The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arnold Cole. Cole was born in Beulah, North Dakota 9 October 1924. Joining the Navy in January 1942 he attended boot camp at Farragut, Idaho then was assigned to the Hospital Corps School. Upon completing training, he went to Camp Elliott, California to join the Fleet Marine Force as a combat medic with the 5th Marine Division, 26th Marine Regiment. On 19 February 1945 he was in the third wave of the invasion of Iwo Jima. He mentions the high casualty rate suffered during the invasion and he recalls that the corpsmen removed any type of markings indicating they were medical personnel in an effort to thwart the efforts of Japanese snipers to single them out. Cole was on Iwo Jima for thirty-three days before being severely wounded. After receiving initial treatment at the battalion aid station he was put aboard the USS Queens (APA-103) and taken to Guam. He was taken off the ship on a gurney, identified with a green toe tag (dead) and placed in the morgue. A morgue attendant heard him moaning and contacted medical personnel. He was taken to the hospital and given …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Margaret Heard. Heard was born in New Jersey and graduated from Nursing School in November 1939, passing the state board exam for Surgical Nurse. She traveled to Hawaii on in February 1941 and took a nursing job at the Dole Pineapple Plantation on the island of Lanai. She was attending a wedding in Honolulu on 7 December 1941 and was awakened by the sound of bombing at Pearl Harbor. She and another nurse drove to Schofield Barracks, and along the way observed the second wave of Japanese planes attacking the base. She remembers volunteering for duty with the Bureau of Nursing and being assigned to a group of surgeons on Punchbowl Street in Honolulu. She was given charge of the X-ray department due to a shortage of technicians. She provides anecdotes of her time on Lanai and Oahu, including driving without lights, and on one occasion rolling the car. She describes her uneventful interaction with Japanese-Americans. She took a leave of absence in the fall of 1944 and returned to the States for several months. When she was ready to return, she was tasked to pick up a …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Cullen. Cullen joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. In September he was assigned to the 90th Airdrome Squadron. In early 1944 they traveled to North Africa, through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Arabian Sea aboard HMHS Chantilly (63). He traveled into Upper Assam Valley and later into Jorhat, India, working in a message center at the base headquarters as a teletype repairman. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Gross. Gross joined the Navy around 1943 and served with the 107th Naval Construction Battalion. They traveled to Ebeye in the Marshall Islands to redevelop and repair an existing seaplane base by assembling a pontoon wharf and pontoon barges for transporting damaged carrier aircraft to repair units ashore. Additionally, they built Quonset huts and installed playing fields and a recreation area for ship crewmen. They traveled to Tinian to construct the biggest airdrome in the world, where B-29s took off for Nagasaki and Hiroshima with the atomic bombs.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl Newman. Newman joined the Navy in July of 1941. He graduated from Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1942. He joined Squadron 21 (United States. Navy. Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2)1) of Air Group 11 on Guadalcanal, conducting patrol, search, spotting and strike operations. Newman also served with Bombing Squadron 19 (VB-19) aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16), participating in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In October of 1944, his plane was shot down. Newman was discharged in mid-1945, prior to the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Riel. Riel joined the Navy in 1943 after working in the tool room at a Chevrolet plant. He received basic training at Camp Perry and joined the Seabees as a second class petty officer. On Kwajalein, while operating a truck, he was struck in the shoulder blade by a piece of coral during a controlled explosion. There were no medical facilities there at the time, so Riel was sewn up on the beach. He was then assigned to operate a cement mixer, which is all he could do with his arm in a sling. On Ebeye, he was tasked with maintaining water stills. When he arrived on Tinian, he was a bulldozer operator for the construction of airstrips. Although Tinian had already been secured, Riel survived attacks by snipers and bombers, hiding under his armored dozer. He then served as a fresh water well mechanic until the end of the war. Riel returned home and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis R. Hopkins. He begins by describing growing up on a farm in Georgia, then going to college at Berry, then working for Sears and Roebuck and the Royal Typewriter Company before joining the Navy. He ancedotes about joining the Navy so he could go up to New York to see the World's Fair, since he heard the Atlanta Reserve was making a trip up to the Fair. He went into flight training in Florida in December 1940, finishing the next September, then driving cross-country to San Francisco after the Pearl Harbor attack, eventually joining the USS Enterprise in April 1942 and seeing the B-25 bombers in the Doolittle Raid take off. He was part of Bombing Squadron Six, trained under Commander Best learning how to do scouting flights, navigation and dive bombing. He then describes being in the battle of Midway, the hours leading up to taking off, his first view of the Japanese fleet, then flying over and dropping bombs on them. He was later assigned to the USS Hornet and had to fly off to a little island so planes from the USS Wasp could …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett. He begins by discussing joining the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. Then he went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s, then to Fort Myers, Florida to fly B-26 bombers, and train to fly B-26s off aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles, traveling across the Pacific to Brisbane to be told they didn't have B-26s for the crews and the Colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers so they were sent up to New Guinea to fly B-17s and supplement the