The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas R Smith. Smith joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He served as a cryptographer, coding and decoding secret military messages in the Pacific, as the US prepared to invade Japan. After the war ended, Smith was stationed in Hokkaido, Japan. He received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John M Olsen. Olsen joined a reserve program with the Army Air Forces in February of 1944. In mid-1945, he deployed to the Philippines and joined a Recovered Personnel Detachment, processing allied prisoners of war. He transferred to Japan, continuing his work. Olsen returned to the US and received his discharge in December of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Austin Estes. Estes was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1922. In 1942 he joined the Navy and received boot training at San Diego. He was then sent to the University of Oklahoma to attend ordnance school followed by three months of training at the Mine Warfare Test Station in Solomons, Maryland. He was then sent to the Naval Mine Warfare Station in Yorktown, Virginia where he was assigned to a team that received an additional ten weeks of training. The team was then assigned to the USS Bogue (CVE-9). He worked with torpedoes and bombs for use by the carrier based planes for anti-submarine warfare. He recalls that planes from the Bogue sunk thirteen German submarines while he was assigned to the ship. Following the end of World War II, Estes was assigned to shore patrol duties in San Francisco.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Neil Berghout. Berghout was born in Holland in 1926. He joined the Dutch resistance as a teenager, hiding downed American pilots and helping them return to England. When his identity was discovered by German officials, Berghout went into hiding in France. Members of the French resistance transported him to England, where he joined an armored division of the British Royal Army and participated in the Normandy invasion. After the war, his unit liberated a concentration camp. He then transferred to the Dutch Royal Army and served four years in Indonesia. In 1957 he became an intelligence instructor for the Dutch Royal Air Force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with W.T. Riedel. Riedel was born in Yorktown, Texas on 27 December 1921. He was a member of the Texas A&M University band when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1943. Following basic training at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, he was sent to the University of Denver in Colorado. While there he was selected for pilot training. He recalls the various air fields on which he received the various phases of flight training before receiving his wings in February 1944. Upon being commissioned he was sent to Salt Lake City, Utah where a B-17 bomber crew was assembled and crew training began. Upon completion of the training, the crew flew to Bedford, England. There, they were assigned to the 306th Bomb Group. He describes one mission they flew over Lutzkendorf, Germany during which their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Due to a fire aboard their plane, the crew was compelled to bail out. The entire crew landed safely and were picked up by Belgian partisans and taken to friendly headquarters. They were returned to England and given a period of rest and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Seldon Prothro. Prothro was born in Texas in 1926. Upon enlisting in the Navy on 22 April 1944, he was sent to San Diego for boot training. Soon after completing boot training he developed mumps and was hospitalized. Upon his release, he was assigned the Armed Guard detachment aboard the SS William Luckenbach (1913) as a gunner/electrician. He delivered goods to Okinawa as well as several other islands. The ship returned to the United States after the Surrender of Japan and Prothro was discharged. Soon thereafter, he reenlisted in the Navy and was assigned to USS LSM-379. He recalls that the ship delivered doctors to various destination including Australia, Japan and China. He was discharged in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ruben Davis. Davis was born in Texas on 5 July 1926. In 1944 he was inducted into the Navy and sent to San Diego for boot training. Upon completing eight weeks of boot training he was assigned to amphibious training at Coronado Island, California. During training, he covered boat handling, semaphore and Morse code. While in training he developed pneumonia and was hospitalized. Upon recovering, he was assigned to USS LSM-171 as a coxswain. He recalls the ship laying smokescreen during the invasion of Okinawa and being under attack by kamikaze aircraft. He also remembers the ship being in a typhoon in 1945. Following the surrender of Japan the ship went to various islands and picked up and disposed of Japanese weaponry. Davis returned to the United States aboard the USS Wakefield (AP-21) and was discharged in April 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Oran Evans. Evans joined the Army Air Forces in May 1942 and received basic training at Sheppard Field. He washed out of flight training in Santa Ana and transferred to gunnery school in Las Vegas. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 95th Bombardment Group as a ball turret gunner. Evans flew 25 missions, the most dangerous of which was over Munich. He credits the Tuskegee Airmen with his safety on those missions. Evans returned home and was discharged after the war. He became a commercial pilot and joined the Texas National Guard.