The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Ike McKay. McKay joined the Navy as a part of the V-7 program. He was commissioned as an ensign in July 1943. McKay was sent to minesweeper school and then assigned to the commissioning crew of the YMS-293. He discusses his duties as the executive officer. McKay also describes the operations, types of mines, and capabilities of the ship. He describes sweeping the invasion approaches. McKay discusses an incident where USS Mount Hood exploded, killing 3 men that he had just been with and severely damaging his ship. He describes going through a major typhoon, losing one engine, and all electric power. McKay also describes the role minesweepers played as a utility ship performing duties such as generating smoke and delivering mail. He was transferred back to the US and sent to demobilization school soon after he became a member of the inactive reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hawk Hawkins. Hawkins joined the Marine Corps in spring 1942. He was sent to radio school after boot camp. Hawkins then joined a replacement battalion and was assigned to the 1st Signal Company for a landing on Cape Glouster. Next Hawkins’ unit landed on Peleliu. He describes the battle and tells some stories from his experience. Hawkins was then sent to back to the States where he spent the remainder of the war working at a Marine Corps Supply Depot. He became a civilian employee for the Air Force after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wendell R. Benson. Benson joined the Navy in August of 1943. He was trained as an electrician and then attended submarine school in Groton, Connecticut. Benson then joined the crew of the USS Trutta (SS-421) for three war patrols. He details the advantages of the Tench-class submarines over their predecessors. Benson also tells an amusing story of how the crew celebrated the announcement of the Surrender with a swim call.

Transcript of an oral interview with Joe M. Sassman. Born in 1922, he joined the Navy Air Corps V-5 Aviation Cadet Program in September, 1942. He describes his civilian pilot training at the University of Texas, pre-flight training in Athens, Georgia, primary flight training in Memphis, Tennessee, basic training in Pensacola, Florida as well as gunnery training. He talks about the various airplanes he flew in training. He received his commission in November, 1943. He discusses his fighter training with the F4F Grumman Wildcat in Sanford, Florida. He talks about his field carrier training at NAS Glenview, Illinois. He shares an anecdote about arriving in Pearl Harbor in 1944 aboard an LCI. At NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii, he began flying the F6F Hellcat. He joined the Fighter Squadron 19, Air Group 19 on Maui. He was assigned to the USS Intrepid (CV-11) and later the USS Lexington (CV-16). He recounts strikes against Japanese aircraft carriers in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He describes an incident in which he was nearly shot down while escorting bombers over Manila, Philippines. He relates his experience when the USS Lexington was struck by a kamikaze. He also describes a dogfight on his last mission …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Clapper. Clapper joined the Marine Corps in December of 1942. He joined the 1st Marine Division as a replacement after Guadalcanal. His first combat landing was at Cape Glouster followed by Peleliu where he was wounded on the second day. After he recovered from his injury Clapper rejoined his unit and landed on Okinawa where he was wounded twice more. He was then transferred to Parris Island to become a drill instructor for the remainder of the war. Clapper left the service in October 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Wojahn. Wojahn joined the Marine Corps in July 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion he was assigned to the 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Marine Division. At Pavuvu, he helped to build the camp, exterminating land crabs and rats and making roads out of crushed coral. Being from the Midwest, he had no difficulty driving trucks on the coral roads, which were slippery when wet. At Peleliu he landed in the third wave and was responsible for manually hauling ammunition and other supplies ashore. Under heavy mortar fire, he found himself hiding chest-deep in sand until he found man-made craters in the coral to use as a foxhole. At Okinawa he was regarded as an expert truck driver, able to maneuver over muddy tracks where other vehicles resorted to being pulled by a cable. He recalls having to change seven tires in one day due to driving in mud that was loaded with shrapnel. Wojahn returned home at the end of the war and was discharged in at Camp Pendleton. He enjoyed a career as a game warden and retired after 25 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Bobst. Bobst joined the Navy in March 1943 and received basic training and hospital corpsman training in Illinois. Upon completion, he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Hospital at San Diego and then field medical school at Camp Elliot. He was sent to New Britain, where he treated Marines at a regimental aid station as they returned from a battalion aid station near the front lines. He would then send patients requiring further medical care to a hospital ship. Conditions were miserable and swampy there at Camp Gloucester. Bobst was next sent to Pavuvu for R&R but spent much of his time there building roads and digging trenches in the rain. He recalls being plagued by rats, mosquitoes, land crabs, and falling coconuts. He then went to Peleliu, moving through combat alongside Marines. He arrived at Okinawa on 1 April 1945 and left a few there days before the end of the war. Bobst returned home and was discharged in March 1946, having treated some 30 to 40 wounded soldiers, including Navajo Code Talker Dennis Cattlechaser.