The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Brushwein. Brushwein graduated from North Dakota State University ion 1939 and accepted his commission in the Army through the ROTC. When he was with the Third Infantry Division, he was a battalion adjutant working for Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Eisenhower. In 1940, he went to Hawaii and joined the 25th Infantry Division. He describes his experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor. After more training in Hawaii, he embarked for Guadalcanal in January 1943. Brushwein provides many details of the activities of the 25th ID on Guadalcanal. Brushwein even drank beer at the officer’s club on Tulagi with John F. Kennedy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Zedic Colbert. Colbert worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1940 working road construction and fighting forest fires. In August of that same year he joined the Army, assigned to a special weapons platoon in the 1st Cavalry Division. He provides vivid details of training as an infantryman, including working with horses. He traveled to Australia in July of 1943, and later to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines, sharing his combat experiences. He was wounded by shell fragments and received a Purple Heart. Colbert was discharged from the Army in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norma Cook. Cook was born in England in 1932. During the war, she and her family lived in a village outside of Liverpool. Because they were located near an antiaircraft battery, they endured a period of constant bombardment. During air raids they hid in their living room under a steel frame provided to civilians for protection. On the mornings following bombardments, the streets were lined with children whose homes had been destroyed. Her family took in as many as they could, but rationing made difficult every aspect of their lives. They wanted for food, clothing, and coal. The Cook family was still living under rations at the time they left England, in 1952, and immigrated to Canada.

Transcript of a speech given by Marilyn Demeter during the 40th Church and Synagogue Library Association conference held at the Inn at Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Demeter shares the history of CSLA's founding.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Neal Gillingham. Gillingham joined the Navy after high school. He attended boot camp and medical corps school in Farragut, and was sent to Hawaii for jungle training before deploying to Saipan as a medic for a naval construction battalion. Although the island had been taken, he still had to worry about snipers and Japanese attacks at night. During Okinawa, he was assigned to a ship in the harbor which was struck by a kamikaze just after he and his Seabee unit went ashore. On the island, Gillingham set up a field hospital in a tent and was stationed there until the war ended. He received a promotion and was recognized as the top medic in his unit. On V-J Day, parties and pranks were enjoyed by all. Gillingham returned home and was discharged. Over time, he was able to let go of feelings of resentment toward the Japanese that he had developed during the war; he came to realize that they, too, were following orders. Gillingham joined the Army Reserves in 1949 and was called into active duty for the Korean War. Fortunately, he was stationed in Europe …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Graff. After graduating from Harvard with an Economics degree in June 1941, Graff entered the Navy's V-7 Program. The Program was on board the Prairie State, a converted Spanish-American warship whose supersturcture had been removed and replaced with a barn; moored to the shore of the Hudson River at about 135th Street. After finishing the 90-day crash course, Graff opted for destroyers and was assigned to Communications School in Connecticut. After graduating from there, he was sent to the USS Atlanta, a light cruiser being built in Kearny, New Jersey. Capt Jenkins (CO of the Atlanta) made Graff the ship's Signal Officer. Atlanta was the first of a new class of ships; an anti-aircraft ship and the first ship designed to shoot down planes (eight turrets of twin five-inch 38 caliber guns). After launching, the Atlanta was towed to the Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York in early December, eighty percent finished. After commissioning, outfitting, test runs, sea trials, etc the Atlanta got underway with orders to go to Pearl Harbor. The Atlanta was assigned to the Third Fleet and was involved in the battle of Midway. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hank Hise. Hise attended the University of Texas and began flight school in 1941. He joined the Marine Corps when the war began, flying SMJs at El Toro. He was assigned to VMSB-232 in Hawaii, where he piloted TBMs and TBFs. When he first arrived at Guadalcanal, landings were hazardous on the short and narrow gravel strip flanked by palm trees. His squadron was bombed daily, and he was the only surviving pilot, though he suffered a broken pelvis. Treatment aboard the USS Solace (AH-5) was agonizing; he spent a month suspended from his bunk by a sling, unable to move his legs. When he recovered, he was promoted to captain, making strikes over Rabaul. Hise returned to the States as a squadron commander after a bout of malaria. He was sent back to the Pacific and flew missions against Japan off the USS Cape Gloucester (CVE-109). After the war ended he saw a Japanese airfield covered with brand new planes, their propellers removed as required by the surrender. He flew over Nagasaki, where everything was flattened, save for a stadium that had been turned on its side. …

