A faculty and guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall.

Sound recording of Martha Ross interviewing Peter Olch about the history of the Oral History Association at the united services medical school in Bethesda, Maryland.

Recital performed at UNT College of Music Concert Hall on September 15, 2004 at 8:00 pm.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Martin L. Clayton. Clayton was born in Marshall, Texas 23 September 1920. Joining the US Marine Corps 26 February 1942 he completed boot camp in six weeks. After undergoing intensified combat training he was placed in the 17th replacement outfit, at San Diego, Clayton was then shipped to Melbourne, Australia. He was assigned to 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Having spent twenty-five months in combat he describes conditions encountered on Peleliu, New Britain and Okinawa. He was subjected to a bayonet charge, witnessed injury and death of friends and personally capturing three Japanese soldiers.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Cook. Cook joined the Marine Corps in September 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. In January 1942, he was assigned to the USS Helena (CL-50) as an orderly to the captain. His battle station was below deck, hoisting powder cases for six-inch guns. He describes in detail the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, which he believes could have been fought more effectively had the fleet taken advantage of readings from state-of-the-art radar equipment aboard the Helena. In March 1943, Cook was transferred to the States and began flight training. He joined the Black Sheep aboard the USS Rendova (CVE-114) in San Diego before being discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Ferrier. Ferrier joined the Navy in January 1941 and received basic training in Newport. He attended aviation radio school in Jacksonville was and assigned to an Avenger crew as a radioman. On 4 June 1942 his plane was attacked at the Battle of Midway by enemy fighters while targeting the Japanese fleet. His turret gunner was killed, his pilot wounded, and all five accompanying airplanes were shot down. He was reassigned to Torpedo Squadron 3 on the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and then to an SBD squadron attached to the USS Yorktown (CV-10). After attending Aviation Electronics Officer School, he participated in nuclear weapons tests and taught nuclear weapons firing. He served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars as an aircraft maintenance officer. At the time of his retirement in 1970, he was overseeing 2,000 maintenance personnel. Ferrier is also known for his involvement in finding the Titanic and searching for the Yorktown (CV-5) and other sunken Japanese carriers.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Guidone. In 1940, Guidone was kicked out of his family’s home for wanting to join the Navy; his father was staunchly anti-military. When the Navy told Guidone there would be a three-week waiting period, he joined the Marine Corps rather than be homeless. He reported to Guantanamo Bay and joined the 1st Marine Division. After training, he volunteered for the 1st Raider Battalion. His first assignment was the invasion of Tulagi, where his unit was separated from its company at the bottom of a ridge in enemy territory, something Guidone felt he had not been trained to handle. He waited for the right moment to launch a grenade attack and successfully led his group to safety. At the start of the campaign for Guadalcanal, despite lacking artillery and naval support, and running low on rations and ammunition, his unit held off the enemy at Henderson Field. At Cape Esperance he captured enemy plans and supplies, including General Kawaguchi’s white dress suit, and dug in at Bloody Ridge before engaging in hand-to-hand combat at Matanikau. On a trip back to New Caledonia, his unit discontinued Atabrine, and many …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Otis Kight. Kight was born in Georgia in 1924 and joined the Navy in July, 1941. Prior to the attack on Pearl harbor, Kight was assigned to the USS Yorktown (CV-5) as a plane pusher. Kight was aboard during the Battle of the Coral Sea, was wounded, and describes the damage done to the carrier. He also describes the hurried repair job done at Pearl Harbor prior to heading for Midway. Kight was present when the Yorktown was damaged at Midway and recalls abandoning ship and being rescued by the USS Astoria (CA-34). While at gunnery school at Kaneohe, he overheard some chiefs at a club telling jokes to each other in Morse code. Kight was an amatuer radio operator before the war and knew the code, so the chiefs recruited him for radio school. He seemed not to need to go to radio school, so he was sent to radar school, instead. Kight also went to parachute school where he learned to rig and pack parachutes. He eventually was assigned to the USS Cowpens (CVL-25) where he was a member of Torpedo Squadron 22 (VT-22). He served …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Willie Roesler. Roesler joined the Navy in June 1940 and received basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor. He was transferred to Midway just before the December 1941 attack. When men gathered at the mess hall to watch the shelling, one man was killed by shrapnel, causing everyone to scatter. Roesler led children from the hospital to safety. He then proceeded to fight fires along the island, where gasoline tanks rigged with explosives and buried in the sand as defenses had erupted. During the Battle of Midway, he expected to be captured by the Japanese, but he remained there until July when he was transferred to Pearl Harbor. He remembers the water was polluted with refuse from the ships and had a foul odor. As the harbor was gradually cleared, he was impressed by the mechanics involved in raising the Oklahoma.