The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with William Gill. Gill went to Fort Benning for Officer Candidate School in early 1942, and then was assigned to the 98th Infantry Division. He traveled to Hawaii with them and continued training for the invasion of Japan. Instead of active combat, Gill went with the 98th to occupy Japan after the war ended. He ended up gathering evidence against war criminals for prosecutors. He provides some insight in the treason case against John David Provo. He also investigated air crashes while on occupation duty. Gill returned to the US in 1948 and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Johnsen. Johnsen joined the Army Air Corps in August of 1940. He worked as a clerk and postal inspector for the Army at Scott Field, Illinois. He graduated in August of 1942 from the Flying Sergeant Program. He opted not to be a pilot and immediately transferred to the 426th Army Air Forces Band in Waco, Texas as a trombonist. They were sent to San Marcos and provided music for the marching soldiers, the black soldiers in their compound and the white soldiers in theirs, as they were not integrated at that time. In 1945 they went to Calcutta and New Delhi, India where they played music and concerts for the enlisted men and officers. They also played at the rest and recuperation camps in the Himalaya Mountains. On the troop ship he served guard duty, and he provides details of those experiences. He was discharged in October of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Lesko. Lesko was drafted into the Army Air Forces in August of 1943. He was trained in long-range navigation [LORAN] radar. In February 1945 he went to Calcutta, India aboard the USS General W. A. Mann (AP-112). He worked on C-46s as a radar and radio technician in the 13th Squadron, 4th Combat Cargo Group. He describes his work on the planes. His unit also went to Myitkyina, Burma, where he assisted in setting up the camp and building bridges. The pilots in his unit flew out of these bases to provide supplies to troops in combat zones. Lesko describes primitive life at the camps. He was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Lee Weber. Weber joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1939. He was in San Diego when the war started and soon sailed for Samoa where he served as an armorer. He attended OCs at Samoa and was commissioned in August before going to Guadalcanal in October, 1942. Weber shares several details about ground fighting at Guadalcanal. When he left Guadalcanal, he went to New Zealand for rest and preparation for the invasion of Tarawa. Weber worked closely with Major Henry (Jim) Crowe. He also describes landing at Tarawa and fighting during the battle. Weber was wounded by a grenade and evacuated to a ship offshore. Upon recovering, he went to Quantico and served as an ordnance officer. When the war ended, Weber stayed in the reserves, retiring in 1979.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Traute (Gertrude) Manning. Born in 1907 in the East German town of Koenigshuette, she moved, along with her engineer husband, to the Dutch East Indies to build roads. She shares anecdotes of her time in Java and Borneo, the living conditions and living among the Dutch community. When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, her husband was taken and held in an internment camp and she and her son, Robert, were imprisoned for the remainder of the war. Her infant son, Max, was placed in a Dutch orphanage and was located only hours prior to being shipped to Australia. She describes her time in the prison camps of Werfstraat, Tangerang and Aadek under the Japanese. She was liberated in September, 1945.

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dorothy Danner. Danner graduated from nursing school in Los Angeles in 1935. In 1939, she applied and was accepted as a nurse in the Navy. After a while, she received orders for the Philippines and arrived in early 1940 on a two-year assignment. Danner recalls the idyllic setting prior to the war before describing activities just after the Japanese invasion. She was stationed at a hospital at Sangley Point near Cavite in Luzon, Philippines. She was captured by the Japanese and interned at Santo Tomas starting in March 1942. Sometime in 1943, she was sent to Los Banos.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Towery. Towery joined the Army in early 1941 and was sent to Corregidor to join a coast artillery unit. He recalls several details about life under siege at Corregidor before he was captured by the Japanese and taken to Cabanatuan. He left the Philippines later that year and was taken to China. Towery shares his opinions about being a POW as well as several anecdotes. He also comments on being liberated by Russians and how the Russians and Chinese communists cooperated right after the war. When he was liberated, Towery was put aboard a hospital ship at Port Arthur.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Robinson. Robinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas 1 September 1919. After graduating from high school in 1937, he began taking evening classes at the University of Houston and continued to do so through 1941. In 1940 he was hired by General Geophysical Company in Houston to work in the laboratory. In 1942 he began working with the Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC in the Terrestrial Magnetism Department. He recalls that the Defense Research Council was established to encourage various universities and scientists to coordinate research and develop devices of war. A special department and section was established for development of the proximity fuze. He tells of the intricacies of proximity sensitive objects and discusses in detail the development and testing of the proximity fuze and delivery mechanism. After the successful tests aboard the USS Cleveland utilizing the fuze against drone aircraft, it was introduced to the Pacific Fleet in 1943. The proximity fuze was first used in the European Theater during the invasion of Sicily. Robinson relates how the fuze was effectively used during the Battle of the Bulge and how the British used the fuze …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ernest Gordon. Gordon was born in Scotland and joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1939 at Stirling Castle. He was sent to Singapore in January 1940 before the Japanese invaded. Gordon recalls defending the Malay Peninsula starting in January 1942. Gordon was the last to go over the causeway into Singapore before it was destroyed. As Singapore fell, Gordon escaped to Sumatra. When Sumatra fell, Gordon escaped on a sailboat but was captured asea and sent back to Singapore where he entered Changi. He was sent north to build the Death Railway. He describes the conditions along the railway and the work environment.