The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Gojean. Grojean was born in Charleston, Missouri in 1923. From an early age he wanted to attend the United States Naval Academy. He was accepted after attending the Virginia Military Institute for a year. He discusses the differences between the teaching methods at VMI and the Naval Academy. He recalls the summer cruises aboard the USS Arkansas (BB-33) in 1943 and the USS New York (BB-34) in 1944. After graduation, he was on his way to San Francisco when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. From Pearl Harbor, he was ordered to Uilithi. The ship to which he had been assigned had already departed for New York. In December 1945, Grojean was ordered aboard the USS Stevenson (DD-645), scheduled for decommissioning in South Carolina. He then reported aboard the USS Wiltsie (DD-716), which sailed for San Diego via the Panama Canal. He then attended a six month electronic school and upon graduating he flew to Japan. In 1947 he attended sonar school for four weeks and rejoined the ship at Bremerton. In early 1948 he had an accident, which put him in the Great Lakes Naval …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert P. McCoy. McCoy was working in the aircraft industry in Los Angeles when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was still a civilian on his way to Fairbanks, Alaska when the Japanese attacked Dutch Harbor. It took him a week to fly to Alaska as a result. After he returned, he went to work for the Lockheed Corporation and was employed building Norden bombsights. He spent some time installing the bombsights in aircraft in Ireland and England before joining the Marine Corps in July, 1944. In the Marines, he worked as an air traffic controller. McCoy was sent to China for six months after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman Johns. Johns was working for International Harvester when he decided to join the Air Force. He did essentially the same job for the Air Force he did as a civilian: accounting and finance. Johns met and married his wife while he was in the service. When his stint in the Air Force was complete, Johns returned to work for International Harvester in Dallas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Everill. Everill joined the Army in November 1942 and enlisted in the aviation cadets program. He washed out of flight school due to slight vision impairment but was accepted to a liaison flying school soon after. With prior civilian flight experience, he was soon approved as a pilot and assigned briefly to the 47th Liaison Squadron before transferring to the 115th. He was sent to India and Burma as an L-5 pilot, offering assistance to the Mars Task Force, evacuating casualties, delivering supplies, and carrying out reconnaissance. He was next stationed in China, where he transported OSS personnel. After the war, Everill was in charge of 600 men aboard a troop train. When they arrived at their destination on New Year’s Eve, he went against a lieutenant’s orders and dismissed them all. Everill returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lindsey Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Navy in November of 1942 and completed machinist school. He was sent to Alaska and then assigned to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) beginning in January of 1943. His job aboard was in the number two fire room, operating the boilers. Throughout 1943, he participated in the Aleutian, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns. In 1944 Wilcox participated in the Mariana campaign and the Battle of Tinian, and in March of 1945, the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa. When the Indianapolis sank, Wilcox was one of the remaining crew set adrift before being rescued. He describes events leading up to, during and after this fateful event. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hoyt Richardson. Richardson left pharmacy school to join the Navy in 1942. Upon completion of corpsman training, he treated soldiers with PTSD. One of his unofficial duties was helping Eleanor Roosevelt with her parrots. Upon transferring to Bethesda as a pharmacist's mate, Richardson had the occasion to chat with FDR, who was receiving physical therapy. He deployed to New Guinea, specializing in the prevention of tropical diseases. Richardson himself suffered various ailments while there but was able to protect others from malaria, dengue fever, and dysentery. In the Philippines, he worked beside native doctors before returning to the States. He worked aboard USS Colorado (BB-45) during demobilization before returning to school on the G.I. Bill and earning his pharmacy degree.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with Thomas Earp. Earp was born in Baltimore 15 November 1923. He joined the Marines and went to Camp Pendleton where he had boot training. He then went to Camp Goettge on New Caledonia and was assigned to the 1st Raider Regiment. In January 1944 he went to Guadalcanal where he had additional combat training before transferring into the 4th Marine Regiment. He was then assigned to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. Earp’s unit served as a reserve force during the invasion of Saipan. On 21 July 1944 he participated in the invasion of Guam. He recalls waiting on deck for a Higgins boat and seeing piles of body parts taken on board. His landing craft hung up on a coral reef and the troops had to wade ashore in high water under fire. On his first night on the island, they endured a banzai charge. As the battle moved inland he was assigned to the 53rd Construction Battalion and they began building bridges and roads. They also constructed landing strips for B-29s as well as a headquarters building for Admiral Chester Nimitz. Earp departed Guam November 1945 and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Hickey. Hickey joined the Army around mid-1944. He served with the 19th Infantry Regiment. In April of 1945, he participated in the Philippines Campaign in Davao on Mindanao, where he was wounded. Hickey served with occupation forces in Japan through mid-1946. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clair Strong. Strong was drafted in January of 1941. He served in the 666th Ordnance Ammunition Company. He was stationed in Alaska, for the Alaska Theater Operations, from August of 1941 until March of 1944. His job was parts clerk, keeping track of vehicle parts and invoices. In November of 1944 he served in the European Theater of Operations and was located in Belgium. His job there was to gather up unexploded land mines and defuse them.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Chupp. Chupp volunteered in the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1940 and worked in Iowa. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and trained in coast artillery. He landed at Normandy on D-Day in the afternoon with the 197th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. Chupp describes several combat experiences he had while in France.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Michael Jewett. Jewett was inducted into the Army in August of 1943. He completed Officer Candidate School in January of 1944. He was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to the replacement training center as an instructor for basic officer training. Then, off to Fort Benning to become an infantry officer, which he served as throughout his active duty. Jewett was sent to Leyte in the Philippines. He was assigned to the 40th Infantry Division, 160th Regiment. They traveled to Panay and Korea. In Korea he became part of the military government unit and was assigned as the agricultural officer. They distributed rice from the captured warehouses of the Japanese. Additionally, they processed the POWs, shipping them out. Later he became the colonel at the 428th Group Headquarters in South Bend, Indiana and the commandant at the 4169th US Army School at Kingsbury. He returned home in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Wilbur Trinen. Trinen was drafted into the Army in January 1943. After training, he was assigned to the 29th Engineer Topographic Battalion. He went overseas to the Philippines. Trinen and the interviewer review several photographs and comment thereon. They also examine and comment on maps.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Overmyer. Overmyer graduated from high school in Monterey, Indiana in 1943 and was drafted into the Army on 20 June 1945. He was undergoing basic training in Little Rock, Arkansas when the war in Europe ended. Following military police training, he embarked on the troop ship USAT George Washington, which sailed to Bremerhaven, Germany. He provides several anecdotes of his transit and was training for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. At the Dachau concentration camp, Overmyer was assigned to guard SS soldiers awaiting trial and repatriated German POWs. He describes an unpleasant encounter with General Omar Bradley while serving occupation duty in Germany. He remembers seeing local German citizens being forced to the camp to see for themselves the conditions there and to help clean the facilities.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Clevenger. Clevenger was born on 13 April 1922 and was drafted into the Army in October 1942. After completing basic training at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana he was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas and assigned to the 31st mule pack troop of the Quartermaster Corps. He embarked on the USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) in Baltimore and arrived at Bombay, India. He took a train to Camp Landis where he contracted a severe case of malaria. Upon recovering, he was transferred to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as Merrill’s Marauders, under the command of Brigadier General Frank Merrill. He describes some of his experiences at Camp Landis. He recalls his unit crossing the Ganges River with their mules on a train. In Burma, Clevenger remembers watching American 75mm howitzers firing upon Japanese troops in a valley. He also recalls he and his mule came under friendly fire on one occasion. He mentions in passing that he bought some jewelry from a woman in China. On 10 August 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry, which continued service in northern Burma. In September …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lyle Tennis. Tennis joined the Naval Reserve while attending college. He graduated in March of 1944, and then completed Officer Training School at Plattsburg, New York in June of 1944. Tennis served in the Navy aboard the USS LSM(R)-190. He provides detail of his travels through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific. He and his crew participated in the invasion of Okinawa, and Tennis describes his experiences, including launching 480 5-inch rockets against Japanese shore defenses. He was aboard the ship when it was hit and sunk by a Japanese kamikaze. He provides details of this event, for which he received the Navy Cross. He continued to serve in the Reserves until 1970 when he retired as a commander.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Pete Rocha. Rocha joined the Navy and trained at Great Lakes. He served as a storekeeper in Florida and Texas for a while before receiving amphibious training in Virginia. Rocha was assigned to LSM-262 as a storekeeper. Rocha recalls combat experiences at Okinawa and the Philippines. His battle station was on a 40mm gun at the bow. After the war, while ashore at Yokahama, Rocha encountered his brother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Lacouture. Lacouture graduated from the Naval Academy in 1940 and was aboard the USS Blue at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He was still aboard when the Blue sank off Guadalcanal in August, 1942. Lacouture then went to flight school, earning his wings in May 1943. He then served as the executive officer of Fighter Squadron 5 (VF-5) aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13). After the war, he remained in the Navy and continued to fly.