The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nilo Inciardi. Inciardi joined the Army Air Corps in January of 1941. He served as a P-40 pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron. He received his commission in October of 1941. They flew patrol missions over New Caledonia. In the fall of 1942, they participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign, dive bombing and strafing. He returned to the US in April of 1943, and prepared to go to Europe. Inciardi joined the 366th Fighter Squadron and arrived in England in October of 1943. He does not speak of his experiences in Europe. Inciardi returned home and was discharged in late 1945. He remained in the Reserves and was recalled for active duty in the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Hanger. Hanger was born 15 May 1919 and enlisted in 1942. He was ordered to Lowery Field, Colorado to attend armament school. Upon completion of his training, he went aboard the USS Rochambeau (AP-63) and sailed to New Caledonia where he was assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron. Operation Vengeance occurred while he was with the squadron and he recalls the success of the mission and of personally knowing some of those who participated. One of his duties was assistant mess officer. During his time on New Caledonia he underwent navigator training. Returning to the United States in November 1943 he began pilot training. He tells of the various bases to which he was assigned and of piloting B-24’s in conjunction with the training of radar students. He was discharged September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George T. Chandler. Chandler was born in Wichita, Kansas on 1 February 1921. Attending Wichita State University, he joined the US Army Aviation Cadet Program November, 1941. He describes his training in various aircraft and graduation from fighter training. In July 1943 he reported to the 347th fighter group on Guadalcanal flying P-38 fighters. In a well narrated tale, he describes various incidents of individual aerial combat missions during which he shot down five enemy aircraft thus qualifying him as a Fighter Ace.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Borchers. Borchers joined the Army in September 1944 and received training at Camp Hood and Fort Ord. His first combat duty was in the Luzon campaign, where he was stationed in the mountains north of Manila. There he was assigned to the 112th Cavalry Regiment. His platoon devised an alarm system out of barbed wire and tin cans to alert them to Japanese infiltration. They fired 15,000 rounds when a water buffalo stumbled into it. After the battle, Borchers was stricken with hepatitis and never was in action again. He arrived in Tokyo Bay on 1 September 1945 and camped at the Tateyama Air Base with a view of the surrender. He was part of the occupation forces and describes what he saw on his travels through Japan, including the rubble of Chiba. He joined the 649th Ordnance Ammunition Company, dumping ammunition, vehicles, and aircraft into the water near Shoshi. Borchers returned home and was discharged in November 1946 as a first sergeant, whereupon he joined the Naval Reserves and entered medical school. He resigned his commission in 1953.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Isidore Ozuna. Ozuna joined the Navy in July of 1943. He served with the deck force aboard the USS Colorado (BB-45). His battle station was with the gun crews. He participated in the pre-invasion shelling and fire support of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf and Okinawa. He returned to the US after the war ended and received his discharge in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Amundson. Amundson joined the Navy in September 1942 and received basic training at Great Lakes. Upon completion, he was assigned to an APD at Pearl Harbor that transported Marines throughout the South Pacific. He returned to the States and became a plank holder aboard the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73). After abandoning ship at the Battle of Samar, he survived 40 hours in the water despite not knowing how to swim. Amundson returned home safely, to the shock of his parents, who believed everyone aboard the Gambier Bay had been lost at sea.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Murray Brown. Brown dropped out of high school and joined the Navy in November 1941. He was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1), on which he served for two years as a boatswain’s mate. Brown sailed throughout the Pacific, from the Aleutian Islands to Espiritu Santo. After two years on the Pyro, he was transferred to the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) as an officer in charge of the second division. In the fall of 1944, when the Gambier Bay was attacked in the Battle off Samar, Brown ordered his men to abandon ship. He was afraid that he would go down with the ship, but he carefully climbed down the monkey lines while the ship was at a forty-five degree angle. It would be two days and nights before he was rescued, and men all around him were going mad from dehydration. For their safety as well as his own, Brown confiscated their knives and tossed them away. Following his rescue, Brown was reassigned to the USS Knox (APA-46), but he developed a leg malady that put him in sick bay until the end of the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Feliz. Feliz was drafted into the Navy in 1943. Upon completion of signal and radio school, Feliz spent a month on an aviation crash boat before becoming a