The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Akers. Akers joined the Navy I n1944 and trained at San Diego. After training he went to an air station in California before being assigned to CASU 53 and going to Guam. From there, Akers went to a seaplane base on Saipan aboard the USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71). On Saipan, he serviced aircraft by refueling and rearming, etc. Akers was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Brashear. Upon completion of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), Brashear joined the Army Air Corps and earned his wings in 1941. He then spent three years at Merced Army Flying Field as a flight instructor and was promoted to director of training. He joined the 499th Bomb Group, 878th Bomb Squadron in 1944 as a B-29 pilot. In June 1945, he led 500 planes on a raid over Kobe. His horizontal stabilizer was shot by a Gekko, and the plane limped seven hours back to Saipan as the Iwo Jima strip was overcrowded. He participated in the first incendiary raids on Japan. Upon returning, his plane was covered in soot and he smelled of burning flesh. Rotated out before the war ended, Brashear was in Honolulu on V-J Day. Discharged into the reserves, he flew a crop duster for a few years before returning to active duty with the Air Force, performing weather reconnaissance in the Korean War and radar bomb scoring during the Cold War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Peays. Peays served as a pilot with the Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. He joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program in Lubbock, Texas in 1940. He received his commercial pilot’s license and joined the Army Air Forces primary training program in 1941. He received his instructor’s rating and served as a flight instructor for aviation cadets in 1942. He went to the Air Transport Command in Dallas and took a civilian job flying military airplanes throughout the US. In 1943 Peays was commissioned as a flight officer. He flew B-24s, B-25s, C-54s, C-87s. He received his training in Homestead, Florida. In December of 1943 he was sent to Calcutta with a C-54 crew. He shares details of his travels, flying through various weather conditions, hauling high-octane aviation fuel. He traveled across the Himalayas and Burma where he encountered Japanese Zeros. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater as a pilot from 1944 through 1945, and was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sidney Key. Key joined the Marine Corps in July of 1942. He completed Officer Candidate School and LVT School. Key was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion. In May of 1943, he deployed and participated in in the assaults on Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He operated the landing vehicles and provided combat support in operations ashore. Key was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Heller. Heller joined the Army in September 1944 and received basic training at Camp Hood. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 40th Infantry Division as a rifleman. In March 1945 he travelled to Leyte and was camped beside survivors of the Bataan Death March. He made patrols along various islands, to protect villagers from Japanese raids. While in the Philippines, he bought fresh fruits from natives. He recalls that although his unit prepared for a full-scale landing on Mindanao, it was unopposed, save for a lone Japanese soldier who charged with a sword. At Panay, Heller was treated by a medic for jungle rot. He then survived a typhoon on the way to Inchon. On V-J Day he saw USS Missouri (BB-63) break away from his convoy to celebrate by firing ammunition. Heller patrolled the 38th parallel, opposite the Russians. Heller returned home and was discharged in October 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lester Thompson. In later 1942, Thompson joined the Army Air Forces and was assigned to the 2256th Quartermaster Truck Company, 45th Air Depot Group. He was sent to England in 1943 and recalls a few encounters with German prisoners of war. He also shares several anecdotes about his life in the service in Europe. He landed at Normandy two days after the invasion. Initially, Thompson hauled in truck the makings of a field mess hall. Once it was destroyed, Thompson then began hauling gasoline, ammunition, aviation parts, POWs, etc. When the war ended, Thompson returned to the US before the end of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudolph David. David was born in Orange, Texas on 19 January 1918 and graduated from high school in 1937. In 1939 he entered Southwestern Louisiana University and in June 1941, was drafted into the US Army. He went to Camp Shelby, Mississippi for basic training and Camp Callan in Torrey Pines, California for training field artillery training. Assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment, he went to Manila, Philippines aboard the USS President Coolidge (1931). He recalls that following the fall of Bataan, he went to Corregidor where he remained until the Allied forces surrendered. As a prisoner of war, he was taken to Bilibid in Manila. During December 1942, he was taken to Osaka, Japan where he was made to do various jobs as a slave laborer. He also performed forced labor jobs at Kanagawa and Kobe, Japan. After the surrender of Japan, he was sent to Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco, California. He also spent recovery time in Northington General Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. David remained in the Army and retired after thirty years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Sturgill. Sturgill joined the Navy in July of 1940. He served as a machinist’s mate, operating steam driven equipment in the engine room aboard the USS Dale (DD-353). They were stationed in Hawaii and moored in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Sturgill