The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudy Rodriguez. Rodriguez left high school and joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He then received advanced infantry training and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division as a rifleman. After deploying to Guam with the 21st Marine Regiment, Rodriguez learned that he could get out of mess duty and guard duty if he completed flame-thrower training and advanced to PFC. Upon completion of special weapons training, he joined a three-man flamethrower patrol unit. More than once, he encountered Japanese holdouts who either attacked or committed suicide by way of grenade. In addition to capturing a half-dozen Japanese, Rodriguez discovered an American who had been hiding safely among the natives for years. Rodriguez enjoyed trading with the Chamorros, bringing mangoes and bananas back to camp to curry favor and avoid punishment for his unauthorized bartering. After a year and a half, Rodriguez was transferred to Hawaii. Before his discharge, he earned his high school diploma at the Aiea Military School of the Marine Corps.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bernard Dillon. Dillon joined the Navy in February of 1943. Around December of 1944 he completed radio operator training and was assigned to ACORN-24 in the Admiralty Islands. They constructed an airfield for patrol planes on Los Negros Island. Dillon assisted with construction and with copying Morse Code. He returned to the US in May of 1945, reenlisted and served another 2 years, receiving his discharge in late 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John F. Sleasman. Sleasman was born 16 June 1926 and joined the Navy in 1943. After attending boot camp at Sampson, New York he went to machinist school in Dearborn, Michigan. He then trained as a diver in Manhattan, New York and tells of the sunken USS Lafayette (AP-53) (formerly the SS Normandie) being used for training purposes. In 1944 he was sent to the ship salvage depot in Noumea, New Caledonia. Sleasman recalls working on the heavily damaged SS Elilu Thompson, for which he received a special commendation. He also remembers an incident that claimed the lives of two of his fellow divers. In December 1945 he returned to the United States and was assigned to the USS Amphion (AR-13). He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Winter. Winter joined the Navy around 1943, serving as a quartermaster aboard the USS Cronin (DE-704). Winter worked with the deck force, ordering all relevant supplies including paint, thinners, brushes, scrapers and more. They escorted convoys across the Atlantic to North Africa and Sicily. In December of 1944 they traveled through the Pacific, escorting freighters and aircraft carriers. Winter was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sid Yawn. Born in 1924, Yawn graduated from high school in 1941 with the intention of playing professional baseball. He describes learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor and enlisting in the Navy in 1942 despite being underage. After attending Storekeeper?s School, he was assigned to CUB 9 which was tasked with setting up supply bases for Marines on Guadalcanal. He was a Storekeeper First Class. His unit was part of the first wave to land on the Treasury Islands as part of a diversionary force. He describes the landing, the operation of the supply base, and the living conditions. He was sent to Camp Peary, Virginia in 1944 where he played on the baseball team. He shares anecdotes about being issued Marine uniforms; soldiers building a still; his injuries from coral during a surprise air attack; operating a base movie theater; and contacting other soldiers after the war. At the end of the war, he signed a contract with the Yankees baseball team.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Rudd. Rudd was drafted in October 1942 and became a member of the Army Air Forces. He was sent to radio school and served as a radioman on a C-47 in the 83rd Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Rudd took part in the D-Day invasion and describes pulling gliders, dropping paratroopers, and evacuating wounded. He describes his duties and the type of equipment he used as a radioman. Rudd also describes how equipment was dropped to supply the front lines. A flight nurse pressed him into service to help care for the wounded on a flight where they transported former POWs. Rudd describes a few close calls due to enemy flak, an engine malfunction, and also mentions seeing a German jet in flight. He also describes how radio signals were used to guide friendly aircraft back to England. Rudd left the service at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas C. Geary. Born 1 November 1917 in Victorville, California, Geary attended Calaveras high school in San Andreas graduating in 1935. In 1937, Geary graduated from junior college and enlisted in the Army Air Forces in April 1943 hoping to be a bombardier. After completing basic training at Kearns Army Air Base, Utah, he was sent to Utah State University in Logan and then Kingman, Arizona where he received gunnery training. He then went