Interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. He then went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s. At Fort Myers, Florida he flew B-26 bombers and trained to fly them off of aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles. He traveled across the Pacific to Brisbane only to be told that they didn't have B-26s for the crews; the colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers, so they were sent 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 due to the damage they had incurred and replaced them with B-24s. The men received manuals and were given only a few days to familiarize themselves with the new planes. They were then sent on bombing runs. He finished his tour of duty at …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in July of 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School and became a Pharmacist Mate. He first served aboard the USS Sea Dragon (SS-194). They patrolled the Aleutian Islands. He was then stationed at the Submarine Base in Pearl Harbor, working in a sick bay. He then served aboard the USS Apollo (AS-25) with a relief crew. He provides some detail of working aboard a submarine, serving as the Doc, living conditions and undergoing his own appendectomy aboard the Apollo. In early 1945 he was assigned for 1 year to serve at a submarine base in St. Thomas. He then served as hospital corpsman on the USS Clamagore (SS-343). Keeton also worked on sonar watch, radar watch and as a cook during his time in the Navy. He spent a total of 30 years in the Navy, retiring in February of 1972.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in July of 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School and became a Pharmacist Mate. He first served aboard the USS Sea Dragon (SS-194). They patrolled the Aleutian Islands. He was then stationed at the Submarine Base in Pearl Harbor, working in a sick bay. He then served aboard the USS Apollo (AS-25) with a relief crew. He provides some detail of working aboard a submarine, serving as the Doc, living conditions and undergoing his own appendectomy aboard the Apollo. In early 1945 he was assigned for 1 year to serve at a submarine base in St. Thomas. He then served as hospital corpsman on the USS Clamagore (SS-343). Keeton also worked on sonar watch, radar watch and as a cook during his time in the Navy. He spent a total of 30 years in the Navy, retiring in February of 1972.

Interview with building contractor and Marine Corps veteran Donald Boots. The interview includes Boots' personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, childhood, boot camp, camouflage school, training in beachhead organization with the 4th Pioneer Battalion, mopping-up operations on Kwajalein, rest and retraining on Maui, being assigned as a BAR man, invading Saipan, and assaulting enemy caves on Saipan. Boots also talks about the stress of battle, returning to Maui for rest and retraining, the invasion of Iwo Jima, Japanese resistance on the Iwo Jima beaches, the rescue of his friend, his role in organizing the beach operation at Iwo Jima, establishing beach defenses on Iwo Jima, evacuating and returning to Maui, retraining and refitting for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.

Interview with Navy veteran Murray Daniel. The interview includes Daniel's personal experiences about the light cruiser USS Helena, the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the antiaircraft cruiser Reno in the Pacific Theater during World War II, boot camp, the peacetime Navy, the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack, various naval engagements around the Solomon Islands, the sinking of the Helena in the Kula Gulf, a kamikaze hit and torpedoing to the Reno, and postwar effects of his experiences in World War II.

Interview with accountant and Army veteran Frederick R. Freeman. The interview includes Freeman's personal experiences about the European Theater during the World War II, basic training, advanced infantry training, initial combat on the front lines in France, survival techniques under combat conditions, the Ardennes Offensive, and the Battle of the Bulge. Freeman also talks about the effects of combat losses and acclimation of individual replacements, his bout with combat exhaustion and reassignment to a replacement depot as a clerk, his participation in the Army of Occupation, and postwar adjustments to civilian life.

Interview with airline pilot and Army Air Forces veteran Robert W. Wilson. The interview includes Wilson's personal experiences about being B-25 pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II, basic training, college preparatory courses, flight training, and various missions. Wilson talks about his pre-war job experiences, flying conditions over the Owen Stanley Mountains, Operation OBOE, leave time in Sydney, Australia, the move to Palawan, Philippines, missions to French Indo-China, attitudes and feelings towards the deaths of comrades, and postwar adjustments. The interview includes an appendix with supplementary documents.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.

Email from David Stallman to Debbie Jennings telling her where he got the footage from his film from.