The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Loftin. Loftin joined the Army Air Corps in early 1941. He had flight training at various bases all over Texas and earned his wings and commission in August, 1942. His first assignment was at New Orleans where he flew anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico with the 124th Observation Squadron. IN 1944, he became a flight instructor in Florida. In April, 1945, Loftin went overseas to England and was assigned to the 95th Bomb Group with whom he flew on one bomb mission before moving to operations. He returned home in July, 1945 and was training in B-29s when the war ended. Loftin stayed in the Reserves until 1972.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hermi Salas. Salas was assigned to the Third Marine Division and was present for the invasion of Guam in the Mariana Islands. He was wounded on Guam and evacuated to a hospital ship, the USS Solace. He also participated in the Iwo Jima landings. After a few weeks on Iwo Jima, Salas was wounded again and placed aboard the USS Solace. He discusses his experiences in the hospital recovering from wounds received in battle at Iwo Jima. Eventually, he made his way back to San Antonio and discusses a brief leave at home before reporting to prison guard duty in Corpus Christi. Upon being discharged after the war, Salas went to radio school and worked at Kelly Air Force Base in the Civil Service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett E Knebel. Knebel joined the Navy in January 1942 as an experienced carpenter. He received basic training at Great Lakes and was among the first Seabees to be deployed in the war. When his unit left the island, Knebel stayed behind to have an appendectomy. He returned to duty on the island, climbing 40 feet in the air to construct a parachute drying tower, and operating the backhoe to install a sewage system. His working hours were ordinary and regular, just as in civilian life, only he would pause to make way for Polynesian natives whenever they held a traditional burial ceremony. He describes their singing in the procession, carrying a body wrapped in yellow on their shoulders. After two years, Knebel returned to the States. He was stationed at Port Hueneme when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with L.C. Finger. Finger was born in Garner, Texas. Drafted into the Army in 1943, he was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for three weeks of basic training. He was then sent to Camp Mackall, North Carolina where he joined the 11th Airborne Division, volunteering for parachute training. He made five practice jumps before deploying overseas. Arriving at Leyte in June 1944 they made three practice jumps and conducted routine patrols. He recalls in December a Japanese force came out of the jungles and attacked an airfield and an engineering group killing many Americans. Elements of Finger’s division searched and were successful in finding and destroying the enemy force. That evening the Japanese dropped paratroopers to take the local airfield and he tells of seeing them come down, highlighted by white parachutes, enabling the Americans to kill many of them as they landed. The division retook the airfield the next day. While participating in the action, Finger was seriously wounded by a Japanese sniper. He was taken to an aid station and then to a field hospital where doctors removed his right leg. He was taken to Biak, New …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Osborn. Osborn joined the Navy in April of 1943. He completed Fireman and Steam Engine training. He served in the engine room aboard USS Hammondsport (AKV-2), transporting aircraft to the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo and New Caledonia. Osborn later transferred to USS Harris (APA-2). He served as an Engineman aboard the landing craft, transporting troops to and from Kwajalein in February of 1944. Around May, Osborn was transferred to USS Ashland (LSD-1), participating in the Invasion of the Philippines, and the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After the war, Osborn served with occupational forces in Shanghai, China. He helped organize the transportation of the Japanese back to Japan. He returned to the US and was discharged in the spring of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Graves. Graves joined the Marine Corps Reserves while attending the Rice Institute in 1941. After graduation he was sent to Quantico, Virginia in June 1942. He was placed into a candidate?s class, a reserve officer?s class, and then an artillery class. He was sent to Camp Pendleton, California to train artillerymen. In January 1944, he was sent to Hawaii as the Battery Executive Officer of E battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment of the 4th Marine Division. He recounts his experiences in the Battles of Kwajalein and Saipan. He was injured by a grenade on Saipan. He relates his experiences in a tent hospital on Saipan and naval hospitals in Hawaii and Long Beach, California. As a result of his injury, he spent the remainder of the war on limited duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Steve Weiner. Weiner graduated from high school in 1935 and attended UCLA for a period of time before graduated from the University of Pittsburg. He entered the cadet training program in 1940 and was sent to Randolph Field in San Antonio. Upon washing out of the program, he was assigned to the 86th Observation Squadron as communications officer at Bellows Field, Hawaii. He recalls 7 December 1941 when a B-17 bomber crash landed on Bellow Field and being told by the crewmembers that they had been attacked. Later his group was strafed by Japanese planes. They were told to draw weapons and prepare for invasion by land forces. He tells of Corporal David Akui bringing the commander of a Japanese midget submarine (HA-19) to him as a captive. He describes in detail the appearance of the commander, Kazuo Sakamaki, and his interaction with him before turning him over to higher authorities. He relates how he communicated with Sakamaki after the war and of meeting him in 1991. [HA-19 is on display at The National Museum of the Pacific War.] In late 1941, Weiner was assigned as officer in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Brasell. Brasell joined the Army in November 1940 and went directly to Hawaii for training. He watched the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Punch Bowl on Oahu. His duty included delivering ammunition to various installation guard posts in the hills around Pearl Harbor. He had some contact with Ensign Sakamaki at Fort Shafter after his capture. In December, 1942, he landed on Guadalcanal. Brasell served as a machine gunner protecting the area around Henderson Field. He also invaded New Georgia. He also landed with his unit on Luzon in January 1945. Brasell rotated back to the US in June, 1945 and received his discharge at then end of that month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Abelino Alviar. Alviar joined the Army in May of 1944. In early 1945, he joined the 778th Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. They deployed to Le Havre, France, and traveled to Munich, Germany, arriving after the Battle of the Ardennes. Alviar provided guard duty, and served as a gunner on the half-track supporting the 1st Infantry Division as they fought into Germany. He also worked as a translator and helped transport supplies to the front line. He returned home and was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Sheehan. Sheehan joined the Navy in October of 1942. He was trained as an aviation machinist mate and became a flight engineer on a PBM Mariner. Sheehan discusses engine maintenance and the challenges of minimizing the constant corrosion that threatened the plane. He briefly discusses flying anti-submarine missions along the East Coast and later in the Pacific. Sheehan also describes weathering a typhoon on the water. He returned to the U.S. and was stationed in California at the end of the war. Sheehan left the Navy in November 1945, but returned to the reserves and retired in 1966.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Mesko. Mesko joined the Marine Corps in June of 1935. He completed Officers Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia, graduating as a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 5th Marine Regiment of the Fleet Marine Force. Mesko traveled aboard USS Wisconsin (BB-64), and participated in the Battle of Okinawa. He continued his service after the war ended, and retired as lieutenant colonel in January of 1965.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alfred Bisili. Bisili was born in Munda, New Georgia, Western Province, Solomon Islands in December of 1923. He recalls the Japanese invading in 1942, the Americans arriving in 1943, and his family hiding in the bush. Bisili, and a number of other natives, joined the American Army’s 118th Engineer Battalion, 43rd Infantry Division. He served as a scout for the island, and led the troops on Baanga Island, through the New Georgia Campaign, and until the end of the war. Reference Jimmy Bennett’s oral history, a native friend of Bisili, who participated with him during the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Elder. Elder joined the Army in 1941. He was assigned to the Headquarters Section in Corregidor, Philippines, where he was present on 8 December 1941. Elder participated in the Battle of Bataan. Once captured by the Japanese, he was taken to Bilibid Prison in Manila, and later to the Cabanatuan prison camp. He remained imprisoned until their liberation in September of 1945. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest Botard. Botard was born on a Texas ranch 28 December 1916. Graduating from high school in 1935, he attended Texas A&M University. He was called to active duty in February 1942, reporting to the Army’s 4th Calvary at Manhattan, Kansas where he received intensive training with horses. He was then sent to Fort Meade, South Dakota where his unit began training with vehicles. After spending six months training in the desert at Blithe, California the unit was sent to Camp Maxey at Paris, Texas. Here they prepared for overseas duty. Botard was placed in charge of D company and he describes the type of equipment the unit had. Departing the US in a large escorted convoy, they arrived in Portsmouth, England and began preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Botard landed at Utah Beach on 7 June 1944 and describes the problems getting the tanks and other equipment ashore. He describes in detail the battles in which he was involved and the difficulties presented by the hedgerows in the movement of his tanks. He recounts an incident where his column of tanks was proceeding down a road …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Haschel. Haschel was born in Winamac, Indiana in 1918 and grew up during the Depression. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Navy in September 1941. Upon completing basic training at Great Lakes, he was assigned to the USS Honolulu (CL-48) a few days following the Japanese attack. The Honolulu was damaged in the attack and went to Mare Island for repairs. Over the following months he describes the Honolulu serving as a convoy escort for troop ships sailing back and forth from Pearl Harbor to New Caledonia and Fiji. Next, the ship sailed to the Aleutians in mid-1942 for gunfire support followed by a transit to Espiritu Santo, where the Honolulu provided escort duty for Marine and Army troops landing on Guadalcanal. Haschel recalls the night of 30 November when the Honolulu, with the USS Northampton (CG-26) and other vessels, disrupted an attempt to resupply Japanese troops on Guadalcanal during the Battle of Tassafaronga. His next assignment was shore duty in Miami training sub chaser and patrol boat crews. He was transferred to the USS Augusta (CA-31) in 1945. Haschel was aboard when the …

