The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Les Skelton. Skelton joined the military in July 1942 after being persuaded by his Polish-American college roommate to fight Nazi Germany. Being of Jewish decent and growing up in a small town with some Nazi sympathizers, Skelton was itching to fight. His training was intense, his instructors harassing him midflight to induce combat-level stress. Hoping to become a P-38 pilot, after flight training he was instead assigned to a B-17 crew. As part of the 8th Air Force, he carried out bombing missions in Europe, often targeting railroads and factories. Between July and December 1944, Skelton had 35 missions. His most harrowing experience was navigating antiaircraft fire over Cologne. During one flight, Skelton was shot in the back of his helmet and rendered unconscious. On other missions, he encountered enemy aircraft and could sometimes spot the trails of V-2 rockets. Once, he was faced with an Me-109 flying straight at him, when enemy aircraft’s wings detached, causing the plane to plummet. Skelton returned home and was discharged in the spring of 1945, having earned seven Air Medals.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Dusek. Dusek left college to join the Army in May 1943 and received basic training at Camp Maxey. He then received nine months of engineering training, specializing in rebuilding war-torn infrastructure. In September 1944 he was sent to the battlefield in Belgium with the 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. He was hit by shrapnel from a German tank and was discovered 30 minutes later by German soldiers. He was taken to a German field hospital, but he was not given any pain medication for his wounds. That evening, after the German had tended to their own wounded, Dusek was given surgical treatment. He was transferred to Stalag IVB and was treated very well. Upon recovery, he was sent to Halle, where conditions were fair. An American air raid struck the camp on 1 April 1945, killing all but 10 of the 80 American prisoners. Dusek was liberated by the 8th Armored Division on 25 April and sent to McCloskey Veterans Hospital. He received a medical discharge in September 1945 and returned to college on the GI Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Brasell. Brasell joined the Army in November 1940 and went directly to Hawaii for training. He watched the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Punch Bowl on Oahu. His duty included delivering ammunition to various installation guard posts in the hills around Pearl Harbor. He had some contact with Ensign Sakamaki at Fort Shafter after his capture. In December, 1942, he landed on Guadalcanal. Brasell served as a machine gunner protecting the area around Henderson Field. He also invaded New Georgia. He also landed with his unit on Luzon in January 1945. Brasell rotated back to the US in June, 1945 and received his discharge at then end of that month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Covill Schneider. " " In February 1943, he began his ground education. By the time he earned his wings, he had witnessed several fatal crashes, prompting him to become a churchgoer. In August 1944 he narrowly qualified for carrier landings in an SBD. He then volunteered for night training in Corsairs. Flying at night over tremendous ocean swells during his training was terrifying. He made his first high-altitude flights in Hawaii off of the USS Saratoga (CV-3), making an emergency landing when a section of cowl broke off and punctured his canopy. When he deployed to Saipan in July 1945, he was met with the sobering sight of human remains in caves that had been burned out by flamethrowers. Schneider returned home and was discharged soon after.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Nash. Nash joined the Army Air Forces in the fall of 1942. He received his wings in April of 1944, and was assigned to the 433rd Troop Carrier Group, 67th Troop Carrier Squadron. Operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific, they transported in supplies and evacuated wounded personnel during numerous campaigns. Nash recalls traveling to Luzon, Okinawa and assisting with the liberation of POWs from Manila and the Bataan survivors. After the war, he served with the occupation forces in Japan. He was discharged in the spring of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Norwood. Norwood joined the Marine Corps in June of 1943. He provides details of his training including Biddle-style bayonet training. He joined Company B, 4th Amphibious Tractor Battalion (Landing Vehicle Tracked), 4th Marine Division. He traveled to the Marshall Islands in January of 1944. Norwood provides some details of the LVT. He participated in the first wave in the Battle of Kwajalein. They traveled to Guadalcanal in May of 1944 for training. In July they were the first wave of amphibious tractors on Guam, fighting side-by-side amphibious tanks. He speaks on the differences between the tractors and tanks, and the casualties that he witnessed during this wave. From there they were the eighth wave into Iwo Jima. Norwood received three Battle Stars. