The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert P. McCoy. McCoy was working in the aircraft industry in Los Angeles when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was still a civilian on his way to Fairbanks, Alaska when the Japanese attacked Dutch Harbor. It took him a week to fly to Alaska as a result. After he returned, he went to work for the Lockheed Corporation and was employed building Norden bombsights. He spent some time installing the bombsights in aircraft in Ireland and England before joining the Marine Corps in July, 1944. In the Marines, he worked as an air traffic controller. McCoy was sent to China for six months after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Guatemozin Garcia. Garcia was born in Alice, Texas 26 October 1923. Upon graduating from high school in 1942, he joined the Army Air Forces. Four of his brothers were also in the military during World War II. After completing basic training at Shepherd Field, Texas he was sent to Fort Myers, Florida for four weeks of gunnery training. He was then sent to Santa Ana, California where he joined the 34th Bomb Group as a nose gunner in a B-24. Garcia’s group flew to England during April 1944. In seven months, he flew thirty-two missions. He flew two missions over Normandy during the invasion not knowing that one of his brothers was in the ground forces hitting the beach. Later, he learned his brother was severely wounded and was in the Liverpool Army Hospital. Garcia visited him there. He recalls a bombing mission when their plane was so heavily damaged by flak it was doubtful they could make it back to England. He tells of the measures taken to keep their plane airborne until making an emergency landing at an English air field. Returning to the United States …