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 Harlie Beale. Beale joined the Navy in 1942 and was assigned to the USS Patuxent (AO-44) as a seaman. In September 1944 he had the opportunity to strike for quartermaster and joined the bridge gang. One of Beale’s most daunting experiences was enduring a typhoon near Ulithi. He found it tiring to stand on the bridge, and terrifying to see nearby destroyers tossed about like toys. At Iwo Jima, Beale learned of plans to support air raids over Japan. But when a magazine hoist sparked and ignited leaking aviation gas, causing an explosion that lifted the ship up 40 feet, the Patuxent was diverted for repairs. Later, at Okinawa, Beale saw a kamikaze strike a nearby ship. When the crew of the Patuxent learned of the end of the war, they sang in celebration. The Patuxent joined the USS Missouri (BB-63) at the signing of the armistice in Tokyo Bay, where Beale saw Japanese civilians out with white flags. Beale returned home after 18 months at sea.

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.

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 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 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 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 oral interview with R.V. Burgin. Burgin was born in Marquez, Texas 13 August 1922 and joined the Marine Corps in March 1941. Completing boot camp, he went to Camp Elliott, California for training with 60mm mortars. He boarded the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22) and went to Melbourne, Australia. Upon arrival, he was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Eugene B. Sledge, author of With the Old Breed, served in K/3/5 with Burgin). On 1 January 1944 he landed on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. Burgin describes repelling a number of Japanese banzai charges. Burgin also describes the invasion of Peleliu and comments on the high casualty rate. Once the island was secured his unit went to Pavuvu for rest. On 1 April 1945 he landed on Okinawa. During the battle, Burgin was wounded. After being treated at a field hospital he returned to the front lines and remained there until the island was secured.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Byram. Byram joined the Navy in 1936 and was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He later went aboard USS Lexington (CV-2) in time for the Battle of the Coral Sea. Aboard the Lexington, Byram served as an aircraft engine mechanic the day she sank. After duty with a seaplane outfit, Byram transferred to USS Midway (CV-41) where he worked on corsairs. After the war, Bynum stayed in the Navy Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Clevenger. Clevenger was born on 13 April 1922 and was drafted into the Army in October 1942. After completing basic training at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana he was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas and assigned to the 31st mule pack troop of the Quartermaster Corps. He embarked on the USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) in Baltimore and arrived at Bombay, India. He took a train to Camp Landis where he contracted a severe case of malaria. Upon recovering, he was transferred to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as Merrill’s Marauders, under the command of Brigadier General Frank Merrill. He describes some of his experiences at Camp Landis. He recalls his unit crossing the Ganges River with their mules on a train. In Burma, Clevenger remembers watching American 75mm howitzers firing upon Japanese troops in a valley. He also recalls he and his mule came under friendly fire on one occasion. He mentions in passing that he bought some jewelry from a woman in China. On 10 August 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry, which continued service in northern Burma. In September …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Cook. Cook joined the Navy in November of 1939, and completed submarine school. Beginning April of 1942, he served as a fireman aboard the USS Silversides (SS-236). He traveled to Japan and Truk participating in 2 successful war patrols. From November of 1944 through April of 1945 he was assigned to the USS Flasher (SS-249), traveling to the South China Sea and completing war patrols five and six, sinking two Japanese destroyers, Kishinami and Iwanami. After the war ended, Cook enlisted in the Army, when he was discharged as Chief Petty Officer in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carlo Didio. Didio joined the Navy in early 1942, having already worked as a patternmaker in the ship repair unit at the Norfolk Naval Yard. After basic training, he was stationed at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as a second class patternmaker. He commissioned and boarded the USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16) as part of the repair crew at the Panama Canal. The ship then headed for Saipan. Didio then traveled to Okinawa, where his ship immediately disembarked with countless other ships, fleeing a typhoon. After 12 days in the storm, the ship lost track of the seven LSTs they were shepherding. The captain advised everyone to put on their life vests as he turned back into the wind and waves to find them. Six were recovered, one having washed ashore on Formosa. Didio’s last station before discharge was Sing Tao, where the locals were neither friendly nor unfriendly but simply wanted to sell goods. He returned home in June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Donaldson. Donaldson talks about how the Great Depression affected his family. He joined the Navy in 1944 and provides details of his training. He traveled aboard the USS Buckingham (APA-141). They traveled to Pearl Harbor, which he describes along with his responsibilities with work parties unloading and reloading ships. He assisted with trading out old ammunition for new ammunition. He was transferred to the John Rodgers Naval Air Station in Hawaii. He worked on the Martin Mars seaplanes, repairing and test flying them. He also flew C-54s and the J-3 Piper Cub and shares his experiences. He spent the remainder of his Navy career in Hawaii and was discharged in August of 1946 and joined the reserves. While in the service he made storekeeper 3rd class. In the 1950s he was commissioned into the Air Force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Dusek. Dusek left college to join the Army in May 1943 and received basic training at Camp Maxey. He then received nine months of engineering training, specializing in rebuilding war-torn infrastructure. In September 1944 he was sent to the battlefield in Belgium with the 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. He was hit by shrapnel from a German tank and was discovered 30 minutes later by German soldiers. He was taken to a German field hospital, but he was not given any pain medication for his wounds. That evening, after the German had tended to their own wounded, Dusek was given surgical treatment. He was transferred to Stalag IVB and was treated very well. Upon recovery, he was sent to Halle, where conditions were fair. An American air raid struck the camp on 1 April 1945, killing all but 10 of the 80 American prisoners. Dusek was liberated by the 8th Armored Division on 25 April and sent to McCloskey Veterans Hospital. He received a medical discharge in September 1945 and returned to college on the GI Bill.

