Interview with Jerell E. Crow. He entered the Coast Guard in 1940 and trained in Florida and New York City. He served aboard a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) when those ships were first introduced. He traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Neville Island Shipyard operated by the Dravo Corporation as part of a crew that brought an LST down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. From there, the crew practiced operations at Biloxi, Mississippi. Eventually, Crow travelled to San Diego aboard the LST through the Panama Canal. From there, he went to Guadalcanal and unloaded tanks. Eventually, his ship was hit at Saipan and he was wounded. He also served aboard an LST during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Afterwards, Crow's LST was present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender. He visited Hiroshima while on occupation duty after the atomic bomb was dropped. Eventually, his LST made its way back to San Francisco where he was discharged.

Interview with Ed Carseth, a pilot during World War II. He discusses an early interest in aviation and earned his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training program. He spent a year as an instructor before joining the Air Transport Command. Through 1944 he delivered aircraft to Australia before being assigned to Myitkyina, Burma. He speaks of living conditions at Myitkyina. He flew materials over the Himalaya Mountains (the Hump) from Burma to Kunming, China. Carseth relates anectdotes about General Claire Chennault, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and a squadron mate who kept a baboon.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Gallagher. Gallagher joined the Navy after quitting high school and trained in aviation ordnance. In May, 1944 he was assigned to USS Franklin (CV-13) where he would arm dive bombers. Gallagher describes an injury he sustained while loading bombs as well as various enemy attacks on the Franklin, including a kamikaze. He was aboard when the Japanese bombed the Franklin in March, 1945. Gallagher recalls the attack and was ordered to transfer to USS Santa Fe (CL-60). From there, Gallagher spent six months at Hawaii before going back to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Orland Harris. Harris went to Santa Anna, California for Aviation Cadet training in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He went to primary flying school in Visalia, California and then went to LaeMoore, California for more training. From there he went to replacement training units, flying the P-38, P-322 and P-39. Harris had take civilian pilot training for one year at college before he went into the service. He received his wings at Williams Field in Arizona 3 Nov 1943 and became an officer that day. He went to the South Pacific in a C-54, along wih about 30 other pilots, ending up in Nadzab, New Guinea with the 8th Fighter Group (part of the 5th Air Force). His P-38 missions included targets of opportunity around New Guinea, a cave on Corregidor and straffed ships on the way to Borneo, and the Philippines. Normally they flew cover missions for B-17s and B-24s but on occasion covered B-25s and A-20s. Harris was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) when he was flying out of Mindoro in the Philippines on a night mission (26 Dec 1944) attacking a Japanese task …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ned Smith. Smith grew up in California, went to college in Idaho and California, and joined Naval Air in 1941. After training on the N3N's and the Stentson's, he was assigned to be a flight instructor. In 1943, he went to navigation school training, and then joined the VR-2 Naval Air Transport Squadron. He was flying in the Coronado PB2Y2's from Alameda, California all over the Pacific Theater. During the six weeks he was with VR-11, he flew R5D's. He discusses landing at Kwajalein, Majuro, and Johnston Island. He took prisoners of war back to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with Richard E. Cole. Cole was born 7 September 1915 in Dayton, Ohio. In 1940 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and received his commission in 1941. He was then assigned to the 17th Bomb Group. In 1942 he volunteered for a mission and tells of being assigned as co-pilot to Colonel James Doolittle. Cole mentions the specialized training the volunteers received, being aboard the USS Hornet (CV-8), the bombing mission over Tokyo, and the subsequent bail-out over China. He relates his experience of reuniting with his crew members and meeting Madam Chiang Kai-Shek and John Birch, the liaison officer between the United States Military and the Chinese forces. Cole then was assigned to the 11th Bomb Squadron and flew bombing missions over China. He also mentions flying transport planes over the Himalayas, joining the 1st Air Commando Group, and subsequent military assignments. Cole retired after 26 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral history with J S Gray. Gray was born in Catahoula Parrish, Louisiana on 14 July 1920. