The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with E. B. Potter. Potter was attached to the Intelligence Section of the 14th Naval District in Oahu during World War II. He graduated with an English degree from the University of Richmond in 1929. He completed an advanced degree in English at the University of Chicago, and during this time the war broke out in Europe. He applied for and received a commission in the Navy. Potter was sent to the Naval Academy as a reservist to teach college-level European and naval history. After 7 December 1941 he went to communications school. From there he went to Pearl Harbor in November of 1943. Potter worked in the Registered Publications Issuing Office (RPIO), distributing codes and ciphers to ships of the fleet. He provides a vivid description of his work. Potter became second-in-command of RPIO. He talks some of Commander Joseph Rochefort’s operation and code breaking. He discusses briefly working on the biography of Admiral Chester Nimitz, and some of Admiral Bill Halsey’s actions during the war. Potter was later assigned as executive officer to the 14th Naval District and provides stories of his experiences. In 1945 he returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John P. Cordon discussing where he grew up and went to school and what led him to join the Navy. He describes flying airplanes for the Navy in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dean Caswell. Caswell volunteered for the Marine Corps two weeks prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He eventually went to flight training before being assigned aboard USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) from which he flew Corsairs. Caswell made over 100 combat flights from Bunker Hill, eventually becoming an ace with Marine Fighter Squadron 221 (VMF-221). He shares on anecdote about getting seven enemy planes in one mission. He also shares anecdotes from throughout his long career in the Marine Corps.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dewey A. Holden. Holden joined the Navy Coast Guard on December 15, 1941. He was stationed in Mobile, Alabama and served aboard the HMS Larkspur (K82). In 1942, he was assigned to bosun mate training at Manhattan Beach, New York. Later, Holden was assigned to Picket Boat #3836 in New Orleans, LA. He transported bar pilots and ship supplies from the Gulf of Mexico up through the Mississippi River to stations located in Southwest Pass and South Pass. He speaks of the activity and threat of German submarines in this area during late 1942. He continued this service throughout the war, and was discharged on October 26, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Heinz Bachman. Bachman was born in Germany in 1921 and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1924. Upon graduating from high school in 1939, he joined the Army Air Corps and underwent basic training in Hawaii. Bachman trained as an auto mechanic and was assigned to Hickam Airfield, Hawaii. He tells of his experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Later, he was selected for flight training and recalls the disappointment he felt when he washed out of the program. In 1945 he was sent to England and was as a member of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey teams to serve as an interpreter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Keith Selvey. Selvey joined the Army in June 1941. He served with the 40th Infantry Division, 185th Infantry Regiment, and was stationed in California in December 1941. They served on guard duty on outposts. In January of 1943, they relocated to Fort Lewis, Washington. In the fall, they were deployed to Hawaii, where they fortified Oahu and Selvey was promoted to sergeant. In early 1944, they participated in the New Britain campaign, and later landed on Luzon. He lost over 25 men in his platoon, due to heavy fighting on Luzon and Negros islands. By war’s end, Selvey was promoted to lieutenant with a field commission and sent to Korea. After a couple of months, he received orders to return home and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Webb. Webb joined the Army in July of 1943. He served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 382nd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division. He provides details of his basic training. The 382nd participated in the Battle of Leyte from October to December of 1944 and the Battle of Okinawa from April to June of 1945. Webb returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Morrissey. Morrissey joined the Navy in 1942. He served as Chief Commissary Steward aboard the USS LST-661. Around mid-1944, they traveled to Saipan, then to the Palau Islands during the Invasion of Peleliu, and to Okinawa in 1945. He recalls the battle at Peleliu. They transported soldiers from island to island. He recalls interactions with the Pacific Islander natives. He continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge on January 2, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Doy Davis. Davis begins with an account of growing up in West Virginia. In August, 1943 Davis joined the Navy and trained at Great Lakes as an electrician. He soon arrived in Kodiak, Alaska. He shares anecdotes about being at a base and in charge of maintaining the harbor craft. When the war ended, Davis took his discharge and went to work for AT&T.