News release about the appointment of Jerry Franklin as DART's Vice President of Executive Affairs.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Emil Matula. Matula left the Dust Bowl in 1937 with nothing more than a seventh-grade education and enlisted in the Army. By 1940, he was a machine gunner with the 35th Infantry Regiment at Schofield Barracks. On 7 December 1941 he was awakened by the shaking of his bunk and a sounding alarm. With his sergeants missing and unable to unlock the weapons locker, Matula took an axe to the door. By March 1942, Matula was the youngest buck sergeant in his company. After amphibious training, he landed at Guadalcanal, reinforcing the 43rd Infantry Division at Henderson Field. In the Battle of Mount Austen, he marched deep behind enemy lines, cut off from supplies for 10 days. Afterward, at Bougainville, he survived hourly air raids; his tent was bombed just after he vacated it. He earned a Bronze Star at Vella Lavella and went on to train replacements in New Caledonia. He then went to Luzon, spending 145 days in the mountainous jungles around Lingayen Gulf. In a barrio, despite easily overcoming a banzai charge, he was faced with a force of 32 tanks. After the barrio was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Moore. Moore entered the Army Air Force as an Aviation Cadet in March 1943. He was sent to Nashville, Tennessee for classification (pilot, navigator or bombardier training) and uniforms. Moore was selected for pilot training and was sent to Santa Ana, California for pre-flight training and Tulare, California for primary flight training. From there he went to Chico, California for basic flight training and to Stockton, California for advanced training. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1944 at Stockton. Moore was selected for B-25 training (transition) and went to Mather Field. Afterwards, he was sent to Louisville, Kentucky where he was given minimal C-47 instruction. They were then flown to Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida where he was issued a brand-new C-47, got a crew and received sealed orders. They were told they were going overseas but not told where...90 C-47s were going to India. They ended up in Sylhet (eastern India). It took them two weeks to get there. Moore's class had been picked out of B-25 training and thrown into C-47s because Churchill had asked Roosevelt for help; the Japanese had invaded …

Dense plasma diagnostics, soft x-ray laser interferometry, converging plasmas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Otis M Scott. Scott joined the Army in October of 1944. He served as a Browning Automatic Rifle gunner with the 23rd Infantry Division. In early 1945, Scott deployed to the Pacific, participating in the Cebu offensive against the Japanese during the Philippines Campaign. After the war ended, he served in the occupation of Japan. Scott returned to the US and was discharged in September of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Chester Spaw. Spaw began working for the post office in Austin after graduating high school. He visited Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson at his downtown office to discuss an inclination to enlist. Johnson replied that he had similar plans, so Spaw joined the Navy in 1942. He received basic training in Virginia and was then stationed at Camp Parks as a postal clerk. He shipped out with the 14th Seabees and made a brief stopover in Saipan, where he saw Japanese soldiers being buried in a common grave. He arrived on Okinawa in 1945 as the battle was winding down. A kamikaze attack during one of his daily trips to retrieve mail led Spaw to seek cover in the nearest foxhole. He was turned away, as there was no room for him. As he ran to other foxholes, he was turned away again and again. By the time the plane hit its target ship, Spaw was still without cover. But he was prepared later, when a typhoon hit, having securely tied down his tent. Spaw was discharged in November 1945 and resumed his career as a letter carrier in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jim Spriggs. Spriggs joined the Navy in August of 1943. Beginning February of 1944, he served as Machinist Mate Third-Class aboard the USS Laffey (DD-724). They provided support during the Invasion of Normandy and the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During Okinawa, Spriggs worked in the engine room helping keep the ship afloat after significant kamikaze damage. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with S M Sullivan. Sullivan joined the Navy Seabees in May of 1942. In the fall, he deployed to New Caledonia to help build a hospital, and later served on Guadalcanal building airfields. He contracted malaria while on Guadalcanal. In early 1945, he transferred to Saipan. He returned to the US and was discharged around late 1945.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether delinquent property taxes not reduced to judgement constitute indebtedness under sections 154.045 and 262.0276 of the Local Government Code.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) mission is to protect the nation's transportation network. Since its inception in 2001, TSA has developed and implemented a variety of programs and procedures to secure commercial aviation. GAO examined (1) the progress DHS and TSA have made in securing the nation's commercial aviation system, and (2) challenges that have impeded the Department's efforts to implement its mission and management functions. This testimony is based on issued GAO reports and testimonies addressing the security of the nation's commercial aviation system, including a recently issued report (GAO-07-454) that highlights the progress DHS has made in implementing its mission and management functions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At the last Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) hearing, GAO reported that our assessment of the project's schedule and expected cost at completion was somewhat constrained because the CVC team was still analyzing the impact on the project's schedule and cost of recently identified changes required for certain components of the fire protection and security systems. The impact of these changes on the project is not yet fully known. Therefore, GAO could not thoroughly assess the project's schedule or estimated cost at completion and are basing our views on the information available as of February 5, 2007, including the Architect Of the Capitol's (AOC) December 2006 schedule. To assist the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, House Committee on Appropriations in monitoring progress on the CVC project, GAO's remarks will focus on (1) the AOC construction progress since the last CVC hearing on November 15, 2006; and (2) the project's expected cost at completion and status of funding."