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1937 and after various assignments was shipped to Manila, Philippine Islands, serving in the 27th Bomb Group, 454th Ordnance. Gray tells of the Japanese attack on Clark Field and ultimate surrender of United States forces by General King. He describes conditions encountered during several forced marches, including the Bataan Death March. Gray also discusses internment in Camp O’Donnell and Cabanatuan and the horrific conditions encountered on POW “Hell” ship to Japan. He worked in a copper smelting plant in Yokkaichi. He mentions the sabotage methods used while working in a steel casting plant, kindness extended by two individual Japanese guards, his near death experience from treatment by a guard, and the saving and concealment of the stars cut from an American flag. He details the making of an American flag out of scraps and the retained stars prior to release from the POW camp [the handmade flag is now on display in the museum’s gallery]. When he returned to the United States, he was hospitalized, and then …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Taylor. Taylor was born April 3, 1921 in Scott, Louisiana. He worked in the rice and cane fields during his youth before joining the Navy in 1939. He was sent to Norfolk, Virginia for boot camp and recalls being in a segregated navy. He was assigned as mess attendant on the USS Dobbin (AD-3). He recalls the attack on Pearl Harbor and his role as an ammunition handler below decks. Taylor was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) in 1942 as a mess cook 3rd class. He was later assigned as the officers cook and eventually promoted to chief cook. Taylor tells of two friends that died in battle aboard ship. He describes visiting Nagasaki after the Japanese surrender. He discusses the changes that occurred after desegregation of the Armed Forces was ordered. Mrs. Taylor tells of being a young woman traveling to Bremerton, Washington by train to be with her husband and then returning home when Alex’s ship went to sea. She tells of buying a home with the money out of an allotment check she received each month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral history with Ralph Bissett. Bissett grew up in California and joined the Navy at 18 in 1943. He trained at Farragut, Idaho. He was assigned aboard the USS Cahaba (AO-82) as a gunner’s mate striker just before the ship headed for duty in the Pacific. Bissett describes the mechanics of refueling ships at sea. He also shares a few anecdotes of his time aboard the Cahaba.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Nielsen. Nielsen joined the Army in January, 1941 and trained at Fort Knox. He was a good driver and was used to instruct other recruits in how to drive tanks. He discusses his experiences during the Louisiana Maneuvers prior to the war. When the war started, he headed for England with the 1st Armored Division be fore shipping to North Africa. Nielsen describes fighting in tanks in North Africa. Nielsen was captured by the Germans in February 1943. He was eventually evacuated through Tunis to a POW camp near Munich. He escaped with a friend only to be captured again after a few days. When the war ended, he had been liberated and was in American hands, waiting to go back to the US. When he returned, he was discharged in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Anne Noreen Bauer. She was born on 30 July 1915 in Monterey, Indiana. After graduation from high school she attended St. Joseph Hospital in Mishawaka, Indiana, where she received her nurse's training. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, she joined the Army Nurse Corps, was commissioned and reported to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana in August 1942. She was sent to California where she embarked on the USS West Point (AP-23). She recalls the ship hitting a whale during the transit. Eventually, she arrived at a hospital in Calcutta, India where she was assigned as supervisor in charge of surgery and head nurse of the Intensive Care Unit. She describes her experiences during her 18 months in Calcutta, including the Japanese bombings. Next she was sent to Kandy, Ceylon which was under the command of Lord Louis Mountbatten, where she was stationed for a year as head nurse of the ward. She recalls being invited to Mountbatten's quarters for dinner and engaging him in a conversation where he recounted that he "knew all about Mishawaka, Indiana," her birthplace. She recalls that the Women's Army Corps had just been formed and she …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Grace Carr. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1942 and accepted a job with Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California, where most of the C-47s flown in World War II were made. She recalls that the factory was covered with netting which acted as camouflage from the air. She also remembers gas rationing, difficulty finding new tires and having to drive with parking lights at night to avoid disclosing the factory to enemy aircraft. She left Douglas to work at Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation, as the Head of Payroll. The shipyard repaired ships damaged in the war and she recalls one Russian ship with both males and females onboard.