Transcript of a presentation by Forrest Biard. Biard grew up in Texas and attended the Naval Academy, graduating in 1934. Biard learned Japanese in Japan from 1939 to 1941. The training was rigorous. He describes interactions with the local women. Biard also traveled in Japan. He describes how sentiment gradually changed in Japan after the Japanese Army invaded China. He also describes how more and more Germans started traveling to Japan. Biard relates that the U.S. was warned that Japan would attack Pearl Harbor by the Peruvian ambassador but ignored it. He also mentions meeting Richard Sorge. He also talks about being followed everywhere by two plainclothes police officers, who at one point even searched his bags. He arrived in Pearl Harbor shortly before it was bombed. Biard was immediately assigned to be a cryptologist to break Japanese code under Commander Joe Rochefort, without any instruction. He describes working on breaking JN-25. He also identifies the 3 code-breaking sites as Washington DC, Corregidor, and Pearl Harbor. He describes in detail how many warnings and mistakes happened prior to Pearl Harbor. He was also on the USS Yorktown and describes difficulties when trying to warn Admiral Fletcher about an attack. Next, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William C. Beyer. Beyer grew up in Texas and joined the Marines in January 1942. After training, he was assigned to the third division in artillery. He departed on the USS Mount Vernon for New Zealand. He anecdotes about meeting with some Maori people. Then he departed on the Cresent City for Guadalcanal in May 1943. From Guadalcanal he left for Bougainville in November 1943. He describes being caught in a foxhole for two days without communication. He also listened to Tokyo Rose on the radio. The Army relieved the Marines January 15, 1944, and his unit returned to Guadalcanal. On July 21, 1944, they landed on Guam and went into battle. Next Beyer left for Iwo Jima. The Third Marine Division was assigned to the central area of the island. He witnessed the raising of the flag. On the 50th anniversary of the war, Beyer and his wife returned to New Zealand and Guam.