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Carson. Carson joined the Army Air Corps in November of 1940. In December, he was assigned to Hickam Field in Hawaii, working with weapons in a supply squadron. Carson shares his experiences living and working in Hawaii prior to, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In mid-1942, he was sent to Fiji with a small support group, providing fuel and supplies to the war effort in the Pacific. In early 1944, Carson completed Loadmaster School in California and served in North Africa. He traveled to Casablanca, Morocco, supplying the armed forces in Italy. He was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd Trogdon. Trogdon joined the Army Air Forces in October 1942 and went through the aviation cadet training program to train as a navigator. He earned his commission in December 1943 and reported t oB-24 flight crew duty the following January. He arrived in Italy in April, 1944 and began flying combat missions. Trogdon describes various missions he flew, including one over Ploesti. He flew 50 missions by October and returned to the US to attend an advanced navigation course. Trogdon also underwent pilot training. He graduated as a pilot in October, 1945. He stayed in the Air Force and worked on nuclear weapons systems.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Dubray. Dubray joined the Navy in June, 1943 and trained in San Diego. Afterwards, he was assigned to USS San Juan (CL-54) in December. He went with the ship to the Marshall Islands and describes his experience crossing he equator. He shares several anecdotes about life aboard the cruiser and some about the surrender and going ashore in Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue with Douglas Hubbard. Hubbard recalls several events surrounding the recovery of the artifacts from various Pacific battlefield areas during the 1971-72 time period. His father, Doug, Sr., served as museum director in 1971, and during that time Hubbard, Jr. was serving in Vietnam with the US Naval Intelligence Command. Through his numerous travels through New Guinea and other Pacific Islands, Hubbard identified remaining artifacts that would help the museum interpret certain events in the Pacific War. He also identified veterans who could assist with firsthand accounts in World War II. He recounts how he acquired and transported the artifacts and veteran interviews back to the museum in Fredericksburg.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Huddleston Wright. Wright, an Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the Lost Battalion, concerning his experiences as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. Wright discusses the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944-1945), Phet Buri, Thailand (1945), and his liberation. Wright served in the Army through 1956. See Appendix starting on page 138.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Dubray. Dubray joined the Navy in June, 1943 and trained in San Diego. Afterwards, he was assigned to USS San Juan (CL-54) in December. He went with the ship to the Marshall Islands and describes his experience crossing he equator. He shares several anecdotes about life aboard the cruiser and some about the surrender and going ashore in Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Covill Schneider. " " In February 1943, he began his ground education. By the time he earned his wings, he had witnessed several fatal crashes, prompting him to become a churchgoer. In August 1944 he narrowly qualified for carrier landings in an SBD. He then volunteered for night training in Corsairs. Flying at night over tremendous ocean swells during his training was terrifying. He made his first high-altitude flights in Hawaii off of the USS Saratoga (CV-3), making an emergency landing when a section of cowl broke off and punctured his canopy. When he deployed to Saipan in July 1945, he was met with the sobering sight of human remains in caves that had been burned out by flamethrowers. Schneider returned home and was discharged soon after.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Nash. Nash joined the Army Air Forces in the fall of 1942. He received his wings in April of 1944, and was assigned to the 433rd Troop Carrier Group, 67th Troop Carrier Squadron. Operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific, they transported in supplies and evacuated wounded personnel during numerous campaigns. Nash recalls traveling to Luzon, Okinawa and assisting with the liberation of POWs from Manila and the Bataan survivors. After the war, he served with the occupation forces in Japan. He was discharged in the spring of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Carson. Carson joined the Army Air Corps in November of 1940. In December, he was assigned to Hickam Field in Hawaii, working with weapons in a supply squadron. Carson shares his experiences living and working in Hawaii prior to, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In mid-1942, he was sent to Fiji with a small support group, providing fuel and supplies to the war effort in the Pacific. In early 1944, Carson completed Loadmaster School in California and served in North Africa. He traveled to Casablanca, Morocco, supplying the armed forces in Italy. He was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd Trogdon. Trogdon joined the Army Air Forces in October 1942 and went through the aviation cadet training program to train as a navigator. He earned his commission in December 1943 and reported t oB-24 flight crew duty the following January. He arrived in Italy in April, 1944 and began flying combat missions. Trogdon describes various missions he flew, including one over Ploesti. He flew 50 missions by October and returned to the US to attend an advanced navigation course. Trogdon also underwent pilot training. He graduated as a pilot in October, 1945. He stayed in the Air Force and worked on nuclear weapons systems.