The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leo Bowden. Bowden joined the Army Air Forces in October of 1943. He served as a B-29 gunner with a replacement crew in the Pacific. He traveled to Saipan, Tinian and Guam, and shares his living conditions on the Pacific islands. Bowden flew around 15 missions from May of 1944 through August of 1945. He conducted several bombing missions over Japan. He received his discharge in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leo Bowden. Bowden joined the Army Air Forces in October of 1943. He served as a B-29 gunner with a replacement crew in the Pacific. He traveled to Saipan, Tinian and Guam, and shares his living conditions on the Pacific islands. Bowden flew around 15 missions from May of 1944 through August of 1945. He conducted several bombing missions over Japan. He received his discharge in March of 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with James “Jim” Vander-Moere, Jr. Born in 1925, he joined the Navy in 1943. He talks about boot camp at the Great Lakes Training Station. He describes the living quarters at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois where he attended diesel school. He also describes his submarine school training at the Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut. He was transported to the Pacific Theater aboard the Liberty ship SS John Bartram. At the Freemantle submarine base in Australia, he was assigned to submarine tenders, USS Orion (AS-18) and USS Euryale (AS-22). He talks about the people, the railway system, and recreation in Australia. In February, 1945 he was assigned to the USS Blenny (SS-324), a submarine that patrolled off the coast of French Indochina. He recounts events of the three patrols in which he participated, including sinking various ships and vessels; experiencing a severe depth charge; and a near-miss with an enemy bomber when surfacing after a trim dive. He describes a tactic used by submarines to avoid being depth charged. He also shares anecdotes about a cockroach infestation and celebrating the war’s end with liquor disguised in a witch hazel bottle. When the war …