The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Abner Aust. Aust joined the Army Air Forces in September 1941 and completed flight school in April 1943. He was assigned to Venice, Florida, as an instructor, often receiving extra runway duty on account of his mischievous acrobatics. In October 1944, he joined the 506th Fighter Group, 457th Fighter Squadron, as flight commander. Upon familiarizing himself with the P-51, he flew his first missions out of Tinian, moving next to Iwo Jima. While escorting B-29s, he sometimes broke away to lead his group of eight fighters to strafe opportunistically. He is credited with five victories, the last of which occurred on 10 August 1945, distinguishing him as the last fighter ace of World War II. Aust then served in the Air Force and participated in the Vietnam War. Just before his retirement, he worked at Bolling Air Force Base to develop the F-15. After all of his experience in fighters, his favorite plane is the P-40N.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dale Ball. Ball joined the Navy around 1942. In 1943, he began serving as a Storekeeper aboard USS LST-1005 in the Pacific Theater. They traveled to Hawaii, the Caroline Islands, Eniwetok and Leyte Gulf, Philippines. He recalls a typhoon he experienced in 1945. He served with occupation troops in Japan after the war ended. Ball returned to the US, and continued his service in the Navy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Battifarano. Battifarano enlisted in the Navy during his senior year of high school in 1943. He served for 2 years as Signalman 3rd Class aboard the USS Guitarro (SS-363). They traveled to the Panama Canal operating with a destroyer and to the South Pacific. They made 4 successful war patrols, have 15 Japanese flags on their battle flag, laid 25 mines and recorded a 95-day war patrol. He discusses life aboard a submarine and their war patrol experiences. They traveled to Taiwan, Australia, the South China Sea, Philippines, Japan and Saipan. They participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas M. Baye. Baye was born on 24 October 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was drafted into the Army in July 1943. Following basic training at Camp Roberts and Fort Ord in California, he was sent to Hawaii. In December 1943 he was assigned to the 27th Division, C Company, 1st Battalion, 165th Regiment. After more training, including landings on the beach in an LVT launched from an LST, his unit went to Saipan. They went ashore on 16 June 1944. They saw heavy combat, although as a radio operator, Baye had few chances to shoot his rifle. In August, the 27th went to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides for R and R. In April 1945 they landed on Okinawa. In September 1945, following the surrender of Japan, the 27th was sent to Japan as occupiers. In December, Baye returned to the United States. After brief stays at Fort Lewis in Washington and Fort Carson in Colorado, he was released from the service in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Bearden. Bearden was in the Texas National Guard when Japan started the war. He was in the 144th Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division and trained at Camp Bowie. His unit went to Fort Lewis in Washington to guard the coast. Bearden then joined the paratroopers and trained at Fort Benning in August, 1942. Bearden speaks a lot about parachute infantry training. He went to England in December, 1943. He jumped into Normandy on 6 June 1944. Around D+5, Bearden was captured by German soldiers. Liberated by Russians in January, 1945, Bearden headed east and eventually reached Moscow, then Odessa, where he was repatriated. He returned to San Antonio and was discharged in July, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Calvin Beem. Beem volunteered for the Navy in September, 1943 and trained at Farragut, Idaho. After training, Beem was assigned to USS LST-454 as a motor machinist. He was aboard in time for the invasion of Cape Gloucester and for several other invasions along New Guinea. He also recalls landings in the Philippines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Bishop. Bishop was born in January of 1927. He graduated from high school in 1944, at the age of 17. He provides vivid recollections of life during wartime, with bomb drills, blackouts and living in a farming community in Wellington, Kansas. After graduation, Bishop worked for the US Department of Agriculture, and later served as an Emergency Wartime Carrier Clerk with the US Post Office. When he turned 18 in January of 1945, Bishop applied to join the Army, though was classified as 4-F and sent back home where he continued working for the Post Office.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stanley Blumenthal. Blumenthal received his commercial Morse Code license and joined the Merchant Marines in 1944. He served aboard the liberty ship SS Lawrence D. Tyson (1943). He discusses life on the ship and experiences traveling to the Mediterranean Sea to deliver cargo. They landed in Palermo, Italy. He describes life and sightseeing in Palermo.