On 2 February 1943 he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 386th Engineer Battalion, an African American unit stationed at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. In 1943, the battalion boarded the SS Louis Pasteur and sailed to Casablanca where they cleaned up the dock area to facilitate unloading cargo. He tells of the unit traveling by rail to Iran. Soon after arriving in Iran the battalion sailed to Naples, Italy. His platoon was sent to Anzio and assigned the task of removing land mines. Three of his men were lost while doing this job. He was assigned to oversee the construction of the largest Butler Building ever …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Lemond. Lemond was born in Tahoka, Texas on 6 November 1923. After enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was accepted into the pilot training program. Upon completing the various phases of training at different bases, he was sent to Ardmore, Oklahoma where he joined a B-17 crew as a co-pilot. After being assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron the crew flew a new B-17 to England. Lemond recalls in detail a mission over Augsburg, Germany in March 1944 in which his aircraft had a midair collision with another B-17. Only he and another crew member survived. He was befriended by members of the French Underground until he and a RAF crewman were exposed by a traitor. He comments about the treatment he received from members of the German Gestapo while imprisoned in the Fresnes, Val de-Marn prison. As American forces neared his place of imprisonment, his captors left and he walked out of the prison. Lemond was picked up by American forces and taken to Paris where he was debriefed before he returned to England and rejoined his unit. Soon thereafter, he returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Oliver Massey. Massey joined the Marine Corps at the age of sixteen. After boot camp, Massey was assigned to Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2) where he began training as an aircraft mechanic at North Island Naval Air Station. In January of 1940 he was assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 231 (VMSB-231) Ewa, Hawaii and he describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In early 1942, the squadron flew the SB2U-3 Scout Bomber in the Battle of Midway and Massey briefly describes the battle and noted limitations of the aircraft. After returning to the US, he went aboard an escort carrier that took planes to Guadalcanal. He was later stationed at various bases and tells of working on various types of planes including the Grumman F6F fighter and the Douglas C-54 transport. He continued serving in the Korean War, flying with several generals as the crew chief. Massey retired as a Master Sergeant in 1959.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Buchanan. Buchanan entered the workforce as a child and was not treated well by employers, but he felt for African-Americans workers who seemed to have it even worse. After joining the Navy in 1939, he attended diesel engine school. Buchanan was then assigned to the USS Cachalot (SS-170), working his way up to chief motor machinist's mate. On 7 December 1941, his submarine was docked, with its engine removed for repairs. It took 21 days to reassemble it and embark on their first patrol. Off Truk, a hollow tank vital to their surfacing ability was struck by a bomb. Buchanan became an expert in fuel-management, sustaining a 73-day patrol. After supporting the Battle of Midway, their final patrol was in the Aleutians. On the way home, the engine seized and Buchanan carefully studied blueprints to find a solution. After the war, his sub was converted to a teaching ship. When it was discovered a few years later that he could no longer hear due to his exposure to engines, Buchanan was discharged into the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr. Hubbard was born on 1 April 1945. He joined the Naval Intelligence Command as a special agent of the Naval Investigative Service in March of 1968. He volunteered for service in Vietnam for 36 months. He later accepted an appointment as a training officer for the British South Africa police in Rhodesia. Additionally, Hubbard worked in security, mining and exploration industries. He has lived and worked extensively in Asia, Australia and Africa. His father, Doug Hubbard, was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernadine Bircher. Bircher was working as a psychiatric nurse in October 1943 when she joined the Army Nurse Corps. Upon completion of basic and specialized training, she deployed in June 1944 to a station hospital in Holland. Her unit was short on anesthetists, so Bircher volunteered, despite having no specific training. Nurses and doctors at the adjacent operating tables assisted Bircher with her first patients, and she began assisting an orthopedic surgeon. Casualties arrived from the Battle of the Bulge, often presenting with self-inflicted wounds in a desperate attempt to get off the front lines, requiring amputation and debridement. When the hospital's mess hall was bombed, glass shattered everywhere, resulting in several enucleation procedures. After serving in several mobile units, Bircher returned home in December 1945 and was discharged, returning to her work as a psychiatric nurse.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Wolf. Wolf joined the Army in March, 1944 and went to basic training in Florida. After training, Wolf proceeded overseas to France in February, 1945 and was assigned as a rifleman in the 341st Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Division. They moved into Germany and fought at Hagen. When the war in Europe ended, Wolf was sent to the Philippines for garrison duty, arriving after the war was over. He returned to the US in April, 1946. He joined the Air Force in October, 1949 and stayed in for four years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford Ashby. Ashby was born in Effingham, Illinois on 11 June 1925. He became interested in amateur radio while in high school and joined the Merchant Marines in 1943. After passing tests related to radio operations he was assigned to the liberty ship, SS James B. Francis (1942) as a radio operator. He tells of the ship loaded with ammunition sitting in the harbor at Guadalcanal with hoses pumping water on the deck to keep it cool. He also observed Japanese air raids over the island of Morotai. Ashby’s ship also participated in the invasion of Luzon. Later, he was assigned to the SS Benjamin Grierson commenting on the excellent food served aboard Liberty ships. He comments on the excellent wages paid to Merchant seaman and the fact that the pay was doubled when the ship was within a war zone. He tells of the SS Grierson setting at Ulithi with 40 other merchant ships for three months following the Japanese surrender. After leaving the Merchant Marine he attended various colleges and he comments on his career prior to retirement.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Carlile. Carlile enlisted in the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and went to California for flight training. After an injury ended his flight training, he volunteered to go overseas. In April, 1943, Carlile went to England where he trained to become a flight control officer. Afterward, he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh in January 1944. He remained there for the balance of the war in Europe.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Malford Heimer. Heimer joined the Army in December 1942. In early 1943, he began serving as rifleman with the 87th Infantry Regiment. They traveled to the Aleutian Islands as part of Task Force 9 moving material up to the area. In 1944, Heimer joined the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Italy, fighting in the Apennine Mountains during the Italian Campaign. After receiving a shell fragment injury, surgery and recovery, Heimer was sent back to the US in early 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Milton Seacord. Seacord joined the Coast Guard in 1943 and received basic training in Oakland. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Coast Guard station at Coos Bay, Oregon, manning the lighthouse and helping fishermen who ran aground. He transferred to Point Loma, California, standing guard as ships were loaded and unloaded in the harbor. After a brief time aboard the USS Admiral W. L. Capps (AP-121), he traveled throughout the South Pacific aboard the USS Murzim (AK-95). Seacord returned home and was discharged in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert White. White finished high school in 1934 and shares several anecdotes about making a living during the Great Depression. During most of the war, White was working in an essential oil and gas industry job and was deferred from military service, until he was drafted into the Army in early 1945. He shipped out for occupation duty in Japan, arriving in November, 1945. WHite eventually received a hardship discharge because hi wife was going to have a surgery.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald K Cradit. Cradit joined the Navy in November of 1939. He served as Boatswain’s Mate aboard the USS McCook (DD-496), participating in the Normandy invasions. Cradit later served aboard the USS Rogers (DD-876), where he witnessed the signing of the Peace Treaty in Tokyo Harbor. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Swingholm. Swingholm joined the Army Air Forces in early 1942. Beginning in March of 1944, he served as a top turret gunner and flight engineer aboard a B-25 with the 12th Air Force. Swingholm completed 64 bombing missions, over Northern Italy, Belgium and France.