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William S. Emerson. Emerson joined the Navy in May 1942. He trained as a Naval Aviation Cadet and learned to fly dive-bombers. Emerson joined VB-19 and was attached to the USS Lexington (CV-16) in 1944. He flew missions over Guam and the Philippines and took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Emerson was shot down during a mission to bomb an airfield on Iwo Jima. He was rescued by a submarine and rejoined his unit on the Lexington. Emerson was wounded when the Lexington was struck by a kamikaze. After he recovered he became a flight instructor for the remainder of the war. Emerson stayed in the Navy through the Korean War and retired after 25 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Alls. Alls joined the Navy in June 1942. He was only 15 years old at the time. Alls went to submarine school and describes having to go through a depth chamber test. He was sent to diesel school and became a crewman on the USS Flier (SS-250) in early 1943. Alls describes an incident where the sub ran aground at Midway. His sub sank two ships in the Marianas and later endured 118 depth charges dropped by two Japanese destroyers after sinking a freighter. Alls was injured while on shore patrol and was recovering while the Flier was lost on another patrol. He was transferred to another sub. Alls left the Navy in 1948 after his six-year enlistment ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernard Garbow. Garbow joined the Navy in September 1941 to become an aviator. He trained as a fighter pilot. Garbow became a replacement pilot in Fighter Squadron 19 (VF-19) on board the USS Lexington (CV-16). He shot down three planes in one action over Formosa. Garbow was also part of an attack that sank several ships in Manila Bay. He also witnessed three Japanese carriers sink during the Battle of Cape Engano. Garbow’s unit rotated back to the States when the war ended. He left the Navy in the Fall of 1945 only to rejoin in the Spring of 1946. He stayed in the Navy until he retired in 1973.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert V. Keeffe. Keeffe joined the Navy in the summer of 1943. He became a Seabee and trained as a heavy equipment operator. Keeffe was sent to the Russell Islands with Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 573 where he remained throughout the war. He was a crane operator and tells several stories including one about disposing of military equipment at the end of the war. Keeffe returned to the States in the fall of 1945 and became a reservist.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Real J. Cyr. Cyr was born in Quebec and joined the Royal Canadian Navy. He was assigned to an escort corvette for convoy duty in the North Atlantic. Cyr was recruited as a commando in Scotland. After he had completed training, he was attached to the USS Herring (SS-233). Cyr completed four patrols with the Herring serving primarily as a translator for intercepted French radio messages. He was then sent to HMS Seraph (P219) where he participated in two commando missions to cripple the Prinz Eugen anchored in Norway. Cyr was captured on the second mission, interrogated by the Gestapo, and was eventually able to escape. He then joined the USS Croaker (SS-246) for two more patrols in the Pacific. Cyr was discharged soon after the surrender of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clarence W. Masching. Masching was inducted into the Army in August 1942. He was trained as a medic and served in the Aleutian Islands. Masching talks about living in the harsh environment. He also discusses certain types of casualties and illnesses. Masching was then transferred back to the States to work in a general hospital for the remainder of the war. He was discharged in November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don F. Morell. Morell joined the U.S. Navy in January 1944. He was sent to the Pacific and became a submarine relief crewman. Morrell’s crew was responsible for refitting submarines that had returned from a war patrol. He was eventually assigned to the primary crew on the USS Chub (SS-329) and took part in two war patrols. During these patrols the Chub sank several ships and was depth charged. Morell was sent back to the States after the war was over where he helped decommission submarines until his discharge in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J L Pacheco. Pacheco joined the Marine Corps in May 1943 and received basic training at Camp Elliot. He received further training at Guadalcanal as a Raider with the 1st Marine Division. Upon