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Oris Brehmer. Brehmer was born in Luckenbach, Texas in 1924. Drafted in March, 1943 with a choice of services, he chose the Navy. He went through boot camp and Corpsman School in San Diego, then to Marine Field Medical School. He sailed for the South Pacific and joined the 1st Marine Division in Australia. In December, 1943 the division landed at Cape Gloucester, New Britain. Brehmer's company saw no combat there. From March to September 1944 they were moved to Pavuvu in the Solomons for rest and training. At Peleliu, he stepped off a Higgins boat into chin deep water with all his gear. On the beach, he was wounded in the shoulder by mortar shrapnel and sent to a hospital ship. After five days he returned to his decimated unit that was subsequently sent back to the rest area at Pavuvu. They remained until going to Okinawa in April 1945. There he witnessed both the fighting on the island and the kamikaze attacks on the Navy. After 2 September, the 1st Marines went to mainland China to disarm Japanese troops. Brehmer returned to the States in late …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Brown. Brown was drafted into the Marines in March of 1944 and served in the 2nd Marine Division. He traveled to Eniwetok and Okinawa. In Okinawa his job was to help service the planes. They also traveled to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with J C Brownwell. Brownwell joined the Navy in January of 1943. He served aboard the USS Tennessee (BB-43) beginning in the spring of 1943, and he provides description of the ship and life on board. He worked as an Electrician’s Mate. Some of the places they traveled include Tarawa, Kwajalein, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Peleliu and Saipan. He provides information on their firing engagements at Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Peleliu. He provides some detail of going ashore at Saipan and what he witnessed. He talks about their interaction with destroyers, and a kamikaze plane that hit their ship. He also discusses witnessing the flag raising at Mount Suribachi.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Brush. Brush graduated from Penn State in 1942 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was inducted into the Navy in August of 1943 as an Ensign. He attended radar school at MIT, and then was assigned to the Clinton Naval Air Station in Oklahoma, assisting in developing drones. In late 1944 he was assigned to the Hawaiian Islands. He received orders to join a destroyer escort division. He served as staff radar officer aboard the USS Goss (DE-444). He traveled to Saipan, and then was assigned to work in the CIC with radar equipment. They traveled to Iwo Jima and Okinawa to protect carriers. He traveled into Tokyo and Yokahama by electric train and provides details of what the landscape looked like after bombing. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lewis Burke. Burke enlisted in the aviation cadet corps and was called up in January 1943. Burke primarily reads a testimony that details his experiences in the Army Air Forces. He also reads details about the combat missions he flew over Europe with the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd Bomb Squadron between November 1944 and April 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gerald Campbell. Campbell joined the Army around 1943. He served as a replacement for the 77th Infantry Division, and worked aboard an Army personnel carrier. He participated in the amphibious assault on Guam, and the battles of Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. He remained in a convalescent hospital in Saipan, after receiving injuries during the Okinawa campaign. After the war, Campbell returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William A. "Bill" Campbell. Born in 1925, he joined the Army in 1934. He describes basic training and living conditions at Miami Beach, Florida. After basic training, he attended aerial gunnery school at Fort Meyers, Florida and was then sent to Boise, Idaho where he became a tail gunner of a B-24 crew. He was then transferred to the 466th Bomb Group of the 784th Bomb Squadron where they flew bombing missions over Germany. He provides an account of his combat mission over Germany when he was hit by anti-aircraft flak. He shares an anecdote of when he won the Distinguished Flying Cross for extinguishing a fire on the plane following a direct hit to the bomb bay. He also describes the attacks by German fighters, his twenty-seven missions and the places he bombed as part of the 8th Air Force. He shares an anecdote of a gas mission his B-24 flew to Patton???s army in France and watching the V-2 buzzbombs hitting Norwich. He left Liverpool for Boston in 1945 aboard the USS Wakefield (AP-21) where he awaited surgery from his flak wound in Atlantic City, New …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Carden. Carden was born in Oklahoma 15 September 1922. Upon graduating from high school in 1942 he joined the Navy. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego for six weeks before attending diesel engine school in Los Angeles for eight weeks. Upon graduating as a motor machinist mate he was assigned to the engine room aboard the USS Apache (AFT-67). He tells of participating in several invasions, including Guam, in which they assisted LSTs in withdrawing from the beaches. He tells of being attacked by Japanese planes during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. The crew shot down three enemy planes. The ship returned to the United States prior to the surrender of Japan and Carden was discharged in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Carey. Carey joined the Naval ROTC at Yale and received his commission in February 1944. Assigned to the USS Loy (DE-160), he was shocked by the poor relations of the captain and executive officer. In one instance, the captain flew into a rage until he was finally subdued by the executive officer's fists. The other officers were kinder to each other, and Carey assisted them with gunnery and communications. Off the Bay of Biscay, he monitored high-speed German transmissions that he recorded so that they could be slowed down and decoded. The transmissions were useful in pinpointing enemy subs. In the summer of 1944, Carey was reassigned to PC-1245. That fall, his family received the devastating news that his brother was killed in the European Theater. After the war, Carey was caught in a typhoon at Okinawa and survived with the help of a passing tugboat. He returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Carlile. Carlile enlisted in the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and went to California for flight training. After an injury ended his flight training, he volunteered to go overseas. In April, 1943, Carlile went to England where he trained to become a flight control officer. Afterward, he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh in January 1944. He remained there for the balance of the war in Europe.