The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Stutterheim. Stutterheim was born 14 June 1928 in Indonesia. He speaks fondly of growing up on the island of Java. Stutterheim was 13 years old in December of 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. With the surrender of Java to the Japanese in 1942, Stutterheim and his younger brother and mother were taken to one prison camp and his father to another, where they all remained until their liberation in 1945. Their camps were located around Batavia and Jakarta. He recounts his experiences during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, sharing the brutal conditions in a Japanese labor camp and collapse of Dutch colonial rule.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John F. Sleasman. Sleasman was born 16 June 1926 and joined the Navy in 1943. After attending boot camp at Sampson, New York he went to machinist school in Dearborn, Michigan. He then trained as a diver in Manhattan, New York and tells of the sunken USS Lafayette (AP-53) (formerly the SS Normandie) being used for training purposes. In 1944 he was sent to the ship salvage depot in Noumea, New Caledonia. Sleasman recalls working on the heavily damaged SS Elilu Thompson, for which he received a special commendation. He also remembers an incident that claimed the lives of two of his fellow divers. In December 1945 he returned to the United States and was assigned to the USS Amphion (AR-13). He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Zane Puckett. Puckett joined the Navy in April, 1942. After boot training, he qualified for communications school. Upon graduation, Puckett was assigned aboard USS PC-602. After transiting the Panama Canal, Puckett joined USS YMS-93 as her signalman in August, 1943. At the Marshall Islands, they patrolled for submarines and accidentally damaged their wooden keel. After repairs at Pearl Harbor, YMS-93 headed for Okinawa in time for the invasion. Puckett explains how minesweepers operated. When the war ended, YMS-93 swept waters off the coast of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Kerrigan. Kerrigan joined the Navy in January of 1943. He completed quartermaster and signalman school. He served as Seaman First Class and Quartermaster Striker aboard USS Frost (DE-144) in June of 1943. He also worked on the deck force aboard the ship. They made one convoy escort voyage to Casablanca between November and December. They participated in coastal escort operations with the USS Croatan (CVE-25) hunter-killer group. They operated with Escort Division 13 in the North Atlantic hunting enemy submarines. They completed patrols, and sank German submarines, from March of 1944 through April of 1945, also taking prisoners from sunken vessels. Additionally, they rescued survivors from the USS Warrington (DD-383) and escorted Franklin D. Roosevelt to Yalta. Kerrigan was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas F. Jordan. Jordan joined the Navy on 8 December 1941. He was assigned to the USS Wichita (CA-45) and worked as a deck seaman. Jordan describes convoy duty, traveling in foggy conditions, and a collision between two British ships. He mentions an incident detailing how the ship was segregated. Jordan discusses taking part in the invasion of North Africa and trading fire with French ships at Casablanca. He then describes taking part in a battle off of Guadalcanal and then bombarding Attu and Kiska before the landings. Jordan transferred to the aviation division and then became a plane captain at Alameda Naval Air Station for the remainder of the war. He remained in the reserves and discusses his experiences during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Harris. Harris was born 20 February 1925 in Raymond, Mississippi. In January 1943 he joined the Army Air Force Enlisted Reserves and entered basic training at Kessler Air Base, Mississippi. In May 1943 he was sent to the University of Tennessee in preparation for pre-flight training. He went to Nashville for classification and was selected for pilot training. He went to Montgomery, Alabama for primary training by a civilian instructor. After training in BT-13 aircraft at Courtland, Alabama, he flew AT-10 aircraft in advanced training at Freeman Field, Indiana and graduated 22 May 1944. He then went to Gulfport, Mississippi to begin B-17 crew training. Upon completing the training the crew was sent to New York City where in January 1945 they boarded the RMS Aquitania. Landing in Scotland they were transported to Glatton Air Base, England where they reported to the 457th Bomb Group, 748th Bomb Squadron. In reporting to the Deputy CO, Harris found the man had been his Boy Scout Master many years before. He flew thirty-two combat missions and describes a number of them. Of particular interest is his recollection of an encounter …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Burke. Burke was born in Kendall, Kentucky 26 March 1917. After graduating from Monroe High School in Rochester, New York in 1935 he attended Union College, Schenectady, New York majoring in electrical engineering. He graduated in 1939. On 1 December 1941 he entered the US Navy at New London, Connecticut. He entered Submarine Officer’s School at New London with three months training on the submarine USS O-6. Upon graduation he was assigned to the USS Flasher (SS-249) as the communications officer. Burke describes four of the six combat patrols the Flasher made while he was aboard and mentions the shipping tonnage sunk by the boat. He also tells an interesting story involving two Chinese seamen who were picked up after the Flasher sank their sampan. After returning to San Francisco for an overhaul, the submarine made a seventh and uneventful patrol from which they were recalled, as Japan had surrendered. The submarine was taken to the New Orleans Navy Depot and Burke was discharged soon thereafter.

