The National Museum of The Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Groves. Groves was born in a small hamlet in Arkansas in 1920. He quit school in seventh grade to help his father make a living for a family of ten. Drafted in 1941, he underwent basic training at Miami Beach. He was sent to Fresno, California where he was assigned to the Signal Corps and attended telephone linesman school. Completing school, he was sent to New Guinea where he was assigned to the communication section in the 54th Troop Carrier Wing. He tells of being assigned to various bases including the Port Moresby Airfield Complex, Clark Field in the Philippines, and Tachikawa, Japan. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gus Cargile. Cargile entered the Navy as an aviation cadet in May 1942. After graduation in August 1943 he took a Marine commission. Cargile trained in Georgia, Kansas, Texas and Florida before he became an instructor. He taught bombing, shooting and night flying in Florida and Texas. He flew the SNV in basic and a North American SNJ in advanced, and went on to fly the F4U Corsair, F6F, F7F, SBD. He made landings on the USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60). He was discharged as captain in September 1946 and went into the Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wilbur Vantine. In June, 1943, Vantine joined the Merchant Marine. He delivered aviation fuel to Milne Bay in New Guinea on his first voyage and bombs to New Caledonia before returning to the Merchant Marine Academy in New York and earning a commission in the Navy Reserve in April, 1945. Once he graduated, Vantine was assigned to a liberty ship and went to Liverpool. He was in New York on VJ Day. In 1957, he became a Panama Canal pilot and retired in 1997.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Earle Opheim. Opheim volunteered to join the Navy in May 1943 and trained in Idaho. He then trained as a hospital corpsman and worked in a recovery ward at Oak Knoll Hospital then a first aid station at Alameda, California. He was then transferred to the 113th Fleet hospital in San Francisco where he helped tend to returning wounded prior to shipping them elsewhere. Sometimes, he was called upon to do some transport work. He was discharged in May, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenneth Matthews. Matthews joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and trained at Parris Island. Then he went to Quantico and earned a commission. He was assigned to the regimental intelligence section of the 1st Marines, 1st marine Division and went to Okinawa. After the war, Matthews went to China briefly before returning to the US and being discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Virgil Haley. Haley joined the Navy in June 1944 and trained at San Diego. After training as a quartermaster and signalman, Haley joined the USS Williams (DE-372). His job aboard ship was to steer and work in the chart room. The Williams provided escort duty in the New Guinea and the Solomon Islands area. He also describes being caught in a typhoon. Haley returned to the US and was discharged in June, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Anthony Arrington. Arrington joined the Navy in June 1942 and received basic training in Norfolk. He was assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35), serving as a waiter during trips to Casablanca and the British Isles. While he was onshore being treated for a shoulder injury, the Texas moved on to another port. Arrington was subsequently given landing craft training and reassigned to the USS Sims (APD-50). He was present for the entire Battle of Okinawa, operating a landing craft as a taxi for military personnel. A few weeks after the bombing of Hiroshima, he transported a group of scientists to the blast site, which was completely flattened, save for two partially damaged concrete structures. Arrington returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Eddleman. Eddleman joined the Navy in January of 1942. He completed Bugle Master School. He served aboard the USS Texas (BB-35), and participated in the invasions of North Africa, Normandy, Cherbourg, Italy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Eddleman witnessed numerous battles atop the navigation bridge. He returned to the US in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gordon W Jones. Jones joined the Navy in late 1943. Through 1944, he worked at the Norfolk Naval Base as an assistant to the Provost Marshal, and served on base security patrol. Beginning in October, Jones served aboard the USS Texas (BB-35) as Seaman First Class. He worked as a deckhand and with the fire crew. Jones participated in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He continued his service after the war ended, serving in the Naval Reserve.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Orlan Scott. Scott joined the Navy in 1944. He completed amphibious force training. Scott served aboard USS Texas (BB-35) beginning in March of 1945, participating in the Battle of Okinawa. He returned to the US and received a discharge in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene Hillyer. Hillyer joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and received basic training at Parris Island and further training at Camp Lejeune. Upon completion, he was sent to Kwajalein and Roi-Namur. During a rest period at Hickam Field, he was brought aboard the USS Texas (BB-35) along with a detachment of Marines. He manned an M1 rifle from the crow’s nest at Okinawa, shooting down kamikazes and detonating floating bombs disguised as ammunition cans. He watched as the flag was raised on Mount Suribachi, and recalls the beauty of all the ships lit against the night sky when the war ended and blackouts were lifted. Hillyer returned home and was discharged in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Money Mills. Mills was drafted into the Navy in August 1943 and received basic training at Bainbridge. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35), where he served as a shell handler beneath turret four. At Normandy, he reported a sniper to the captain, who called in a P-38 to eradicate him. Mills looked on as rangers struggled up the cliffs, many of them brought back to the Texas for medical care. At Cherbourg, the helmsman was killed and others were wounded, but Mills was too busy to be afraid. At the invasion of Southern France there was little resistance, but en route he encountered children living in extreme poverty. At the start of 1945, Mills became an engine-oiler and headed to Leyte, where natives lived amidst rubble. At Iwo Jima, he saw Marines wielding flamethrowers against the enemy. Plagued by kamikazes at Okinawa, he managed to shoot one down. Heartily celebrating V-J Day aboard ship, he returned home and was discharged in November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman Stoner. Stoner joined the Navy in July 1945 and received basic training in San Diego. After the war, Stoner was assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35) as a carpenter as part of Operation Magic Carpet. There were only three carpenters aboard ship, and Stoner was on call for damage control 24 hours a day. He did odd jobs such as plugging a hole in the admiral’s barge, replacing boards on deck, building crates for officers’ belongings, and attaching ammunition to barges so that it wouldn’t be lost in a storm. He made six round trips to Hawaii, transporting troops back to the States. Stoner helped prepare the ship for decommissioning before he was discharged in August 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alvin W Hall. Hall graduated from the Naval Academy in June of 1942. He was commissioned as ensign and assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35). Hall participated in convoy duty and the North African invasion. He then served aboard the USS Quincy (CA-71) as senior officer of turret 2, participating in the battles of Normandy and Cherbourg, and the invasion of Southern France. Hall then returned to the US to complete flight training and photographic school. He was later stationed as a B-24 pilot on Guam and Hawaii. Hall continued his service after the war ended, retiring from the Navy as a commander in 1962.