The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J. M. Taylor. Taylor joined the Army Air Forces in September, 1942 as an aviation cadet. After flight training, he graduated and received his commission in December, 1943. He flew P-40s. He went overseas aboard the USS General H.W. Butner (APA-113) to India. After a while, Taylor flew a P-40 over the Himalaya Mountains to China where he was assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron in September, 1944. Later that fall, Taylor was shot down over a Japanese airfield he was attacking and was captured. After several months, he was transferred to a POW facility near Kiangwan, outside of Shanghai. In May, he was transported to the Japanese home islands. Taylor was around Sapporo when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Kenney. When Kenney finished high school in 1941 in Houston, Texas, he went to work for a railroad company before volunteering for service in the Navy. He trained in San Diego before going to signal school. After signal school, Kenney was assigned to the Armed Guard. He was assigned to an oil tanker that the Merchant Marines operated. He spent 18 months aboard the vessel hauling oil from points in teh Carribean to points in the Pacific for the fleet oilers stationed there. Kenney also recalls serving aboard a victory ship, the SS Paducah Victory (1945), and hauling ammunition aboard it to Okinawa. Kenney describes the methods and procedures of signalling between ships in a convoy. Kenney also describes life aboard a tanker as a signalman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Pierre Kennedy. Kennedy was born in France 20 February 1923. He graduated from high school in Massachusetts in 1940. He was called into active service in January 1943 at Brigantine Field, New Jersey. Upon completing basic training he went to the University of Pittsburg as an aviation cadet. After washing out, he went to Tyndall Field, Florida to attend gunnery school. He then was assigned as the tail gunner on a B-24. In August 1944 the crew flew a new B-24 to Foggia, Italy. Upon arrival the crew was assigned to the 781st Bomb Squadron, 465th Bomb Group (H). On 13 October 1944, after flying eighteen combat missions, Kennedy replaced the tail gunner on another B-24. During a bomb run over an oil refinery, Kennedy’s plane was damaged by flak and he bailed out. He was captured by German soldiers and was taken to Dulag Luft, near Frankfort, for interrogation. He was then taken by train to Stalag Luft IV where he stayed until 6 February 1945. Before the advancing Russian Army, the prisoners began a forced march that lasted eighty-six days and covered 500 miles. Kennedy describes …

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 oral interview with Joseph Doyon. Doyon worked as a machinist at Bath Iron Works until he joined the Navy in March 1943. He was sent to diesel school and then small boat training to become an engineman on a LCVP. Doyon was assigned to USS LST-506, which traveled to England. He tells of the preparations for D-Day taking part in the landing on 6 June at Normandy. Doyon describes picking up wounded on the beach and several Asian POWs in German uniforms. He discusses the difficulties that the LSTs had getting ashore and one incident where he had to use signal flags to direct one of them away from a mine field. Doyon was then a part of a Navy detachment that was sent inland with their LCVPs to take part in the crossing of the Rhine River. He describes some of the events that he witnessed including a barge carrying German prisoners capsizing. Doyon was sent to the Pacific soon after and was on Kwajalein when the war ended. He left the service six months later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roger G. Anderson. When Anderson finished high school in 1943, he entered the Army Air Forces and trained initially at Miami Beach, Florida, then at Laredo, Texas, for gunnery school. Anderson describes the training involved at gunnery school and shares a few anecdotes. In July, 1944, Anderson and crew headed overseas. they were assigned to the 19th Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group, 5th Air Force. His squadron was nicknamed the Silver Fleet. To begin with, he was stationed in New Guinea and flew aome missions there. Eventually, his unit was assigned to Tacloban, bu teh area was too muddy for an airbase, so his unt was statioend at Angaur. From there, his unit evenually moved up to Clark Field on Luzon. In August, 1945, Anderson went home on leave after completing 48 missions. He anticipated being trained in B-29s, but the war ended while he was home on furlough and he got discharged in October, 1945. He used the G.I. Bill to go to college and eventually had a career as a teacher in Illinois.