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Fink. Fink joined the Army in March 1944 and received basic training at Camp Van Dorn. Upon completion, he was assigned to an anti-tank company with the 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. While awaiting shipment of their anti-tank weapons, he joined the 3rd Infantry Division in the Colmar Pocket. At the end of January, he rejoined his division and crossed the Danube. His unit was relieved and sent to a local airfield for guard duty. Fink returned home and was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl McWilliams. McWilliams joined the Army in October of 1944. He served as a BAR rifleman with the 25th Infantry Division, 27th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company G. McWilliams participated in the Philippines Campaign beginning April of 1945 through the end of the war. He served with occupation forces in Japan. McWilliams returned to the US and received his discharge in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Morris Hibbs. Hibbs joined the Marine Corps in November 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He received field artillery instrument training at Camp Pendleton. Upon completion, he was sent to Hawaii. There he was reassigned to an antiaircraft unit on Kauai, serving as a cook. He was later stationed at a field kitchen on Okinawa, where he remained until the end of the war. Hibbs returned home and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herb Smith. Smith was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1920. In 1940 he entered Centenary College in Shreveport and participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. After completing the course he joined the Navy. After receiving his wings in July 1943 he went to Melbourne, Florida where he began training in the Grumman F6F fighter plane. Upon qualifying in carrier landings on Lake Michigan, he was sent to Guadalcanal in May 1944. He flew various combat missions from there. He then went to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides and was assigned to Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 39. After several months he was assigned to VF-80 aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). Smith, with another Hellcat, was returning from an airstrike to the Ticonderoga and encountered fifteen Japanese planes. Smith and his wingman employed the Thach Weave, resulting in them shooting down several of the enemy. In December 1944 the Ticonderoga was caught in Typhoon Cobra. During a mission over Formosa, Smith’s group commander was forced to bail out. Smith protected him from the air until he was picked by an American submarine. On 21 January 1945, while Smith was airborne, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Butler. Butler joined the Army in June 1943 and, after basic training, went into the Specialized Training Program at Texas A&M until the program was scrapped and he was assigned to 103rd Infantry Division. He went to France in October, 1944. He was wounded in action on 10 December and evacuated to a hospital. Butler eventually returned to the US and went to hospitals there. Upon recovery, he reported for duty with the War Manpower Commission at Camp Carson. He was discharged in August, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Stephen Krawczyk. Krawczyk enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1937 and trained in Hawaii and became an aircraft machinist. He was at Hickam Field when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He shares several anecdotes about his experiences during the attack. Krawczyk stayed on Oahu until December 1942 when he returned to the US for another assignment. He continued as a machinist until the war ended and was discharged in August, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Juengermann. Juengermann was drafted into the Army Air Forces in January, 1943. He qualified for flight training and earned his wings in May, 1944. Then he reported to Roswell, New Mexico for training in B-17 bombers. In early 1945, he and his crew headed for England. Once he was settled into the routine, he began flying combat missions over Germany. he flew 29 combat missions in B-17s through April. After the war. Juengermann stayed in Europe ferrying people to various destinations on the continent. he returned to the US and was discharged in February, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Womack. Womack was born in Decatur, Texas in October 1924 and graduated from high school in 1941. Upon enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, he went to Sheppard Field, Texas for basic training. This was followed by a two month flight engineer course. In 1943 he was assigned to the 70th Ferrying Command, 20th Ferrying Squadron. Womack ferried B-26 bombers, B-17 bombers, and C-46 transport planes to various destinations. After the Surrender of Japan he entered the pilot training program but with the temporary termination of the program he transferred to the 8th Air Force Intelligence section. In 1949 he was commissioned and remained in the Air Force until retiring in1963.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Benjamin Tubig. Tubig was born in the Philippines in 1918 and joined the Philippine Scouts in 1941. After the surrender of the American forces on Bataan, he participated in the Bataan Death March. He describes the march to Capas, where they were interned at Camp O’Donnell. Tubig escaped with another prisoner and returned to his home. He did not participate in guerilla activities after his escape. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1946 and was discharged in 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Justo Dumlao. Dumlao was born in the Philippines in 1914. By the time the war broke out, he had already trained as a radio operator in the Philippine Scouts. He was stationed at Fort Stotsenburg when the Japanese invaded. Dumlao retreated to Bataan alongside American troops and ultimately surrendered. He made the brutal trek to Camp O’Donnell while suffering from malaria, dysentery, and beriberi. Upon release, his family nursed him back to health. He then rejoined the guerillas and was instrumental in the Raid at Cabanatuan. After the war, Dumlao enlisted in the United States Army and gained citizenship. At his 100th birthday celebration, he was presented with the Bronze Star for his participation in the Great Raid.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Englebrecht. Englebrecht joined the Merchant Marine in 1944. He served in the engine room aboard tankers and was in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during WWII. He shares several anecdotes about his merchant seaman experiences and illustrates several comparisons between the Merchant Marine and the Navy.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herb Stern. Stern was born in Berlin, Germany in October 1919. His father was imprisoned by the Nazis and Stern immigrated to the United States in 1936. After completing high school, he attended the University of Cincinnati for four years. He was drafted into the Army in June 1941 and sent to Camp Lee, Virginia for basic training. From there he was assigned as a medic to the 9th Infantry Division. The division made practice landings at Solomons, Maryland. In October 1942 the division went to Morocco. Being fluent in German, Stern was assigned to G-2 (intelligence) to interrogate of German prisoners of war. He was then assigned to the Free French forces and worked with the medical battalions near the front lines. He interrogated a large number of prisoners captured in Bizerte, Tunisia. After spending time in Palermo, Sicily, he went to Liverpool, England where he was trained at a British Intelligence school. When his training was completed, he was sent to various units to give instructions in intelligence gathering. Stern landed at Utah Beach three days after the initial invasion and advanced to the Hurtgen Forest, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Dyer. Dyer was born in Bristol, Vermont on 23 March 1918 into a family of six children. After receiving his diploma from high school he attended the University of Houston and graduated in 1941. Upon being drafted in 1941, he was sent to Camp Roberts, California for basic training. After completing infantry training he went to Fort Lewis, Washington to join the 41st Infantry Division Headquarters as an aide to General Horace Fuller. In April the division went aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for a nineteen day voyage to Sydney, Australia. Upon his arrival he was assigned to the headquarters operations staff (G-3) responsible for preparing casualty reports. During January 1943 the division participated in the battle of Buna, Gona on New Guinea and Dyer comments on the high casualties suffered. He recalls making an amphibious landing at Hollandia by lifeboat in April 1944 and being strafed by Japanese planes while on the beach. He also witnessed attacks by Japanese kamikazes on ships in the bay. Dyer was a member of the retinue that greeted General McArthur as he came ashore. While on Biak, he developed typhus, resulting …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Velmer Steckman. Steckman was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota on 1 May 1923. After high school, he attended Itasca Junior College in Grand Rapids, Minnesota until 1942. At that time he joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He then went to the University of Minnesota and after six weeks of indoctrination he was selected to attend bombardier school in Texas. Upon graduating, he reported to the Tonopah Army Air Field in Nevada, where he began training in B-24 bombers and working with a Norden bombsight. Steckman recalls that the bomber crew went aboard a troop ship and arrived in England in June 1944. Steckman was assigned to the 458th Bomb Group. He describes some of the thirty-six missions he flew and some of the action he encountered including a Messerschmitt M-262 German jet fighter. Steckman returned to the United States in 1945 and began training as a pilot. He concludes the narrative by telling of some of his other experiences during his 26 year career in the Air Force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernard McKeone. McKeone was born in Omaha, Nebraska on 29 September 1927. In 1944 he joined the Marine Corps and went to San Diego for two months of boot camp followed by a period of training as a mortar man. Assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 8th Marine Regiment, he boarded the USS Collins (AP-147) bound for Tinian. He landed on the island by means of an LCVP. McKeone recalls a personal encounter where he captured a Japanese soldier. Telling of his landing on Okinawa, he remembers the enemy launching banzai charges at night. After Okinawa was secured, the division returned to Saipan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Heyman. Heyman joined the Army in June, 1942. Once he was in, he qualified for flight training. Once he finished flight schools and was commissioned, he was assigned to the 364th Fighter Squadron and shipped to England in January, 1944. Once there, he began flying bomber escort missions over France and Germany. He flew 300 combat hours in a P-38 or a P-51 before going back to the US to serve as an instructor. Toward the end of the war, Heyman was flying jet airplanes in the US. He was recalled to the service for the Korean War and stayed in through Vietnam. He flew another 300 combat hours in Korea and dozens of missions in two tours over North Vietnam and Laos.