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles W. Carson. Carson was born in Ecorse, Michigan on 12 August 1925 and enlisted in the Navy in September 1943. Following basic training he attended aircraft mechanic school, graduating in June 1944. He shipped overseas on the USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43). He provides several interesting anecdotes of the trip to the New Hebrides archipelago, including the ceremony for crossing the equator and international dateline. He arrived on the island of Espiritu Santo in October 1944 and was placed in an aviation engine overhaul unit. Carson describes several of his experiences while on the island. Five months later he went to Guadalcanal where his duties consisted of repairing damaged aircraft near Henderson Field. He stayed on Guadalcanal for a few months and then transferred to Guam. He recalls attending USO shows at each of his duty stations. Carson returned to the United States in December 1945 and was discharged on 6 January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Carson. Carson joined the Army Air Corps in November of 1940. In December, he was assigned to Hickam Field in Hawaii, working with weapons in a supply squadron. Carson shares his experiences living and working in Hawaii prior to, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In mid-1942, he was sent to Fiji with a small support group, providing fuel and supplies to the war effort in the Pacific. In early 1944, Carson completed Loadmaster School in California and served in North Africa. He traveled to Casablanca, Morocco, supplying the armed forces in Italy. He was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L. Cook, speaking for his deceased brother Frank E. Cook. Cook served with the National Guard. He was assigned to Panama working as a patrol boat guard. In early 1943, Cook served as Executive Officer aboard PT-170 in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 10. While traveling from Panama to Noumea, on 3 August 1943, Frank and his crew were caught in a crossfire with the Japanese and Frank died 5 August.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L Cook. Cook was accepted into the Naval ROTC program at Rice University. Upon his graduation with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in April of 1943, Cook was commissioned into the Navy as an ensign. He became active in major ship repairs, and assigned to Mare Island, California, Pearl Harbor and Guam. In 1944, Cook helped outfit USS Baltimore (CA-68) to accommodate President Franklin Roosevelt in his travels to Pearl Harbor and Alaska. He was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William E. Cooper. Cooper was born in Alameda, California 8 May 1925. Upon completing high school in 1943, he joined the Army and went to Oregon for training with the 13th Combat Engineers. He recalls being sent overseas aboard the USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43) and arriving at New Caledonia. He took part in the invasion of Leyte and witnessed a kamikaze plane crash into one of the troop ships. Upon landing he was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division and put in charge of a group of men assigned as stevedores. He then went to Ormoc and was assigned to Company A, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division as an infantryman. After participating on several combat patrols he was hospitalized with dengue fever. Upon being released from the hospital he was assigned to Company L, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and was in the first wave to land on Okinawa. As a combat engineer, his job was to blow up Japanese caves and fortifications. He comments that a childhood friend, Harold Gonsalves, was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as a result of his actions on Okinawa. Cooper …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Corbisiero. Corbisiero was a freshman on Notre Dame's national champion football team when he was drafted, in 1944. With draft board approval, he joined the Merchant Marine Officer Training School at Alameda, where he was welcomed by officers who would become professional football stars. After running the academy's football team, Corbisiero boarded the SS Clovis Victory (1944), in the spring of 1945. As an engineer cadet, he answered directional commands, maintained the engine log, and operated the captain's gig. At Okinawa, he laid smokescreens, ever alert to the sound of suicide boats. At times, Corbisiero assisted the gun crew in fending off kamikazes. When it seemed safe to go ashore, Corbisiero went on a souvenir-hunting exhibition but soon found himself under enemy fire. With the help of Marines, he made it safely to his ship and soon received orders to return to the academy, at the request of its football coaching staff.