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John E. ""Jack"" Freemann. When Freemann finished high school in Pennsylvania in 1940, he enrolled in the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. From there, Freeman enrolled in Bucknell University. He was there when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the Navy in June, 1942 for pilot training. Freemann completed flight training and was commissioned in October, 1943. Then, he went to dive-bomber school in Jacksonville, Florida before reporting to Air Group 6 in Califonria. From there, he was shipped to Hawaii. At Ulithi, Freemann joined the USS Hancock (CV-19) i ntime to participate in the invasion of Okinawa. While attacking targets on the Japanese home islands, Freemann got shot down and ditched into the ocean next to a destroyer. When the war ended, Freemann and his group flew missions to get supplies to prisoner of war camps in Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sheldon Gerson. Gerson was drafted into the Army in August 1944. He completed basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas. He took infantry training, preparing him for combat. He was an expert rifleman and was the acting Sergeant of the First Platoon. He was taken out of his company and transferred into the Army Specialized Training Program at Penn State University. There he studied electrical engineering. He was then transferred to work on the atomic bomb. He was placed in the 9812th Technical Service Unit. He explains his experiences with a top-secret mission to Oak Ridge, Tennessee in April 1945. He was working as a chemical engineer to help develop and produce an atomic bomb under the auspices of the Manhattan Engineer District. He details what he did in the laboratory. From there he went to another ultra-secretive facility in Los Alamos, New Mexico where the atomic bomb was being developed by Robert Oppenheimer. Gerson was discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. George Burnet. Burnet joined the Army on May 16, 1944. He studied chemical warfare, and was trained on the 4.2 inch mortar battalion. He served as a forward observer with the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Around mid-1944, they were deployed to the Philippines and participated in the Battle of Leyte. He recovered from malaria around June and July of 1945. Beginning in September, they served in the occupation of Japan, providing military support to the U.S. government and completing 8 months of demilitarization duties. In mid to late 1946, they occupied a Japanese military base in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. He continued his service, and received his discharge in December of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J. M. Taylor. Taylor joined the Army Air Forces in September, 1942 as an aviation cadet. After flight training, he graduated and received his commission in December, 1943. He flew P-40s. He went overseas aboard the USS General H.W. Butner (APA-113) to India. After a while, Taylor flew a P-40 over the Himalaya Mountains to China where he was assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron in September, 1944. Later that fall, Taylor was shot down over a Japanese airfield he was attacking and was captured. After several months, he was transferred to a POW facility near Kiangwan, outside of Shanghai. In May, he was transported to the Japanese home islands. Taylor was around Sapporo when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Kenney. When Kenney finished high school in 1941 in Houston, Texas, he went to work for a railroad company before volunteering for service in the Navy. He trained in San Diego before going to signal school. After signal school, Kenney was assigned to the Armed Guard. He was assigned to an oil tanker that the Merchant Marines operated. He spent 18 months aboard the vessel hauling oil from points in teh Carribean to points in the Pacific for the fleet oilers stationed there. Kenney also recalls serving aboard a victory ship, the SS Paducah Victory (1945), and hauling ammunition aboard it to Okinawa. Kenney describes the methods and procedures of signalling between ships in a convoy. Kenney also describes life aboard a tanker as a signalman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Pierre Kennedy. Kennedy was born in France 20 February 1923. He graduated from high school in Massachusetts in 1940. He was called into active service in January 1943 at Brigantine Field, New Jersey. Upon completing basic training he went to the University of Pittsburg as an aviation cadet. After washing out, he went to Tyndall Field, Florida to attend gunnery school. He then was assigned as the tail gunner on a B-24. In August 1944 the crew flew a new B-24 to Foggia, Italy. Upon arrival the crew was assigned to the 781st Bomb Squadron, 465th Bomb Group (H). On 13 October 1944, after flying eighteen combat missions, Kennedy replaced the tail gunner on another B-24. During a bomb run over an oil refinery, Kennedy’s plane was damaged by flak and he bailed out. He was captured by German soldiers and was taken to Dulag Luft, near Frankfort, for interrogation. He was then taken by train to Stalag Luft IV where he stayed until 6 February 1945. Before the advancing Russian Army, the prisoners began a forced march that lasted eighty-six days and covered 500 miles. Kennedy describes …