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Leavelle. Leavelle graduated from high school in May 1944 and on July 8, 1944 he was sworn into the US Navy in Amarillo, Texas. His high school had offered a special course in radio operating, so he enrolled in the course and learned basic radio theory as well as how to copy Morse code. On 18 July, he reported to the Navy Recruiting and Processing Station at Lubbock, Texas where he was officially sworn into the Navy for a second time and enlisted under the Navy Reserve V-6 program. After boot camp at the San Diego Naval Training Station, Leavelle went to Navy Radio Operator School, graduating in May 1945 as a Seaman First Class Radioman. From there, he went to Camp Shoemaker (outside Oakland, California) for ship assignment - the USS Tamalpais (AO-96), reporting on May 23, 1945. The Tamalpais was new construction, just built in Sausalito, California at the Marin Ship Yards. After shakedown exercises off San Diego and loading five million gallons of potable water in San Pedro, the Tamalpais sailed for Eniwetok Island in the Marshall Islands on June 23, 1945. The Tamalpais …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Chalmers Miller. Miller attended Rice University for one semester before joining the Navy. He received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the motor pool of CASU-9 at Port Hueneme. In November 1944 he was sent to the Philippines, where he drove a dump truck on the Tacloban air strip, which was small, crowded, muddy, and full of bomb craters. He became the engineer of a boat transporting supplies and personnel from the USS Currituck (AV-7) and Jinamoc Island. He creatively employed canvas from a cargo truck to protect his passengers from rain. In January Miller was sent to the air strip at Puerto Princesa, which was in much better condition than Tacloban. He returned home and was discharged in April 1946. He soon decided to reenlist for another two years and joined the Seabees. After his final discharge, Miller completed his education on the GI Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hetty Walker. Walker was born in Holland in 1935. Her family took shelter from air raids by hiding under their kitchen table, the children wearing pots on their heads. During severe bombing, they spent an entire month in their basement. In May 1940, the sky was so full of planes that it looked dark. Her mother salvaged parachutes from downed aviators and used the silk to make clothing for her family. Food was scarce, and they subsisted on potatoes and black bread. As a professional musician, her father was forced to entertain Germans; he listened to their conversations and passed information to the Dutch resistance. Walker witnessed brutality against the Jews in her village, but she also knew German soldiers who were kind enough to bring her family food. When the war ended, there was a big celebration, with dancing in the streets. Walker and her family immigrated to North America, sponsored by Canadian soldiers they had hosted during the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Crandall. Crandall joined the Navy at age 17. After basic training at Great Lakes, he was trained on running ship’s boilers. Crandall was then assigned to USS Warrick (AKA-89) as a third class watertender. While running the boilers, he would occasionally clean the insides, which required holding his breath for up to three minutes. Crandall was in battle zones in the Philippines for a year and suffered hearing damage from a kamikaze attack on a nearby destroyer. While ashore, he traded with the natives to acquire fresh coconuts. At Iwo Jima, Crandall sat atop the smokestack and watched the flag being raised on Mount Suribachi. After the war, Crandall participated in disarmament of the Japanese by dumping their arms and ammunition into the ocean. While in Japan, he was surprised by the hospitality of the Japanese, having been invited into their homes. Crandall returned to the States after occupation duty and returned home to finish high school.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Loy Smith. Smith joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He then attended gunnery school and further training in electrical and hydraulic systems. Upon completion, he was assigned to an attack cargo auxiliary ship as a gunner’s mate. Smith recounts that his ship would pick up supplies on New Guinea and Guam and deliver them to invasions. At Lingayen Gulf, there were so many kamikazes and so many ships that it was impossible to know who was responsible for shooting a plane down. At Iwo Jima, the ship was anchored close to shore for five weeks, sending equipment in LCVPs and LSMs that were often lost in the soft sand and large swells. The ship was loaded for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. They brought supplies instead to the occupation forces. Smith felt the younger Japanese civilians appeared frightened of Americans, probably due to propaganda, whereas the older generation was friendly and eager to ask about their relatives in the States. The ship sailed on to Okinawa, which had been devastated by a typhoon. So desperate for supplies were the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Monroe. Monroe joined the Army Air Forces in April of 1942, as an Aviation Cadet. He received his wings and commission in the summer of 1943. He was then stationed in Carlsbad, New Mexico flying bombardiers in a T-11 trainer. Monroe completed 1,000 hours of flying cadets over a period of nine months. He was then assigned as the Assistant Director of Flying, which is where he served for the remainder of the war. In late 1945 Monroe was sent to Warner Robins, Georgia working as a Personnel Control Officer. In early 1946 he was then sent to Europe, serving with a full reconnaissance squadron, and continued his service into the late 1950s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Schaffer. Schaffer went into the Marine Corps at 17 in August, 