Interview with Maurice Stamps, a serviceman in the U. S. Army during World War II. Stamps discusses growing up on a farm in Iowa, joining the army, going to Hawaii and staying at Schofield Barracks. He was assigned to the Classification/Assignment section at Fort Shafter without ever having basic training. He was later assigned to the Message Center at Ft. Shafter. He remembers his correspondence with his girlfriend Enid, whom he married upon his discharge in 1946.

Interview with Carl Peltier, a U. S Marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then joined the Marines when he was old enough. He trained in San Diego before shipping out to Hawaii where he joined the 2nd Marine Division. Further training included heavy weapons and mortars. Later, he landed on Saipan and describes his small arms and rations. He witnessed General Simon Buckner getting killed on Okinawa. He was later wounded on Okinawa. After the war ended, Peltier served in the Pentagon during the Korean War.

Interview with Bill Graham, a Marine during World War II. He begins by discussing joining the Navy and becoming a corpsman, then being transferred to the 2nd Marine Division after the Pearl Harbor attack. He also talks being in the first wave on Guadalcanal and various things that happened during the six months there, as well as contracting a severe strain of malaria, getting shipped back to the States and stationed near his home in Fort Worth, then returning to training in Virginia to prepare for an invasion of Japan.

Interview with Joseph Brown, who was in the Marine Corps during World War II. He discusses going to Guadalcanal, various guns and artillery he used, the battle of Tarawa and getting malaria just before it, then going to Hawaii for more training before returning to the South Pacific and fighting on Saipan and Tinian. He also discusses being wounded on Saipan, having a bayonet run through his forearm and keeping the bayonet as a souvenir after the war, and he talks about some of his experiences and travels after the war.

Interview with Hazael R. Olivares, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. Olivares dropped out of high school and decided to join the U. S. Navy after hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He took his 16-week basic training course at Great Lakes in Illinois where he learned how to fire various guns and recognize aircraft. After basic training, he was assigned to Algiers, Louisiana where he learned how to weld. Aboard the USS Bordelon (DD-881), he served as a Ship Fitter in the damage control department. After WWII, he remained in the reserves and was called up for duty in Korea. He served aboard the USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE-86). After Korea, he worked as a civilian for the Army Corps of Engineers as an oiler on a dredge. He then served in the Merchant Marines, hauling refined petroleum products from South America to North America. He also discusses going to French Indochina (Vietnam) and traveling up the Saigon River in a merchant vessel.

Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman regarding her experiences during World War II. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.

Interview with Annie (Amy) May Webb discussing her husband's service and her experiences on the homefront during World War II. She describes delivering word of the birth of their daughter to her husband while he was aboard the USS Bennington serving with VMF-112.

Interview with Arwin Bowden, a marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw, and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment before joining the battle of Saipan. He describes ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made, and the time he had leave.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William C. Beyer. Beyer grew up in Texas and joined the Marines in January 1942. After training, he was assigned to the third division in artillery. He departed on the USS Mount Vernon for New Zealand. He anecdotes about meeting with some Maori people. Then he departed on the Cresent City for Guadalcanal in May 1943. From Guadalcanal he left for Bougainville in November 1943. He describes being caught in a foxhole for two days without communication. He also listened to Tokyo Rose on the radio. The Army relieved the Marines January 15, 1944, and his unit returned to Guadalcanal. On July 21, 1944, they landed on Guam and went into battle. Next Beyer left for Iwo Jima. The Third Marine Division was assigned to the central area of the island. He witnessed the raising of the flag. On the 50th anniversary of the war, Beyer and his wife returned to New Zealand and Guam.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond F. "Hap" Halloran. Halloran grew up in Ohio and admits an early fascination with airplanes that led him into the Army Air Corps after he finished high school in 1940. By the end of 1942, Halloran had been called up for service in the Air Corps and trained asa navigator. He also volunteered for bombadier school. Halloran also speaks of training in B-29 bombers. In December, 1944, Halloran and his crew received orders to go overseas to Saipan. Halloran also speaks of his post-war friendship with Japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai. Halloran also describes being shot down over Japan in early 1945 and bailing out of his crippled B-29. Halloran came down in a parachute, landed in Tokyo and was captured. He suffered a sever ebeating by the civilians before military personnel got to him. Halloran then describes his long captivity as a POW. He also describes witnessing the fire bombing of Tokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945. Halloran also recalls being stripped naked and put in an animal cage. Then, Japanese citizens were allowed to view him in his cage for a day or …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Peltier. He begins by discussing his reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor and then joining the Marines when he was old enough. He trained in San Diego before shipping out to Hawaii where he joined the 2nd Marine Division. Further training included heavy weapons - mortars. Later, he landed on Saipan and describes his small arms and rations. He witnessed General Simon Buckner getting killed on Okinawa. He was later wounded on Okinawa. After the war ended, Peltier served in the Petagon during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Annie May Webb. She discusses her husband's service and her experiences on the homefront. She describes delivering word of the birth of their daughter to her husband while he was aboard the USS Bennington serving with VMF-112