crews for those bombers. From there they made bombing runs or ""Washing Machine Charlie""-type runs to keep people awake at night on various Japanese targets in the islands, particularly the base at Rabaul. In Fall of 1943, the Army grounded the B-17s since they were getting very shot up and gave them B-24s to fly, handed them the manuals and gave them a couple days to familiarize themselves with the planes, then sent them back up on bombing runs. He finished his tour …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Daniel Wentrcek. Wentrcek joined the Navy in July of 1941. He served as a Fireman aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) and deployed to Pearl Harbor in September. Wentrcek was aboard the ship when the Japanese attacked in December. He was later transferred to USS Chester (CA-27). They supported landings on Samoa, provided antiaircraft fire for the carriers during the Battle of the Coral Sea and supported operations in the Solomon Islands. From 1944 through mid-1945, Wentrcek served aboard the Chester during battle engagements in Alaska, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lawrence Spellman. Spellman joined the Navy in September of 1944. He completed Sound School. Beginning April of 1945, he served as Seaman First-Class aboard the USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668). In July, they bombarded Wake Island and served with occupation forces in Japan beginning 27 August. They returned to the US in April of 1946. Spellman continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph T. Smith. Smith was drafted and entered the Army in October, 1942. He was assigned to the 92nd Evacuation Hospital and trained with them as soon as he entered the service. He shipped overseas to Australia in June 1943. After treating casualties from the New Guinea campaign, Smith's unit relocated to Hollandia and then went to Biak. On Owi, his unit dealt with a scrub typhus epidemic. Later, they went to the Philippines and set up on Luzon. His hospital ward treated many of the Cabanatuan POW camp survivors after they were rescued. General MacArthur paid his ward a visit, too. When the war ended, Smith's unit went to Japan and set up their hospital in Nagoya. Smith returned tot he US and was discharged in January, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Takeo Fukuchi. Fukuchi lived in Tokyo as a child and recalls being moved to Chiba because Tokyo was under attack. He recalls the bombings and then hearing the Emperor's voice announcing the surrender and the end of the war. As an adult, Fukuchi joined the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force after World War II. Fukuchi's father served in the Japanese Navy as a secretary to Admiral Yonai and helped raise money in Japan to install the Garden of Peace at the Nimitz Museum.

Transcript of an oral interview with Major General Yoshihiro Minamoto. Through the work of the translator, Minamoto recalls attending a military academy in Tokyo and granduating in April, 1944. From there, he was assigned to a Japanese Army shipping division in Hiroshima. Through the translator, Minamoto describes training a special squadron of suicide boat operators for deployment on Okinawa. He arrived on Okinawa in September, 1944. Minamoto never got a chance to attack with his suicide boat squadron at Okinawa, so he was folded into an infantry unit already on Okinawa. Minamoto also describes surrendering once he heard the war was finished. When he returned to Japan after the war, he volunteered for service in the Japanese Defense Forces.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr. Donald C. Coldsmith. Coldsmith was born in Ottawa, Kansas in 1926, the son of a Methodist minister. He tells of hearing of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while attending a state of Kansas YMCA convention. Being eligible for the selective-service act, he received his draft notice in 1944 and was inducted into the United States Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training. He tells of the selection process and physical requirements needed for assignment into the mountain artillery pack mule training program and of training with pack mules. He comments on the mule’s intelligence. After washing out of Officer Candidate Sschool, he was assigned to the Pacific as a combat replacement. He was assigned to the 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion on Leyte. Soon afterward he was assigned as a medic and he tells of his training in the field. He recalls hearing of the dropping of the atomic bomb and soon thereafter being sent to Yokohoma, Japan where he was assigned to Omori Prison. Although only a Private First Class, he was medically responsible for the Japanese prisoners. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Real. Real joined the Army Air Forces in early 1941. He served as an aerial photographer with the 2nd Observation Squadron. They were stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. Real participated in the Bataan Death March and survived as a prisoner of war at Camp O’Donnell and Cabanatuan. He was liberated in early 1945, and discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jay Rye. Rye joined the Army in 1938 and trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Eventually, Rye made his way to the Philippines as an infantryman in January, 1941. He discusses fighting on Bataan and participated in the Bataan Death March. Rye describes the misery at Camp O'Donnell and burying comrades. He also spent a little time at Cabanatuan and witnessed and execution of a POW who attempted an escape. Eventually, Rye was sent aboard a hell ship to Japan. After arrival at Omori, Rye was put to work in a Mitsubishi steel mill. he describes the treatment he received when he was sick. He also worked in the railyard at Tokyo and recalls stealing food and other materials from train cars. Rye also bore witness to the destruction to Tokyo caused by the firebombing in March, 1945. Rye also details the account of his being liberated from the POW camp in Japan. Rye recalls spending time in a Seattle hospital before going to a hospital in San Antonio. He tried calling home only to find his mother had passed away afew months prior to his liberation and return …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Massey. Massey joined the Marine Corps in the spring of 1943. He completed Aviation Administrative School. He served as the Administrative Chief with Marine Aircraft Group 45, and was responsible