The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Garlic. Garlic joined the Navy to become an aviator in 1941. He trained to become a pilot of a F6F Hellcat night fighter. He tells stories of his experiences through training on the USS Ranger (CV-4) in the Atlantic to his service in VF(N)-78 aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16) in the Pacific. Garlic downed three Japanese torpedo planes in one mission while protecting the Lexington .

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Morrison. Morrison was inducted into the Army in 1944 after he graduated high school. He was sent to the 2nd Infantry Division as a replacement in the winter of 1945. He suffered frostbite, scarlet fever, and mumps. He was knocked out by an artillery barrage and left behind by his advancing unit who believed he was dead. Morrison awoke and found his unit. He discovered a large shell fragment had been stopped by a pocket Bible, saving his life. Morrison discusses being shot at by a group of German boys aged 11 to 15. He eventually was sent to Czechoslovakia after the war had ended to guard German prisoners. Morrison was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack First. First joined the Marine Corps in May of 1942. He completed Ordnance School. He served with the 2nd Anti-Tank Battalion. They were stationed on New Zealand for 8 months. In 1943 he was sent back to the US and assigned to the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regiment, Company E. He was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the guns for the company. They traveled to Hawaii and completed additional training at Parker Ranch. They participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima beginning February of 1945. He was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Larry Parker. Parker was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943. He was trained and joined the crew of a B-17 as a co-pilot. He was a member of a specialized unit trained to carry wooden life boats slung under the bomb bay and to drop them by parachute when downed aircrews were discovered. Parker operated out of the Philippines and eventually was sent to Ie Shima. He details several lifeboat drops. His plane carried General Stillwell to Okinawa after the death of General Buckner. He describes Stillwell almost melting one of the plane’s guns due to continuous fire during this trip. Parker also witnessed the Japanese delegation that landed on Ie Shima at the end of the war. He left the service in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred C. Hinds. Hinds joined the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained as a corpsman and was sent to the 23rd Naval Construction Battalion in Hawaii. Hinds was transferred to the USS Cache (AO-67) where he eventually became the ship’s mail clerk and also stood bridge watches. He describes the refueling process and mentions when a carrier had to make an emergency separation. Hinds also discusses witnessing the flag raisings on Iwo Jima and an attack on a nearby tanker at Ulithi by a Japanese mini-sub. His ship was also a part of the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. He also witnessed a destroyer sink during a typhoon. Hinds was discharged soon after the surrender of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold DeYoung. DeYoung joined the Navy around mid-1942. He trained in radio and submarine cable telegraphy. In March of 1945 DeYoung was assigned to replace the cable station in Manila, which had been destroyed by the Japanese. He was discharged in late 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with W. Bruce George. Born in 1920, he was drafted in 1942. After training as a weather observer, he was sent to the Middle East. He describes the route taken by the ship, the Robin Tuxford, from Philadelphia to the Persian Gulf. He served as a weather observer with the 19th Weather Squadron in Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya as well as Abadan, Iran and Ankara, Turkey. He shares an anecdote about mail censorship. He was discharged in September, 1945. The interview also contains information about his parents.

Transcript of an oral interview with Arelius Hall and his daughter Margaret. He discusses joining the Navy and becoming a Quartermaster on PT-246, being stationed in the Pacific and doing patrols around Bougainville and seeing other damaged PT boats coming into harbour.

