The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rufus Johnson. He begins the interview with a summary of his life. Rufus Winfield Johnson was born in Montgomery County, Maryland in 1911. He was in the ROTC at Howard University. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1934 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserves. In 1939 he received his LLB degree from the Howard University School of Law. He shares stories from his time working in the White House as lifeguard and personal butler to Franklin Delano Roosevelt prior to entering the armed forces. He served in the 92nd Infantry Division. He shares an anecdote about receiving a ten thousand dollar reward for shooting a bandit that preyed on American sailors in North Africa. He describes the campaigns of Sicily and North Apennines. He recounts an altercation with General Almond after which he was transferred to the 442nd Infantry Division. He describes his role in rescuing Company K of the 71st Infantry. He also recounts his capture and escape from German soldiers. He discusses the treatment of African American soldiers. He also served during the Korean War. He retired from the Army Reserves …

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 interview with Arlie Asmussen. Asmussen joined the Navy in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served aboard the USS Owl (AM-2) beginning in February of 1942. His job aboard was to cook and serve as a deck ape, scrubbing the decks and bulkheads, and tying up the boats. In March they traveled to Bermuda and remained for 2 years. They provided target practice for submarines and went out on distress calls, rescuing a torpedoed cargo ship from Argentina. He describes their experiences in Bermuda. They later traveled to England, where they carried breakwaters to Normandy in preparation for D-Day. In June of 1944 Asmussen and the crew participated in D-Day, aiding in the flow of men and equipment to the front. In September he returned to the states on a troop ship carrying 150 German prisoners of war. In the summer of 1945 he served aboard the USS Comstock (LSD-19), where he served as a cook. They traveled to Okinawa and he was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Melvin Grant. Grant served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1940 to 1941. He provides detail of the CCC program, including accommodations, pay and food. Grant went to California and helped build Camp Cook, now Vandenberg Air Force Base, where he was on 7 December 1941. He was assigned to Company E, 7th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Division. He was a demolition specialist and a flame thrower and describes both of these jobs. He went to the Russell Islands aboard the USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145). He details life on board the troop ship. From Russell Island they went on maneuvers to Guadalcanal and conducted training exercises. He participated in the Battle of Okinawa and discusses his experiences. Then they traveled to China and remained there until February of 1946. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Crichton. Crichton enlisted in the Army in June 1942 and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division. In New Guinea, as captain of his unit he took no prisoners when intercepting elite Japanese forces even though the natives brought in prisoners bound in vines. While Crichton was evacuating all women from combat zones, he read in a Japanese diary that Americans planned to annihilate the Japanese, sparing only the most beautiful women to exhibit in a zoo. In the Philippines, Crichton was reassigned to 6th Army Intelligence, screening and forwarding guerilla and coast watcher messages. When he received word that battleships were headed for Surigao Strait, he relayed the information to Halsey. At Lingayen Gulf, a kamikaze struck the destroyer escort beside Crichton’s ship, and a bomb hit where Crichton had slept the night before. He went ashore on D+3. Sleeping in a slit trench with a log rolled of it, he awoke to find a large shell embedded in the log. He went on to serve as aide to General Krueger, who ordered Crichton to shoot and kill him if enemy capture was imminent. After the …

Transcript of an oral interview with Albert Bouley. He discusses joining the Marines just after Pearl Harbor, being in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, the battle of Guadalcanal, getting malaria and dysentery, the battle of Cape Gloucester, using Pavuvu as a base, the battle of Peleliu, shipping back to the States, doing guard duty at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, becoming an instructor in a heavy weapons school before then end of the war. He joined the Air Force 2 1/2 years later to be able to fly and work on planes, then retiring and becoming a teacher in California before settling in Texas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Fox. He was born July 3, 1926 in Pulaski, Indiana. He was drafted into the Army on January 9, 1945. Upon completion of basic training he shipped out to Leyte Island in the Philippines where he joined the 24th Division, 34th Regiment. During the transit the war with Japan ended. He recalls in September 1945 taking part in an unopposed amphibious landing on Matsuyama, Japan, where there was a Japanese Army