A faculty and guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Conrad Miessler. Miessler joined the Army Air Force in February, 1943 and discusses his pilot training in the T-6 Texan. He eventually graduated up to the P-38. Once Miessler was deployed to the Pacific, he flew missions from the Philippines to targets on Formosa (Taiwan). He was attached to the 433rd Fighter Squadron, 435th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. When the war ended, he was shipped to Korea and flew a few months before going home and enrolling in Purdue University, where he used the G.I. Bill to earn an engineering degree in 1950.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Merrick. Merrick joined the Air Force Reserves. By 1942 he had earned his pilot license and completed two civilian pilot training courses. He graduated as a flight officer from the glider pilot program in Lubbock, Texas in May of 1943. Merrick was assigned to the 437th Troop Carrier Group and the 84th Squadron. In January of 1944 he was shipped to England and provides details of his experiences there and additional training. In June of 1944 his outfit participated in D-Day. He also participated in Operation Market Garden in September of 1944. He served as a glider pilot during the war and provides detail of his experiences through these events. He returned to the U.S. in July of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard L. Nielsen. Nielsen joined the Navy in 1960 after two years of college at San Francisco State. Nielsen discusses his father's service aboard liberty ships as a radio operator in the Merchant Marine during WWII in the Pacific. He also shares anecdotes about time in boot camp at San Diego. After boot camp, Nielsen went to hospital corps school. Upon completion of that, he was stationed in the intensive care unit at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He relays an encounter he had with Admiral Nimitz as a patient at the hospital. He also relates an incident in which he traveled with a doctor to Yerba Buena Island to treat Admiral Nimitz at his home the day before he passed away.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Perry Kerr. Kerr enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1943. He completed gunnery school in Denver, Colorado, graduating as corporal. In 1945 he was assigned to the 466th Bomb Group, crew number 792 in Attlebridge, England. Aboard a B-24 Kerr served as a gunner in the forward turret directly behind the pilot and copilot. He also toggled bombs, as they did not have a bombardier. They completed 12 missions. Kerr provides some details of his missions. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Toombs. Toombs was born in 1924. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in October of 1942. He completed Airplane Mechanics’ School, which included work on B-24s, then onto Gunnery School. In late 1943, Toombs was assigned as Flight Engineer/Gunner aboard a B-24 with the 493rd Bomb Group. They traveled to England, and he completed 24 missions over Normandy, France and Germany in both the B-24 and B-17. He recalls a story of their plane being shot down over Brussels. In October of 1944, Toombs was summoned to Squadron HQ and returned to the US. He opted to remain grounded at Langley Field, Virginia, on aircraft maintenance. Toombs was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Glaze. Glaze was born on 2 January 1925. He joined the Army Air Forces Cadet Program in January 1943. He was commissioned as a B-17 Aerial Navigator and joined the 483rd Bomb Group, 860th Bomb Squadron in Debach, England. Glaze flew 28 bombing missions over Germany and Normandy. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Lynn. Lynn joined the Army Air Forces in December of 1942. He completed flight training and multi-engine schooling by October of 1943. He served as a B-24 co-pilot with the 784th Bombardment Squadron, 466th Bombardment Group in England. From April of 1944 through July of 1944, they completed 32 missions over France, including Normandy during D-Day, Germany, and Belgium. In July, Lynn returned to the US, and assigned to serve as a B-24 flight instructor in Smyrna, Tennessee through the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Peterson. Peterson joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1944. Beginning in late 1944, he served as a B-17 ball turret gunner with the 18th Bombardment Squadron, 34th Bombardment Group in England. He completed 30 missions over Germany and German-controlled targets. Peterson returned to the US and was discharged in October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Garber. Garber joined the Army in December of 1942. He completed Radio Operator and Gunnery schools. He served with the 338th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bombardment Group in England. Garber completed 13 missions over Germany, Normandy and France. During a mission over Germany, his plane was shot down, and he and the crew were captured by German soldiers. Garber endured torture by his captors at Stalag Luft I and IV prison camps. Upon his liberation in May of 1945, he was returned to the US and honorably discharged in October.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Larkin Dilbeck. Dilbeck was born on 29 September 1918. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in several areas of Arkansas, helping farmers prepare their fields, building roads and log benches for Arkansas State Parks. He attended Eastern New Mexico State University in Portales, studying Forestry before being drafted into the Army in December 1942. He served with the 740th Tank Battalion, codenamed Daredevil, in the 9th Armored Division. Dilbeck worked as a loader on a Sherman tank. They participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Central Europe Campaign, and the Rhineland Offensive.