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Den Daas. Den Daas was born in Jakarta, Indonesia 4 November 1920. Upon graduating from the University of Jakarta in July 1940, he was called into the Royal Netherlands Army. Selected to attend the Royal Netherland Academy in Bandung, Indonesia, he graduated in March 1942 as a warrant officer concerned with logistics. Soon after the Japanese invaded, he was placed into a prisoner of war camp at Bandung. He escaped from the POW camp in April 1942, and describes the measures he took to avoid capture. After escaping he traveled to Surabaya where he joined forces with four others and made plans to sail to Australia by a small fishing boat. Before the plans could be carried out they were betrayed and the boat owner was arrested. Remaining in Surabaya, he joined a group of former Academy cadets, who began making sandals and doing miscellaneous jobs to sustain themselves. He was arrested by the Kempeitai in September 1944 and he graphically describes the torture he endured. Soon after the atomic bomb was dropped, Den Daas and some others who had endured torture were shipped to a camp …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Margaret Gillooly. Gillooly moved to the Philippines with her parents in 1938 and was a teenager when the Japanese invaded. She discusses her struggles as a student during internment and conditions within the internment camps she encountered. She was living in Cebu City when the war started. Her parents were visiting Manila. They were reunited a year later at Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Gillooly remarks on how the camp was organized and governed, how food became scarcer toward the end of the war, and the daily routine of camp life. She also discusses the liberation in February, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Martin Allday. Allday was drafted into the Army in August, 1944. On 1 May 1945, he landed on Okinawa as a replacement in the 96th Infantry Division. Allday describes his experiences in combat at Okinawa. Allday was wounded on 11 May and returned to duty the day the island was declared secure. When the war ended, Allday was transferred to the 81st Infantry Division and went to the Philippines. Allday returned to the US in September, 1946 and enrolled in college.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and interview with Hal Olsen. Olsen joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939 and went to Utah. When the war started, Olsen was a toolmaker. His deferment expired so he joined the Navy in January 1943. He attended aviation machinist school in Memphis before being assigned to the Bunker Hill Naval Air Station in Indiana. He eventually specialized in instrument repair. In January 1945, he shipped overseas to Tinian. On the side, he painted nose art. Olsen was discharged in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frederick Binder. Binder joined the Navy and went to Notre Dame for Midshipman School. Upon completion, he then went to PT boat school in Rhode Island. After training, he was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron 27. Before reaching the Pacific in late 1943, he had some duty in Panama. Binder served as the executive officer in his squadron and recalls operating against Japanese barges around Bougainville and Choiseul. He was also stationed at the Palau Islands for a while before going to the Philippines. He was then the commander of PT-375 and recalls fighting a Japanese PT boat off Luzon. He also helped paratroopers at Corregidor. When the war ended, Binder elected to be discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Geoffrey Fisken. Fisken joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1939 and by 1941 was in a fighter squadron at Singapore flying Brewster Buffaloes. Fisken recalls the Japanese arrival on the Malay Peninsula and defending the Allied base at Singapore against superior Japanese air forces. He eventually evacuated to Australia, and then returned to New Zealand by April, 1942. In 1943, his new squadron moved up to Guadalcanal. Fisken shares several anecdotes about his time flying combat and patrol missions. In late 1943, Fisken was declared unfit for flying (as a result of previous wounds) and was mustered out of the service. He returned to New Zealand and continued farming.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Rogers Aston. Aston joined the Navy in July 1942 and was assigned to USS LST-446 as a gunnery officer. They delivered trucks to Guadalcanal on his first cruise. He recalls a time USS LST-446 came alongside the USS Kanawah (AO-01) to help fight its fires after it was hit. Aston relates several anecdotes about operating an LST in the Solomon Islands. He recalls meeting Admiral Nimitz one day at Pearl Harbor. He also remembers hauling Japanese prisoners of war in the Solomons. When the war ended, Aston elected to be discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Zenji Abe. Zenji was born in Honshu on 18 August 1916 and graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in March 1937. He received a year of training on various combat vessels as a midshipman. In March 1938 he was promoted to ensign and assigned to the destroyer Uzuki. In August he was sent to flight school and became a dive bomber pilot. After serving aboard the Soryu, he was transferred to the Akagi as a squadron leader of Val dive bombers. He was a squadron leader in the second wave of dive bombers assigned to attack the American carriers at Pearl Harbor. Since the carriers were absent, his squadron attacked battleships instead. His next combat action was bombing Darwin, Australia in February 1942. He also recalls sinking British heavy cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall, as well as the carrier HMS Hermes, in the Indian Ocean in April 1942. Flying from the Junyo in June, he attacked Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. He transferred next to the carrier Hiyo. He was aboard until she broke down and Zenji’s squadron was transferred ashore to southern Bougainville Island. From Bougainville …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alan Tanaguchi. Tanaguchi was a Japanese-American internee at the Gila River Camp in Arizona during World War II. At 19 years old, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tanaguchi became a part of the internment program of the War Relocation Authority. He provides detail of life growing up in Stockton, California before December 7, 1941 and after, and experiences of bigotry and racism among his peers. He provides detail of his father being in the Justice Department internment group. He served as the dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, and at Rice University in Houston. He designed an addition to the Nimitz Museum.