The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Kalinofsky of Annapolis, Maryland. He discusses when he was first inducted into the Navy and being a plank owner aboard DE 581. USS MCNULTY. He also discusses his time aboard the USS LSM(R) 198 manning the 40mm Twin Mount and loading rockets in Okinawa, Japan, after the invasion of Normandy. Mr. Kalinofsky describes an attack he was involved in off the coast of Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Travis Smith. Smith joined the Army Air Forces in September 1942. He qualified as a pilot trainee and began training in San Antonio. In May, 1944, he graduated and received his commission. Smith went overseas to the Philippines, arriving in March, 1945. Later, he moved to Okinawa and flew bomber escort for bombing missions to China and Japan. He flew over 50 combat missions before the war ended and then went to japan on occupation duty. Smith was discharged in 1946, but stayed in the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Samuel Spencer. He discusses his experiences fighting in the battle of Tarawa in November of 1943 and other stories as a Marine in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Atys Daniel Brunson. He discusses his family history, childhood, education and what led him to joining the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Kalinofsky of Annapolis, Maryland. He discusses when he was first inducted into the Navy and being a plank owner aboard DE 581. USS MCNULTY. He also discusses his time aboard the USS LSM(R) 198 manning the 40mm Twin Mount and loading rockets in Okinawa, Japan, after the invasion of Normandy. Mr. Kalinofsky describes an attack he was involved in off the coast of Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd C. Cox. He tells of organizing a group of volunteers to establish a formal oral history program. Cox also shares the growth of the program from an unorganized collection of less than 200 oral histories in 1999 to an organized and diversified collection of over 5000 stories in 2022. He tells of the progression from analog tape recordings to digital recordings and the advancement of making the collection available to the public through an online digital archive.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd Cox concerning his recollections about the Great Depression and his life as a child during World War II. He recalls the family raising a victory garden and his participation in scrap iron drives. He also tells of the patriotism that existed in the United States and of being subjected to various forms of propaganda.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Benjamin Gruetter. Gruetter was drafted into the Army in February 1945. He suffered appendicitis during boot camp and was held back. His last day of training was the last day of the war. He was sent to Japan for occupation duty and stayed about 13 months.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Lepore. Lepore was born in Boston in 1926 and joined the Navy at 15 years of age in August 1942. After boot camp, he attended gunnery school before joining the crew of USS Bogue (CVE-9). He joined USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) commissioning crew in January 1944. Lepore spent close to 500 days aboard the ship in the combat area and shares several anecdotes about his experiences, including one about George HW Bush.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arnold Holden. Holden joined the Navy on 30 December 1943. He served as a coxswain aboard USS Olmsted (APA-188). They transported troops and supplies in support of amphibious operations, traveling to New Guinea, Leyte and Okinawa. Additionally, they participated in the first occupational landings in Japan. He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arthur Griffin. Griffin joined the Navy in late 1942. He served as an aircraft navigator in the Pacific Theater. He volunteered for the Marine Corps and became a second lieutenant. He was assigned to a 5-man squadron and a C-47 at an airfield in La Tontouta, New Caledonia. They were part of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT). SCAT provided rapid transport of personnel and cargo, including munitions, food, replacement parts, and medical supplies to forward areas. From La Tontouta, they flew to the Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Espiritu Santo, Guadalcanal and Emirau Island. Griffin speaks of his work as a navigator, and overall life in the military. He returned to the US in May of 1944 and was stationed in El Centro, California. He completed 700 flight hours during his service. Griffin received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dwayne Kendall Jose. Jose joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He received his wings in 1943, and served as a B-26 bomber pilot with the 17th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force. Beginning in mid-1944, he traveled to North Africa, and completed 50 missions over Italy and Germany. They participated in the Italian Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge, bombing air fields, refineries and bridges. He shares vivid details of combat. Jose returned to the U.S. and received his discharge in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Morrissey. Morrissey joined the Navy in 1942. He served as Chief Commissary Steward aboard the USS LST-661. Around mid-1944, they traveled to Saipan, then to the Palau Islands during the Invasion of Peleliu, and to Okinawa in 1945. He recalls the battle at Peleliu. They transported soldiers from island to island. He recalls interactions with the Pacific Islander natives. He continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge on January 2, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Gilmour. Gilmour was born in 1932 and was 8 years old when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. He recalls his relatives who were in World War II, including an aunt and uncle. He also shares what he remembers as a child growing up during wartime, including collecting rubber and metals as well as rationing gasoline. He recalls living in fear during brownouts and watching for planes overhead. Gilmour joined the Navy in January of 1951. He served as gunner’s mate aboard the USS Black Warrior River (LSMR-404) beginning May of that same year. In October his group traveled to Korea, participating in coastal bombings, blockade force and protecting small islands on the west coast of Korea. He provides some details of the Landing Ship Medium Rocket, and its use in World War II and during the Korean War. Gilmour was discharged in August of 1954.