The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Shanesy. Born in Piqua, Ohio on 5 June 1920, Shanesy graduated from high school in 1938. Joining the Navy in November 1942, he went through five weeks of boot training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois. He then attended ship fitter’s school for sixteen weeks. He learned welding, pipe fitting, sheet metal work and blacksmithing. Upon completion of the training, he was sent to San Diego to attend advanced welding classes at the fleet welding school. In November 1943 he was sent to the National Landing Force Equipment Depot, Norfolk, Virginia where he repaired small boats. He was then sent to Solomons, Maryland where he was attached to a flotilla of LCIs as a member of the maintenance division. In the fall of 1944 he went to Redwood City, California where he was issued combat gear including a carbine and was trained by Marines. In March 1945 he went to Subic Bay, Philippine Islands where he worked in the refrigeration shop as a mechanic and designated welder. He was then sent to Manila. Shanesy returned to the United States in December 1945 as a first class …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Wheless. Wheless joined the Army Air Forces in the summer of 1942. He served as a C-47 pilot in the Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India Theater. Wheless was assigned to a base in Assam Valley, northeastern India. He and his squadron flew over the Himalaya Mountains supplying General Stilwell and Merrill’s Marauders in Burma, and Allied forces stationed in Yunnan Province in China. He survived many dangerous missions and was awarded the Air Medal on one occasion for a low-level supply drop to surrounded US troops in enemy territory. He returned to the US and was discharged in the spring of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl Morrison. Morrison joined the Navy around 1944. He completed Radio Technician School and was assigned aboard the USS Auriga (AK-98). They traveled to Laguna in the Philippines. In April of 1945 they delivered troops, goods and equipment to Okinawa during the invasion. They also traveled to Kwajalein, Guam and Espiritu Santo where they learned of the Japanese surrendering. Morrison was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Staley. Staley joined the Navy in mid-1944. He served as a Storekeeper and traveled to New Guinea and Leyte. He participated in the Battle of Okinawa, and experienced a kamikaze plane attacking his ship. Staley had two older brothers also serving in the Navy. He shares a number of anecdotal stories of his time on liberty in Hawaii and the Philippines, where he visited Intramuros, the Walled City, in Manila. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Cunningham. Cunningham joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1942. In June, he traveled to England. In November, he went to Algiers with a military police unit. He recalls a story about when he captured several German soldiers trying to sneak through the lines. He also went to Italy, arriving in Naples after the invasion and spent much time in Rome. He served in the 281st Military Police Battalion and shares several overseas anecdotes from Italy and Algeria. He had a motorcycle accident and was medically evacuated back to the US and was discharged in October, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Earl Ewing. Ewing enlisted in the Marine Corps in March of 1943. He was trained as a tanker and was sent to the Pacific as a replacement crewman where he joined the 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion. He crewed LVTs during the invasions of Guam and Iwo Jima. His LVT was hit and caught fire during the landing on Guam. During the battle for Iwo Jima, Ewing’s LVT was sent inland to retrieve wounded Marines and he had to guide it through a minefield. Ewing was discharged on 7 December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Moorman. Moorman was born in New Hyde Park, New York 19 December 1925. He recalls the difficulties his family faced during the depression. Upon joining the Navy in February 1943, he went to Great Lakes Naval Training Station for eight weeks of boot training. After completing the initial training he was selected to have three months instruction as a hospital corpsman. He was then sent to the Bremerton Naval Hospital where he worked in the venereal disease ward. Moorman was then sent to San Diego for Marine training in the Field Medical School. Upon completion of the training he was sent to Somoa as a corpsman. He then went to New Caledonia and he was assigned to Field Hospital 103 where he worked in the psychiatric ward treating shell shock and combat fatigue patients. He then went to Tongatapu and was assigned to the 35th Naval Construction Battalion for four months before being transferred to Fleet Hospital #3 at Espiritu Santo where he was assigned to the X-ray department. Moorman returned to the United States and was discharged in September 1945. He reenlisted in the Navy in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Merton Bobo. Bobo was born in Greenfield, Maine 10 February 1926. Graduating from high school in 1943 he enlisted in the Navy. Following a six week boot camp in Sampson, New York he was sent to Jacksonville, Florida to attend radio school. Once he graduated, he was sent to Yellow Water, Florida for gunnery training. Upon completing the gunnery training, he went to Fort Lauderdale, where he began operational training in a TBM with a pilot and gunner. The crew stayed together during their combat tour. Upon completion of the advanced training the crew went to San Diego where they joined VC-90. Going to Hawaii, they were trained in the use of rockets and torpedoes. The crew was assigned to the USS Steamer Bay (CVE-87) and began making patrols and practice landings. They joined a task unit and sailed to the Mindoro Straits where they were under attack by Japanese planes for five days. During this time Bobo witnessed a kamikaze crashing into the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79). He participated in combat missions at Lingayen Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He recalls the night their ship was in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Mercer. Mercer joined the Navy in October of 1943. He was assigned to the gunnery division aboard the USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95). They transported Marine pilots and their planes to Hawaii. Mercer’s job aboard was ensuring that the 40mm and 20mm guns were in good working order. He describes the guns and how he