The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ernie Bowdre. Bowdre joined the Navy in mid-1943. He served as a Storekeeper aboard a liberty ship and traveled to Noumea, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. He was then assigned to USS President Jackson (APA-18). In 1943, they participated in the Bougainville Campaign, transporting troops from island to island. They landed troops in the reinforcement landing at Lingayen Gulf and Iwo Jima. Bowdre recalls the ship being hit by enemy fire at Iwo. In June of 1945, they completed two round-trips to Manila before the cessation of hostilities. Bowdre returned to the US and received his discharge in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Vickers. Vickers was born in 1923. He joined the Army in 1942, and served as a rifleman and a scout with the 36th Infantry Division. The Division landed in North Africa on 13 April 1943. They participated in operations in Italy, the south of France and Germany. Vickers was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard K. Bentley. Bentley finished high school in Oklahoma nad joined the Navy in October, 1942. After boot camp, Bentley served with a Marine communications unit in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea before being assigned aboard the USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy William Rouch. Born in 1924, he joined the Marine Corps in July, 1942. He describes boot camp in San Diego, California. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. He describes the conditions on board ship en route to Camp Pakarariki, New Zealand. The Division was transported to Guadalcanal in January 1943. He talks about the deplorable living conditions on Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Tenaru River. He describes landing as part of the second wave on Tarawa and how the fighting was up close and personal. He explains how the BAR squads were used and reorganized following Guadalcanal and Tarawa. He also shares a story of the LCTs and LSTs being sunk off of Hawaii during night maneuvers before leaving for Saipan. He then describes the street fighting and banzai charges the 2nd Marine Division endured on Saipan during the Battles of Garapan and Charan Kanoa. He shares an anecdote of being injured on Tinian and his family being informed when in fact it was another Rouch who was injured during the battle. Following his discharge from the Marine Corps in July of 1946, he …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Litters, Jr. Litters was attending Texas A&M (class of 1943) when the war started. His class was graduated early so they could begin active military service. He was commissioned and attached to an anti-aircraft artillery unit. In December, 1943, he shipped out for the Pacific. In January, 1944 his unit, the 208th Anti-aircraft Artillery battalion, arrived at New Guinea. Litters eventually got so sick with malaria and dengue fever, and with a severe knee injury, he was shipped back to the US in May, 1945. Litters was discharged and began teaching at Texas A&M University before beginning to ranch. He also tells a ashort story about being a Distinguished Alumni from Texas A&M and talking to former President George HW Bush.

Transcript of an oral interview with Howard B. “Jeep” Stebelton. Born in 1922, he was drafted into the Army Air Force in January, 1943. He was trained in airplane mechanics and aerial engineering. He describes aerial gunnery training at Kingman Army Airfield, Arizona. In the summer of 1944, he was sent to England and assigned to the 91st Bombardment Group, 324th Bomb Squadron. As top turret gunner, he went on missions to bomb targets in Germany, including a railroad yard in Hamm and an engine factory in Frankfurt. He describes a mission to bomb a synthetic oil refinery in Merseburg on which the plane sustained major damage, but was able to return to the base. One mission involved aiding General Patton by bombing German pillboxes in Metz, France. He describes his typical day. He recounts an instance in which he manually cranked open the bomb bay doors. He flew eighteen of his thirty-five missions in a plane named Mih Ideal. He flew his last mission in March, 1945. He was discharged in September, 1945.