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert J. Tweed. Born in 1921, he joined the Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division and sent to Marseilles, France as part of Task Force Linden. In December, 1944 he was an infantry squad leader in the 1st Battalion when he was deployed near Strasbourg, France. He provides an account of the combat action in which he participated, including a German tank assault, in the town of Hatten. He shares an anecdote about reporting on a reconnaissance mission to General Smith. After being sent back from the front lines, he became a machine gun platoon leader in a heavy weapons company. After training replacement troops, he was sent to the Siegfried Line and advanced to Nuremburg and Munich. When the war ended, he served at a displaced persons camp in Austria and was involved in Yugoslavian resettlement. He describes an instance in which he, though charged with the repatriation of Yugoslavians, allowed refugees in transit to leave a boxcar before reaching areas under Russian control. Later he was part of the Army occupation in Salzburg, Austria where he served as an MP at war crime trials. He was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Granville Coggs. Coggs joined the Army Air Forces in the fall of 1943. He trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and at Tyndall Field in Florida, serving as a pilot and one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. Coggs was commissioned on 16 October 1945 as a second lieutenant bombardier pilot. He served as an aerial gunner, aerial bombardier, multi-engine pilot and B-25 pilot trainee who was scheduled for the 477th Bombardment Group, though never made it to combat, as the war ended in 1945 before he finished training. Coggs was discharged in the fall of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Placido Lozano. Lozano joined the Navy in October of 1943. He completed Radio School. He was assigned to a Landing Craft Infantry participating in the Battle of Saipan in June of 1944. He was later stationed aboard a carrier in the Pacific. Lozano was assigned as a radioman to a Douglas SBD Dauntless divebomber. The pilot taught Lozano how to fly and they flew cover for the carrier in the Philippine Sea. He also participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ruth Scarce. Scarce volunteered for service in 1943 and served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WACS) as a teletype. After training and working all over the United States, Scarce was sent overseas to High Wycombe, England, where she continued to work as a teletype and switch board operator. During her time in England she often went to London where she stayed at the Red Cross Club for women, visited historical sites, pubs and met her future husband. Scarce was discharged in 1945 at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman Hoffman. Hoffman went into the Navy on 29 July 1944, the day after his 18th birthday, and took boot camp at the naval training station in Bainbridge, Maryland. After boot camp, he went to Fort Pierce, Florida for amphibious training on landing craft. Hoffman trained as a signalman, studying semaphore, Morse code, etc. After this training, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland where his ship, the USS Valencia (AKA-81), was commissioned. He was in the 3rd Division on board and his battle station was the first loader on a twin 40mm. Hoffman was on the ship for 15 months, 29 days; from the day it was commissioned to the day it was decommissioned. He gives a detailed list of all the places the ship went in those 16 months of service including the battle of Okinawa and taking the first occupation troops to Japan. After leaving Okinawa, they were in a very bad storm; the captain stating that another two degrees and the ship would go over. Hoffman said he lost two friends on other ships during that storm. He also talks about the kamikazes at Okinawa …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Garlic. Garlic joined the Navy to become an aviator in 1941. He trained to become a pilot of a F6F Hellcat night fighter. He tells stories of his experiences through training on the USS Ranger (CV-4) in the Atlantic to his service in VF(N)-78 aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16) in the Pacific. Garlic downed three Japanese torpedo planes in one mission while protecting the Lexington .