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) continues to face significant challenges in resolving its many long-standing business challenges. DOD is solely responsible for eight high-risk areas and shares responsibility for another seven governmentwide areas on GAO's high-risk list. GAO designated DOD's approach to business transformation as high risk in 2005 because (1) DOD's improvement efforts were fragmented, (2) DOD lacked an enterprisewide and integrated business transformation plan, and (3) DOD had not appointed a senior official at the right level with an adequate amount of time and appropriate authority to be responsible for overall business transformation efforts. A recent DOD directive designated the current Deputy Secretary of Defense as DOD's chief management officer (CMO). Successful overall business transformation, however, will require full-time leadership that is focused solely on the integration and execution of these efforts, over the long term, to resolve pervasive weaknesses that have left DOD vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse at a time of increasing fiscal constraint. This testimony is based on previous and ongoing GAO work and discusses (1) the impact of DOD's long-standing business challenges on DOD and the warfighter, and (2) the progress …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior is responsible for managing much of the nation's vast natural resources. Its agencies implement an array of programs intended to protect these precious resources for future generations while also allowing certain uses of them, such as oil and gas development and recreation. In some cases, Interior is authorized to collect royalties and fees for these uses. Over the years, GAO has reported on challenges facing Interior as it implements its programs. In addition to basic program management issues, the department faces difficult choices in balancing its many responsibilities, and in improving the condition of the nation's natural resources and the department's infrastructure, in light of the federal deficit and long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation. This testimony highlights some of the major management challenges facing Interior today."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) holds about 5 percent of the real property owned by the federal government in terms of building floor area, including such facilities as hospitals and office buildings. VA's responsibility for managing its real property includes the construction of its facilities and cemeteries. Because these construction projects can span several years, VA is authorized to carry forward fund balances from year to year in its construction accounts. VA is responsible for keeping track of and managing these balances to ensure that any unexpended balances that remain after construction projects are completed are redirected to other construction project needs within the agency. VA's budgets for new construction exist in two accounts--Major Construction and Minor Construction--which are funded as separate line items within the appropriation. For purposes of this report, we refer to the Major and Minor Construction accounts as VA's construction accounts. Construction projects undertaken to replace existing facility components are funded through the Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) portion of the Medical Facilities budget account. For purposes of this report, we refer to the NRM as VA's facility account. Under the Comptroller General's authority to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We would like to thank Congress for its past support of GAO. We are especially appreciative of Congressional efforts to help us avoid a furlough of our staff during fiscal year 2007. Had we not received additional funds this year and not taken other cost minimization actions, GAO would have likely been forced to furlough most staff for up to 5 days without pay. At the same time, due to funding shortfalls, we were not able to make pay adjustments retroactive to January 7, 2007. It is through the efforts of our dedicated and capable staff that we were able to provide the Congress with the professional, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, non-ideological, fair, and balanced information it needs to meet the full range of its constitutional responsibilities. We are extremely pleased and proud to say that we helped the federal government achieve a total of $51 billion in financial benefits in fiscal year 2006--a record high that represents a return on investment of $105 for every dollar the Congress invested in us. As a result of our work, we also documented 1,342 nonfinancial benefits that helped to improve service …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investing billions of dollars in its U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program to collect, maintain, and share information on selected foreign nationals who enter and exit the United States. The program uses biometric identifiers (digital fingerscans and photographs) to screen people against watch lists and to verify that a visitor is the person who was issued a visa or other travel document. The program is also to biometrically confirm the individual's departure. For over 3 years, GAO has reported on US-VISIT capability deployments and shortfalls, as well as fundamental limitations in DHS's efforts to define and justify US-VISIT's future direction and to cost-effectively manage the delivery of program capabilities on time and within budget. GAO was asked to testify on (1) the status of the program's implementation and (2) the program's progress in addressing longstanding management weaknesses. Given where US-VISIT is today and the challenges and uncertainties associated with where it is going, GAO believes that DHS is long overdue in demonstrating that it is pursuing the right US-VISIT solution and that it is managing US-VISIT the right …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 that authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. Section 902 (k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been finally adjudicated. This is our seventeenth report."