for personnel reports for their service squadron. They traveled aboard the SS Dashing Wave to Falalop in Ulithi, where they were stationed. Massey returned with his squadron to the US and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Delisle. Delisle enlisted in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor and went to basic training in Newport, Rhode Island. He was assigned to the Boston Navy Yard awaiting assignment and while there he went to Wentworth Institute for training on diesel engines and air conditioning. After 2-3 months of training, he was transferred back down to Newport and he was made a gunnery instructor, instructing crews from different ships that were anywhere near the area. He was there about eight months and transferred to Vallejo, California to pick up the USS Oakland but before he could report aboard he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, spending many months in hospitals. They were going to give him a disability discharge but he wanted to go back to active duty which he was allowed to do. He reported to the USS Oakland at Mare Island Shipyard. The Oakland left Mare Island in October, went to Pearl Harbor and joined the Pacific Fleet. The Oakland was involved in the invasion bombardment of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands and then came back to Hawaii. After Hawaii, the Oakland joined Task Force 38 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jimmy Goldthorn. Goldthorn was drafted into the Army December 1, 1941 and went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From there he went to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas where he became part of the 6th Armored Division which was a training division. At Camp Chaffee, Goldthorn was made a tank platoon leader which included five light tanks. During maneuvers in July 1942, Goldthorn was involved in a serious accident and spent almost a year in an Army hospital. When he got out, he spent the next two years on limited service. First he was the Quartermaster for a POW camp in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. There were Italians in the camp at first then Germans. In the spring of 1944, he was transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington to the Combat Medics where he was the Administrative NCO in a headquarters company. When they found out about his injuries they told him he didn't belong there and they were going to send him home. He received a medical discharge (40% disabled) on December 7, 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond F. "Hap" Halloran. Halloran grew up in Ohio and admits an early fascination with airplanes that led him into the Army Air Corps after he finished high school in 1940. By the end of 1942, Halloran had been called up for service in the Air Corps and trained asa navigator. He also volunteered for bombadier school. Halloran also speaks of training in B-29 bombers. In December, 1944, Halloran and his crew received orders to go overseas to Saipan. Halloran also speaks of his post-war friendship with Japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai. Halloran also describes being shot down over Japan in early 1945 and bailing out of his crippled B-29. Halloran came down in a parachute, landed in Tokyo and was captured. He suffered a sever ebeating by the civilians before military personnel got to him. Halloran then describes his long captivity as a POW. He also describes witnessing the fire bombing of Tokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945. Halloran also recalls being stripped naked and put in an animal cage. Then, Japanese citizens were allowed to view him in his cage for a day or …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James S. Bargsley. Bargsley grew up in Texas and joined the Navy in 1942. Once he finished training, he was assigned to duty on the USS Fallard (DE-222) and then the USS Bassett (APD-73). From San Diego, they departed for Pearl Harbor, knowing they were preparing for the invasion of Japan. In June 1945 they departed for Eniwetok Atoll, then to Guam, then to the Ulithi Atoll. On July 2, 1945, the ship reported to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier for duty. On August 3, 1945, the ship went to rescue the survivors of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). The survivors were transferred to the fleet hospital the next day. Then they went to New Guinea, where they heard of the atomic bomb being dropped, and in September to Manila. From the Philippines the ship went to Okinawa and then to Wakayama, Japan with the LCT convoy. The Bassett detached from her duties in November and Bargsley was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Zartman. Zartman joined the Army in May of 1940. After basic training he was sent to Hawaii. He joined the Coast Artillery stationed at Fort Kamehameha, and worked with the 3-inch guns. Zartman was stationed in Hawaii during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He provides vivid details of his experiences through that fateful day, including someone in their outfit shooting down a Japanese plane. In early 1942 Zartman was sent to an air base on Canton Island for nine months, where he worked as a stevedore. He then served on Makin Island, and joined the 6th Ranger Battalion. He participated in the Marianas Islands Campaign and the Battle of Saipan in 1944. Zartman was discharged in June of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Mary Steele Leon. She joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and was trained as a secretary. Her first assignment was in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. The CNO at the time was Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. After the war, she served as personal secretary for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz while he was CNO. She was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenji Yanagiya. Yanagiya served as a warrant officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and flew over 100 missions. He describes serving as a fighter escort for Admiral Yamamoto when the admiral’s plane was attacked. He observed the bomber carrying the admiral’s staff go down in the ocean and saw the plane carrying Admiral Yamamoto go down into the jungle. Yanagiya also mentions seeing a P-38 trailing smoke. The interviewer states the P-38 was flown by Lieutenant Raymond Hine. Yanagiya tells of the Japanese flight commander reporting the incident to the commanding officer after the attack.