base. He recalls marching through the town where there were starving Japanese children lined up waving American flags, and giving them chocolate. He describes how his unit paid the local Japanese to enter tunnels stocked with munitions, remove them and detonate them safely. He describes his battalion being trucked to Hiroshima five or six weeks after the atomic bomb was dropped. He recalls the desolation of the area. Upon returning to the city of Hiro, he recalls being sent out on patrols into cities where they would interview officials and check on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. He recalls frequent encounters with starving Japanese seeking employment. He recounts an instance when he volunteered for honor guard …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Oliver. Oliver was born in Brainerd, Minnesota 25 April 1919 and graduated from high school in 1937. He joined the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Tank Company in October 1940. The unit (194th Tank Battalion) was called to active duty 10 February 1941 and was sent to Ft. Lewis, Washington for further training. Oliver was ordered to Fort Knox, Kentucky to attend the radio and repair school, from which he graduated in June. On 8 September 1941 he went aboard the SS President Coolidge (1931) and sailed for the Philippines. The tank battalion was stationed at Fort Stotsenberg, Philippines. Oliver witnessed the Japanese attack on Clark Field on 8 December 1941 and describes in detail combat in which he was involved and subsequently wounded. After surrendering, he witnessed the atrocities committed by the Japanese during a forced march. He describes being put aboard boxcars and sent to Camp O’Donnell and of the conditions which caused the death of many of the prisoners. He was assigned to a grave detail. On 24 October 1944 while at Bilibid Prison, he was in a group of 1869 men put aboard the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ray Thomas. Thomas joined the Army in 1943. He completed Gas School, learning how to recognize mustard gas, tear gas and chlorine gas. He served with the 96th Reconnaissance Troop, 96th Division. They worked with half-tracks, armored cars and jeeps. They participated in the Battles of Leyte and Okinawa. Thomas returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hulen Hammock. Born in Bentonville, Texas on 5 November 1917, Hammock graduated from William Adams High School in Alice, Texas in 1932. Upon joining the Army Air Corps in December 1941, he was sent to Shepherd Field, Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training. After basic, Hammock went to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he studied aircraft maintenance for six weeks. He was then sent to Barksdale Field, Shreveport, Louisiana where he was assigned to the 319th Bomb Group, 440th Bomb Squadron and began working on B-26A bombers. Later, he was sent to Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana for advanced training. From there he boarded RMS Queen Mary at New Jersey and recalls an incident in which the ship collided with HMS Curacoa (D41), which was cut in half. Hammock noted that the ship did not slow down or attempt to save survivors. Landing at Gurrock, Scotland he proceeded to Norwich, England. He recalls boarding RMS Mooltan on 27 October 1942 and landing at Algeria. He shares an anecdote involving himself and General Jimmy Doolittle in a B-26. He also tells of servicing a DH98 de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flown by …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James William ""Bill"" Harrison. He begins by explaining how he joined the navy and started in San Diego without going to boot camp, then working on an oil tanker that shipped out to Pearl Harbor a month after the attack, then transported fuel out of San Diego to various ships at sea, then he was transfered to Admiral Nimitz public relations department. There he and two others wrote stories about the action in the Pacific, particularly about the Battle of Midway, they contributed to a radio show, working with the national press corps, then working at the Naval Air Station in Seattle, then to Hilo and meeting with soldiers back from Tarawa, then to Texas to go to officer training school and college at Southwestern University, then to University of Texas and University of Oklahoma for law school after the war. He ancedotes about the office releasing a story about a cat that had kittens on board a cruiser so they could report good news in the Pacific prior to the battle of Midway and meeting Admirals Nimitz and Byrd, typing up a letter for Elliott Roosevelt to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred L DiDomenico. DiDomenico joined the Marine Corps in September of 1942. In November, he deployed to Samoa. DiDomenico served as a machine gunner with the 3rd Marine Division, and participated in the battles of Bougainville and Guam. He returned to the US and was discharged in October of 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Tice. Tice was born in Detroit 3 January 1924. After joining the Navy in 1943 he went to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center for boot training. Upon completion of training he entered gunnery school in preparation for Armed Guard duty. After training, Tice served as instructor at