The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack M. Lyons. He discusses his childhood and growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the Us Naval Aviation program. He describes his experiences in flight school, basic training and fighting in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Geroge Medcalf from Greensville, South Carolina. He discusses his experience in training in Camp Mcoy in Wisconsin and meeting his wife there. He also discusses his time in the Second Infantry Division with the 38th Regiment, Company C, preparing for the Normandy Invasion. Mr. Medcalf also relays how he had to take over command of his Company during the invasion when he was injured by flying shrapnel and sent back to England for recuperation. He shares a story of how while advancing on Leipzig, Germany he was saved from German artillery fire when his sergeant offered him a piece of candy moving him away from the line of fire. The war ended while Mr. Medcalf was in Czechoslovakia, and after the war he received a purple heart and a cluster.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack M. Lyons. He discusses his childhood and growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the Us Naval Aviation program. He describes his experiences in flight school, basic training and fighting in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

Transcript of an oral interview with Russell Milliken. He discusses being in the 82nd Airborne, parachuting into Normandy just after D-Day, being treated for frozen feet during the Battle of the Bulge and meeting a doctor he knew from home, serving on General Eisenhower's honor guard in Frankfurt, and coming home through New York and having to stay there for a Victory Parade before being allowed to go back to Texas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph M. McDonough. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression, and what led him to join the Us Navy in 1943. He describes his experiences in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Geroge Medcalf from Greensville, South Carolina. He discusses his experience in training in Camp Mcoy in Wisconsin and meeting his wife there. He also discusses his time in the Second Infantry Division with the 38th Regiment, Company C, preparing for the Normandy Invasion. Mr. Medcalf also relays how he had to take over command of his Company during the invasion when he was injured by flying shrapnel and sent back to England for recuperation. He shares a story of how while advancing on Leipzig, Germany he was saved from German artillery fire when his sergeant offered him a piece of candy moving him away from the line of fire. The war ended while Mr. Medcalf was in Czechoslovakia, and after the war he received a purple heart and a cluster.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bruce Williams. Williams was born in August 1920 in Pennsylvania. He entered the Navy’s V-7 program at Northwestern University in September 1943. Upon commissioning in December, Williams reported aboard the submarine chase USS SC-731 as the executive officer. He recalls experiences from around New Guinea and the Philippines. Part of his job included delivering supplies to Filipino guerrillas. When the war ended, Williams elected to go to seminary and stayed in the reserves and worked as a chaplain until retiring in 1975.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Barrera. Barerra grew up in Texas during the Depression and enlisted in the Army at 17 in 1944. He was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division and shipped out with the unit to Luzon in 1945. After the war, Barerra served in occupied Korea playing in the division band. He injured one of his finger badly and had to switch to playing trumpet. He used the GI Bill to finish law school upon being discharged in December 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Miller. Miller joined the Junior Naval Reserves around 1936, at the age of 13. He joined the Navy in 1940, and served aboard USS Wyoming (BB-32) as an Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class. Shortly after the war started, he was transferred to USS Raven (AM-55) as a gunner. He recalls spotting and shooting at German U-boats along Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In early 1942, they escorted tankers along the east coast, up to Nova Scotia. Miller was transferred to VF-28, an F4F fighter squadron. Around October, they were assigned to USS Suwannee (ACV-27) and participated in the invasion of North Africa and the Battle of Casablanca in November. In December, they were transferred to USS Chenango (CVE-28). In early 1943, they supported the Guadalcanal campaign. Beginning in December, and through 1944, Miller served aboard USS Tulagi (CVE-72), participating in the invasion of Normandy. Miller discusses their activity during the Battle of Okinawa. He continued his service after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henley Bennett. Bennett joined the Navy in December 1943 and trained in San Diego. Upon completion he was assigned to USS Long Island (CVE-1) and went to the Marshall Islands. He was also stationed on Guam for a while. He served with utility Squadrons 7 and 17 while overseas. When the war ended, Bennett was discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Orville Schwanger. Schwanger joined the Army Signal Corps around 1942. He completed radio repair training. From 1943 through the end of the war, Schwanger traveled to Brisbane, Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Leyte Gulf. On the islands, he set up and worked in radio repair shops. He received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Ulery. Ulery joined the Army in December of 1945. In March 1946 he was sent to Le Havre, France. He served with the 3rd Infantry Division, Artillery Band in Bad Wildungen, Germany. Ulery played the sousaphone in the band, and they traveled all over the American Zone of Germany. He was in Nuremberg when the war criminals were sentenced to death. Ulery shares details of his 13 months living and working in Germany after the war. He returned to the US and was discharged in June of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Oellerich. Oellerich joined the Navy in 1943 after he finished high school. After basic training, he attended quartermaster school to learn to navigate. Upon completion, he headed for Houston to join USS LSM-2. After training, they shaped course for Hawaii. After loading supplies, they headed for the Philippines to support the various invasions. He also made the invasion of Okinawa where his LSM ferried supplies from ship to shore for one month. He got ashore briefly and witnessed kamikaze attacks. Oellerich was discharged in April, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Reed. Reed was drafted into the Army in June 1945, while he was in ninth grade. He later received his diploma in 1949. He went to Sheppard Field, Texas, Ft. McClellan, Alabama and Ft. MacArthur, California for training. In California he was a medical technician, though received no formal training. He worked in a separation center, taking blood pressure. He was in the 9th Service Command and the 6th Army. He also worked as a longshoreman in San Pedro. From there he was shipped up to Camp Beall, California where he worked the remainder of his Army career as a medic, driving an ambulance and giving shots to inductees coming into the Army. He was discharged in December 1946 and he worked for the Pure Oil Station, and then later at the Veterans Hospital in Montgomery. He used his G.I. Bill to go to business school in Montgomery, Alabama while working at the Veterans Hospital.