The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John M. Nash, Jr. Nash was a freshman at the University of Utah in the fall of 1941. After one year of college, he was sworn into the Navy as an aviation cadet in November, 1942. Nash discusses pilot training in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas. He also speaks about carrier landing training in Illinois. He was commissioned an ensign in June, 1944. When his orders came to him, he was assigned as a flight instructor at Cabaniss Field, an auxiliary landing field near the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. Some of his students were foreign exchange students from other Alied countries. He remianed there through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Thomas. Thomas was drafted into the Army in November 1944 after receiving four deferments for working his mother’s farm. He describes how he worked with mules at Fort Sill to transport Pack 75mm artillery. Thomas was then sent to the Philippines where he served as an assistant driver on a two-and-a-half-ton truck. He then traveled to post war Japan for the occupation. Thomas discusses how he worked as a baker for his unit for the remainder of his service. He also describes the damage he observed in Tokyo. Thomas was discharged in November 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene (Curt) Dillon. Dillon was born 19 October 1924 in Wayne Township, Tennessee. He graduated from high school in 1942 and joined the US Navy. Following boot camp at the Great Lakes Training Station he was assigned to study meteorology. Upon completion of his training he was assigned to the USS Bennington (CV-20) prior to the ships commissioning in August 1944. He volunteered to fly on weather reconnaissance planes to collect weather information prior to air strikes being launched. He describes kamikaze attacks during the invasion of Okinawa and of participating in the weather forecasting procedure prior to the launching of planes involved in the attack and sinking of HIJMS Yamato.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Kardaseski. As a teenager, Kardaseski worked as a machinist with Globe Valve Company in support of the military. He joined the Navy in the spring of 1944, just before his 18th birthday. Upon completion, of gunnery school, he was assigned to the USS Bennington (CV-20) as a second loader on a 40mm gun. With his background in machining, he volunteered for and was accepted to the main engine room crew, where he took down readings from pumps and gears. His battle station was in the electrical repair shop. In Ulithi, Kardaseski survived kamikaze strikes against adjacent ships. Later, he was almost washed away by a typhoon but clung tightly to a rail. After the war, he worked at a repair shop in Naples for one year. After discharge, he later rejoined the service, overseeing the mess crew of an Air Force troop ship in the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Earhart. Earhart was born in Dover, Tennessee 19 April 1927. He quit school in the eighth grade to help his widowed mother. He joined the Naval Reserves in 1943 and learned gunnery and communications. In early 1945 he went aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6), which was on station in the South China Sea. He was assigned to Air Group 90 as the rear gunner on a SB2C (dive bomber). He describes the feeling one gets diving to bomb and pulling out of the dive. He recalls being involved in attacks on Iwo Jima, Chi Chi Jima and Okinawa. In May 1945, Enterprise was severely damaged by a kamikaze off Okinawa. Earhart was in the air when the ship was struck, which forced his pilot to land on another carrier. The Enterprise went to the Bremerton Navy Yard for repairs and was there when Japan surrendered. During October 1945 the ship participated in Operation Magic Carpet during which they brought former prisoners of war and other returning servicemen back to the United States. After being on the Enterprise for fifteen months he was transferred to a Patrol Craft, …

Transcript of an oral interview with Douglas Bradford Morrison. When Morrison's cousin was killed, he took and passed a test to become an aviation cadet in the Army Air Corps. Morrison then describes some of his training in California. During the process, he washed out of flight school and was reclassified as a navigator. He graduated from navigation school in December, 1943 as a 2nd lieutenant. He was assigned to a crew in a B-17 in the 388th Bomb Group, 561st Bomb Squadron in the 8th Air Force and sent to England. He flew five combat missions over France and Germany before being shot down and taken prisoner. Morrison describes the ordeal of being shot down and parachuting to earth, being captured by German civilians and being escorted to prison camp and interrogated there. Ultimately, he wound up in Stalag Luft III in May, 1944. Once in camp, he was assigned as the recreation officer for his building. Morrison proceeds to describe in detail life in the POW camp. In early 1945, they had to evacuate the camp because the Russians were getting too close. They moved to Stalag VII-A. In May, Morrison and the others were liberated by elements …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Stanley