completion, he was assigned to New Caledonia for special training in demolition as part of the 4th Raider Battalion. In New Caledonia he contracted malaria despite taking antimalarial pills daily. Pacheco next arrived at Guadalcanal, where remaining Japanese would sometimes sneak into camp and steal food from their hiding places in the jungle. The Raider battalions were later disbanded and instead formed the new 4th Marine Regiment. After an amphibious landing at Guam, Pacheco describes the perilous banzai-type combat in which he was engaged. In addition to his demolition duties, sealing caves, he occasionally served as an untrained mortarman and also retrieved wounded men from live combat areas. The interview ends just before Pacheco describes his experiences at Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Montgomery. Montgomery joined the Marine Corps in November 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He received further training at ordnance school in San Francisco and then attended tank school at Camp Pendleton. Upon completion, Montgomery was assigned to the 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, where he served on a half-track. He was part of the 10th wave at the Battle of Saipan. Montgomery was wounded by a Japanese soldier he presumed dead when picking up a 300-year-old sword as a souvenir. He was part of the occupation force at Nagasaki and guarded ballot boxes at the first election at Haiki. He served in the Korean War as an executive officer. In Vietnam, he was executive officer of the 26th Marine Regiment, attached to the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions. Montgomery retired in 1971.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Burnett Napier. Napier joined the U.S. Navy during his senior year in high school. He was sent to Hospital Corps School to train as a corpsman. Napier then spent six weeks at the Oakland Naval Hospital. He was then sent to the Fleet Marine Force and joined a replacement battalion that was shipped to the Pacific. Napier arrived in Pavuvu and joined the 1st Marine Division. He then landed on Peleliu where his unit experienced heavy casualties. Napier was wounded later in the battle during a mortar barrage. He was evacuated to a ship and then to an Army hospital for treatment. Napier rejoined the 1st Division on Pavuvu which was sent to invade Okinawa soon after. He worked at the battalion aid station until he was sent back to the front due to a shortage of corpsman at the Shuri Line. Napier became ill with dysentery and was evacuated to an Army hospital and wasn’t released until the battle had ended. He traveled with his unit to China after the war had ended and left the service soon after he returned to the States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Louis Schott. Schott joined the Marine Corps Reserve while he was a college student in the summer of 1942. He trained as an infantry officer and was sent to a replacement battalion. Schott joined the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific during the invasion of Cape Gloucester. His unit was then sent to Pavuvu where they were tasked with building their rest camp. Schott landed on Peleliu and was wounded by a mortar shell on the eleventh day of battle. He discusses the difficult terrain and the challenges it created. Schott was evacuated to a hospital where he recovered from his wounds and had a bout with malaria. He rejoined the division and took part in the invasion of Okinawa. Schott discusses taking Shuri Castle. He also mentions meeting Ernie Pyle and that his last story was about Schott’s company clerk. Schott traveled with his until to China after the war ended. He stayed in the active reserves when he returned from overseas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Hayes. Hayes joined the Navy in 1943. He was trained as a corpsman. Hayes spent time working at a Navy hospital in Oakland before he was sent to the Fleet Marine Force as a replacement. He joined the 1st Marine Division on Pavuvu after they returned from Cape Gloucester. Hayes mentions a USO show featuring Bob Hope that occurred during his time there. He landed on Peleliu with the fourth wave. Hayes was awarded the Bronze Star for removing wounded Marines from Bloody Nose Ridge. He was wounded and evacuated on the third day of battle. Hayes rejoined the division after he recovered and participated in the invasion of Okinawa. He describes taking Wana Ridge and the loss of two demolition men. Hayes traveled to China for occupation duty. One of his duties included manning a prophylactic station in a Chinese whorehouse frequented by servicemen. Hayes was also tasked with distributing penicillin on the voyage back to the States. He left the Navy soon after his return.