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ann Jonushaitis. Jonushaitis was born in Germany in November of 1934. Her family was from Lithuania and she describes their fleeing to Germany as the Russians filtrated in. Jonushaitis describes their hard life during wartime, living in barracks and having very little to eat. She describes her family’s trip to America and beginning anew in Chicago. She also describes living on a farm in Indiana with her husband and family. She expresses her deep appreciation for the Americans helping her and her family make a life-changing transition.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Loran F. Tom Twohig. Twohig grew up in Nebraska and enlisted in the Army when he turned 18. After training, he went to four small islands. Then he was part of invasions on two small islands and then went to Leyte. He worked primarily with explosives. After receiving a purple heart for his work Ormarch Beach at Leyte, he went to Australia and then returning to fighting. He received two more purple hearts, one for fighting at Okinawa. He was involved in ""mopping up"" the islands in the Philippines, landing at a total of 32 islands. He saw General MacArthur come ashore at Leyte. He mentions finding a stash of opium in a downed Japanese airplane and that the Japanese kamikazes especially used opium during the war. He was with the 78th Amphibious Battalion. Occasionally Twohig would ride on PT boats. He went to mass aboard the Navy ships when he could.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert M. Howe. Howe grew up in Texas and joined the Navy in 1942. During training, he married his high school sweetheart. He shipped out in July 1942 and went to Guadalcanal. He was then involved in the battle of Espiritu Santo. Next, at the battle of Guadalcanal, Howe witnessed the sinking of the USS Atlanta and the USS San Francisco. He also the USS Juneau blow up. In the Battle of Kula Gulf, the USS Helena (CL-50) was sunk. Howe was unable to get to a life raft and was in the water for six or seven hours in a life jacket before he was picked up by an American destroyer. He developed ashthma and was shipped back to the U.S. where he received a medical discharge in December 1943. He watched Japanese airplanes dive bomb an Australian cruiser. He describes playing baseball and swimming off the side of the ship.

Transcript of an oral interview with Jimmie Thomas. Thomas was born in 1923 and went into the Navy after Pearl Harbor, entering the V-5 Program for Aviation Cadets. After going through flight training, he was assigned to PBYs. He then went to Camp Kearney in San Diego and was assigned to the PB4Y2. They flew to their squadron on Tinian which had an advance base on Iwo Jima. He flew from Iwo Jima to Japan two or three times a week, flying a search sector (up to Japan, down the coast for an hour, and then back to Iwo). Tokyo Rose called them the "Blue Raiders". Thomas was on one of these search missions when they heard that an 'atomic device' had been dropped on Hiroshima. They also flew air-sea rescue missions out of Iwo. He came back to the States and was assigned to Floyd Bennett Field as a BRF-1 ferry pilot. Thomas was discharged in the summer of 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Herman Billnitzer. Mr Billnitzer was a Pharmacist Mate in the Navy and spent most of his time as a corpsman with the 1st Marine Division, landing on Guadalcanal in October 1942. He describes the conditions on Guadalcanal as well as the conditions of the sailors that were rescued from ships sunk in Iron Bottom Sound. Near the end of the year, the 1st Marine Division was relieved by the Army and went to Australia for about eight months. From there, they were shipped to New Guinea, Milne Bay, where they stayed for about three months. Then, they landed on New Britain. Billnitzer gives a gripping description of the front line fighting on New Britain including the counterattacks by the Japanese; very revealing of what went on there. After New Britain, he was shipped back to the base hospital at Cape Gloucester and then to Pavuvu (Russell Islands) before he came back to the States for rest and rehabilitation in 1944; after over 20 months in the South Pacific. Billnitzer was sent to the naval hospital at Corpus Christi and then to the west coast for training at San Bruno, California. He went to Sasebo, …

Transcript of an oral interview with Stanley Vejtasa. Mr Vejtasa was born in 1914 on a farm in Montana. While at the University of Montana, he signed up for the Navy and went to Pensacola in 1938. He graduated from flight school and joined his first squadron, Scouting Squadron 5, in early 1939 on board the USS Yorktown which was based in San Diego; he was flying bi-planes (SBC-3). Vejtasa describes an exercise the Yorktown did with the USS Ranger in the Atlantic prior to the war, cruising down toward Africa and up to the north in the Atlantic. Shortly after December 7, 1941, the Yorktown was ordered to join the Pacific Fleet. When they went through the Panama Canal, they hung a sign on the back that said USS Wasp. Their first sortie was with the USS Enterprise on the Makin Islands strikes. After that, the Yorktown went into the South Pacific and participated in the strikes in the Guadalcanal area. He was flying a SBD now and describes the fogging problem with the gun sight and the glass. He was hit on one of these attacks but got back to the Yorktown safely. Next was the Battle of …

Transcript of an oral interview with Mr. Iwashita. From his Japanese Naval Academy class of 360, he was among 120 selected for flight training. Upon completion, he was chosen to be an instructor. After eight months serving as an instructor, Iwashita was assigned to combat duty with the 301st Air WIng at Yokosuka. Iwashita describes using aerial bombs to destroy attacking American bombers.