Parrin. Parrin entered service in late March of 1943 as a selective volunteer in the Naval Reserve. After bootcamp he was part of the commissioning crew of the USS Cebu (ARG-6). While on the ship, he was assigned to a twin 40 millimeter where his duties included repairs, cleaning and other maintenance. His ship was sent to the Admiralty Islands and spent four months there. During that time he witnessed the explosion of USS Mount Hood (AE-11). He was also part of the order of King Neptune and talks about the ceremony involved with becoming part of the order. After the surrender he was stationed in Okinawa until his discharge in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leo Mc Donald. McDonald was born in Plemons, Texas 10 September 1924 and graduated from high school in 1941. He attended a junior college for two years before entering the US Marine Corps in 1943. After completing boot training at San Diego, he went to armament school in San Francisco where he was trained to repair and maintain small arms and automatic weapons. After graduating he was sent to Midway Island where he reported to the defense battalion. One year later, he went to Quantico, Virginia where he entered Officer’s Candidate School. Upon receiving his commission in July 1945, he went to school in Atlanta, Georgia to learn to be a transportation officer. He then reported to a Texas Marine Corps air station as the transportation officer. When the base closed in 1946 he was sent to McAllister, Oklahoma where he received his discharge. After being discharged, he attended Southwestern Baptist College in Fort Worth. In 1952 he was recalled for duty during the Korean War. He was accepted into the Navy Chaplin Corps in 1953. After attending Navy Chaplin’s school in Newport, Rhode Island he was assigned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Morrison. Morrison joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942 and was sent to Chicago to train with aviation cadets. He received further training in Santa Ana, Tucson, and Phoenix. His night-flying was done in the B-25, guided by a radar operator. The casualty rate was extremely high from crashing into unseen objects. Upon completion of his training, Morrison became an instructor in flying the BT-13 and the AT-6. He was then sent for training on the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. In preparation for the dropping of the atomic bomb, Morrison participated in experiments for radar-guided bombing in overcast conditions. His flying career ended when the atomic bomb was dropped. Morrison returned home and became a dentist. One of his longtime patients had manned a navigational hut in Arizona that Morrison routinely flew over during his training. When Morrison realized the connection during an appointment, he gave his old call signal, which caught the patient quite by surprise. Morrison went on to travel extensively and met Paul Tibbets and pilots from the Doolittle Raid, whom he describes as a rough bunch.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Leith. Leith joined the Army and learned Chinese at the University of Chicago. Upon completion, in May 1945 he was assigned to the OSS in Kunming, China. He parachuted near to the Mukden prisoner-of-war camp in Manchuria where General Wainwright was being held. A group of Japanese soldiers unaware of the surrender held Leith and his group hostage, despite a Nisei’s attempt to reason with them. Leith’s group was brought to the Kempeitai, who released them after learning of the surrender. They arrived at the POW camp in Hsian, now known as Shenyang, and found that even General Wainwright didn’t know the war was over. Wainwright, like the other POWs, was severely malnourished. He confided in Leith that he was sure Americans would find him cowardly for surrendering to the Japanese. Soviet forces then arrived at the camp and made arrangements for the POWs to be evacuated. After the POWs returned to the States, Leith remained in China to spy on Soviets, who grew annoyed with him and threatened to send him to Siberia. He then left for Beijing to study communist China. In 1945 Leith returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Hardin. Hardin joined the Navy’s underwater demolition team after attending Officers Candidate School at Columbia University. He received water training and depth training at Pearl Harbor. He cleared underwater obstacles in Guam, Saipan, and Okinawa in preparation for invasions, often under enemy fire. At Guam, he noticed a native girl in need of serious medical attention. He called in a medic, who arrived by plane and treated the girl. When Hardin returned during a second trip to Guam, he met the girl at the newly erected aid station and learned that she named her infant daughter after him: Bill. In Saipan he recalls seeing the atomic bomb being loaded, although he didn’t know what it was at the time. At Okinawa he and his team tied together several tons of explosives and towed them six miles out to sea before detonating them. Although he was miles away at the time of detonation, he could still feel its impact in the water. He returned home and elected to join the Reserves after the war ended. He was