to Carlsbad, New Mexico where he was trained as a bombardier. Upon graduation he went to Mountain Home, Idaho for advanced training. Following this, he embarked from Travis Army Air Field for Nadzab, New Guinea. Upon arriving there 20 January 1945 he was assigned to the 307th Bomb Group (Heavy) flying B-24 bombers. He tells of bombing missions over various targets and recalls one mission when his plane was attacked by Japanese fighters and damaged by flak. Geary recalls the mission over Balikpapa, Borneo when he was seriously wounded by shell fragments. Upon returning to base he was taken to the hospital at Tacloban for treatment. After a period of time he was placed …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Austin. Austin joined the Navy and was commissioned as an ensign before being assigned to the USS Pope (DD-225 in the Philippines. He was there when the war started. Austin was aboard the Pope when she was attacked and sunk. He was rescued by a Japanese destroyer and made a prisoner of war. He was held on Java and then Makassar. He was around when Richard Antrim intervened during a beating of a POW (Antrim was awarded the Medal of Honor). He shares several other POW anecdotes about their treatment, their daily lives, etc. in the camps. He also shares the experience of being liberated.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vicente Blaz. Blaz was a child during the Japanese occupation of his native Guam. He describes how he and his family lived under constant fear. Blaz discusses how he was forced to join a labor battalion as a young teenager. He talks about how he dug caves and cleared jungle for an airstrip. Blaz describes the hardships endured including lack of food and proper clothing. He discusses the return of the US military and the rapid changes to the island that followed. Blaz describes the profound appreciation that he felt when Guam was liberated. He goes on to describe his later life which included graduating from Notre Dame, becoming a Marine Corps general, and serving two terms as a congressman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Harrison. Born in 1922, he joined the Marine Corps in December 1941. He describes his battle experiences on Guadalcanal as well as the supply shortages and Japanese naval shelling. He contracted malaria there. He also talks about the Japanese night attacks on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. He describes landing on Tarawa. Assigned to man a machine gun on top of an amphibious tractor in the first wave of the invasion, he was injured and stranded in his disabled tractor. After making his way to a Higgins boat, he and others were picked up by a destroyer and returned to their original ship. He describes his experiences in battle on Saipan as well as witnessing the suicides of civilians. He also mentions the invasion of Tinian. After thirty months in the Pacific Theater, he was transferred to the recreation department at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. He shares anecdotes about enlisting in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; eating coconuts on Tulagi; his summary court martial after a furlough in New Zealand; and teaching himself to be a sailing instructor at Camp Lejeune. He was discharged in December …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Lajzer. Lajzer volunteered for service in the Army. Lajzer was assigned to a tank unit and trained at Fort Knox and in Louisiana before shipping out to the Philippines in late 1941. He was present at Clark Field when the Japanese attacked. He describes his retreat to Bataan and his activities there until he was surrendered. He also speaks of the six days he marched on the Bataan Death March out of Bataan. Once he was in a prisoner of war camp, he was assigned to a logging detail. He also contracted malaria and relates stories about smuggling items past the Japanese guards and into prison camps. Lajzer describes being aboard a hellship and being trransported to Formosa (Taiwan), where he spent the remainder of the war until he was liberated. Upon returning to the US, he was sent ot a hospital for a while before re-enlisting. He retired in 1966.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. Janus Poppe. Poppe was born in the Netherlands in 1916. As a teenager, he worked as a mechanic for a ship building company. After high school, he attended a Dutch Marine academy for two years. In the mid-1930s, he served as a Deck Officer aboard a ship that traveled around the world twice. He later worked for a shipping company in the Dutch East Indies. In May of 1940, he was traveling in the middle of the Pacific when word arrived from his parents in Holland that the Germans had invaded. Poppe was then trained as a navigator and bombardier. He was serving as a navigator and bombardier aboard PBYs when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Poppe shares several recollections of his encounters with the Japanese during the war, and patrolling around Indonesia. He additionally oversaw 200 Dutch Marines, assigned to patrol and defend Parafield, South Australia. Around 1943, he completed military flight school