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Mei Nakano. Nakano is a Japanese-American and was an internee at the Amache Internment Camp in Colorado. She was born in 1924 in Olathe, Colorado. She provides detail of her life growing up in Colorado and various prejudices she received from teachers and classmates. They moved to Los Angeles, California in 1935 where she graduated from high school. She provides detail of the discrimination she and her family received in California, particularly after 7 December 1941. As notices were going out to other Japanese-American families regarding evacuation, Nakano describes her family’s preparations for the inevitable. They were evacuated by the War Relocation Authority to the Santa Anita Racetrack and in 1942 transferred to the Amache Internment Camp in Colorado. She provides much detail of life in these camps. Nakano returned to California after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ray Hunt. Hunt joined the Army Air Corps in early 1939. After training, Hunt became an aircraft mechanic and went to the Philippines in November, 1941. He was captured on Bataan and made a prisoner of war. Hunt describes his experiences on the Death March. Along the way, he escaped and was aided by Filipinos until he was healthy enough to join a guerrilla band in Tarlac. Hunt describes his activities and the command structure of his guerrilla organization. When the Allies invaded Luzon, Hunt’s band of guerrillas created havoc behind enemy lines. He received a battlefield commission retroactively sometime in 1945. He stayed in the Army, retiring in 1959.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ben Blaz. Blaz was born on Guam in 1928 and recalls aspects of his education on the island prior to World War II. He then recounts the arrival of the Japanese forces in December, 1941 and how they treated the Chamorro people. His family fled Agana to some property in the hills outside of town and raised crops during the war years. Blaz was recruited to help build and maintain airfields for the Japanese. He describes his life on GUma during WWII and then recalls the return of the Americans and being liberated. In 1947, Blaz went to Notre Dame University and then joined the Marine Corps in 1951, retiring in 1980.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alpha Bowser. Bowser earned a commission through the Naval Academy in 1932. He went to sea aboard the USS Texas (BB-35). Afterwards, he went to artillery school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Bowser recalls a detail where he accompanied President Roosevelt to Georgia. When World War II started, Bowser was assigned to the 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division as an artillery officer. He describes the landing he made during the invasion of Guam. He also was in a quiet sector at Iwo Jima. When the war ended, Bowser worked to demobilize the Marine Corps. He also served in Korea planning the Inchon landing. He also worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, commanded at Camp Lejeune and commanded the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic before retiring in 1967.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Vraciu. Vraciu was born in East Chicago, Indiana on 2 November 1918. He graduated from DePauw University in 1941, where he received civilian pilot training. He joined the Navy and in February 1943. He joined fighter squadron VF-6, flying the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat as wingman to Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare. He entered combat in August 1943, flying off the USS Independence (CVL-22) to make strafing runs on Marcus Island. Vraciu describes a mission he flew against Wake Island with O’Hare on 10 October 1943, during which he shot down a Japanese plane. He recounts bomber escort missions over Rabaul and recalls he shot down his second Japanese bomber on 20 November 1943. He was transferred to USS Essex (CV-9), where he participated in raids on Kwajalein in December. When he learned of O’Hare’s death, he had the difficult job of informing O’Hare’s wife. In December, VF-6 was transferred to USS Intrepid (CV-11). Vraciu describes downing three Japanese bombers over Kwajalein and raiding Truk on 17 February 1944 where he shot down four Japanese Zeros. Vraciu volunteered to return to combat with Air Group 16 (VF-16) …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Marion E Carl. Carl joined the Marine Corps in 1938. He served as a flight instructor for a fighter squadron in Quantico, Virginia. In September 1941 he joined Marine fighter squadron VMF-221 in San Diego, flying Brewster Buffalos. In November they went to Hawaii. On 8 December 1941 they went to Midway. In June of 1942 he flew a Wildcat in the Battle of Midway and provides details of this experience. From there he was evacuated back to Hawaii in mid-June and transferred to squadron VMF-223. In August of 1942 they went to Guadalcanal. He describes getting shot down by a zero and other experiences on the island. In early 1943 he was assigned as squadron commander over VMF-223 in Laguna Beach, California. They traveled to the Solomon Islands and Emira Island. From 1945-1948 Carl received orders to go to Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland, working in the flight test unit, testing new fighters and attack aircraft. He provides detail of this job and the aircraft he tested. He left the Corps in 1973, retiring as Major general. Carl was the Marine Corps’ first fighter ace in World …