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Morrison. Morrison was inducted into the Army in 1944 after he graduated high school. He was sent to the 2nd Infantry Division as a replacement in the winter of 1945. He suffered frostbite, scarlet fever, and mumps. He was knocked out by an artillery barrage and left behind by his advancing unit who believed he was dead. Morrison awoke and found his unit. He discovered a large shell fragment had been stopped by a pocket Bible, saving his life. Morrison discusses being shot at by a group of German boys aged 11 to 15. He eventually was sent to Czechoslovakia after the war had ended to guard German prisoners. Morrison was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack First. First joined the Marine Corps in May of 1942. He completed Ordnance School. He served with the 2nd Anti-Tank Battalion. They were stationed on New Zealand for 8 months. In 1943 he was sent back to the US and assigned to the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regiment, Company E. He was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the guns for the company. They traveled to Hawaii and completed additional training at Parker Ranch. They participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima beginning February of 1945. He was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Larry Parker. Parker was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943. He was trained and joined the crew of a B-17 as a co-pilot. He was a member of a specialized unit trained to carry wooden life boats slung under the bomb bay and to drop them by parachute when downed aircrews were discovered. Parker operated out of the Philippines and eventually was sent to Ie Shima. He details several lifeboat drops. His plane carried General Stillwell to Okinawa after the death of General Buckner. He describes Stillwell almost melting one of the plane’s guns due to continuous fire during this trip. Parker also witnessed the Japanese delegation that landed on Ie Shima at the end of the war. He left the service in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred C. Hinds. Hinds joined the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained as a corpsman and was sent to the 23rd Naval Construction Battalion in Hawaii. Hinds was transferred to the USS Cache (AO-67) where he eventually became the ship’s mail clerk and also stood bridge watches. He describes the refueling process and mentions when a carrier had to make an emergency separation. Hinds also discusses witnessing the flag raisings on Iwo Jima and an attack on a nearby tanker at Ulithi by a Japanese mini-sub. His ship was also a part of the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. He also witnessed a destroyer sink during a typhoon. Hinds was discharged soon after the surrender of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold DeYoung. DeYoung joined the Navy around mid-1942. He trained in radio and submarine cable telegraphy. In March of 1945 DeYoung was assigned to replace the cable station in Manila, which had been destroyed by the Japanese. He was discharged in late 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with W. Bruce George. Born in 1920, he was drafted in 1942. After training as a weather observer, he was sent to the Middle East. He describes the route taken by the ship, the Robin Tuxford, from Philadelphia to the Persian Gulf. He served as a weather observer with the 19th Weather Squadron in Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya as well as Abadan, Iran and Ankara, Turkey. He shares an anecdote about mail censorship. He was discharged in September, 1945. The interview also contains information about his parents.

Transcript of an oral interview with Arelius Hall and his daughter Margaret. He discusses joining the Navy and becoming a Quartermaster on PT-246, being stationed in the Pacific and doing patrols around Bougainville and seeing other damaged PT boats coming into harbour.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman Hoffman. Hoffman went into the Navy on 29 July 1944, the day after his 18th birthday, and took boot camp at the naval training station in Bainbridge, Maryland. After boot camp, he went to Fort Pierce, Florida for amphibious training on landing craft. Hoffman trained as a signalman, studying semaphore, Morse code, etc. After this training, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland where his ship, the USS Valencia (AKA-81), was commissioned. He was in the 3rd Division on board and his battle station was the first loader on a twin 40mm. Hoffman was on the ship for 15 months, 29 days; from the day it was commissioned to the day it was decommissioned. He gives a detailed list of all the places the ship went in those 16 months of service including the battle of Okinawa and taking the first occupation troops to Japan. After leaving Okinawa, they were in a very bad storm; the captain stating that another two degrees and the ship would go over. Hoffman said he lost two friends on other ships during that storm. He also talks about the kamikazes at Okinawa …

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert J. Tweed. Born in 1921, he joined the Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division and sent to Marseilles, France as part of Task Force Linden. In December, 1944 he was an infantry squad leader in the 1st Battalion when he was deployed near Strasbourg, France. He provides an account of the combat action in which he participated, including a German tank assault, in the town of Hatten. He shares an anecdote about reporting on a reconnaissance mission to General Smith. After being sent back from the front lines, he became a machine gun platoon leader in a heavy weapons company. After training replacement troops, he was sent to the Siegfried Line and advanced to Nuremburg and Munich. When the war ended, he served at a displaced persons camp in Austria and was involved in Yugoslavian resettlement. He describes an instance in which he, though charged with the repatriation of Yugoslavians, allowed refugees in transit to leave a boxcar before reaching areas under Russian control. Later he was part of the Army occupation in Salzburg, Austria where he served as an MP at war crime trials. He was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Granville Coggs. Coggs joined the Army Air Forces in the fall of 1943. He trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and at Tyndall Field in Florida, serving as a pilot and one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. Coggs was commissioned on 16 October 1945 as a second lieutenant bombardier pilot. He served as an aerial gunner, aerial bombardier, multi-engine pilot and B-25 pilot trainee who was scheduled for the 477th Bombardment Group, though never made it to combat, as the war ended in 1945 before he finished training. Coggs was discharged in the fall of 1946.