at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John F. Sleasman. Sleasman was born 16 June 1926 and joined the Navy in 1943. After attending boot camp at Sampson, New York he went to machinist school in Dearborn, Michigan. He then trained as a diver in Manhattan, New York and tells of the sunken USS Lafayette (AP-53) (formerly the SS Normandie) being used for training purposes. In 1944 he was sent to the ship salvage depot in Noumea, New Caledonia. Sleasman recalls working on the heavily damaged SS Elilu Thompson, for which he received a special commendation. He also remembers an incident that claimed the lives of two of his fellow divers. In December 1945 he returned to the United States and was assigned to the USS Amphion (AR-13). He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Winter. Winter joined the Navy around 1943, serving as a quartermaster aboard the USS Cronin (DE-704). Winter worked with the deck force, ordering all relevant supplies including paint, thinners, brushes, scrapers and more. They escorted convoys across the Atlantic to North Africa and Sicily. In December of 1944 they traveled through the Pacific, escorting freighters and aircraft carriers. Winter was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sid Yawn. Born in 1924, Yawn graduated from high school in 1941 with the intention of playing professional baseball. He describes learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor and enlisting in the Navy in 1942 despite being underage. After attending Storekeeper?s School, he was assigned to CUB 9 which was tasked with setting up supply bases for Marines on Guadalcanal. He was a Storekeeper First Class. His unit was part of the first wave to land on the Treasury Islands as part of a diversionary force. He describes the landing, the operation of the supply base, and the living conditions. He was sent to Camp Peary, Virginia in 1944 where he played on the baseball team. He shares anecdotes about being issued Marine uniforms; soldiers building a still; his injuries from coral during a surprise air attack; operating a base movie theater; and contacting other soldiers after the war. At the end of the war, he signed a contract with the Yankees baseball team.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Rudd. Rudd was drafted in October 1942 and became a member of the Army Air Forces. He was sent to radio school and served as a radioman on a C-47 in the 83rd Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Rudd took part in the D-Day invasion and describes pulling gliders, dropping paratroopers, and evacuating wounded. He describes his duties and the type of equipment he used as a radioman. Rudd also describes how equipment was dropped to supply the front lines. A flight nurse pressed him into service to help care for the wounded on a flight where they transported former POWs. Rudd describes a few close calls due to enemy flak, an engine malfunction, and also mentions seeing a German jet in flight. He also describes how radio signals were used to guide friendly aircraft back to England. Rudd left the service at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas C. Geary. Born 1 November 1917 in Victorville, California, Geary attended Calaveras high school in San Andreas graduating in 1935. In 1937, Geary graduated from junior college and enlisted in the Army Air Forces in April 1943 hoping to be a bombardier. After completing basic training at Kearns Army Air Base, Utah, he was sent to Utah State University in Logan and then Kingman, Arizona where he received gunnery training. He then went to Carlsbad, New Mexico where he was trained as a bombardier. Upon graduation he went to Mountain Home, Idaho for advanced training. Following this, he embarked from Travis Army Air Field for Nadzab, New Guinea. Upon arriving there 20 January 1945 he was assigned to the 307th Bomb Group (Heavy) flying B-24 bombers. He tells of bombing missions over various targets and recalls one mission when his plane was attacked by Japanese fighters and damaged by flak. Geary recalls the mission over Balikpapa, Borneo when he was seriously wounded by shell fragments. Upon returning to base he was taken to the hospital at Tacloban for treatment. After a period of time he was placed …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Austin. Austin joined the Navy and was commissioned as an ensign before being assigned to the USS Pope (DD-225 in the Philippines. He was there when the war started. Austin was aboard the Pope when she was attacked and sunk. He was rescued by a Japanese destroyer and made a prisoner of war. He was held on Java and then Makassar. He was around when Richard Antrim intervened during a beating of a POW (Antrim was awarded the Medal of Honor). He shares several other POW anecdotes about their treatment, their daily lives, etc. in the camps. He also shares the experience of being liberated.