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 interview with John Solis. Solis served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1939-1941, helping build fences and trails. He joined the Navy in September of 1942. He completed gunnery school, and aircraft recognition training. He was assigned at Barber???s Point in Oahu. He flew aboard the Grumman TBF torpedo bomber and trained as an air crewman. In November of 1944 he was assigned to Composite Squadron 83 (VC-83). They served aboard the USS Sargent Bay (CVE-83. In February of 1945 they began flying combat missions off the carrier over Iwo Jima. From there they participated in the Battle of Okinawa. They arrived back to the U.S. in July of 1945. He was assigned to the Naval Air Technical Training Center for Advanced Combat Air Crewman School, then to the Naval Air Gunnery School for Advanced Gunnery. He was then assigned to Fleet Air Wing 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Solis was discharged in September of 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leo Itz. Itz was given a one-year exemption in order to help his father on the farm before he was drafted into the Army in March 1945. He was trained in demolitions at Fort Lewis and sent to Luzon to join the 395th Infantry Regiment. Before shipping out to the Philippines, he was assigned to work at Del Monte Foods in California, due to the labor shortage. During his voyage overseas, the war ended. Itz was tasked with guarding an ammunition dump outside of Clark Field. Armed only with an unloaded rifle, he came under fire when Japanese holdouts were raiding the dump. He returned safely to his bunk, only to discover a putrid smell. In the ground beneath him was a shallow grave. In August 1945, Itz was granted a dependency discharge upon learning that his father had suffered a heart attack. He returned to the States in December.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Franklin Dentz. Dentz joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1944. He completed training for radioman in an infantry company. He additionally learned Morse Code and the 32 bugle calls. In 1944 he traveled to England and was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division in the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. Dentz provided radio communication for platoon radiomen. He provides some details of his training in England. He flew in a Horsa glider. Dentz comments on the German V2 rockets dropping in England. In 1945 his division participated in Operation VARSITY flying into Germany along the Rhine River, capturing Rhine bridges and securing towns. Dentz provides many details of their experiences through this operation, and life in general in England and Germany. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Lott. Initially exempted from the draft as a farmer, Lott was eventually drafted into the Army in October 1944. After basic training at Camp Fannin, he was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division in Manila. During the invasion at Lingayen Gulf, his unit suffered battle casualties and was plagued by dysentery. Armed with a rifle, Lott waited in foxholes for enemy advancement, at times manning a Thompson submachine gun and targeting snipers. Occasionally working alongside Filipino soldiers, Lott found them to be good fighters. While fighting in the mountains, Lott’s rations were airdropped and intercepted by the enemy. He soon contracted malaria and dengue fever, spending the remainder of the war in a hospital. He then served as a platoon sergeant in the Korean occupation, where his clothing and housing was inadequate for the cold weather. Lot was discharged into the reserves and retired as a warrant officer after 27 years of service.