Audio cassette from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during their their 24th Annual Black Music and the Civil Rights Concert held on January 14th, 2007 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The audio tape includes 15 tracks of gospel music performed live by the TBAAL choir and guest artist Kelly Price. Song titles listed in concert program.

Audio cassette from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during their their 24th Annual Black Music and the Civil Rights Concert held on January 14th, 2007 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The audio tape includes 15 tracks of gospel music performed live by the TBAAL choir and guest artist Kelly Price. Song titles listed in concert program.

Audio cassette of the opening remarks for the 18th annual "Black Music and the Civil Rights" live concert event held at the Meyerson Symphony center on January 14th, 2001, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Pear Story is a video stimulus commonly utilized in language documentation where speakers are shown the silent six minute video and then asked to describe it. In the video, a young boy steals a basket of pears from a farmer, then shares the stolen pears with three boys. This is a recording of H. Surmangol Sharma’s retelling of the Pear Story.

Interview with Homer James "Jim" Avery, founder of James Avery Craftsman from Kerrville, Texas. Mr. Avery discusses his childhood, education, service in World War II, and starting and developing his jewelry business.

Interview with Bill Snead, a communications specialist in the US Air Force during WWII. He answers questions about his experiences during the war.

Interview with Charley Cole, a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in the Korean War and was wounded in action. Cole describes his time with the 34th Regiment in Korea at length, with many details about various combat missions and the weapons utilized. He also speaks on his injuries, including being shot in the shoulder.