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Carr. He was born in Benton County, Indiana on February 17, 1914. Upon graduation from high school in 1932 he hopped a freight train to California. He enlisted in the 38th Infantry Division, Indiana National Guard in December 1940. After Pearl Harbor he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and transferred to the 30th Infantry Division. He embarked on the troopship SS Brazil for the transit to England, during which he recounts several experiences. He remembers London, including bombings by the German Luftwaffe and V-1 flying bombs. He was placed in charge of the motor pool and joined the invasion of France six days after D-Day. He describes the ensuing confusion and his company getting separated from the Regiment. During a battle he recalls observing General Bradley arriving to discuss whether Carr's regimental commander should be court-martialed for refusing to follow an order that he considered suicidal. The commander was exonerated, but was transferred to another battalion. Eventually his regiment joined up at the Battle of the Bulge, where they remained just outside the front lines providing and maintaining vehicles used in the assault. After the battle, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Cleland. He was born in Rochester, Indiana on December 3, 1920. He was drafted into the Army in October 1942 and was assigned to a machine gun platoon with the 12th Armored Division, 17th Infantry Battalion. On October 3, 1944 he shipped out to England on the passenger liner MS Empress of Australia. He recalls that it took two weeks to resupply, followed by a landing at Le Havre, France. He recalls that his division was assigned to the 3rd Army and relieved the 4th Armored Division. His division was sent to the small Alsatian village of Herrlisheim on January 16, 1945, to join other units. He recalls that the Americans had captured half of the village by that time, when the Germans retook the town on January 17. By January 18 his unit was holed up in a barn when a German tank arrived, forcing them to surrender. He recalls being marched to the Rhine River, suffering frostbite and crossing the river, where he and the other POWs were loaded onto railroad cattle guards and taken to the German POW camp, Stalag VI-G in Baden Baden. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clement Good. Good was born in Deland, Illinois 29 September 1920 and upon graduation from high school, was drafted into the Army in July 1942 and joined the 80th Infantry Division. He recalls that he was assigned as the driver for the division artillery’s headquarters battery commander. Good describes in detail the division’s training while operating out of Camp Forest, Tennessee. His division was moved to California for desert training in November 1943. Several weeks of more training followed at Fort Dix, New Jersey in April 1944, before being shipped to Great Britain on the Queen Mary in July. He describes the conditions on the Queen Mary during the seven day transit. The division landed on Utah Beach on 3 August 1944, and was assigned to General Patton’s Third Army. He describes his participation in the Battle for Paris and in the Battle of the Bulge. He recalls seeing the remains of the Maginot Line, the countryside of Luxemburg, crossing the Rhine River into Nuremberg, Germany and entering Munich in April 1945. He was in Austria when the war ended. During the following five months his unit was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents on oral interview with Carl McKenzie. McKenzie was born in Boise, Idaho in November, 1921. After working at Boeing briefly, McKenzie volunteered for service in the Navy in June, 1942. Once in the Navy, he attended fire control and radar operator schools before being assigned to the USS Earl (DD-635) at Boston. He recalls several convoy trips across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and the United Kingdom. When the war in Europe ended, the Earle was being converted to a minesweeper and preparing for duty in the Pacific. Shortly after arriving in the Pacific, the war with Japan ended and the Earle went to Sasebo where minesweeping operations got underway. McKenzie also served aboard the USS McCook (DD-496) for more minesweeping operations in the China Sea.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with C.R. Jack Mummert. Mummert was born in Logansport, Indiana on 3 January 1916 and graduated from high school in Havre, Montana in 1935. Joining the Marine Corps in December 1942, he was sent to boot camp at San Diego, California. He was selected for Officers Candidate School and received his commission at Quantico, Virginia. After undergoing several courses in communications, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division as the communications officer. His responsibilities included forty Indian code talkers and he comments on their value in combat. He tells of the division spending 59 days on board a troop ship prior to the invasion of Guam and of the casualties taken during the initial landing. After Guam was secured the division participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and Mummert recalls the high casualty rate among his communications people. While on Iwo Jima, he was evacuated and sent to the hospital on Guam. Following his recovery, he was sent