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob Osborne. Osborne joined the Navy in 1943. He was assigned aboard USS Chester (CA-27). Osborne shares several anecdotes of his time aboard the ship. He also describes the collision between the Chester and another ship off Iwo Jima. When the war ended, Osborne elected to take his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Howe. Howe was drafted into the Navy in August 1943. He went to boot camp in Sampson, New York. From there he went to signal school in Baltimore. From there he went into the Armed Guard division of the Navy in New York City, aboard the Liberty Ship SS Edwin Markham. He served for one year aboard the ship as signalman. They traveled through the Panama Canal picking up sugar from Hawaii and delivering it to the San Francisco Hawaii Sugar Company in California. From there they went to the Philippines for a year and a half. After that Howe was transferred to the USS Baltimore (CA-68) in Hawaii. He served on this cruiser for one year, transferring supplies and ammunition to the islands in the Pacific. He visited Hiroshima after the bomb fell and provides some description of that experience. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clyde Day. Day finished college and was commissioned in the Navy in June 1942. He received more training at in armaments and gunnery before being assigned to USS Boston (CA-69) in January 1943 while still under construction. He served as a fire control officer aboard the Boston. Day recalls supporting the landings at the MArshall Islands, Iwo Jima and elsewehere in the Pacific. He describes the circular battle formation. Day also recalls a near collision with a carrier while bombarding Japan and several other anecdtoes from his time abaord the Boston. He also shares stories from his time during the occupation of Japan after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles White. White joined the Navy in June, 1945 and went to Great Lakes for basic training. He caught his ship, the USS Pawnee (ATF-74) at Okinawa in August, 1945 and began pulling ships off the beach after a typhoon. They also tugged barges around Japan for a few weeks after the surrender, the Philippines, too. White returned to the US and was discharged in August, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alton Frost. Frost joined the Navy in September 1942 after finishing high school. He went to flight school and switched to the Marine Corps so he could fly single engine planes. He then was assigned to fly dive bombers in Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241). Frost joined the squadron in the Solomon Islands in time to go to the Philippines. He shares a few anecdotes of his combat flight experiences. When the war ended, Frost elected to serve in the Reserves but was not recalled for the Jorean War. He left the Reserves and resigned his commission.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Caramello Stramer. Stramer joined the Navy in February of 1942. He completed boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, and he completed training in New London, Connecticut to serve aboard submarines. Stramer provides details on his experiences at both training locations. He served aboard the USS Puffer (SS-268) beginning April of 1943, as the motor machinist mate. He was stationed in the aft engine room, overseeing diesel engines. They went to Brisbane, Australia for additional training and repairs. In September 1943 they made their first patrol in the Makassar Straits. He goes into great detail of torpedoing a ship, coming under attack by the Japanese and other experiences through the Strait. Stramer discusses their other patrols through the South China Sea and around Singapore. Stramer also served aboard the USS Ray (SS-271) beginning July of 1944. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Goldie Conley. Conley was born in San Saba County, Texas in 1922. She describes living conditions in the small town of Cherokee during the Depression years. She married Wilbur Conley in May 1942, one month after he was inducted into the Army Air Forces. In October 1942, Wilbur was sent overseas and she briefly discusses his various assignments. She went to work as a welder with the Bethlehem Pennsylvania Shipyards in Beaumont, Texas and describes some of the hazards of the job. She also reflects upon the loneliness of being separated from her husband for over three years and the elation felt upon his return in 1945.