operated them. They participated in the invasion of Leyte Gulf and Luzon, and he talks about their carrier having several near misses with kamikaze planes. He provides some detail of the flight deck and the catapult to launch the planes. He describes briefly his initiation in becoming a shellback. In February of 1945 they were 20 miles from Iwo Jima and Mercer describes in detail their experiences after getting hit by a kamikaze plane and the carrier sinking. After that he was stationed in California for 15 months and was discharged in the summer of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Shelby Brown. Brown joined the Navy around 1942. Beginning April of 1943, he served as Seaman Second Class aboard USS Nashville (CL-43). Brown and his division took care of the fantail of the ship and the five turrets in their main battery. In August they traveled to Pearl Harbor to join carrier task forces for strikes on Marcus and Wake islands. They traveled to Espiritu Santo, crossing the equator, and had a shellback initiation. From Espiritu they shelled targets on New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. They provided support for landings on Bougainville and Leyte. Brown recalls the ship being hit by a kamikaze, off Negros Island in December of 1944. In May of 1945 they provided fire support for the landings on Borneo. He was discharged in December of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Jack M. DeLong. Born in 1924, he joined the Army Air Corps in June, 1943. He describes basic training and living conditions at Amarillo Army Airfield, Texas. He learned Morse code in radio school at Camp Kohler, California. He describes being transported to Europe aboard the L. D. France in 1944. He was a radio operator with the 879th Signal Battalion in England. He describes his living accommodations in Salisbury and night bombing in Ipswich. He left England bound for Japan aboard the Queen Elizabeth as the war ended. The ship was rerouted to the New York. He was discharged in February, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Marshall Harris. Harris provides his family???s experiences through the Great Depression. Harris joined the Marine Corps in July of 1943. He completed radio school and volunteered to work with amphibious tanks. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Amphibious Tank Battalion, driving the LVT-A4. He provides details of the LVT. They traveled to Hawaii, where he trained and played on a baseball team. In June of 1944 they participated in the Battle of Saipan, then the Battle of Tinian in July. He served as a radioman and machine gunner. In February of 1945 they participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. He provides vivid details of his experiences through each of these battles. Harris was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Hughes. Hughes joined the Navy in July of 1943. He completed Midshipman School in December of 1944. Beginning in January of 1945, he served as a Fighter Director aboard USS Kasaan Bay (CVE-69). They completed anti-submarine patrols and combat operations through Guam and Okinawa. He returned to the US and was discharged around late 1945, early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bert Dawson. Dawson joined the Marine Corps in 1943. He served with the 5th Marine Division, as a paratrooper. He participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. From Iwo, Dawson traveled to Sasebo, Japan. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Zaehler. Zaehler joined the Marine Corps in early 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to the service squadron of MAG-12, running a mobile machine shop where his primary duty was repairing ground vehicles. He spent a good part of his duty stationed on Emirau Island, where the squadron’s plucky COO would cheerfully bring him Japanese bombs that he had discovered on the island. He would ask to borrow Zaehler’s tools in order to disarm and study the bombs. Zaehler gingerly provided him the tools and then made a polite and speedy exit, in case of an accident, of which there were none. When there were no vehicles to repair, Zaehler towed Corsairs to the line. He often saw the comings and goings of fighter ace Joe Foss and watched Charles Lindbergh teaching New Zealanders how to land the F4U.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert C. Shedd. Shedd joined the Marine Corps in February of 1942 with his brothers Donald and Paul. He provides details of boot camp. He served with the 5th Marines. In June of 1942 he traveled to New Zealand. In August they went to Guadalcanal to capture the island. He provides details of his travels and life aboard the troop ships. They traveled to New Britain in New Guinea in December of 1943, where a shell fragment hit his shoulder. In September of 1944 they invaded Peleliu. He vividly describes his experiences at each of these battles. He was discharged in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Brown. Brown joined the Navy and served as a Radarman with amphibious forces at Guadalcanal for one year. In 1942, Brown worked aboard submarines as a specialist in surface attacks using radar. Admiral Chester Nimitz appointed him the officer in charge to create the Pacific Fleet Radar School for Senior Officers, and to instruct them in radar techniques. Brown completed this work through late 1945. He continued his service after the war ended.

This a traditional story about two twin girls (hingchong musoso) that are born to the human wife of a king, who also has a second wife who is a witch. The witch is jealous and abandons the girls, who are subsequently brought up by tigers. After having grown up, they return to their father’s kingdom and tell their story. The father learns the truth, the witch dies, and the reunited family lives happily ever after.

This a traditional story about step-parenthood: the mother of two children (with the names Rengso and Onso) dies and the father marries again; the new stepmother is evil and mistreats her step-children, whereupon the father does not know what to do and both abandons his children in the jungle and kills his wife.

This is a narration about the Boro history. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a performance of a Boro folk song. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a performance of a Boro folk song. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a Boro folk song. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a personal narrative about the conflict between the Adivasis and the Boros in Kokrajhar district. Dialect: Standard Boro