Oral History Interview with Thomas Young, April 17, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Thomas Young, April 17, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Young. Young joined the Army and served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, and participated in the Normandy landings. In September, Young made the invasion in Holland.
Date: April 17, 2004
Creator: Young, Thomas
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Grimm, April 28, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Richard Grimm, April 28, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Grimm. Grimm joined the Navy in November 1941. He was sent to USS Maury (DD-401) and served as a signalman and anti-aircraft gunner. Grimm describes seeing Pearl Harbor soon after the attack and participating in the Battle of Coral Sea. He also mentions the signal that he was ordered to fly at the beginning of the Battle of Midway. Grimm describes seeing the USS Porter (DD-356) get hit at Santa Cruz and then taking part in the naval battles in the Solomon Islands where he helped recover casualties from the USS New Orleans (CA-32) and rescue crewman from the USS Helena (CL-50). He goes into detail on a close-call at the Battle of Kolombangara. At Vella Lavella, Grimm spotted the approaching Japanese fleet and describes how his ship launched torpedoes that sank three ships. He also discusses seeing the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) get hit by a torpedo that passed under the Maury. Grimm also took part in the landings at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf where the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) was damaged by a near miss from a kamikaze. He was in New York at the …
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Grimm, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Fisher, April 28, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with James Fisher, April 28, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James W. Fisher. Fisher was born in Witt County, Virginia. On 7 February 1939 he joined the Navy and underwent boot camp at Norfolk, Virginia. He was then sent to San Diego where he was assigned to the USS Shaw (DD-373) as a deck hand. After a period of time he transferred to the USS Whitney (AD-4) for on the job training as a torpedo man. Upon completion of his training he was reassigned to the Shaw and sailed to Samoa. Upon the ship’s return to the United States in 1941, Fisher was placed in a hospital while the Shaw returned to Pearl Harbor. Fisher returned to Pearl Harbor aboard a tanker on 8 December and saw the destruction caused by the Japanese attack. On 14 December 1941 he was assigned to the USS Maury (DD-401) as a torpedo man. He was involved in the invasion of Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Iwo Jima as well as night surface action with Japanese ships. He recalls the ship being involved in rescuing survivors of the USS Honolulu after it was torpedoed. Fisher was discharged from the US Navy soon after World …
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Fisher, James W.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date: February 23, 2004
Creator: Day, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date: February 23, 2004
Creator: Day, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert L. (Bob) Groves, April 30, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert L. (Bob) Groves, April 30, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob Grove. He discusses joining the Marine Corp, shipping out to New Zealand before landing on Guadacanal a few days after the invasion started there, then going to Tarawa, getting malaria, returning to Hawaii for more training before going to fight on Saipan, getting hit by shrapnel and shot in the leg. He describes battle conditions, getting caught in storms abroad ships crossing the Pacific, returning to the states after being wounded and attending reunions and being involved in the 2nd Marine Division Association after the war.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Groves, Robert L. (Bob)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Walter Buczek, August 9, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Walter Buczek, August 9, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Buczek. Buczek joined the Army in 1943 and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. He completed Automotive Transport School, repairing trucks. During his schooling he was assigned as a mechanical instructor. In June of 1945 he traveled to Hawaii, then landed on Ie Shima, Okinawa in July. Buczek served with the 1631st Engineer Construction Battalion. He worked with heavy equipment on road construction and building airfields through the spring of 1946. He returned to the US and was discharged in March of 1946.
Date: August 9, 2004
Creator: Buczek, Walter
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alan W. Saunders, October 8, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alan W. Saunders, October 8, 2004

Interview with Alan W. "Buck" Saunders of New Braunfels, Texas, a veteran of the Army Air Force during World War Two. The interview includes Saunders' personal experiences while in the Air Force, including the China-Burma-India Theater and memories of flying cargo to China over the Himalayas. Mr. Saunders also talks about life before and after his service.
Date: October 8, 2004
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Saunders, Alan W.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph Sharp, March 16, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Joseph Sharp, March 16, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Sharp where he discusses his childhood and education. He describes the process of enlisting in the Navy, the training he had to go through to become a pilot and his experiences in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
Date: March 16, 2004
Creator: Sharp, Joeseph & Weed, Peter
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Charles Walter Bernhardt, July 24, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Charles Walter Bernhardt, July 24, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Walter Bernhardt discussing where he grew up and stories from his childhood. He shares some of his experiences being stationed in Hawaii and fighting in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two, as well as some of the experiences of his friends and people he's met.
Date: July 24, 2004
Creator: Bernhardt, Charles Walter; Tombaug, John & Meter, Peg Van
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Wayne Newport, June 11, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Wayne Newport, June 11, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wayne Nelson, where he discusses his childhood and what led him to joining the Navy. He describes his experiences in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two and the lasting impact it had on him.
Date: June 11, 2004
Creator: Tombaugh, John B.; Meter, Peg Van & Newport, Wayne
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Owen Fluckey, August 21, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Owen Fluckey, August 21, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Owen Fluckey. He discusses his childhood and family and what led him to join the US navy. He describes his experiences in bootcamp at the Great Lakes Training Station in Indiana and his time in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
Date: April 21, 2004
Creator: Fluckey, Owen; Tombaugh, John B. & Meter, Peggy Van
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Eugene Riester, November 20, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Eugene Riester, November 20, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene Riester where he discusses his childhood and education and what led him to joining the Navy. He describes his experiences in the attack on Peral harbor and his service in the Pacific Theatre that followed.
Date: November 20, 2004
Creator: Riester, Eugene; Tombaugh, John & Meter, Peg Van
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History