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Hartman. Hartman joined the Navy in February of 1943. He trained to be a pilot in Pensacola, Florida and received his wings in February of 1944. He was commissioned and sent to Banana River Naval Air Station, Florida to fly PBMs. He joined Patrol Bombing Squadron 26 (VPB-26). Hartman served as both pilot and navigator. He provides some details of the PBM. His crew was sent to Okinawa to deliver a new PBM-5. They went to Saipan and were assigned to the USS Norton Sound (AVM-1), and later assigned to the USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17). He gives his experiences of flying combat missions around Japan and the Yellow Sea. He served in the Navy for 27 years.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudolph Kraut. Kraut joined the Navy in 1943. He volunteered for submarine duty and attended torpedo school in San Diego and submarine school in New London. He was assigned aboard USS Lizardfish (SS-373) and shares several anecdotes about his service aboard that boat. Kraut was transferred to USS Blueback (SS-326) before electing to be discharged on points.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Meriwether. Meriwether was studying to become a doctor when he entered the Army Medical Corps in December, 1942. He continued training as a doctor and was discharged in 1946. He was recalled and commissioned in 1952 and spent one year in Korea as a pathologist with the 48th MASH unit and studied the cause of serious infectious diseases along the DMZ. Meriwether relates details of his career in Army medicine.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Shackelford. Shackelford joined the Army Air Forces in March 1943. He completed basic training in Miami Beach, Florida. From there he went to Fort Collins, Colorado, and had weapons training and learned to be a clerk typist. He then went to Gunter Field, Alabama, and worked with budgets and accounting, before he volunteered to go overseas. He was with the 13th Air Force Headquarters on Palawan. In June 1944 he boarded a ship to New Caledonia where he worked in casual labor then relocated to Guadalcanal where he trained to be a radio operator. From there he went to Bougainville and worked in the DF station where they helped lost Marine aviators find their base. He then transferred to the Philippines to work in a radio station as a clerk typist and he ran the Airmen’s club. In December 1945 he came back to San Francisco and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Evans. Evans joined the Marchant Marine in the summer of 1944. He was assigned as a radio operator on the SS Charles M. Russel. Evans describes life aboard ship and details the ceremony when they crossed the equator. He discusses his role as a loader for a 20mm anti-aircraft gun and coming under attack during the landings on Leyte. Evans also describes receiving an SOS while on watch and how the senders were too far away to help. His next voyage was on the SS Fort Stevenson, which was a tanker. Evans describes a stopover on Tinian and an opportunity to explore the airfield and parked B-29 bombers. He returned to the US in September of 1945 and enlisted in the US Army for three years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Mann. Mann joined the Navy in August 1943. He describes becoming a member of a Navy choir company in boot camp and discusses the unique experiences that were associated with his assignment. Mann was then sent to school to become an Electrician’s Mate. He was then selected to join the V-12 program and describes his training and campus life at several schools. Mann was still in school when the war ended and was eventually discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Wallace Kelm. Kelm joined the Navy in September, 1938 and trained at San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the motor launch aboard USS Lexington (CV-2). Just before the war started, Kelm transferred to USS Hornet (CV-8) and was aboard for the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway. He also was aboard when Hornet went down during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. He was then assigned as a gunner aboard USS Princeton (CVL-23) briefly before going to USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) in late 1943. Kelm also served aboard USS Saugus (LSV-4). Kelm spent 21 years in the Navy, retiring in 1959.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Barnhouse. Barnhouse joined the Naval ROTC at the University of Texas in 1940. He graduated and received his commission in 1944 and went aboard the USS Kidd (DD-661) at Espiritu Santo in March. He remained on this destroyer until the war ended. On the ship he was in charge of the deck crew and maintenance. When in battle he served as a gunnery officer overseeing the 20 mm guns aft. He provides details of numerous attacks on their destroyer, fighting off the enemy with the anti-aircraft guns, and protecting the carriers. They were involved in the Borneo campaign, and the battles of Iwo Jima, Leyte Gulf, Guam, Tinian and Saipan. Barnhouse was discharged in February 1946. He earned his Master’s Degree at UT and worked for an airline and later a gas company.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Hawley. Hawley graduated from Culver Military Academy, Indiana, and joined the Navy in July of 1944. He completed Quartermaster School. In early 1945, he served aboard a yard oiler, YOG-33 and traveled to the Russell Islands, Guadalcanal, the Cook Islands, the Fiji Islands, replenishing oil as needed. He 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 Milton Haby. Haby joined the Army in 1942. He served with the 13th Armored Division, overseeing six parts trucks. He deployed to France in January of 1945. They traveled through Germany, participating in the Ruhr Pocket operation in April. Haby returned to the US an received his discharge in July of 1945.