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue with Douglas Hubbard. Hubbard recalls several events surrounding the recovery of the artifacts from various Pacific battlefield areas during the 1971-72 time period. His father, Doug, Sr., served as museum director in 1971, and during that time Hubbard, Jr. was serving in Vietnam with the US Naval Intelligence Command. Through his numerous travels through New Guinea and other Pacific Islands, Hubbard identified remaining artifacts that would help the museum interpret certain events in the Pacific War. He also identified veterans who could assist with firsthand accounts in World War II. He recounts how he acquired and transported the artifacts and veteran interviews back to the museum in Fredericksburg.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Norwood. Norwood joined the Marine Corps in June of 1943. He provides details of his training including Biddle-style bayonet training. He joined Company B, 4th Amphibious Tractor Battalion (Landing Vehicle Tracked), 4th Marine Division. He traveled to the Marshall Islands in January of 1944. Norwood provides some details of the LVT. He participated in the first wave in the Battle of Kwajalein. They traveled to Guadalcanal in May of 1944 for training. In July they were the first wave of amphibious tractors on Guam, fighting side-by-side amphibious tanks. He speaks on the differences between the tractors and tanks, and the casualties that he witnessed during this wave. From there they were the eighth wave into Iwo Jima. Norwood received three Battle Stars. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Les Skelton. Skelton joined the military in July 1942 after being persuaded by his Polish-American college roommate to fight Nazi Germany. Being of Jewish decent and growing up in a small town with some Nazi sympathizers, Skelton was itching to fight. His training was intense, his instructors harassing him midflight to induce combat-level stress. Hoping to become a P-38 pilot, after flight training he was instead assigned to a B-17 crew. As part of the 8th Air Force, he carried out bombing missions in Europe, often targeting railroads and factories. Between July and December 1944, Skelton had 35 missions. His most harrowing experience was navigating antiaircraft fire over Cologne. During one flight, Skelton was shot in the back of his helmet and rendered unconscious. On other missions, he encountered enemy aircraft and could sometimes spot the trails of V-2 rockets. Once, he was faced with an Me-109 flying straight at him, when enemy aircraft’s wings detached, causing the plane to plummet. Skelton returned home and was discharged in the spring of 1945, having earned seven Air Medals.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Dusek. Dusek left college to join the Army in May 1943 and received basic training at Camp Maxey. He then received nine months of engineering training, specializing in rebuilding war-torn infrastructure. In September 1944 he was sent to the battlefield in Belgium with the 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. He was hit by shrapnel from a German tank and was discovered 30 minutes later by German soldiers. He was taken to a German field hospital, but he was not given any pain medication for his wounds. That evening, after the German had tended to their own wounded, Dusek was given surgical treatment. He was transferred to Stalag IVB and was treated very well. Upon recovery, he was sent to Halle, where conditions were fair. An American air raid struck the camp on 1 April 1945, killing all but 10 of the 80 American prisoners. Dusek was liberated by the 8th Armored Division on 25 April and sent to McCloskey Veterans Hospital. He received a medical discharge in September 1945 and returned to college on the GI Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Brasell. Brasell joined the Army in November 1940 and went directly to Hawaii for training. He watched the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Punch Bowl on Oahu. His duty included delivering ammunition to various installation guard posts in the hills around Pearl Harbor. He had some contact with Ensign Sakamaki at Fort Shafter after his capture. In December, 1942, he landed on Guadalcanal. Brasell served as a machine gunner protecting the area around Henderson Field. He also invaded New Georgia. He also landed with his unit on Luzon in January 1945. Brasell rotated back to the US in June, 1945 and received his discharge at then end of that month.

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing getting a haircut, sending Catherine some money, playing a game of poker, and watching the movie "Janie."

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing news from home, including visiting Jenny the previous evening, plans for a quiet night in, and Mammy's new habit of sleeping late.

Photograph of Cecelia McKie standing between George Norris and Francis 'Gabby' Gabour while all three hold open a scrapbook.