plank owner of the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), as a signalman striker. He initially sailed to Pearl Harbor and recalls anchoring directly above the sunken USS Arizona (BB-39). The Gambier Bay earned its first battle star at Saipan, where Feliz observed the action from the starboard catwalk, prepared to provide emergency steering as needed. Later, while sailing to Hollandia, Feliz spotted a ship on which his cousin was a quartermaster and managed to communicate with him by light and semaphore. In the fall of 1944 when the Gambier Bay was struck, Feliz abandoned ship on an empty stomach, feeling extremely queasy when he hit the water. As time went on, he was surrounded by delirious sailors who had consumed too much salt water. After two days and two nights, he was eventually spotted floating in an airplane tire innertube. Feliz was reassigned to the USS Siboney (CVE-112), where he remained until the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with G C Petit. Petit joined the Navy in 1943. He served aboard the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) in the deck force and gunnery gang, beginning in 1944. Petit describes life aboard the ship. They were apart of task unit Taffy 3. They traveled through the Pacific, participating in battles at Saipan, the Philippines and Leyte Gulf. He provides some details of these battles, including the sinking of Gambier Bay during the Battle off Samar in October of 1944. He provides some detail of his time adrift in the water before being rescued. In 1945 he served aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). They transported troops from England to the U.S. He was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Coffee. Coffee was born in Decatur, Indiana 16 August 1923 and graduated from high school in 1942. Upon joining the Navy, he underwent eight weeks of boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois before entering Aviation Machinist School. He was then sent to Memphis, Tennessee for radio and radar training. After that, he attended gunnery school at Hollywood, Florida before going Ft. Lauderdale where he was assigned as a crew member on a TBM. The crew was assigned to VT-85 on the USS Shangri-La (CVE-38). He supported the invasion of Okinawa and participated in raids over Japan. On 29 April 1945 his plane was shot down while on a bombing mission over Kikai Jima. Coffee was severely burned before he and the pilot bailed out. The pilot did not survive. Coffee was picked up by a seaplane from Rescue Squadron VH-3 and taken to the USS St. George (AV-16) for treatment. He was put on board a hospital ship and taken to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital where he was treated for gangrene on his severely burned legs. He was then taken to the Naval …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nilo Inciardi. Inciardi joined the Army Air Corps in January of 1941. He served as a P-40 pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron. He received his commission in October of 1941. They flew patrol missions over New Caledonia. In the fall of 1942, they participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign, dive bombing and strafing. He returned to the US in April of 1943, and prepared to go to Europe. Inciardi joined the 366th Fighter Squadron and arrived in England in October of 1943. He does not speak of his experiences in Europe. Inciardi returned home and was discharged in late 1945. He remained in the Reserves and was recalled for active duty in the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Hanger. Hanger was born 15 May 1919 and enlisted in 1942. He was ordered to Lowery Field, Colorado to attend armament school. Upon completion of his training, he went aboard the USS Rochambeau (AP-63) and sailed to New Caledonia where he was assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron. Operation Vengeance occurred while he was with the squadron and he recalls the success of the mission and of personally knowing some of those who participated. One of his duties was assistant mess officer. During his time on New Caledonia he underwent navigator training. Returning to the United States in November 1943 he began pilot training. He tells of the various bases to which he was assigned and of piloting B-24’s in conjunction with the training of radar students. He was discharged September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George T. Chandler. Chandler was born in Wichita, Kansas on 1 February 1921. Attending Wichita State University, he joined the US Army Aviation Cadet Program November, 1941. He describes his training in various aircraft and graduation from fighter training. In July 1943 he reported to the 347th fighter group on Guadalcanal flying P-38 fighters. In a well narrated tale, he describes various incidents of individual aerial combat missions during which he shot down five enemy aircraft thus qualifying him as a Fighter Ace.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Borchers. Borchers joined the Army in September 1944 and received training at Camp Hood and Fort Ord. His first combat duty was in the Luzon campaign, where he was stationed in the mountains north of Manila. There he was assigned to the 112th Cavalry Regiment. His platoon devised an alarm system out of barbed wire and tin cans to alert them to Japanese infiltration. They fired 15,000 rounds when a water buffalo stumbled into it. After the battle, Borchers was stricken with hepatitis and never was in action again. He arrived in Tokyo Bay on 1 September 1945 and camped at the Tateyama Air Base with a view of the surrender. He was part of the occupation forces and describes what he saw on his travels through Japan, including the rubble of Chiba. He joined the 649th Ordnance Ammunition Company, dumping ammunition, vehicles, and aircraft into the water near Shoshi. Borchers returned home and was discharged in November 1946 as a first sergeant, whereupon he joined the Naval Reserves and entered medical school. He resigned his commission in 1953.