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 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 oral interview with Richard Harold Garty. Garty joined the Marine Corps in July 1941, receiving basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to the antiaircraft division of the 4th Defense Battalion, stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. He was peeling potatoes at the mess hall when the first air raid started. Throughout the war, Garty’s battle station was loading fuse pots, and he describes in detail the teamwork involved in firing a three-inch shell. His left ear was always beside the gun when it fired, causing him tinnitus later in life. He spent time on Efate and Espiritu Santo in June 1942, building airstrips on coconut plantations by hauling felled trees with a tractor. He learned to make spirits by adding raisins to coconuts and allowing them to ferment. In New Zealand he was on MP duty, and in Guadalcanal he became a telephone lineman. There he witnessed a successful diversion of Washing Machine Charlie, with lights strung in the ocean to imitate a landing strip. Garty contracted malaria. He was sent to Camp Pendleton, where he had his wisdom teeth removed. There he reunited with a friend …

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 interview with Donald Hair. Hair was drafted into the Navy when he was 18 years old. During boot camp he learned Morse Code, and how to serve as a signal flagman, helmsman and loader on a 5-inch gun. He worked aboard the USS Aulick (DD-569), which joined Admiral Kinkaid???s 7th Fleet. He provides some details of his job aboard and the ship in general. They traveled to Guam, Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, Leyte Gulf and the Philippines. In November of 1944 at Leyte Gulf their destroyer was attacked by 6 Japanese planes, which Hair describes and received shrapnel in his back. He was transferred to a hospital ship and then to a hospital on New Caledonia. He provides some information on the US Fleet Hospital 105 in New York. Once healed he joined a Seabee construction unit. He traveled back to the States around May of 1945 aboard the USS Rixey (APH-3). He describes his experiences aboard, including going through a typhoon. He was later assigned to the USS Adirondack (AGC-15), where he oversaw 6 men stationed on the large bridge. He served a total of 5 years in the Navy.

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 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wayne Hissong. Hissong joined the Army in March, 1941 and served in a horse cavalry outfit before moving into tanks. He joined the 712th Tank Battalion and went to Normandy in late June. Hissong shares a story of being captured and liberated within 72 hours while overseas. He also shares several anecdotes about supplying the tanks with fuel and ammo. He describes a few encounters with General Patton. Hissong was discharged in October, 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Dr. Glenn Ivy. Ivy was attending Texas Tech University when he was inducted into the Army in 1943. When he entered the service, Ivy trained in the Signal Corps to send and receive encoded messages. In Jaunary, 1944, Ivy was sent to India where he was flown over the Himalaya Mountains to Kunming, China. He eventually served as a message courier delivering messages between Chiang Kai-shek and the US 14th Air Force in Kunming. Ivy discusses a situation he was involved in that featured lost plans calling for an invasion of the Chinese coast. When the war ended, Ivy was sent with much Signal Corps equipment to Shanghai to set up a facility to send and receive messages from there. He then shares a few anecdotes about occupation duty in China before being called home due to an inllness suffered by his mother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with Uno Johnson. Johnson was born in Veinge, Sweden 26 May 1923. He emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of six months. He entered the U.S. Army 4 February 1943 and took basic training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. He was stationed in Florida and had a part-time job in a foundry cleaning the furnaces. He recalls being stationed in Berkeley, California as a truck driver and tells of taking troops to San Francisco to board ships bound for overseas. He experienced an earthquake while stationed there. In February 1945 he boarded the USS Matsonia (D1589) for Oahu, and upon his arrival he began living in a tent in the Ala Moana Crater. There he worked on the maintenance of military vehicles. In February 1946 Johnson returned to the United States aboard the USS Matsonia. He received his discharge 12 February 1946.

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.