The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Story. Story joined the Navy in October of 1934. Beginning September of 1936, he served as Quartermaster aboard USS Perkins (DD-377), operating out of San Diego. He was discharged in July, then re-enlisted and volunteered for submarine school. Story served aboard the USS S-45 (SS-156), completing antisubmarine warfare training. From early 1942 through early 1943, they completed war patrols in the Solomon Islands. Beginning April of 1943, Story was transferred to the USS Pargo (SS-264), completing war patrols in the East China Sea. Beginning early 1945, he served aboard the USS Chanticleer (ASR-7), completing war patrols in Port Darwin, Australia.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Boren. Boren joined the Marine Corps in 1943 under the V-12 program in Monticello, Arkansas. Upon graduating, he was sent to basic training at Parris Island. He received advanced weapons training at Camp Lejeune in preparation for the invasion of Japan. After the war ended, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor in a commander’s office, handling mail and confidential messages. Boren returned home and was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Rhoades. Rhoades joined the Navy in February 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. He received gunnery training at an armed guard school and upon completion was assigned to a Merchant Marine ship, the SS Canfield, carrying supplies to Halifax. He then served aboard the SS Potomac, bringing Army supplies to Panama and returning with raw sugar. The ship was coal-powered and broke down in the Gulf of Mexico; so upon return, Rhoades asked to be transferred. He went aboard the SS Jose Bonifacio (USAT-907), a Liberty ship built by Kaiser, with a load of Army jeeps for Perth. He then brought a P-51 to Calcutta, where poverty and differences in culture left a lasting impression on him. The ship brought a load of 300 monkeys back to New York City for research experiments, and Rhoades was transferred to the MV Cape Matapan (C1-A-292), which brought supplies to Army personnel in Chile. The last ship he served on was the SS Sapulpa Victory (V-14), taking small arms and ammunition to New Guinea and bringing bombs to the Marianas. He was then stationed on Ulithi and witnessed …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gladys Kizziar. Kizziar was training as a nurse at the beginning of the war. She became a US Army nurse after she graduated from nursing school. Kizziar was sent to the Philippines to help prepare for the invasion of Japan. She was on board a hospital ship in Tokyo Bay during the surrender ceremony. Kizziar served with the 42nd General Hospital in Yokohama helping to process POWs as they were being liberated. She tells of General MacArthur visiting the former POWs. Kizziar stayed in the Army and was eventually sent to Germany where she met her husband.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Gillette. Gillette was 10 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked. His father was commander of the shipyard. At a party hosted by Gillette's family in November 1941, he overheard captains discuss the potential of being dragged into the Philippines; none of them suspected an attack at Pearl. His uncle, a senator from Iowa, warned Roosevelt that the Japanese fleet was sailing eastward; he believes the President intentionally withheld this information from Kimmel. Narrowly surviving the attack, Gillette and his mother boarded the first convoy to the mainland along with 2,500 women and children, while Gillette's father stayed behind to oversee ship repairs. Having lived amongst Japanese in Hawaii, his family was shocked by the practice of Japanese-American internment. His father joined the family at Bremerton where he successfully reorganized the mismanaged shipyard and was promoted to admiral. Gillette went on to earn degrees in marine engineering and naval architecture and was commissioned in the Navy in 1952 at the age of 21, following in his father's footsteps and supervising ship repairs.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Seay. Seay joined the Army in 1943 after beginning field artillery training through the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. Upon completion, he was deployed to the China, Burma, India Theater to assist with opening the Burma Road. There he trained Chinese forces near Kunming on the use of pack artillery. He was then sent to radio school and coded communications so that he could teach this to the Chinese, as well. Although Chinese forces were often woefully underfunded and untrained due to warlords diverting their resources, Seay oversaw one particular guerilla group that was able to retain their funds and become properly trained. From Seay, they learned to harass Japanese troops traversing mountain passes. Seay was then recruited by headquarters to gather intelligence from local sources regarding the whereabouts of Japanese officers. Upon contracting hepatitis, he was sent to a field hospital in Kunming and was transferred to Calcutta as the war came to an end. Seay returned home and was discharged in December 1945, returning to Texas A&M and earning a degree in civil engineering.

Interview with Carl Clay, a veteran of the U.S. Navy during the Persian Gulf War, who also served in the civil wars in Lebanon, Kosovo, and Somalia. Clay describes his time working in aviation on the flight deck of ships and the many countries he visited while in the service, such as Brazil, Spain, and Cuba.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Brown. Brown joined the Navy in 1943. He served as an Apprentice Seaman with the deck force aboard the USS Zeilin (APA-3). From September of 1943 through the spring of 1945, he participated in landing troops at Tarawa, Kwajalein Atoll, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Iwo Jima. Brown returned to the US in April of 1945, and was discharged later in the year.