the only of five brothers in his family to survive the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Kenneth Ryan. Ryan joined the Marine Corps in May of 1943. By February of 1944, he completed Radio Operator School, Radio Material School and High Speed Code School. Ryan served as a radio technician with the 3rd Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO), 3rd Marine Division. He participated in the Battle of Guam and the Battle of Iwo Jima. Ryan returned to the US in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Laura “Sally” Bussey. Bussey was born in Goree, Texas on 29 April 1916. She attended Mary Hardin Baylor College in Belton, Texas receiving a teaching degree. She married in 1939 and tells of Thomas J. Taylor, the father of Lady Bird Johnson, offering to build and furnish a new house for her and her husband if she would take a teaching job in Karnak, Texas. She accepted. Her husband entered the United States Army soon after the declaration of war and she describes the experience of having living essentials pre-packed and ready to go during multiple location changes and the living conditions encountered at these locations. She tells of war time rationing, planting victory gardens and doing volunteer work with the Red Cross. She describes keeping up with the progress of the war by listening to the radio news reports by Edward R. Morrow and fireside chats by President Roosevelt. She also describes a wonderful reunion with her husband upon his return from Europe at the conclusion of World War II and tells of their life until his retirement from the Army in 1967.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Dykes. Dykes volunteered for the Navy in July of 1944. He was trained to become a LCVP crewman on the USS Bosque (APA-135). Dykes traveled to Okinawa and took part in landing troops and ferrying wounded back to the ship. He witnessed several kamikaze attacks. Dykes was aboard the Bosque at Tokyo Bay the day of the surrender and helped land troops from the 1st Cavalry Division for the occupation of Japan. He was discharged 8 June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Wilson. Wilson joined the Navy and served as a gunner’s mate aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) beginning in April 1944. He traveled through a perilous typhoon on his journey to the Philippines, with the ship rolling 65 degrees amidst 50-foot waves. On 25 October 1944 the Japanese Navy caught his ship by surprise. He recalls continuously firing all guns, using all forms of ammunition until there was nothing left to fire. The guns were so hot that Wilson’s best friend, Paul Carr, was killed when a shell exploded in the barrel. The USS Carr (FFG-52) was named after him. Wilson abandoned ship and floated in the water for several days before being rescued. He was sent aboard USS Comfort (AH-6) and treated for blast injuries. He received further medical care at the Army hospital in Hollandia. Wilson returned home and was sent to Bangor, Washington, to help establish a base there. He was discharged 14 months later and earned his engineering degree on the GI Bill.

Transcript of an oral interview with Albert W. Boam. Born in 1923, he enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He attended gunnery school at Buckingham Army Air Base in Naples, Florida. He describes his navigation training at Selman Field in Monroe, Louisiana. He was assigned to the 846th Squadron, 489th Bomb Group, 95th Combat Wing, 8th Air Force. He describes the flying the Southern Route to England as well as the navigation methods used. In 1944, he flew thirty-one missions as the navigator on a B-24 bomber. He talks about missions over France and Germany with targets such as shipyards and submarine pens. He describes his thirty-first mission in which his plane was led off course by a Pathfinder and damaged by antiaircraft artillery. He bailed out and was captured near German-controlled Hagenau in the Alsace region. He talks about his interrogation. He describes life and conditions in Stalag Luft III. In early 1945, the POW camp was evacuated by the Germans because the Russians were advancing from the east. He describes the forced march and traveling in a boxcar to a POW camp (Stalag VIII D) in Nuremburg as well as conditions at …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest Huffman. Huffman joined the Navy in January 1944 and received basic training in Bainbridge and gunnery training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) as a pointer on a five-inch gun mount. He was then transferred to the bridge as a talker, relaying information from the CIC to the gunnery officer. While on the midnight watch, he was among the first to become aware of the Japanese fleet’s presence in the Surigao Strait. The Samuel B. Roberts put out a smoke screen and waited to fire until they were within striking distance of the enemy fleet. As the Battle off Samar began, the skipper dodged shells until the enemy zeroed in. The Samuel B. Roberts took several hits, while the nearby USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) was dramatically aflame. The crew abandoned ship and watched the Samuel B. Roberts sink. Huffman was rescued 52 hours later and returned