The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with the Reverend Dr. R. Thomas Bousman. Bousman was born in the Manila, Philippines in 1928. His parents were Christian missionaries. He fled to Los Banos with his family, but returned to Manila in late December, 1941. He was interned at Santo Tomas with his family for only a short period of time before being released and placed under house arrest because his parents were missionaries. In 1944, they were transferred to Los Banos and were eventually liberated from there in February, 1945. In May, they returned to California. Bousman also relates how the internee experience affected him throughout his life.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Cleland. He was born in Rochester, Indiana on December 3, 1920. He was drafted into the Army in October 1942 and was assigned to a machine gun platoon with the 12th Armored Division, 17th Infantry Battalion. On October 3, 1944 he shipped out to England on the passenger liner MS Empress of Australia. He recalls that it took two weeks to resupply, followed by a landing at Le Havre, France. He recalls that his division was assigned to the 3rd Army and relieved the 4th Armored Division. His division was sent to the small Alsatian village of Herrlisheim on January 16, 1945, to join other units. He recalls that the Americans had captured half of the village by that time, when the Germans retook the town on January 17. By January 18 his unit was holed up in a barn when a German tank arrived, forcing them to surrender. He recalls being marched to the Rhine River, suffering frostbite and crossing the river, where he and the other POWs were loaded onto railroad cattle guards and taken to the German POW camp, Stalag VI-G in Baden Baden. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with C.R. Jack Mummert. Mummert was born in Logansport, Indiana on 3 January 1916 and graduated from high school in Havre, Montana in 1935. Joining the Marine Corps in December 1942, he was sent to boot camp at San Diego, California. He was selected for Officers Candidate School and received his commission at Quantico, Virginia. After undergoing several courses in communications, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division as the communications officer. His responsibilities included forty Indian code talkers and he comments on their value in combat. He tells of the division spending 59 days on board a troop ship prior to the invasion of Guam and of the casualties taken during the initial landing. After Guam was secured the division participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and Mummert recalls the high casualty rate among his communications people. While on Iwo Jima, he was evacuated and sent to the hospital on Guam. Following his recovery, he was sent to Hawaii for a period of time and then sent back to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul St. Pierre. St. Pierre joined the Navy in 1934. In November of 1935 he traveled aboard the USS Vega (AK-17) to San Diego, then was assigned to the USS Langley (CV-1), working as a signal striker. Their ship served as a training ship for carrier landings. In 1937 they traveled to Mare Island for ship modifications, then headed to French Frigate Shoals to operate with new PBY planes. He was promoted to Signalman 3rd Class. St. Pierre provides details of his work, comradery with shipmates, their living accommodations and general life aboard the ship. They traveled to Sitka, Alaska, Seattle, Washington, Coronado Island and operated off of San Clemente, Long Beach, San Diego and Hawaii. In 1938 they participated in a training defense of the Hawaiian Islands, where the Black Fleet was the US and the Red Fleet was the Japanese, and he shares details of this training exercise and others. He was discharged in June of 1939. St. Pierre served as the historian for the association of individuals who have served aboard the Langley and continues on his interview with additional historical facts about the ships service …

Ensemble performance at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.

Interview with Boyd Lamb. He answers questions about his life before enlisting, life on the USS Tennessee, and his life post-war.

Ensemble performance at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.