Transcript of an oral interview with Maurice Stamps. Stamps is anecdotal as he discusses growing up on a farm in Iowa; joining the US Army; going to Hawaii and staying at Schofield Barracks; his assignment to the Classification/Assignment section Fort Shafter without ever having basic training; his assignment later to the Message Center at Ft. Shafter; his correspondence with Enid, whom he married upon discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Eugene Spencer. Spencer joined the Navy in March of 1934. He completed metalsmith school. He was assigned to the Engineer Department in the Fire Room aboard the USS Porter (DD-356). He later moved into the engine room, where he served as water tender. Around 1936 they traveled to South Hampton, England, Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki, Finland, Amsterdam and Madeira. They experienced a hurricane in the Atlantic. In mid-1940 Spencer was transferred to the USS Shaw (DD-373), where he served as First-Class Metalsmith. He was aboard the Shaw while in dry dock at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Spencer provides vivid details of his experiences through the attack. From Pearl they joined MacArthur???s forces and traveled to Sydney, Australia to work on ships. Spencer was promoted to Warrant Officer. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Evelyn Spencer. Spencer graduated from high school in 1931. She describes life growing up during the Great Depression. Her husband Gene was in the Navy and stationed in Hawaii, where she joined him in September of 1940. She describes life on the island up until, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. She worked full-time at Pearl Harbor after the attack as a storekeeper, issuing stores to the ships. On her days off she would visit wounded soldiers in the hospital, bringing them flowers, cards and magazines. They left Hawaii in 1947, as her husband was stationed in Key West, Florida.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Marine Corps in 1940. Upon completion of basic training he deployed to Guantanamo for further training. Assigned to artillery, he forwarded targets to the control center. He returned to the States to be treated for appendicitis and was then assigned to the special weapons battery of the 1st Marine Division, 11th Marine Regiment. Wilcox then landed in the third wave at Guadalcanal, where his ship, the USS Hunter Liggett (APA-14), was sunk while being offloaded. After four months of battle, Wilcox sailed to Australia, contracted malaria, and returned to the States. There he joined the Fourth Division at Camp Pendleton, broke his thighbone and clavicle in a truck accident and was hospitalized for six months. His leg never fully healed, so when the war ended he was discharged with partial disability compensation.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymundo Martinez. Martinez was drafted in the Army in November of 1941. He served as a Technical Sergeant in the 807th Engineer Battalion for four years. From 1942 to 1944 Martinez was assigned to the Aleutian Islands. During this time, he recalls much combat, casualties, preparing graves for fallen soldiers and a Japanese plane being gunned down during a dog fight. He was then assigned to Hawaii and provides some details of life on the island. From May to September of 1945 his unit served on Okinawa, which he provides vivid details of his experiences. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Wishnack. Wishnack joined the Army in August of 1942. He trained to serve as a radio operator. He joined the 6th Cavalry, a reconnaissance unit, and provides some details of their unique training. Wishnack was assigned to an M-8 armored car where he tapped out Morse Code to communicate with headquarters and also worked with an FM radio for short distances. He provides details of his radio training and the M-8 armored vehicle. He served in Ireland from October 1943 to June of 1944, conducting routine training missions and building a motor pool. They landed on Utah Beach July 9. They participated in five campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge and attacking the Siegfried Line. Wishnack provides some details of the tanks and the battles he fought in. He also shares his encounters with the German civilians. He was discharged around December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Burley. Burley was born in Halletsville, Texas 29 October 1923. Following his graduation from high school in San Antonio, he attended Prairie View A & M College. While in college, he served for three years in the Enlisted Reserve Corps. In May 1943 he was called to active duty and went to Camp Maxey at Paris, Texas. Selected to continue his college education, he was sent to Howard University in Washington DC. After completing one semester he was ordered to report to the 1318th Engineer General Service Regiment as a surveyor. After working on the construction of an air strip in North Carolina, he volunteered to attend Officers Candidates School. After ninety days of training at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He then went to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where he joined the 372nd Infantry Regiment as a rifle platoon leader in Company C. After the unit had set sail for Hawaii a message was received that the 372nd was deactivated. Upon arrival in Hawaii, he was assigned to the Transportation Corps and sent to the Philippines where he reported to a trucking battalion. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roger Went. Went joined the Navy in August of 1942, and began flight training in November. He was placed on active duty in December and began flying an N3N (Yellow Peril). He also practiced night flying. In July of 1943 he began work at the Naval Air Training Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, flying the SNV and AT-6. He received his wings in February of 1943. In April of 1944 he qualified for instrument flying and carrier landings on the Navy training ship, the USS Sable (IX-81). Went was assigned to bombing squadron VB-85, and piloted the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver aboard the USS Shangri-La (CV-38). On 25 April 1945 he had his first combat dive bombing flight over Oki Daitō Island, southeast of Okinawa. While flying over Kikaijima Island on 29 April, his plane was shot down by antiaircraft. He spent 3 hours in a life raft and was rescued by a PBM. He completed a total of 20 combat missions and was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Preston. After discovering that he was not the right size for the Army Air Corps, Preston joined the Marine Corps around the time the war began. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division as a rifleman. His first combat experience occurred on Tarawa, where he was one of the first ashore. After wading through waist-deep water, he crawled along a coconut log wall and had an uncomfortably close encounter with an enemy combatant who tossed grenades before retreating. Afterward, Preston enjoyed a brief R&R in New Zealand, where he tried to stay out of the brawls between New Zealander and American troops. On Saipan and Tinian, Preston saw civilian prisoners used for slave labor and put on the front line as false targets. He once found himself within 10 steps of an enemy tank while his antitank support was unable to fire. Fortunately, the tank was too close to lower its gun on him. Preston also survived a bullet that ricocheted off his canteen. After a brief stint on Saipan pulling guard duty, Preston returned to the States and was discharged a few months later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wayne Knight. Knight joined the Navy in December of 1942. He graduated from flight school in April of 1944 as a second lieutenant Marine Aviator. He flew F4U Corsairs with Marine Fighting Squadron 311 (VMF-311). Knight participated in the Battle of Okinawa. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Louis Jendrusch. Jendrusch joined the Navy in mid-1941 and trained in San Diego as a radioman. He was then assigned to Patrol Bombing Squadron 206 (VPB-206) and travelled with that outfit to Panama to patrol for U-boats around the Panama Canal. Jendrusch recalls several anecdotes, including leave in Jamaica, patrolling in the Pacific and the Caribbean, and aspects about the PBM Mariner aircraft. Jendrusch was transferred out of the squadron and assigned to a radio station in North Carolina. Before long, a squadron was assigned to his base and it turned out to be his old VPB-206, which had a new designation (VPB-216). He also trained on radar and sonar. His group went to the Pacific in time for the invasion of Saipan. He also describes a typhoon. Jendrusch returned to the US in December, 1944 and was discharged the following December.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vernon E. Tucker. Born in 1919, he joined the Coast Guard in July 1942. He served on Galveston Island, Texas where he was a motor machinist. He was transferred to New York where he was assigned to the USS Might, an escort ship operating between New York to Cuba. As a Machinist Mate, he was in charge of the engine room. He describes the living conditions on the ship. He and his wife, Ethel Tucker, discuss life and entertainment in New York City. He shares anecdotes about ?the black gang? and food in the engine room; a general quarters drill; a near-collision with an ammunition building; assisting with an impromptu appendectomy at sea; and experiencing a storm en route from Cuba to New York. After twenty escort trips, he was transferred back to Galveston Island. He relates stories about a German submarine near New Jersey; a Japanese submarine on Bolivar Peninsula, Texas; and four German soldiers coming ashore in Galveston, Texas. He also describes rescuing stranded civilians during a hurricane. He was discharged in 1945. The interview also contains information about his parents and siblings.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Turner. Turner joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed his flight training and received his commission in December of 1943. In March of 1944 he traveled to Pearl Harbor, where he joined the Grim Reapers of Fighting Squadron 10 (VF-10) aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). Turner served as a F6F pilot. They completed escort and strafing missions, and participated in the Marianas Turkey Shoot in June. He later joined Composite Squadron 10 (United States. Navy. Composite Squadron 10 (VC-10)) aboard the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), where they participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Turner was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest J. Zellmer. Zellmer was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1940. When Zellmer received his commission in 1943, he opted for submarines and was sent to submarine school. Upon completion of the school in December 1943, Zellmer was assigned as the communications officer aboard the USS Cavalla (SS-244). Zellmer provides a thorough description of the interior of a Gato-calss submarine. He describes the action of the first war patrol in June 1944 arund the Mariana Islands and a torpedo attack on HIJMS Shōkaku. Zellmer describes several of the other war patrols and, in April 1945, was able to visit the San Miguel Brewery in Manila. Also, on one patrol, Zellmer describes how Cavalla assisted a damaged HMS Terrapin (P323) back to Fremantle, Australia. He married an Australian woman and was reassigned to the USS Cusk (SS-348) later in May. When the war ended, Zellmer resigned his commission and took one in the reserves. He began teaching engineering drawing at Washington University near St. Louis before joining the the CIA as a Soviet submarine analyst in 1950. He made a career of the CIA and retired in the …