Transcript of an oral interview with Bill Graham. He begins by discussing joining the Navy and becoming a corpsman, then being transferred to the 2nd Marine Division after the Pearl Harbor attack. He discusses being in the first wave on Guadalcanal and various things that happened during the six months there, contracting a severe strain of malaria, getting shipped back to the States and stationed near his home in Fort Worth, then to training in Virginia preparing for an invasion of Japan.

Transcript of an oral interview with Joesph B. Brown. He discusses going to Guadalcanal, various guns and artillery he used, the battle of Tarawa and getting malaria just before it, then going to Hawaii for more training before returning to the South Pacific and fighting on Saipan and Tinian. He also discusses being wounded on Saipan, getting a bayonet run through his forearm and keeping the bayonet as a souvenior after the war and talks about some of his experiences and travels after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Steele, Sr. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 6, 1924. He enlisted into the Marines in February, 1943 and was assigned to 2nd Marine Division, M Company, 3rd Battalion 8th Marines, as a machine gunner. He describes his experiences while landing at Tarawa in LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) also known as Higgins Boats. During the landing he recalls being wounded by shrapnel. After Tarawa, he recounts returning to Hawaii where he received training for the invasion of Saipan. He recalls the landing at Saipan and being once more wounded by shrapnel from an artillery round. After being treated for his wounds, he recalls returning to the island and providing machine gun cover. After ten days on Saipan he describes his third landing on Tinian and his unit taking a Japanese Air Force airfield. Steele recalls that he returned to the States on December 7, 1944, with other veterans who had received multiple wounds.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James A. Laux. Born in 1925, he was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He was accepted into the submarine service. He describes his training at sub school. He reached New Guinea in 1944 and was assigned to his first submarine, the USS Pintado (SS-387), in 1945. He served as a 3rd Class Motor Machinist Mate. He describes sinking two floating mines while off the coast of Java as well as a near-miss with depth charges dropped by Japanese planes. They also rescued downed American pilots while on patrol off the coast of Japan. He describes the living conditions on the submarine. He shares an anecdote about celebrating the end of the war on the way back to the U.S. with a concoction of alcohol called depth charge rum. He was discharged in May 1946. He shares an anecdote about hitchhiking home to Ohio from California. The conning tower of the Pintado is on display at the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Moore. Moore joined the Army Air Corps in June 1937 and received flight training at Randolph and Kelly fields. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 77th Pursuit Squadron and arrived at Nichols Field in October 1940 as squadron commander. His squadron relocated to Clark Field, and on 8 December 1941 Moore was among the first pilots to fight Zeros, quickly learning that the P-40’s only advantage was speed. His squadron relocated to Bataan and lost all its planes in battle. His mechanics refurbished an abandoned J2F-2 so that Moore could fly to Cebu and Mindanao for desperately needed supplies. He was away when Bataan fell. Moore was transferred as an instructor to a combat training school in Brisbane and then to a day-fighter school at Drew Field with the 90th Fighter Squadron. He was then sent to the Philadelphia Fighter Wing. With the 84th Fighter Wing he arrived at Normandy and ran a mobile combat operations and intelligence center, moving across France, through Belgium, and into Germany. In December 1944 he was transferred to the 98th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) at MacDill and then reassigned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Iris Zwanenberg. Zwanenberg was born to German parents in the Netherlands East-Indies. She was a young girl when the Japanese invaded. Her family was separated and sent to live in camps while their home was occupied by Japanese troops. While they once lived comfortably, they were suddenly faced with extreme food scarcity, living on rice alone. After the war, she immigrated to Europe, where living conditions were better but still harsh. Ultimately, she settled in Quebec and lived a full life, but the experience scarred her family permanently.