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alan Pilot. Pilot joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training at Camp Howze. He received further training in Louisiana for the European Theater and then in California for the Pacific Theater. In January he left for Camp Old Gold at La Havre, where he served as a combat medic, supporting Companies E, G, and H of the 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. His unit relieved the 8th Division and fought in Cologne, where he was stationed at the top of the cathedral while it was being shelled. In the Ruhr Pocket a defective shell landed 10 feet away from him. He recalls seeing 100,000 Germans surrender there. He describes the Bavarian people as friendly as he passed through Austria on VE Day. He was then sent to the Pacific as part of Operation Coronet. VJ Day came while he was still crossing the Pacific. He spent the last five months of his service in the Philippines at a quiet outpost while the rest of his unit prepared the Philippines for independence. Pilot returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Melvin A. Bice. When Bice finished high school in Lincoln, Nebraska he joined the Navy. The Navy called him up in February, 1943 and he took basic training in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. During training, Bice contracted the mumps. After basic training, Bice was assigned at San Diego to the USS Mataco (AT-86), an ocean-going tugboat. Their first assignement was to tow a floating drydock to New Guinea. Along the way, Bice shot down a Japanese aircraft. Upon arrival and delivery of the drydock, Bice was returned tothe US to attend aircraft gunnery school. Soon after, he was assigned to the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79). The Ommaney Bay was present for action in Leyte Gulf, where Bice describes kamikaze attacks and shooting down more Japanese aircraft from his twin 40mm anti-aircraft gun, for which he received a decoration. He also describes being bombed by a Japanese airplane in Lingayen Gulf and the Ommaney Bay sinking. Bice then provides details about abandoning ship, leaping into the water, finding an ammo can to use as a flotation device, and watching as the Ommaney bay was scuttled by an American destroyer using torpedoes. Aftr being in the water …

Transcript of an oral interview with Joseph M. "Joe" Base. Base begins by discussing growing up during the Depression. In 1942, after he finished high school, Base enlisted in the Navy. When he finished basic training, Base attended signalman school before being assigned to submarine school at New London, Connecticut. Upon completing school, Base was assigned to the USS Redfin (SS-272) at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Eventually, the Redfin made its way to the Panama Canal where it practiced firing torpedoes for a few days. Soon, they headed for Milne Bay, New Guinea and then to Darwin, Australia. From there, Base describes events that occurred during trhe Redfin's war patrols in the South China Seas and Celebes Sea: making contact with other US submarines; following Japanese tanker convoys; sinking Japanese destroyers; making torpedo attacks on convoys, being attacked with depth charges; enjoying some rest between patrols at Fremantle, Australia; rescuing survivors from the USS Flier (SS-250). Base served as a quartermaster aboard the Redfin, where he assisted the navigator in charting the ship's location, stood watches and steered the ship. After four or five war patrols, the Redfin returned to California for an overhaul where it received updated mine locating equipment. When …

Transcript of an oral interview with Brigadier General Harry Bayne. Bayne joined the Army Air Corps as a private in September, 1941. By August, 1942, he had attained the rank of flying sergeant, but soon was commissioned a second lieutenant. His first assignement was ferrying airplanes to fields where pilots were training. Eventually, he was sent to India and flew missions carrying fuel over the Himalaya Mountains to bombers and other airplanes operating out of China. He flew sixty-three missions over the HUmp before the end of the war. After the war, he remained in a pilot training command. What follows is a conversation about the remainder of Bayne's career in the military. He flew more planes, closed air bases in Europe, took a young Prince Charles of England for a joy ride in a plane, etc. Bayne also discusses his role in the recovery of the hydrogen bomb that was aboard a B-52 that crashed off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea in 1966.

Transcript of an oral interview with Gilberto Mendez. Mendez's parents left Mexico in 1910 to escape the violence Mexican Revolution and relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where Gilberto was raised until the family moved back to Mexico during the Depression. When Mexico declared war on Germany in 1942, Mendez was drafted into the Mexican Army (Spanish: Erjecito Mexicano) for one year. Upon being discharged from the Mexican Army, Mendez was called up in the US where he volunteered for duty in the US Marine Corps. He trained in Sna Diego and then went to Hawaii. From there, he was attached as a replacement prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima. Mendez landed on Iwo Jima six days after the beginning of the invasion. Mendez then describes action on Iwo Jima in which he faced a banzai charge from Japanese infantry and shot twenty enemy soldiers. After about a week of combat on Iwo Jima, Mendez was wounded by an exploding mortar round and evacuated from the island to a hospital ship. He eventually made his way back to the US where he was discharged from the Marine Corps in November, 1945. Mendez then mentions that he did a little boxing …