The National Museum of The Pacific War presents an oral history interview with Raymond Flores. Flores was born in San Antonio in 1922 and tells of times during the Depression. He worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps until December 1941 at which time he joined the Army Air Forces. After spending some time at Shephard Field, Texas he shipped out to Brisbane, Australia. Upon his arrival he was quartered at the Ascot Racecourse where he was assigned to the kitchen staff. He was then sent to Melbourne where he was assigned to the 36th Headquarter Company. After spending time in Port Moresby, New Guinea, he was sent to Finschhafen. He worked as a freight-handler there until 1944, at which time he returned to the United States. Following the Japanese Surrender, he was discharged. After the war, Flores worked for the US Postal Service, retiring in 1980.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clift Price. Price graduated from high school in 1940, at age 16. He completed pre-med at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1943. While in college and throughout medical school, Price was in the V-12 Navy College Training Program. Price was enlisted from September to November of 1943, 4 weeks, at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station as an apprentice seaman. He was assigned to hospital corps duty, and assigned to retrieve the deceased from airplane crash sites. Price began medical school the first part of 1944, and graduated in March of 1947 at UT Medical Branch. He received 3 years of military duty from his time in the V-12 program. Price later served as a Navy medical officer on a troop carrier and one of only two doctors on a battleship during the Korean War. His tour in the Navy ended in March of 1953.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Chapman. Chapman joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He was sent to Karachi with the 8th Medical Supply Platoon. He handled the medical supplies for the Army and drove an ambulance to and from the local airport close to their base. From there he traveled to Kunming, China. Chapman describes flying over the Hump. He worked out of a brick warehouse in China packed with medical supplies and a pharmacy. He assisted with receiving and shelving medical inventory. During his time off he served as a driver for the officers. He was discharged around October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Mc Daniel. McDaniel was born in Houston, Texas on 5 September 1923 and graduated from high school in 1941. Upon entering the Marine Corps in 1942, he began flight training and received his wings in 1943. After receiving training as an instructor, he was sent to Hutchinson Naval Training Station in Kansas as a primary flight instructor. He was then sent to Jacksonville, Florida where he began flying the F4U Corsair fighter plane. After several months, he was sent to Danville, Illinois where he received training in carrier landings aboard the USS Wolverine (IX-64). He was in transit to Hawaii when the Japanese surrendered and upon his arrival he was assigned to the Joint Intelligence Corps Pacific Ocean Area and sent to Japan for three months. He remembers some of his experiences while there including meeting the actor Tyrone Power who also was a pilot. McDaniel concludes the interview by telling of his experiences flying helicopters during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Louie Robert. Robert joined the Navy in December of 1943. He completed amphibious force training with landing craft, vehicle/personnel (LCVP). In late 1944, early 1945, Robert deployed to Normandy, aboard the USS Trousdale (AKA-79), to serve as amphibious replacement crew. In 1945, he drove a landing craft during the Battle of Okinawa, landing and picking up Marines and supplies on the beach. Robert returned to the US and received his discharge in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Pratt Shultz. Shultz left his economics studies at Princeton to join the Marine Corps. Upon completion of officer school and antiaircraft artillery training, he deployed to Tarawa. By the time they arrived, the Japanese had already left the island. Sighting an enemy bomber overhead, it was suggested they take cover in a nearby church. Shultz instead yelled for everyone to disperse, and the church was bombed. His next assignment was liaison to the Army’s 81st Infantry Division for the invasion of Palau. At Angaur, despite having no authority to do so, he directed fire upon certain caves from which enemy fire had been impeding the landing. It was on Angaur that he lost a good friend, an experience that influenced his philosophy when serving as Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan. Similarly, as Secretary of Labor to Richard Nixon, he recalled how naïve and vulnerable natives were when bargaining with Marines. Shultz’s expansive postwar career, beginning after his discharge and subsequent enrollment at MIT, included easing relations with both Japan and China in his capacity as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Velmer Steckman. Steckman was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota on 1 May 1923. After high school, he attended Itasca Junior College in Grand Rapids, Minnesota until 1942. At that time he joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He then went to the University of Minnesota and after six weeks of indoctrination he was selected to attend bombardier school in Texas. Upon graduating, he reported to the Tonopah Army Air Field in Nevada, where he began training in B-24 bombers and working with a Norden bombsight. Steckman recalls that the bomber crew went aboard a troop ship and arrived in England in June 1944. Steckman was assigned to the 458th Bomb Group. He describes some of the thirty-six missions he flew and some of the action he encountered including a Messerschmitt M-262 German jet fighter. Steckman returned to the United States in 1945 and began training as a pilot. He concludes the narrative by telling of some of his other experiences during his 26 year career in the Air Force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Myrven Cron. Cron joined the Navy in 1942 and enrolled in Rice University’s V-12 program. After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, he attended midshipmen’s school at Northwestern University. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Chicago (CA-136) as a junior gunnery officer. When he arrived at Tokyo Bay, he was reunited with his brother, who was there as part of Underwater Demolition Team 6. Cron later requested and was granted use of a Jeep so that he could visit Hiroshima. He finished his tour of duty near Shanghai and returned home safely.