The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with A. W. McCasker. McCasker joined the Royal Australian Navy and at the end of 1942 was stationed on Guadalcanal. He took a small party behind enemy lines to Lord Howe Island on a reconnaissance mission, accompanied by two American soldiers and a Javanese guide. There he was greeted by a Polynesian king who held a formal ceremony declaring war on the Japanese. McCasker brought along a radio that could reach several hundred miles; however, moving its heavy battery chargers required the labor of 12 natives. For nine months they moved from island to island, observing aircraft, reporting to headquarters at Guadalcanal. At one point they found two islanders who had drifted over 700 miles off course in a canoe. When enemy forces landed in August 1943 and McCasker was evacuated by PBY, he brought with him the two displaced islanders, who were eventually flown back to their homeland.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral monologue by A R Evans. Evans was the coastwatcher on Kolombangara who facilitated the rescue of the PT-109 crew, led by John F. Kennedy. One of his scouts noticed a fire on the water at night and saw an unidentified object floating the next day. Evans, having been informed that PT-109 was missing, instructed his scouts to search for crewmen. Two natives encountered the crew, who for want of a common language carved a message on a coconut to be delivered to Evans. Evans met Kennedy that afternoon and dispatched a message coordinating his safe return. When Evans visited the White House in 1961, he found a framed copy of the dispatch and the carved coconut in the Oval Office.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Imogene Hill. Hill joined the Navy in September 1943 and received basic training in New York. Upon completion, she was assigned to San Diego as a telephone operator. She was discharged in January 1946 and later married Raymond Hill, a member of the Air Force stationed at Kelly Field. She lived with him in Morocco while he was stationed abroad between 1955 and 1957. When they returned to the States, she became a telephone operator for Sears.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Urban J. Bellinghausen. Bellinghausen was born on 3 March 1926 in Munday, Texas. He joined the Marine Corps on 15 June 1944. He attended boot camp at San Diego. Following that he had 3 more months training at Camp Pendleton. Then he deployed to the Pacific, a 33 day crossing from San Diego to Saipan, arriving 10 November 1944. He was attached to the 2nd Marine Division, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines. While Saipan was in Allied hands, there were still some Japanese troops left to deal with. His unit then sailed to Iwo Jima but returned to Saipan. There they trained for the Okinawa invasion. In Okinawa, they participated in a decoy landing on D-Day minus 1, pulling Japanese forces away from the beaches where the actual landings took place. Never actually hitting the beach, Bellinghausen stayed on board the landing ship, eventually returning to Saipan. After the atomic bombs were dropped and the armistice signed, he was sent to Nagasaki for 10 months. Then he caught a ship at Sasebo for the States, arriving in San Diego 17 July 1946. He was discharged 10 days later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William G. Mehling. Mehling was born in Alexandria, Indiana on 1 October 1924. In April 1943, he was drafted into the Army. Following basic training at Camp Roberts, California, he was sent to the Army Specialized Training Program at Stanford University, then to Indiana University for a nine month course in engineering. In May 1944 he was sent to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky for refresher basic training, then to Fort Campbell for combat engineer training. In November 1944 Mehling sailed for Marseilles, France as a member of the 1271st Combat Engineers, attached to the 7th Army, 75th Infantry Division. After a brief stay in Marseilles, the unit went to a small town in Alsace-Lorraine. By April 1945 they were near the front laying mine fields, clearing German mine fields, and building Bailey bridges. The 1271st followed the 75th south to Austria and almost to the Italian border. After the German surrender in May, they went to Antwerp, Belgium in preparation for transfer to the Pacific. Before that could happen, the war ended. Mehling returned to the US in December 1945 and was discharged on 3 January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Wicker. Wicker joined the Navy in mid-1944. He served with the ship repair crew aboard the USS Corregidor (CVE-58). They traveled to Eniwetok, Guam, Pearl Harbor, conducting anti-submarine patrol, providing air cover and qualifying pilots in carrier operations. Wicker returned to the US and received his discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Gresko. Gresko joined the Army Air Forces in January 1944 and trained at Miami Beach. He then went to aerial gunnery school, then overseas to Tinian where he joined the 6th Bomb Group, 24th Bomb Squadron in April, 1945. He flew 11 combat missions before being sent back to the US to train as a lead crew. He was discharged in February 1946. In 2005, Gresko returned to Tinian for the 60th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Webster. Webster volunteered for the Army Air Forces in December 1943. He qualified for pilot training, but was trained in photography instead at Walker Field, Kansas. He was then sent to Tinian and assigned to the 6th Bomb Group, 22nd Photo Lab. He served as an aerial photographer and lab technician. Webster relates several anecdotes from his time in and out of the service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Smith. Smith was drafted into the Navy in August, 1943 and went to boot camp in New York. He then trained as a radio operator. He was sent to New Guinea and worked at a station at Hollandia where he received coded messages. Then he went to the Philippines for the invasion of Luzon where he worked aboard a communications vessel. When the war ended, Smith was back at Hollandia and was discharged in April, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Bookbinder. Bookbinder was in ROTC at the University of Kentucky when the war started and was called to active duty in the Army in April, 1943 and trained at Camp Wolters, Texas before getting his commission at Fort Benning on October, 1944. He was assigned to the 86th Infantry Division and went to Europe with them. After fighting in Europe, his division went to the Philippines for occupation duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Spradling. Spradling graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity from Southern Methodist University in December of 1942. He was ordained in January of 1943 and in February, Spradling was commissioned as a Navy Chaplain. He was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. Later, he worked at Manana Naval Barracks and Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station in Hawaii. He worked with the African-American community of Navy men, and with the stevedores to staff transports with chaplains and provide ecclesiastical supplies and equipment required for each voyage. From late February of 1945 through