the Armed Guard school for four months. He then volunteered for aircraft carrier duty and was assigned to a gunnery crew aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13). He went aboard late in December 1943. Tice recalls meeting a childhood friend, Bob Harrison, an armament specialist who was also on board. Soon after arriving at Pearl Harbor the Franklin sailed to the Marianas. He recalls the ship being involved in many operations including the Bonin Islands, Peleliu, Guam, Luzon and Iwo Jima. It was also involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where a Japanese aircraft crashed on the deck. He went into an ammunition magazine to wet down the area with water. He received a citation from Admiral Halsey for this action. He also describes burials at sea. The ship returned to Bremerton for repairs. On 19 March 1945 a …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Miller. Miller was born on 11 June 1916 in Pulaski, Indiana. After graduating from high school in 1933, he worked at the family store until he was inducted into the Army in May 1941. Assigned to the 35th Tank Battalion, Headquarters Company, 4th Armored Division, he participated in training and maneuvers in Tennessee, California and Texas. In 1944, the unit boarded the USS General J.C. Breckenridge (AP-176) and landed in England. He describes landing on Omaha Beach seven days after the initial invasion and being subjected to German mortar fire. He was at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge and recalls meeting the Russians in Czechoslovakia. He returned to the United States in September 1945 and was discharged soon thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Burks. Burks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 17 January 1923. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended the University of Oklahoma until October 1942, at which time he joined the US Army Air Forces. He began a pilot training program, but the Army terminated it. In August 1943, he underwent basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas for twelve weeks. In November, he went to gunnery school at Laredo Air Field in Texas. He was then sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to a B-24 crew as the ball turret gunner. In April 1944 the crew flew to Wheeler Field, Hawaii where they underwent advanced training with the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, 7th Air Force. In September 1944 they moved to Kwajalein where they participated in bombing missions over Truk and Wake Islands. During October 1944 they moved to Guam where they flew forty missions over various islands including seventeen missions over Iwo Jima in preparation for the invasion. Burks relates his personal experience of capturing a Japanese soldier while on Guam. He returned to the United States in March …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert E. Batterson. Batterson was born on 5 May 1921 in Mason City, West Virginia. Following graduation from high school in 1938, he joined the Navy. After competing boot camp at Norfolk, Virginia, he was assigned to the USS Philadelphia (CL-41). During battle stations, he was a powder man on a six inch gun. The ship was anchored at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and he describes what he saw on that day. In 1942, he was selected to enter the V-5 Naval Aviation Program. In January 1943 he began at the University of Southern California. Upon completing the first phase of the training he went to the University of New Mexico for initial flight training followed by pre-flight at Del Monte, California. From there he began flight training at Hutchinson Naval Air Station, Kansas. He was then sent to Corpus Christi, Texas for instrument and advanced training before joining a squadron at Daytona Beach, Florida. After several months, he went to Glennville Naval Air Base, Illinois to learn carrier landing. Upon being qualified as a carrier pilot, he was assigned to the USS Bennington (CV-20). He …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Cox. Cox was born in 1931, and shares his family’s involvement in World War II. He shares his experiences as a young boy growing up between Austin and San Antonio in wartime. He had two older brothers in the war, and two younger sisters at home he helped care for. Cox knew several families working at Kelly Air Force Base, where he learned to fly and help rebuild airplanes. He speaks about rationing during the early 1940s. From April of 1948 through May of 1964, Cox served in the Navy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Randolph Coleman. Coleman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on 21 December 1922. He enlisted in the US Army in 1943 and tells of his reasons for wanting to become a paratrooper. He describes the strenuous physical testing he passed allowing him to qualify for jump school. Coleman was assigned to the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, F Company, 1st Platoon. He was then selected to attend intelligence school. After receiving additional infantry training at Camp Marshall, North Carolina he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia to jump school. He relates various anecdotes regarding jump school including chute packing, a near fatal jump incident, training methods and physical