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Isidore Ozuna. Ozuna joined the Navy in July of 1943. He served with the deck force aboard the USS Colorado (BB-45). His battle station was with the gun crews. He participated in the pre-invasion shelling and fire support of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf and Okinawa. He returned to the US after the war ended and received his discharge in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Amundson. Amundson joined the Navy in September 1942 and received basic training at Great Lakes. Upon completion, he was assigned to an APD at Pearl Harbor that transported Marines throughout the South Pacific. He returned to the States and became a plank holder aboard the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73). After abandoning ship at the Battle of Samar, he survived 40 hours in the water despite not knowing how to swim. Amundson returned home safely, to the shock of his parents, who believed everyone aboard the Gambier Bay had been lost at sea.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Murray Brown. Brown dropped out of high school and joined the Navy in November 1941. He was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1), on which he served for two years as a boatswain’s mate. Brown sailed throughout the Pacific, from the Aleutian Islands to Espiritu Santo. After two years on the Pyro, he was transferred to the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) as an officer in charge of the second division. In the fall of 1944, when the Gambier Bay was attacked in the Battle off Samar, Brown ordered his men to abandon ship. He was afraid that he would go down with the ship, but he carefully climbed down the monkey lines while the ship was at a forty-five degree angle. It would be two days and nights before he was rescued, and men all around him were going mad from dehydration. For their safety as well as his own, Brown confiscated their knives and tossed them away. Following his rescue, Brown was reassigned to the USS Knox (APA-46), but he developed a leg malady that put him in sick bay until the end of the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Feliz. Feliz was drafted into the Navy in 1943. Upon completion of signal and radio school, Feliz spent a month on an aviation crash boat before becoming a plank owner of the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), as a signalman striker. He initially sailed to Pearl Harbor and recalls anchoring directly above the sunken USS Arizona (BB-39). The Gambier Bay earned its first battle star at Saipan, where Feliz observed the action from the starboard catwalk, prepared to provide emergency steering as needed. Later, while sailing to Hollandia, Feliz spotted a ship on which his cousin was a quartermaster and managed to communicate with him by light and semaphore. In the fall of 1944 when the Gambier Bay was struck, Feliz abandoned ship on an empty stomach, feeling extremely queasy when he hit the water. As time went on, he was surrounded by delirious sailors who had consumed too much salt water. After two days and two nights, he was eventually spotted floating in an airplane tire innertube. Feliz was reassigned to the USS Siboney (CVE-112), where he remained until the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with G C Petit. Petit joined the Navy in 1943. He served aboard the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) in the deck force and gunnery gang, beginning in 1944. Petit describes life aboard the ship. They were apart of task unit Taffy 3. They traveled through the Pacific, participating in battles at Saipan, the Philippines and Leyte Gulf. He provides some details of these battles, including the sinking of Gambier Bay during the Battle off Samar in October of 1944. He provides some detail of his time adrift in the water before being rescued. In 1945 he served aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). They transported troops from England to the U.S. He was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Coffee. Coffee was born in Decatur, Indiana 16 August 1923 and graduated from high school in 1942. Upon joining the Navy, he underwent eight weeks of boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois before entering Aviation Machinist School. He was then sent to Memphis, Tennessee for radio and radar training. After that, he attended gunnery school at Hollywood, Florida before going Ft. Lauderdale where he was assigned as a crew member on a TBM. The crew was assigned to VT-85 on the USS Shangri-La (CVE-38). He supported the invasion of Okinawa and participated in raids over Japan. On 29 April 1945 his plane was shot down while on a bombing mission over Kikai Jima. Coffee was severely burned before he and the pilot bailed out. The pilot did not survive. Coffee was picked up by a seaplane from Rescue Squadron VH-3 and taken to the USS St. George (AV-16) for treatment. He was put on board a hospital ship and taken to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital where he was treated for gangrene on his severely burned legs. He was then taken to the Naval …