home safely. He was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Comet. Comet, the son of a coal miner, left school in the eighth grade and entered the workforce after his father suffered a debilitating injury. When Comet initially volunteered for the Navy, he was refused because his family depended on him. In 1943, he successfully enlisted and was sent to gunnery school. Upon completion, he was assigned to USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) as the pointer on a gun crew. Traveling through a typhoon en route to the Philippines, Comet scrambled to secure a loose gun on the deck. While on patrol duty, the ship engaged enemy vessels, and Comet fired upon their spotter planes. When the ship took multiple hits and was sunk at the Battle off Samar, Comet rescued an officer and abandoned ship. He played dead in the water, still under fire. Comet was rescued two days later and reassigned to the Puget Sound ammunition depot until his discharge in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Harden. Harden left school at 16 years old and joined the Navy in 1944. After basic training in Norfolk, he was assigned to USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). Aboard ship, he was assigned to the first deck division. His battle station was at a five-inch gun, retrieving spent shells. He survived a typhoon en route to the Philippines, only to enter into combat at the Battle off Samar. Harden abandoned ship and climbed aboard a raft after throwing away his leaking lifebelt. Three enemy ships passed Harden before he was finally rescued. Harden finished the war in Seattle, painting ships and stacking ammunition until his discharge in late 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clarence Petersen. Petersen joined the Marines in June of 1942. He completed radio school and served as a radio operator in D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. He provides details of training. Beginning February of 1943, he traveled to New Zealand, completing maneuvers. They traveled to Guadalcanal in May of that same year and Bougainville in November. Petersen provides some detail of the Japanese and living in the jungle of Bougainville. He landed on Guam in July of 1944, by way of amphibious tractor. He was in the 13th wave and describes carrying his radio and an 85-pound roll of combat wire onto the island. He was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gerald Shepherd. Shepherd joined the Australian Navy in July of 1944. He completed training at Flinders Naval Depot. Beginning in May of 1945, he served aboard the HMAS Bataan (I91). He was present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender. He did not participate in any combat missions. After the war ended, they completed tours of duty in Japanese waters during the occupation. Shepherd continued his service after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Sampson. Sampson joined the Army in October of 1943. In May of 1944 he traveled to Hawaii and served as a clerk typist in the Headquarters Company Pacific Ocean Area, stationed at Fort Shafter and Fort Ruger in Honolulu. His job included typing orders for emergency leaves and transfers. He provides some details of his work and life in general in Hawaii. He remained in Hawaii until February of 1946 and was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David McFaddin. McFaddin was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio on 15 August 1922 into a family of eight children. In 1941 he was inducted into the Marine Corps and placed into the V-12 Navy College Training Program. He went to Paris Island, South Carolina for boot training in 1943 followed by advanced training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He then attended Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia for three months, graduating as a second lieutenant. He was ordered to San Diego where he boarded a troop ship to Guadalcanal. Upon his arrival, he was assigned to the 6th Marine Division. On 1 April 1945, he landed on Green Beach on Okinawa as a platoon leader assigned to Company B, 22nd Marine Regiment, 1st Battalion. He recalls being in the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill. He was wounded by shell fragments and was flown to Guam for treatment in the hospital. He tells a humorous story involving him and another patient, former football All-American Alex Agase. After McFaddin recovered, he rejoined his unit while it was preparing for the invasion of Japan. Soon after Japan surrendered, the 22nd Marines …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lawrence Sykora. Sykora joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1943. He completed schooling in Radio, Mechanics and Aerial Gunnery by February of 1944. He was assigned to the 14th Air Force, 308th Bomb Group, 374th Bomb Squadron. He deployed to China, serving as a radio operator and top turret gunner aboard B-24s. They made numerous trips over the Himalaya Mountains. They supported Chinese ground forces by attacking airfields, coal yards, docks, oil refineries and fuel dumps in French Indochina and Burma. Sykora completed 39 missions, returned to the US and was discharged in late September 1945.