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis Morgan. Morgan joined the Navy toward the end of 1942 and received basic training in Maryland. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35), where he served as a rangefinder operator. At Normandy he went ashore with Army Rangers, and at Cherbourg he was standing one deck above where the Texas was hit. At Iwo Jima, he saw the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi, and at Okinawa he manned his battle station for 52 days straight. After the war, he made two round trips to Hawaii as part of Operation Magic Carpet before being discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Connelly. Connelly joined the Navy in early 1942. He served as a Radioman aboard the USS DuPage (APA-41). From January of 1944 through early 1945, they landed troops for the assaults on Kwajalein, Guam, Peleliu and the Philippines. Connelly was wounded and returned to the US, receiving a discharge in May of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Glosser. Glosser was born 8 January 1924, and joined the Army in 1942. He served as a switchboard operator in the Signal Corps. He shares details of his basic training at Camp McCain, Mississippi. Glosser was assigned to the 2nd Army. He became very ill with pneumonia, and mastitis, and was transferred to several hospitals. He underwent an 8-hour mastectomy surgery at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1944, Glosser completed Diesel-Engine School at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. He served as Technician Fourth Grade, Company A, First Regiment, 3860th Unit ASFTC (Army Service Forces Training Center), assisting the school with military personnel record keeping. Shortly before the war ended, Glosser received an honorable medical discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Tomlin. Tomlin joined the Navy in September 1944 and received basic training in Illinois. He received aviation ordnance training in Oklahoma. While there, he contracted scarlet fever and was quarantined for six weeks. After the war, he was assigned to the USS Core (CVE-13), entrusted with keeping the ship’s log. Tomlin returned home and was discharged in July 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Anna Gatti, nee Cocchi. Gatti graduated from Boston University as a French major in 1942. While volunteering at a settlement house, she met her future husband, Corry, who was a student at Harvard. In 1942, Corry was drafted into the Army. In 1943, Gatti joined the Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). She completed Meteorology School in New Jersey and served as Aerographer, Third Class on a base in California. By late 1943, she completed Midshipman’s School in Massachusetts, then went on to Officer Candidate School. Gatti was then assigned to the Office of Censorship in Miami, censoring national and international cables and radio messages, through mid-1945. From September, 1945 to January, 1946, she was assigned to the Gulf Sea Frontier as an Operations Officer, plotting ship and plane movements in the Gulf. Gatti finished her war service in March of 1946, as a Lieutenant j.g.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Major Franklin Stewart. Stewart joined the Army Air Corps in August of 1941. He served as a pilot in the 408th Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group. In 1943, they attacked Japanese targets on Papua New Guinea and New Britain. In 1944, he was stationed at Nadzab Airfield, attacking targets on Borneo and participating in the Philippines Campaign. Stewart continued his service after the war, retiring from the Air Force in 1983.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Troy Edward Shakles. Shakles joined the Navy in early 1943. He completed communications school, serving as a quartermaster and signalman. He speaks about the Golden Thirteen, who were the thirteen African American enlisted men who became the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the United States Navy. On Treasure Island in California, Shakles worked in a signaling tower. He notes that segregation was still in effect at this time. He served aboard a minesweeper, and in 1945 the USS Ebert (DE-768), traveling to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Guam. Shakles returned to the US and received his discharge around October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Wander. Wander joined the Army and received basic training at Camp Wheeler. He went on to Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in 1942. He then worked as a platoon leader all over the United States. He went as a replacement to the Americal Division, working beside Filipinos to capture Japanese holdouts. After the war ended, he was reassigned to the Eighth Army in Yokohama as head of military police. Wander returned home and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Bailey. Bailey was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 16 February 1922 and graduated from high school in Waco, Texas in 1940. After attending Texas A&M for one year, he enlisted in the Army. He went to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas for basic training. While there, he was recruited by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to participate in an internal security program. Following basic entered the Corps of Engineers Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. On 2 February 1943 he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 386th Engineer Battalion, an African American unit stationed at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. In 1943, the battalion boarded the SS Louis Pasteur and sailed to Casablanca where they cleaned up the dock area to facilitate unloading cargo. He tells of the unit traveling by rail to Iran. Soon after arriving in Iran the battalion sailed to Naples, Italy. His platoon was sent to Anzio and assigned the task of removing land mines. Three of his men were lost while doing this job. He was assigned to oversee the construction of the largest Butler Building ever …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Winn Pinkston. Pinkston was born in Chireno, Texas in 1921. After graduating from high school he attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas for two years. He entered the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1941 and following this training he entered secondary Civilian Pilot Training in which aerobatics were taught. Upon graduating for this course, he accepted a job as an instructor with Coleman Flying School in Coleman, Texas. The school, having a contract with the US government, taught basic flying skills to new cadets. After eighteen months of the job, Pinkston joined the Army Air Forces. After receiving additional training, he was commissioned as a flight officer and sent to Love Field in Dallas, Texas to join the Fifth Ferrying Command. After being involved in various flying activities for eighteen months he was sent to Reno Army Air Field in Nevada for instrument flight training. While in training, Japan surrendered and Pinkston was discharged soon thereafter.