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Ira Zautner. Zautner joined the Navy Reserves in late 1939 and went to radio school. He reported aboard USS Wichita (CA-45) in October, 1940. He rode to Iceland a few times on convoy duty before war was declared and recalls operating with the British Home Fleet. He shares stories from the invasions of North Africa, operating around the Solomon Islands and the Aleutian Islands. By this time, Zautner was serving in the aviation section aboard the Wichita, operating the radio on the reconnaissance plane. He shares several anecdotes about his encounters with other people during the war that he met again later in life. In January 1945, Zautner transferred to Kansas to teach at a radio school. He was discharged at the end of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren McLellan. McLellan learned to fly as a civilian before joining the Navy in July 1941. Once in the Navy, he qualified for pilot training and went to Pensacola. After training, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 16 (VT-16) in January 1943. They reported aboard USS Lexington (CV-16) later in June in time for her shakedown cruise. He describes attacking targets at Tarawa. He crash landed in the water at the Palau Islands and was rescued and returned to the Lexington. He also ended up in the water during the Marianas Turkey Shoot. He describes being in the water prior to rescue and has great admiration for Admiral Marc Mitscher. He returned to the US later in 1944 and had shore duty in Rhode Island.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene Conklin. Conklin was born on 4 December 1923 in Chanute, Kansas. After graduating from high school he attended junior college and participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he entered the Naval Aviator Cadet program. After taking primary training at Norman, Oklahoma he was sent to Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Texas for advanced training. Upon graduation he was sent to Daytona Beach where he began flying the SBD dive bomber. After six months of training in the SBD he was assigned to Air Group sixteen aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16). He tells of attacking various islands in the Pacific and his participation the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He admired for Admiral Mitscher for turning on the carrier lights, thus allowing many of the returning pilots, including Conklin, to make a night landing. He began flying an F6F Wildcat on photo missions over assigned targets, before and after bombing raids, to ascertain the damage. After a cessation of hostilities was announced, he and three other pilots were assigned the responsibility of photographing Tokyo to facilitate dropping supplies to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arnold Cole. Cole was born in Beulah, North Dakota 9 October 1924. Joining the Navy in January 1942 he attended boot camp at Farragut, Idaho then was assigned to the Hospital Corps School. Upon completing training, he went to Camp Elliott, California to join the Fleet Marine Force as a combat medic with the 5th Marine Division, 26th Marine Regiment. On 19 February 1945 he was in the third wave of the invasion of Iwo Jima. He mentions the high casualty rate suffered during the invasion and he recalls that the corpsmen removed any type of markings indicating they were medical personnel in an effort to thwart the efforts of Japanese snipers to single them out. Cole was on Iwo Jima for thirty-three days before being severely wounded. After receiving initial treatment at the battalion aid station he was put aboard the USS Queens (APA-103) and taken to Guam. He was taken off the ship on a gurney, identified with a green toe tag (dead) and placed in the morgue. A morgue attendant heard him moaning and contacted medical personnel. He was taken to the hospital and given …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with June Savage. Savage was born June 3rd, 1944, in Wellington, New Zealand. Her mother was a Cook Islander, and her father was a United States Marine Corps officer who was stationed in Wellington during the war. At only two months old, Savage was sent back to the Cook Islands to live with her grandparents, who raised her until she was 16. Growing up without a mother or father caused her to feel lonely and isolated, and she poured herself into all aspects of her schooling, including public speaking. For this, she won a scholarship in New Zealand, where she reunited with her mother. Savage wanted to know who her father was, but she didn’t have the courage to ask her mother directly. When her mother eventually passed away, the only thing Savage knew about her father was that he had died in the Pacific War. Decades later, Savage’s daughter Tonya searched the Internet for information on ranking officers stationed in Wellington during the war. The search turned up a photo of a man bearing a strong resemblance to Savage, and a possible last name for him. At the …