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vicente Blaz. Blaz was a child during the Japanese occupation of his native Guam. He describes how he and his family lived under constant fear. Blaz discusses how he was forced to join a labor battalion as a young teenager. He talks about how he dug caves and cleared jungle for an airstrip. Blaz describes the hardships endured including lack of food and proper clothing. He discusses the return of the US military and the rapid changes to the island that followed. Blaz describes the profound appreciation that he felt when Guam was liberated. He goes on to describe his later life which included graduating from Notre Dame, becoming a Marine Corps general, and serving two terms as a congressman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Harrison. Born in 1922, he joined the Marine Corps in December 1941. He describes his battle experiences on Guadalcanal as well as the supply shortages and Japanese naval shelling. He contracted malaria there. He also talks about the Japanese night attacks on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. He describes landing on Tarawa. Assigned to man a machine gun on top of an amphibious tractor in the first wave of the invasion, he was injured and stranded in his disabled tractor. After making his way to a Higgins boat, he and others were picked up by a destroyer and returned to their original ship. He describes his experiences in battle on Saipan as well as witnessing the suicides of civilians. He also mentions the invasion of Tinian. After thirty months in the Pacific Theater, he was transferred to the recreation department at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. He shares anecdotes about enlisting in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; eating coconuts on Tulagi; his summary court martial after a furlough in New Zealand; and teaching himself to be a sailing instructor at Camp Lejeune. He was discharged in December …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Lajzer. Lajzer volunteered for service in the Army. Lajzer was assigned to a tank unit and trained at Fort Knox and in Louisiana before shipping out to the Philippines in late 1941. He was present at Clark Field when the Japanese attacked. He describes his retreat to Bataan and his activities there until he was surrendered. He also speaks of the six days he marched on the Bataan Death March out of Bataan. Once he was in a prisoner of war camp, he was assigned to a logging detail. He also contracted malaria and relates stories about smuggling items past the Japanese guards and into prison camps. Lajzer describes being aboard a hellship and being trransported to Formosa (Taiwan), where he spent the remainder of the war until he was liberated. Upon returning to the US, he was sent ot a hospital for a while before re-enlisting. He retired in 1966.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. Janus Poppe. Poppe was born in the Netherlands in 1916. As a teenager, he worked as a mechanic for a ship building company. After high school, he attended a Dutch Marine academy for two years. In the mid-1930s, he served as a Deck Officer aboard a ship that traveled around the world twice. He later worked for a shipping company in the Dutch East Indies. In May of 1940, he was traveling in the middle of the Pacific when word arrived from his parents in Holland that the Germans had invaded. Poppe was then trained as a navigator and bombardier. He was serving as a navigator and bombardier aboard PBYs when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Poppe shares several recollections of his encounters with the Japanese during the war, and patrolling around Indonesia. He additionally oversaw 200 Dutch Marines, assigned to patrol and defend Parafield, South Australia. Around 1943, he completed military flight school at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudy Rodriguez. Rodriguez left high school and joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He then received advanced infantry training and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division as a rifleman. After deploying to Guam with the 21st Marine Regiment, Rodriguez learned that he could get out of mess duty and guard duty if he completed flame-thrower training and advanced to PFC. Upon completion of special weapons training, he joined a three-man flamethrower patrol unit. More than once, he encountered Japanese holdouts who either attacked or committed suicide by way of grenade. In addition to capturing a half-dozen Japanese, Rodriguez discovered an American who had been hiding safely among the natives for years. Rodriguez enjoyed trading with the Chamorros, bringing mangoes and bananas back to camp to curry favor and avoid punishment for his unauthorized bartering. After a year and a half, Rodriguez was transferred to Hawaii. Before his discharge, he earned his high school diploma at the Aiea Military School of the Marine Corps.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bernard Dillon. Dillon joined the Navy in February of 1943. Around December of 1944 he completed radio operator training and was assigned to ACORN-24 in the Admiralty Islands. They constructed an airfield for patrol planes on Los Negros Island. Dillon assisted with construction and with copying Morse Code. He returned to the US in May of 1945, reenlisted and served another 2 years, receiving his discharge in late 1947.