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Victor Delano. Delano was appointed to the Naval Academy in June of 1937 and graduated with distinction in February of 1941 and was commissioned ensign. He was assigned to the gunnery department of the Fire Control Division aboard the USS West Virginia (BB-48), where he was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship was moored in the Harbor, and Delano provides vivid details of the attack and sinking of the West Virginia. Next, he served aboard the USS San Juan (CL-54) from 1942 to 1943. They participated in the Battle of Savo Island, the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, around Guadalcanal and provided gunfire support for the landings at Tulagi. From 1944 to 1945 he was assigned to the USS Wedderburn (DD-684). They participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Philippines, at Iwo Jima and at Okinawa. He came back to the States in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue by Jim Woods. Woods joined the Marine Corps in January of 1943. He served with the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, participating in the Bougainville Campaign in November of 1943, the Battle of Guam in 1944, landing on Emirau Island, the Okinawa Campaign in April of 1945 and landing on Japan on 30 August 1945. After Bougainville, the Raiders were disbanded and Woods joined the 4th Marine Regiment for the remainder of his service. He provides vivid details of his combat missions with fellow servicemen, anecdotal stories from his squad and witnessed heavy casualties at Okinawa. Woods was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert E. Galer. Galer was born in Seattle 23 October 1913. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Washington, having earned a commission through ROTC. During flight training at Pensacola, he accepted a regular commission in the Marine Corps. His classmate at Washington was Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, who also trained with him at Quantico. During the ensuing years, Galer became carrier qualified and flew sea planes in the Virgin Islands, had a tour of duty with a fighter squadron in San Diego, and had fighter training in Honolulu. He watched the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor from a friend’s house. Galer went to Guadalcanal in late August 1942, where he flew interdiction missions in the Grumman F4F Wildcat. In fighting for Henderson Field, Galer was shot down three times, was credited with shooting down 11 ½ Japanese planes, and received the Medal of Honor. After receiving the award, he went on speaking tours to sell war bonds. Afterwards, he attended the Army Command and Staff School at Fort Leavenworth. In early 1945, he was assigned as the co-leader of a 25-man team responsible for evaluating a new radar …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue by L E Robinson. Robinson joined the Marine Corps in May 1939 and received basic training in San Diego. After sea school training, he was assigned to Admiral Kimmel’s flag allowance and boarded the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). Robinson was at Pearl Harbor as the admiral’s senior orderly during the attack of December 7. After surviving strafing from enemy planes, he headed toward the submarine base dock to help carry the wounded. When he found himself holding a severed leg, he experienced a profound emotional detachment that forever changed him. That day, Robinson began serving as the admiral’s bodyguard. Some hours later, a communications officer entered the admiral’s office and froze, dropping a delayed message to the floor. As Robinson bent to pick it up, his eyes passed over a phrase advising Kimmel to take action for proper precautions. From that point on, Robinson was consumed with paranoia, and he overzealously guarded the admiral. When Nimitz arrived and assumed command, he brought with him an air of businesslike normalcy, and Robinson became his orderly. He notes that both admirals were always courteous and concise under pressure.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George McColm. McColm was born on a farm in Kansas in 1911. In 1928, he was selected to go to Washington, DC where he met President Herbert Hoover and his wife. Graduating from Kansas State College in Manhattan in 1935 he began studying terrain, weather and demand in crop growing. He tells of recognition and honors he received in the agricultural field. Soon after the war with Japan began, he was offered a commission in the US Navy to participate in a special classified project. At the time, he was in charge of crops at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. McColm shares many of his experiences with the Japanese internees and expresses his opinion of the people he worked with. Upon being inducted, he went to Tucson, Arizona for boot training and then to Princeton University Naval School of Military Government. Upon completion of the training he was sent to the Civil Affairs staging area at the Presidio of Monterey, California. Upon his arrival he was assigned to a Top Secret staff working on the plans for the invasion and occupation of Japan. He concludes the …