to Hawaii for a period of time and then sent back to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Junior Montgomery. Montgomery joined the Marine Corps in the summer of 1942. He trained specifically on driving amphibious tractors. He traveled to New Caledonia and joined the 6th Marine Division, 3rd Raider Battalion. Montgomery participated in the Bougainville Campaign, the Battle of Guam and the Battle of Okinawa. He shares his experiences through these battles, and was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wayne Miller. Miller was born 10 September 1926 in rural Fulton County, Indiana. Upon graduating from high school in 1944, he joined the Navy and went to boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois. Completing boot camp he was sent to Portland, Maine and assigned as Water Tender 3rd Class on the USS Varian (DE-798). In November 1944 the ship joined two other destroyer escorts as a hunter-killer group. In April 1945, while on patrol in the Azores, their sonar picked up German submarine U-248. All three ships dropped depth charges that sank the submarine. In early 1945 the group engaged and sank the German submarine U-546. The surviving submarine crewmen were picked up by the Varian and taken to Newfoundland. Soon after Germany surrendered, the Varian met the submarine U-805 on the high seas and accepted its surrender. An American crew was put on board and taken to Newfoundland. The boat was at the Charleston, South Carolina Naval Yard for refitting when Japan surrendered. Miller was discharged 6 June 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Maxwell. Maxwell was born 19 May 1926 in Monon, Indiana. In 1942 he attended the government sponsored National Youth Organization School training in mechanics. In 1944 he was drafted into the Army. After completing training at Camp Fannin, Texas he was sent to Fort Ord, California. He went to Hawaii where he received jungle training and practiced landings. Maxwell received additional jungle training at Saipan. He was then sent to Okinawa and assigned to the 77th Infantry Division, 307th Infantry. He recalls various combat situations in which he was involved, describing his experiences, including being wounded. After the Japanese surrendered on Okinawa his unit was sent to Cebu for replacements and refit. While there, Japan surrendered thus ending the war. Maxwell tells of being stationed in Japan for a period of time, returning to the United States and receiving his discharge in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Adrian Miller. Miller was born in Winamac, Indiana 16 November 1924 and graduated from high school in 1942. He entered the Army in March, 1944 and took his basic training at Ft. Blanding, Florida. He volunteered for the paratroopers at Fort Benning, Georgia and describes the six weeks of rigorous training, which included jumps. In November, he joined the 101st Army Airborne and was assigned to the 505th Parachute Infantry, Company H. Miller was sent to Bastogne and describes the conditions and the high casualty rate. After being relieved in January he went to Lorraine, France, then to Berchtesgaden, Germany where he met his brother. Miller was in Paris when Germany surrendered. On 15 December 1945, he returned to the United States on the Queen Mary. He was discharged January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Laurence Norris. Norris joined the Marine Corps in November of 1943. He trained as a raider on New Caledonia, joined the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal and served in the Pacific for the remainder of the war. He fought during the Battle of Peleliu, and recalls beginning with 64 men in his platoon and after eight days of fighting, there were only 13 men remaining, including himself. Norris also participated in the Battle of Okinawa. Norris served with the Honor Guard at the 2 September 1945 surrender signing. He returned to the US and was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Guy Stayton. Stayton joined the Navy in December of 1942. He worked as an Electrician’s Mate aboard a Landing Craft Infantry, the USS USS LCI-400. Stayton provides some details of the ship. He worked in the engine room and shares details of his work aboard the ship. They traveled to England, and he shares his experiences there prior to the invasion of France. They served with the first wave participating in the Normandy Invasion. They delivered the 45th Infantry Division into southern France. Stayton contracted Hepatitis with infectious Jaundice and remained in a Naval Hospital for 5 months. He was then sent back to the US. After recovery he was assigned to the USS LST-387 and the war ended shortly thereafter. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Weldon Sherrard. Sherrard joined the Navy in July of 1942. Beginning in December, he served as a First-Class Machinist Mate with a special construction battalion at Guadalcanal, New Zealand and Japan. With little to no access from ship to shore to unload supplies, Sherrard’s battalion was assigned the unloading of ships with the help of pontoon barges. He also worked as an oiler and crane operator. They were the first battalion created to complete this type of work. He was discharged in January of 1946.