provides vivid details of his experiences through the fateful attack, his work with the repair party and the immense damage done to a number of battleships in the harbor. In March of 1943 they participated in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. In August they joined the pre-invasion bombardment of Kiska, Alaska. They returned to the States in the fall of 1945, and Sturgill was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alan Fouts. Fouts joined the Navy in 1939 and trained in San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Fouts joined the USS Argonne (AG-31). Later, he was stationed at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor when the war started. He recalls witnessing the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He managed to get guns operational on the USS Widgeon (AM-22) before it got underway during the attack. Between the attacks, Fouts went alongside the USS Arizona (BB-39) and measured the holes in the hull. He continued serving as a diver at Noumea and Samoa in 1942-1943. He volunteered for submarine duty and was made five war patrols aboard the USS Pogy (SS- 266). Fouts tells several submarine stories. After the war, Fouts remained in the Navy for thirty years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Montague. Montague joined the Navy in August 1941 and went to boot camp at San Diego, California. He recalls being sent to the submarine base at Pearl Harbor and attending signal school. His first assignment was at the signal tower where incoming ships were assigned docking positions by the use of lights and signal flags. One of his frequent visitors was Admiral Chester Nimitz who would often take his daily walk in the area. His recollections of 7 December 1941 include returning from breakfast mess and seeing Japanese planes strafing. Montague describes the scene and tells of the actions he took. He went aboard the US Stingray (S-40) in 1943 and recollects the war missions they went on including mine laying, picking up downed flyers and a special mission to Luzon. He was transferred off the boat into the Shore Patrol and tells of his experiences. Montague returned to the United States in 1945 and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Voss. Voss joined the Navy in late 1938. He completed Radio Signaling School, and served aboard USS West Virginia (BB-48), USS California (BB-44) during the attack on Pearl Harbor and USS New Mexico (BB-40) during the invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the bombardment of Guam, Saipan and Tinian and the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Voss additionally served aboard USS Menifee (APA-202) during the invasion of Okinawa. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Barton Dale Messler. Messler joined the Navy in January of 1940. He served as a Gunner’s Mate aboard USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). They were in Dry Dock No. 1 in Pearl Harbor undergoing a refit when the Japanese attacked. He was transferred to the USS Columbia (CL-56), and traveled to Guadalcanal. He also served aboard the USS Amsterdam (CL-101), traveling to Leyte, Okinawa and Tokyo Bay for the signing of the Peace Treaty. Messler participated in 9 major engagements.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Davis. Davis entered the Army Air Corps in 1939. He was sent to Wheeler Field, Hawaii and spent a short time with the 19th Pursuit Squadron. He was transferred to the 58th Bomb Squadron. He recalls he was a crew chief on an A-20 (Havoc) bomber when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Wheeler Field on 7 December 1941. Davis describes the actions he took on that day, which included two days of intense labor repairing aircraft to a flyable condition. He was assigned to flight training, but washed out. Davis was soon assigned to gunnery school at Las Vegas, Nevada. After completion, he went aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth. Upon arrival at Turleigh, England he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Group, 367th Bomb Squadron as a flight engineer and gunner on a B-17. He describes many of the 24 combat missions he flew and tells of several incidents involving members of the crew. After the surrender of Germany, he returned to the United States. He tells of reenlisting and of some of his experiences he had until his retirement in 1965.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Oliver. Oliver quit school at the age of sixteen and joined the Army in September 1939. He was sent to Hawaii, where he joined the 19th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He attended cooks school in Honolulu for sixteen weeks then he drove trucks. He describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and tells of clearing the beach area of vegetation and installing rolls of barbed wire in anticipation of a landing by Japanese forces. In June 1942 he was sent to Oklahoma where he spent two years working in Battalion Headquarters during the formation of a new Army infantry division. He was then sent to Fort Benning, Georgia where he was a non-jumper instructor at the parachute school. He was discharged in July 1945. Oliver concludes the interview by telling of his duties after being recalled into the Army during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Herndon. Herndon joined the Navy in January of 1940. In April he was assigned aboard USS San Francisco (CA-38). He maintained the decks of the ship and worked as a mess cook. They were in Pearl Harbor Navy Yard awaiting an overhaul of their engineering plant when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. In late 1943 Herndon was assigned to a beach landing party aboard the USS Oxford (APA-189). He served in visual communications, and assisted troops from ship to shore. They landed parties in the Philippine Islands and Okinawa. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Harper. Harper joined the Navy in July of 1941. He was transferred to the Naval Receiving Station at Pearl Harbor, and served as 2nd Class Carpenter’s Mate aboard the USS Kingfisher (AM-25). They were on station, and Harper was located at Bishop’s Point base at the entrance of the Harbor when then Japanese attacked. Harper remained at Pearl Harbor through October of 1943. He later served at a motor torpedo boat base at Toguchi, Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Elijah Collins. Collins joined the Navy in early 1941 and trained in San Diego. He was then assigned to the USS Blue (DD-387). Collins suffered from seasickness in the beginning. He was aboard the Blue at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Also, he was aboard when the Blue was sunk off Guadalcanal. After thirteen months ashore in Australia, Collins joined the USS McCord (DD-534) before going to torpedo school. From there, he went to Barbers Point Naval Air Station, where he was when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Evelyn Meehan. Meehan and her husband, who served in the Navy, were stationed at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. At the time of the attack, her husband was at sea aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). They remained in Hawaii after the attack, and Meehan continued working in the Office of Censorship in Honolulu. She speaks on general civilian life during World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Overfelt. Overfelt joined the Navy in August of 1938. From January of 1939 through June of 1942, he served on the deck force, and as a mess cook, aboard the USS Conyngham (DD-371). The ship was moored at Pearl Harbor during the attack. Overfelt was aboard the ship when the Japanese attacked. They completed numerous plane-guarding and submarine patrol missions. In February of 1943 they provided bombardment support through the Guadalcanal operation, and screening reinforcements through the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October of 1944. Overfelt was discharged in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Herb Elfering. Elfering was in the California National Guard when it was activated in 1940 and went to Hawaii with the 251st Coast Artillery Regiment. He served in a searchlight battery. He was at Camp Malakole when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and recalls being strafed by planes at his radar installation. Afterwards, Elfering describes heightened security measures on Oahu. Once the war got started, Elfering and his unit went to Fiji in 1942 before going to Bougainville in 1943. He recalls shining his searchlight into the clouds to illuminate attacking Japanese infantry. He also was in on the invasion of Luzon. In July, 1945, he rotated back to the US on leave and was there when the war ended. Elfering was discharged a few days later. During the war, he attended officer candidate school and earned a commission.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Gray. Gray joined the Navy in September of 1939. Gray trained as an aviation mechanic. He worked with Squadron VP-14, using multi-engine seaplanes to relocate older seaplanes from water to land. Gray was one of 6 family members serving in the war, and stationed at Hawaii, during the attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. From spring through August of 1942, he worked as a plane captain aboard a PBY Catalina Patrol Bomber in Hawaii. From August through July of 1943, Gray served with Patrol Aircraft Service Unit 1-1 and was assigned to Guadalcanal to support the first Black Cat squadron, VP-12. In the summer of 1943 through the end of the war, he was assigned to a B-24 unit, overseeing advanced trouble-shooting and engine changes. He retired in 1959.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Luckham. Luckham joined the Navy in 1939. He served as a deck hand aboard the USS Helena (CL-50). He completed Machine Gun School in the fall of 1941. Luckham was aboard the Helena, moored at 1010 Dock, Navy Yard on the base (southeast) side of Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese attacked. In late 1942 Luckham was transferred to USS Feland (APA-11) and served as a 20mm gunner. They transported Marines for the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Guam. He remained in the Navy for a total of 20 years, retiring in 1958.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James John. John joined the Navy in June of 1941. He operated the boilers in the engine room aboard the USS Case (DD-370). They were berthed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He recalls dropping a depth charge on a Japanese midget submarine stuck in the mud 40 feet under water, and seeing it surface. After the attack they had patrol duty in the Harbor. From May to August of 1942, they patrolled off Kodiak, Alaska and participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Kiska. They assisted with further engagements at Guadalcanal, the Marshall Islands, Truk Island, Iwo Jima and the Mariana Islands. He was later transferred to the USS Knight (DD-633), again serving with the Black Gang. John returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Werner. Werner joined the Army in January of 1940. He served as a gun mechanic with the 64th Coast Artillery Antiaircraft. Additionally, he worked as an assistant mail censor. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the 7 December 1941 attack. Werner provides vivid details of his experiences on the night before and during that fateful day. In early 1943 he joined the Army Air Forces, and was sent to radio school with specialty training in direction finding. From there he traveled to New Guinea to set up a direction finding station near a military landing strip. He continued on to Hollandia, Australia and the Philippines. He was discharged around January of 1946.