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 oral interview with Joseph Doyon. Doyon worked as a machinist at Bath Iron Works until he joined the Navy in March 1943. He was sent to diesel school and then small boat training to become an engineman on a LCVP. Doyon was assigned to USS LST-506, which traveled to England. He tells of the preparations for D-Day taking part in the landing on 6 June at Normandy. Doyon describes picking up wounded on the beach and several Asian POWs in German uniforms. He discusses the difficulties that the LSTs had getting ashore and one incident where he had to use signal flags to direct one of them away from a mine field. Doyon was then a part of a Navy detachment that was sent inland with their LCVPs to take part in the crossing of the Rhine River. He describes some of the events that he witnessed including a barge carrying German prisoners capsizing. Doyon was sent to the Pacific soon after and was on Kwajalein when the war ended. He left the service six months later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roger G. Anderson. When Anderson finished high school in 1943, he entered the Army Air Forces and trained initially at Miami Beach, Florida, then at Laredo, Texas, for gunnery school. Anderson describes the training involved at gunnery school and shares a few anecdotes. In July, 1944, Anderson and crew headed overseas. they were assigned to the 19th Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group, 5th Air Force. His squadron was nicknamed the Silver Fleet. To begin with, he was stationed in New Guinea and flew aome missions there. Eventually, his unit was assigned to Tacloban, bu teh area was too muddy for an airbase, so his unt was statioend at Angaur. From there, his unit evenually moved up to Clark Field on Luzon. In August, 1945, Anderson went home on leave after completing 48 missions. He anticipated being trained in B-29s, but the war ended while he was home on furlough and he got discharged in October, 1945. He used the G.I. Bill to go to college and eventually had a career as a teacher in Illinois.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John E. ""Jack"" Freemann. When Freemann finished high school in Pennsylvania in 1940, he enrolled in the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. From there, Freeman enrolled in Bucknell University. He was there when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the Navy in June, 1942 for pilot training. Freemann completed flight training and was commissioned in October, 1943. Then, he went to dive-bomber school in Jacksonville, Florida before reporting to Air Group 6 in Califonria. From there, he was shipped to Hawaii. At Ulithi, Freemann joined the USS Hancock (CV-19) i ntime to participate in the invasion of Okinawa. While attacking targets on the Japanese home islands, Freemann got shot down and ditched into the ocean next to a destroyer. When the war ended, Freemann and his group flew missions to get supplies to prisoner of war camps in Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sheldon Gerson. Gerson was drafted into the Army in August 1944. He completed basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas. He took infantry training, preparing him for combat. He was an expert rifleman and was the acting Sergeant of the First Platoon. He was taken out of his company and transferred into the Army Specialized Training Program at Penn State University. There he studied electrical engineering. He was then transferred to work on the atomic bomb. He was placed in the 9812th Technical Service Unit. He explains his experiences with a top-secret mission to Oak Ridge, Tennessee in April 1945. He was working as a chemical engineer to help develop and produce an atomic bomb under the auspices of the Manhattan Engineer District. He details what he did in the laboratory. From there he went to another ultra-secretive facility in Los Alamos, New Mexico where the atomic bomb was being developed by Robert Oppenheimer. Gerson was discharged in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. George Burnet. Burnet joined the Army on May 16, 1944. He studied chemical warfare, and was trained on the 4.2 inch mortar battalion. He served as a forward observer with the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Around mid-1944, they were deployed to the Philippines and participated in the Battle of Leyte. He recovered from malaria around June and July of 1945. Beginning in September, they served in the occupation of Japan, providing military support to the U.S. government and completing 8 months of demilitarization duties. In mid to late 1946, they occupied a Japanese military base in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. He continued his service, and received his discharge in December of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Sharp where he discusses his childhood and education. He describes the process of enlisting in the Navy, the training he had to go through to become a pilot and his experiences in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Burnet. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the chemical warfare service of the US Army. He describes all the different training camps he was sent to around the US and eventually being deployed in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Burnet. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the chemical warfare service of the US Army. He describes all the different training camps he was sent to around the US and eventually being deployed in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.