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Oral History Interview with George Gross, September 15, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with George Gross, September 15, 2006

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.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Gross, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Earl Newman, September 15, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Earl Newman, September 15, 2006

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.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Newman, Earl
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Don Riel, September 15, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Don Riel, September 15, 2006

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.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Riel, Don
System: The Portal to Texas History