the end of the war, Spradling traveled aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3), working with the enlisted me, officers, admiral and captain, and produced a daily paper for the crew. He continued his service after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Shealy. Shealy joined the Navy in August of 1940. Beginning February of 1941, he served as Seaman First Class mess cook aboard the USS Canopus (AS-9) until they scuttled the ship in April of 1942, upon the surrender of Bataan. Shealy was taken to Corregidor for duty in the 4th Battalion Reserve, of the 4th Marine Regiment. He was captured in May and imprisoned in Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan Prison, a Japanese prison ship, and Osaka Prison. Shealy returned to the US in late 1945, and completed thirty years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernadine Bircher. Bircher was working as a psychiatric nurse in October 1943 when she joined the Army Nurse Corps. Upon completion of basic and specialized training, she deployed in June 1944 to a station hospital in Holland. Her unit was short on anesthetists, so Bircher volunteered, despite having no specific training. Nurses and doctors at the adjacent operating tables assisted Bircher with her first patients, and she began assisting an orthopedic surgeon. Casualties arrived from the Battle of the Bulge, often presenting with self-inflicted wounds in a desperate attempt to get off the front lines, requiring amputation and debridement. When the hospital's mess hall was bombed, glass shattered everywhere, resulting in several enucleation procedures. After serving in several mobile units, Bircher returned home in December 1945 and was discharged, returning to her work as a psychiatric nurse.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Alma. Alma went into the Army Air Forces in March 1943 and trained in Florida before training as an engine mechanic. He went overseas in March, 1946 to Germany. There he repaired aircraft engines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Gehl. Gehl was born in New Salem, North Dakota. Joining the Navy, he attended boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. He was then sent to the Navy base at Norman, Oklahoma. After a few months at Norman, he went by troop train to San Francisco where he boarded a ship bound for the Philippines. Arriving at Manila he took part in establishing the Philippine Sea Frontier Headquarters. He was discharged soon after returning to the United States in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Broughton. Broughton joined the Army Air Forces in 1942 and received his commission and wings in September, 1944. He was stationed in New Guinea at a replacement depot where he flew missions hauling cargo. Toward the end of the war, he recalls preparing for the invasion of Japan. After the war, Broughton was transferred to Europe to an air transport command. After becoming a squadron safety officer and learning about airplane accidents, Broughton remained in that capacity for the remainder of his career: investigating accidents and enhancing safety protocols.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Scheumann. Scheumann was drafted into the Army in October 1942. After training he was assigned to the 323rd Field Artillery as part of the 83rd Infantry Division. He went overseas to England in April, 1944, then to Normandy on 12 June. He was wounded and evacuated to England in early July. When he returned to France he was assigned to drive a radio repair truck. He returned to the US in November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Everett Scarr. Scarr joined the Navy in 1944. He served with the deck force aboard the USS Black (DD-666). He recalls his experiences through the battles of Leyte and Okinawa, and serving with occupation forces in Japan after the war. Scarr returned to the US and received his discharge in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Nebelsick. Nebelsick joined the Navy in December 1942 and trained at Great Lakes. After basic training, he attended fire control school. Later in 1943, he was assigned to USS Wesson (DE-184). He was among the commissioning crew and was present for the shakedown cruise before heading for the Pacific. He discusses his role aboard ship as well as the ship's role in the fleet. Nebelsick recalls a few anecdotes from his time aboard. Nebelsick recalls the time a kamikaze struck his ship. Nebelsick was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Chris Hutchinson. Hutchinson joined the Navy Women's Reserve in 1944 and trained at Hunter College in the Bronx. Her first assignment was in communcations in Wahsington DC until the Navy realied she was not old enough to serve in the WAVES. She was discharged, but reenlisted in MArch 1945 when she was old enough and went to San Diego. She worked in the disbursing office. She also clerked in an office at Great Lakes training center.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nolan Donop. Donop joined the Army and eventually shipped out to Italy, where he volunteered to cook before being assigned to the 34th Infantry Divivsion and making his way to northern Italy to the Apennine Mountains. Donop recalls a few anecdotes from his combat experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr. Hubbard was born on 1 April 1945. He joined the Naval Intelligence Command as a special agent of the Naval Investigative Service in March of 1968. He volunteered for service in Vietnam for 36 months. He later accepted an appointment as a training officer for the British South Africa police in Rhodesia. Additionally, Hubbard worked in security, mining and exploration industries. He has lived and worked extensively in Asia, Australia and Africa. His father, Doug Hubbard, was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Smith. Smith was born in Houston, Texas on 7 August 1921. Graduating from high school in 1939, he enrolled in Williams College. After three years he transferred to and graduated from Caltech in 1944. Smith joined the Navy in 1944 and trained in electronics at several universities and Navy bases before being trained in electronic countermeasures, including the IFF (identification friend or foe) set. Just prior to concluding training at San Clemente Island, the Japanese surrendered. Upon completion of the advanced training he was shipped to Guam and assigned to CASU F-12. He went aboard Navy aircraft carriers to service the electronic equipment on various fighter planes that were on board.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clint Morse. Morse was born in Berkeley, California on 16 June 1920 and entered the Navy in 1942. He was assigned to the Navy Supply Corps School at Harvard University and upon graduation, was assigned to the USS Mugford (DD-389) as the supply officer. Morse recalls the crew of the Mugford picking up survivors of an Australian hospital ship that had been sunk. His ship was based at Milne Bay, New Guinea and participated in troop landings on various islands. He tells of the ship being under attack on several occasions and the experience of losing one of the crew members as the result of an attack. He returned to Mare Island Navy Yard in 1946 and was assigned the job of ship liaison officer until his discharge.