The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Russell Barager. Barager joined the Navy in October of 1944 after spending a year in the Merchant Marine. He was assigned to USS LSM-326 and served in the deck department. Barager mentions delivering supplies to Saipan and the Philippines. He discusses landing Marines in the eleventh wave on Okinawa. Barager describes feeling the impact of a kamikaze landing in the water nearby and firing on another that hit a cruiser. His ship was caught in a major typhoon when it was headed to Japan after the war. He was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Ho. Ho was a boy living in Hong Kong when the Japanese attacked in December 1941. Ho’s father served as a major general in the Chinese Nationalist Army and the Japanese were after him and his family. They changed their identities and escaped to Luchow and joined his father. When the Japanese overran Luchow, Ho escaped to Kunming. He remained there for the rest of the war. When the war ended, Ho went to Macao before returning to Hong Kong.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garfield Crawford. Crawford was born 13 June 1922 in Edgar, Wisconsin and graduated from high school in Green Bay. He entered the Army Air Forces in March 1943. He trained at various bases and with a variety of aircraft. Upon graduating from multi-engine, he was assigned as an aircraft commander and went to Walla Walla, Washington for crew training. Arriving at Nadzab, New Guinea he made several training flights with experienced pilots prior to going to Wakde where the crew was assigned a B-24 in the 307th Bomb Group, 421st Bomb Squadron. Crawford recalls his first combat mission to Balikpapan. Of the twenty-four bombers on the mission, fourteen where lost due to heavy flak and Japanese fighters. He also recalls a mission to Negros Island where they encountered sixty enemy aircraft that dropped phosphorus bombs and steel rods above his formation in attempts to knock them down. During this mission, his friend’s plane went down. A month later, while returning from a bombing mission over Corregidor, he saw signals on the ground from the surviving crew members. They were rescued and sent home. Crawford flew thirty-eight other mission, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James H. Couch. Couch was born in Murrayville, Georgia 4 January 1923. He quit school in December 1941 and joined the Marine Corps. Upon completing boot camp at Parris Island, he went to Camp Lejeune for combat training with the Browning automatic rifle. Assigned to Company G, Second Battalion, 1st Marine Division, he boarded the USS George F. Elliott (AP-105) and sailed to Wellington, New Zealand. Leaving there, the division went to Fiji where they made practice landings. On 7 August 1942, he was in the third wave during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He recalls advancing to the Tenaru River and describes the Japanese night attack on 21 August 1942, led by Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, which resulted in hand to hand combat. His company had twenty-three men killed during the attack while the Japanese lost heavily. Couch also recalls the Japanese naval forces attacking the Marine positions and airfield on 14 September. During December he was sent to the 4th General Hospital in Melbourne due to a severe attack of malaria. He returned to the United States and entered the hospital at Balboa Park, California. Once he recovered, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Peter Hammersen. Hammersen was born at the end of WWI and grew up in California. While going to school for premed in Pasadena, Hammersen joined the California Army National Guard and became a charter member of Company A, 115th Medical Regiment. He worked as a surgical technician in various hospitals until he was assigned to the 48th Station Hospital at Vila, Efate, and later to Henderson Field at Guadalcanal and finally to the 37th Portable Surgical Hospital in New Guinea. Hammersen shares a number of anecdotal stories.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Peter Hammersen. Hammersen was born at the end of WWI and grew up in California. While going to school for premed in Pasadena, Hammersen joined the California Army National Guard and became a charter member of Company A, 115th Medical Regiment. He worked as a surgical technician in various hospitals until he was assigned to the 48th Station Hospital at Vila, Efate, and later to Henderson Field at Guadalcanal and finally to the 37th Portable Surgical Hospital in New Guinea. Hammersen shares a number of anecdotal stories.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Ho. Ho was a boy living in Hong Kong when the Japanese attacked in December 1941. Ho’s father served as a major general in the Chinese Nationalist Army and the Japanese were after him and his family. They changed their identities and escaped to Luchow and joined his father. When the Japanese overran Luchow, Ho escaped to Kunming. He remained there for the rest of the war. When the war ended, Ho went to Macao before returning to Hong Kong.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garfield Crawford. Crawford was born 13 June 1922 in Edgar, Wisconsin and graduated from high school in Green Bay. He entered the Army Air Forces in March 1943. He trained at various bases and with a variety of aircraft. Upon graduating from multi-engine, he was assigned as an aircraft commander and went to Walla Walla, Washington for crew training. Arriving at Nadzab, New Guinea he made several training flights with experienced pilots prior to going to Wakde where the crew was assigned a B-24 in the 307th Bomb Group, 421st Bomb Squadron. Crawford recalls his first combat mission to Balikpapan. Of the twenty-four bombers on the mission, fourteen where lost due to heavy flak and Japanese fighters. He also recalls a mission to Negros Island where they encountered sixty enemy aircraft that dropped phosphorus bombs and steel rods above his formation in attempts to knock them down. During this mission, his friend’s plane went down. A month later, while returning from a bombing mission over Corregidor, he saw signals on the ground from the surviving crew members. They were rescued and sent home. Crawford flew thirty-eight other mission, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Russell Barager. Barager joined the Navy in October of 1944 after spending a year in the Merchant Marine. He was assigned to USS LSM-326 and served in the deck department. Barager mentions delivering supplies to Saipan and the Philippines. He discusses landing Marines in the eleventh wave on Okinawa. Barager describes feeling the impact of a kamikaze landing in the water nearby and firing on another that hit a cruiser. His ship was caught in a major typhoon when it was headed to Japan after the war. He was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James H. Couch. Couch was born in Murrayville, Georgia 4 January 1923. He quit school in December 1941 and joined the Marine Corps. Upon completing boot camp at Parris Island, he went to Camp Lejeune for combat training with the Browning automatic rifle. Assigned to Company G, Second Battalion, 1st Marine Division, he boarded the USS George F. Elliott (AP-105) and sailed to Wellington, New Zealand. Leaving there, the division went to Fiji where they made practice landings. On 7 August 1942, he was in the third wave during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He recalls advancing to the Tenaru River and describes the Japanese night attack on 21 August 1942, led by Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, which resulted in hand to hand combat. His company had twenty-three men killed during the attack while the Japanese lost heavily. Couch also recalls the Japanese naval forces attacking the Marine positions and airfield on 14 September. During December he was sent to the 4th General Hospital in Melbourne due to a severe attack of malaria. He returned to the United States and entered the hospital at Balboa Park, California. Once he recovered, …