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Caruso. Caruso joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He served as a radio operator and mechanic aboard a B-17 with the 385th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He traveled to England, bombarding industrial areas, air bases, oil refineries over Germany, France and pre-bombing before the Invasion of Normandy, completing 30 missions. In 1945, Caruso joined the Air Transport Command. He was discharged shortly after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Russell Chase. Chase joined the Army Air Forces around 1942. He served as a radio operator and gunner with the 447th Bombardment Group. He participated in 30 bombing missions over France and Germany. They supported the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Chase returned to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Murray Codman. Codman joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He served as an engineer and top turret gunner aboard a B-17 with the 447th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He completed 35 bombing and supply missions over Europe, including Germany and France. Codman was discharged as a technical sergeant October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Dietz. Dietz joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He served as a gunner aboard a B-24 with the 785th Bombardment Squadron, 466th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in England. He completed 26 missions over Germany, Holland and France. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, bombing bridges and railroad yards. Dietz returned to the US and received his discharge in November of 1945. In 2014, he received the French Medal of Honor for his assistance in driving the Germans out of France during World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with LeRoy Faulkner. Faulkner joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1943. He completed armament school and gunnery school by late 1944. Faulkner joined the 303rd Bombardment Group, 360th Bombardment Squadron in England. He completed 15 bomb missions as a B-17 nose gunner over Czechoslovakia and Germany. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Greene. Greene joined the Army Air Forces in late 1942. Beginning in 1944, he served as B-24 navigator with the 392nd Bombardment Group. He completed 30 missions over Germany and France. Greene returned to the US in 1945, and remained in the Reserves through 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Hyatt. Hyatt joined the Army Air Forces in November of 1943. He served as a B-17 pilot with the 385th Bombardment Group, completing 35 bombing missions over Germany and France. Hyatt returned to the US in January of 1945. After the war ended, he transported troops from Okinawa back to the States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Killpack. Killpack joined the Army Air Forces, completed Gunnery School, and served as a B-29 ball turret gunner with the 447th Bomb Group, 708th Bomb Squadron. Killpack completed 30 missions, including air assaults over Germany, Belgium, and in support of the Battle of the Bulge. He was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lloyd Mitchell. Mitchell joined the Army Air Corps in November of 1941. Beginning in July of 1942, he served as a B-17 navigator with the 96th Bomb Group, 413th Bomb Squadron, completing 25 missions over Africa, Germany and France. He returned to the US and received a discharge in the fall of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Perez. Perez joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He served as a B-17 ball turret gunner with the 8th Air Force, 401st Bomb Group, 613th Squadron, completing 32 missions over Germany, France and Poland. He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Homer Piper. Piper joined the Army Air Forces with great difficulty because he lived in the Panama Canal Zone. During the war, the canal was so crowded with military transports that it was nearly impossible for civilians to travel. He finally managed to get to Las Vegas and into gunnery school. In 1945 he was sent to England with a replacement crew for the 493rd Bomb Group, 863rd Bomb Squadron. His crew was tasked with testing newly repaired B-17s, putting him in dangerous situations. He only flew one mission, which was to drop food in Holland. When the war ended, he was discharged in Sioux Falls, where he enjoyed a 40-year civilian career.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Merton Thurston. Thurston was born on 28 September 1924. He joined the Army Air Forces on 5 December 1942. In March of 1944, Thurston served as a B-17 radio operator and gunner with the 338th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group, 45th Combat Wing of the 3rd Air Division of the 8th Air Force, located in Snetterton Heath, England. Thurston and his crew flew 35 missions over Germany, Poland, France, Holland and Belgium. In early 1945, he was stationed at Casablanca, Morocco, serving with a ferry division in North Africa. He returned to the US and received his discharge on 3 November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Mary LaCroix. LaCroix joined the Army Nurse Corps in February 1945, just after she graduated from nursing school. She received basic training in map reading, rifle shooting, and the use of gas masks, including live drills with mustard gas. She was assigned to oversee the orthopedic ward of Camp Lee's hospital until her transfer to Hawaii in April 1945. There she worked in the operating room, primarily on casualties from the invasion of Okinawa. She deployed to Okinawa with the 318th General Nurses just as the war was ending. The women were unwelcome there and suffered terrible living conditions at a former concentration camp with polluted water, a food shortage, and the ever present danger of snipers. She survived two typhoons before being transferred to Japan, where she set up a Red Cross Hospital. She was prohibited from boarding a ship back to the States by an admiral who refused to transport women. But eventually she boarded a ship and returned home to be discharged in February 1946.