treatment. Following additional combat training the unit was put aboard the USAT Santa Rosa, which ultimately landed at Naples, Italy. On 15 August 1944 his unit was involved in Operation Dragoon. He relates being at the front for 94 days in combat in freezing conditions where he developing pneumonia and frozen feet. He was sent to the hospital, due to his medical problems and returned to the United States. He was discharged on 22 June 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Allan Golden. Golden joined the Navy in 1942 and after three weeks of boot training at San Diego, he boarded a ship bound for Noumea, New Caledonia. Upon his arrival he was assigned to the base post office. He was then sent to Fiji to serve as a LCVP driver. He participated in the invasion of Bougainville and describes the procedure of landing troops on the beaches. He returned to the United States in 1944 and was assigned as captain on a tug boat. One of the jobs assigned to his tug was towing targets for F4U fighters to practice strafing.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wendell Mayes. Mayes joined the Navy on 10 December 1942. He was trained as a radio and radar technician. He completed radar school in Corpus Christi, Texas, which included a course on night fighter radar. He was then assigned to a night fighter squadron in Rhode Island. Mayes served in Fighter Squadron 3, Air Group 3, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10). He ensured that the radar used on night fighter aircraft was in good working order. They participated in the campaign to retake the Philippines, the Battle for Iwo Jima and the first full-scale air raids on Tokyo by carrier-based planes. He provides details of his experiences traveling aboard the troop trains, and visiting the USO clubs. Mayes was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hobart Martin. Martin was drafted into the Army in February of 1943. In early 1944 he completed a college training detachment at Centenary College in Louisiana. From there he was assigned to Company E in the 342nd Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Division. They were assigned to La Havre, France in February of 1945 due to the Battle of the Bulge. His regiment was involved in much combat in France until they departed in June of 1945. In September they arrived in the Philippines, where he assisted with clerical work. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant and worked in the headquarters company. Martin was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Gunterman. Gunterman joined the Navy in November of 1942. He completed Sound School, learning how to operate sound equipment on ships to detect underwater activity. In early 1943 he traveled to New Caledonia. From there he was assigned to the USS Zane (DMS-14), a high-speed mine sweeper. He provides some details of the ship, including weaponry aboard. They traveled to Tulagi, Suva, Fiji, provided escort duty and participated in the Battle of Munda Point in the Solomon Islands. They also participated in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian and Guam, by sweeping mines. The Zane was the model for the stories in The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. Wouk served aboard the Zane with Gunterman. Gunterman was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Glenn Radder. Radder joined the Navy in 1943. He completed Gunner’s Mate School, learning how to care for the various guns aboard ship. He served aboard the USS Laffey (DD-724) where his job was to care for and fire the 20mm mounts on the fantail. Radder provides some detail of life aboard the Laffey. They traveled to England in preparation for the invasion of France. On 3 June 1944 the Laffey went to the Normandy beaches escorting tugs, landing craft, and two Dutch gunboats. On 6 June the group arrived in the assault area off Utah beach at dawn on D-Day. Radder describes their participation in the Normandy landings. On 25 June he provides detail of their shelling the defenses at Cherbourg. In November they conducted airstrikes against enemy shipping, aircraft, and airfields in the Philippines. In April of 1945, while assigned to radar picket station 1, the Laffey came under heavy attack by the Japanese. He describes this event, including picking up two downed Japanese pilots. He was discharged around the end of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Weston. Weston joined the Navy in June 1942 after graduating high school. Upon completing aviation machinist's mate training, he was assigned to CASU-23. In July 1943, Weston boarded USS Monterey (CVL-26), where he ran into childhood friend Gerald Ford. He was stationed on deck as a carburetor specialist making final engine adjustments just before planes took off. He helped push totaled planes overboard to clear the deck. After sailing through a typhoon that caused extensive damage and claimed three lives, Weston served as a pallbearer for their burial at sea. While the Monterey docked in Bremerton for repairs, Weston performed maintenance for training aircraft at Kitsap County Airport. Returning to combat at Okinawa, he was too busy to be frightened as kamikazes attacked. Weston was discharged in December 1945. As a civilian, he had difficulty finding work as an aircraft mechanic and instead pursued a career in pharmacy.