1942 and trained at San Diego. When basic training ended, Schaffer trained with the Raiders and was assigned to the 4th Marine Raider Battalion. He went overseas to the New Hebrides, then Guadalcanal for more training prior to participating in the campaign for the Solomon Islands at New Georgia. After some combat experience, Schaffer was sent back to the US and attend university. When he finished school, he went for officer training at Parris Island after the war ended. He also attended flight school and earned his wings. He was assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron 122 (VMF-122) for a cruise in the Mediterranean. He also flew in Korea before resigning in 1953. Schaffer interacted with James Roosevelt during and after World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Barbier. Barbier joined the Navy in June 1941. He went to boot camp in San Diego, California. Upon graduating, he was assigned as a gunner’s mate aboard USS Louisville (CA-26) at Pearl Harbor. The Louisville was involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf at Surigao Strait and then at Lingayen Gulf. He survived damage caused by a number of kamikaze attacks, one of which claimed the life of Admiral Theodore Chandler. Barbier notes that Admiral William McCarty took over the Louisville. After the war ended, Barbier served in the military occupation of Japan, and remained in the Reserves for 10 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Storick. Storick joined the Navy after high school in June 1943 and trained at Great Lakes. His forst assignmnet took him aboard USS Taluga (AO-62). He shares several anecdotes from his time aboard, where he served as a rangefinder. Storick also shares his experiences ashore in Japan and Korea after the war. He was discharged in March 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hans Hanneman. Hanneman was born in Gillespie County (Texas) on 16 September 1916, the oldest of eight children. Although his mother was widowed, he was able to attend Texas Lutheran College for two years. Upon graduating he began working for a Fredericksburg (Texas) businessman. His employer decided that he and Hans would begin taking flying lessons at Stinson Field in San Antonio. They received their flying licenses in 1940. Hanneman’s employer then bought an airplane and they began training pilots enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Hanneman concludes the narrative by telling of his wedding in the Nimitz Hotel Ballroom in 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Gross. Gross joined the Navy around 1943 and served with the 107th Naval Construction Battalion. They traveled to Ebeye in the Marshall Islands to redevelop and repair an existing seaplane base by assembling a pontoon wharf and pontoon barges for transporting damaged carrier aircraft to repair units ashore. Additionally, they built Quonset huts and installed playing fields and a recreation area for ship crewmen. They traveled to Tinian to construct the biggest airdrome in the world, where B-29s took off for Nagasaki and Hiroshima with the atomic bombs.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl Newman. Newman joined the Navy in July of 1941. He graduated from Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1942. He joined Squadron 21 (United States. Navy. Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2)1) of Air Group 11 on Guadalcanal, conducting patrol, search, spotting and strike operations. Newman also served with Bombing Squadron 19 (VB-19) aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16), participating in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In October of 1944, his plane was shot down. Newman was discharged in mid-1945, prior to the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Riel. Riel joined the Navy in 1943 after working in the tool room at a Chevrolet plant. He received basic training at Camp Perry and joined the Seabees as a second class petty officer. On Kwajalein, while operating a truck, he was struck in the shoulder blade by a piece of coral during a controlled explosion. There were no medical facilities there at the time, so Riel was sewn up on the beach. He was then assigned to operate a cement mixer, which is all he could do with his arm in a sling. On Ebeye, he was tasked with maintaining water stills. When he arrived on Tinian, he was a bulldozer operator for the construction of airstrips. Although Tinian had already been secured, Riel survived attacks by snipers and bombers, hiding under his armored dozer. He then served as a fresh water well mechanic until the end of the war. Riel returned home and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph T. Smith. Smith was drafted and entered the Army in October, 1942. He was assigned to the 92nd Evacuation Hospital and trained with them as soon as he entered the service. He shipped overseas to Australia in June 1943. After treating casualties from the New Guinea campaign, Smith's unit relocated to Hollandia and then went to Biak. On Owi, his unit dealt with a scrub typhus epidemic. Later, they went to the Philippines and set up on Luzon. His hospital ward treated many of the Cabanatuan POW camp survivors after they were rescued. General MacArthur paid his ward a visit, too. When the war ended, Smith's unit went to Japan and set up their hospital in Nagoya. Smith returned tot he US and was discharged in January, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Takeo Fukuchi. Fukuchi lived in Tokyo as a child and recalls being moved to Chiba because Tokyo was under attack. He recalls the bombings and then hearing the Emperor's voice announcing the surrender and the end of the war. As an adult, Fukuchi joined the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force after World War II. Fukuchi's father served in the Japanese Navy as a secretary to Admiral Yonai and helped raise money in Japan to install the Garden of Peace at the Nimitz Museum.