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Samuel Cole. Cole joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1943. He completed schooling for navigation, and was commissioned in August of 1944. He was then sent to Florida for radar operator training. He flew in a B-29 with the 41st Bomb Squadron, 501st Bombardment Group, 315th Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force. In 1945 they flew 10 missions, bombing oil refineries in Japan. He returned to the US and was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Catenazzo. Catenazzo joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in July of 1938. He joined the Navy in February of 1940. When at port, Catenazzo was a boat engineer and at sea he worked with the boilers to make drinking water. He served aboard the USS Bridge (AF-1) and the USS Detroit (CL-8), which he was aboard during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. He provides great detail of their maneuvers on that fateful day. During the war, they brought a number of wounded sailors and Marines back to San Francisco. He was transferred to the USS McKee (DD-575) which he served aboard 1 year in the Southwest Pacific. They traveled to Guadalcanal, Guam, Tinian and Saipan. Upon crossing the equator, he became a shellback and describes his initiation. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman Heinrich. Heinrich joined the Navy and was assigned to the USS South Dakota (BB-57) in August 1943. He worked in the lower handling room for the five-inch guns and felt only a shudder when the South Dakota was struck by a bomb at the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Heading toward Okinawa, he recalls an American observation plane being accidentally struck by a projectile from his ship. At Okinawa he witnessed the damage that the destroyers sustained from kamikaze attacks as his ship brought casualties aboard. At Tokyo Bay, his crew shared Admiral Halsey’s disappointment that the surrender ceremony would not be held on the South Dakota. He remembers Halsey as an easy-going leader who liked to mingle with the crew. Heinrich returned home and was discharged in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Benjamin Nicks. Nicks enlisted in the Army Air Forces in January of 1941. He received his wings in April of 1942. Nicks was in the 120th Observation Squadron in the 130th Field Artillery Squadron. He flew border patrol missions for a year between Mexico and the United States. He was assigned to Mountain Home Air Base, Idaho to serve as a B-25 instructor until the spring of 1944. He was then transferred in May of 1944 in McCook, Nebraska as a B-29 instructor. He was in the 1st Squadron, 9th Bomb Group, 313th Wing of the 20th Air Force at McCook, Nebraska. Their outfit was sent to Kwajalein, Tinian, Iwo Jima and Japan to name a few. Nicks flew a total of 35 missions. He provides great detail of their missions. He was discharged in January of 1946 with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenneth Matthews. Matthews entered the Marine Corps in 1943. He went to Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp. In 1944 he went to Officer Candidates School. He was assigned to the 1st Marines, 1st Division. In April 1945 he was flown into Okinawa, and served as a regimental intelligence officer. His primary job was to take orders from the major and hand them out to the different company commanders. He also fought in combat. He provides some detail of the fighting with the Japanese. After Japan surrendered, he came back to the States. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clyde Day. Day finished college and was commissioned in the Navy in June 1942. He received more training at in armaments and gunnery before being assigned to USS Boston (CA-69) in January 1943 while still under construction. He served as a fire control officer aboard the Boston. Day recalls supporting the landings at the MArshall Islands, Iwo Jima and elsewehere in the Pacific. He describes the circular battle formation. Day also recalls a near collision with a carrier while bombarding Japan and several other anecdtoes from his time abaord the Boston. He also shares stories from his time during the occupation of Japan after the war ended.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Ivan Bishop. Bishop attended electrician school prior to joining the Army. He served in the Signal Corps in the 727th Signal Aircraft Warning Company. Bishop participated in the invasion of Leyte and Okinawa operating a radar warning system for invasion forces. Bishop shares several anecdotes about his experiences in the service during the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with J L Wood. Wood completed two years of military school at the New Mexico Military Institute, then enrolled in the University of Texas Navy V-12 program, graduating in 1943. He then completed Midshipman’s School at Notre Dame and Cornell University, graduating in July of 1945. Wood served as a lieutenant aboard the USS Kaskaskia (AO-27). They conducted fueling operations at Okinawa and Japan and supplied the minesweepers. He shares his experiences living and working aboard the ship. Wood returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arthur Scharlau. Scharlau joined the Navy in January of 1945. He completed basic training in Bainbridge, Maryland. In January of 1946, he was transferred to the Naval operating base on Guam and served as Seaman Second-Class in the Disbursing Office. Scharlau shares a number of stories of living and working on Guam. He returned to the US and received his discharge in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Whitfield. Whitfield joined the Army Air Forces and served as a B-29 pilot flying off of Guam in the last few months of the war. He describes some of his missions and what it was like to fly a bomber. Whitfield stayed in the service after the war and flew B-36 bombers. He describes an incident where he had to make an emergency drop of three atomic bomb casings. Whitfield left the Air Force after serving for ten years.