Transcript of an oral interview with Thomas Koltoniak. He joined the Navy despite being underage. He was assigned to the USS Texas (BB-35), first in the radio division, then in the aerial division. He shares an anecdote about visiting a munitions dump in Iceland on one of the ship's Atlantic crossings. He mentions the radio broadcast of General Dwight Eisenhower?s ?Voice of Freedom? message from the Texas while off the coast of North Africa. He participated in aerial photography missions along the French coast in preparation for the invasion of Normandy, France. He relates that the Texas was hit by two German shells, one of which failed to explode, during the Battle of Cherbourg. He describes the invasion of Iwo Jima. He also describes the processes of taking-off and landing on an aircraft carrier. He discusses attacks by kamikazes at Okinawa as well as the capture of a kamikaze pilot.

Transcript of an oral interview with Raymond Renfro. Born in 1923, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in November 1942. After training in Camp Pendleton, California, he was assigned to a machine gun squad in the 4th Marine Division. He describes landing on the Marshall Islands of Roi and Namur during the Battle of Kwajalein. He also relates his experiences in a rifle platoon under Captain Houston Stiff during the Battle of Saipan. He was wounded by an exploding shell and evacuated to a hospital ship. He was given a medical discharge in January 1945. The interview contains information about his early family life as well as information about his brother, Robert Renfro, who was captured by the Japanese while serving in the Army Air Corps in the Philippines.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Sims. Sims was born in Sanger, Texas on 15 August 1921. He quit school and joined the US Marine Corps in September 1940. After completing boot training at Camp Pendleton, California he was sent to Iceland. After eight months, he returned to San Diego. Soon after his arrival he was among fourteen Marines selected for duty on American Samoa. After sixteen months, they were sent to Pearl Harbor for four months of training. As Sims had contracted elephantiasis while in Samoa, he was put into a hospital in San Francisco. Upon recovering he was sent to the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas where he performed guard duty for four months. He went to Guam for a short time, was involved in limited action on Eniwetok and was sent to China following the surrender of Japan. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Paine. When Paine joined the Army in September, 1942, he went into the 955th Engineering Topographic Company. His unit drew maps of islands based on aerial photographs from the Solomons to the Philippines that were used by the other service branches. In 1945, his unit moved to Manila while the city was still being cleared of Japanese, but they were not making maps anymore. They instead performed regular engineering tasks: setting up radio towers, clearing roads, etc. When he arrived in the Philippines, Paine was glad to return to some form civilization. He comments on the damage done in Manila.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard R. Brandenburge. In January 1942 he transferred into the Army Air Force and began basic training at Shepherd Field and finished at Foster Field, graduating in February 1944. He received his wings and commission. He went to California and flew P38s, P39s, P40s and P51s. He loaded the P51s onto a small carrier in Pearl Harbor and moved to Tinian Island in March 1945. After Iwo Jima was secured they flew there to serve as escorts between the islands in their P51s. He discusses his experiences with Japanese bonsai raids, flying missions over Japan, escorting B29s, shooting at Japanese fighters and unfortunate casualties of planes and crew. His first mission as escort began April 1945, and he completed 26 missions overall. After he was discharged he had to stay in the reserves and completed a tour in the Korean War. He joined the reserves unit in San Antonio at Kelly Air Force Base, flying transports: C-46s, C-119s and C-124s.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Hugh Story. Story finished college and immediately went into the Navy to train as an officer at the Midshipman School at Columbia University in January 1943. He volunteered for submarine duty and was assigned to USS Bluegill (SS-242). They started war patrols off New Guinea in April 1944. Story was aboard for 5 out of 6 war patrols and provides details about each: attacking ships with torpedoes and enduring depth charge attacks. When the war ended Story was in Chicago. He remained in the Reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Loyd. Loyd joined the Navy after finishing high school in 1941. He trained at San Diego until he was assigned to the boilers in the main engine room aboard the USS Neosho (AO-23). Loyd was aboard the Neosho at Ford Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Loyd's battle station was on the deck near the bow of the ship, so he got a good look at the action around the harbor. In February 1942, Loyd swapped duties with a man at Hickam Field and got off the Neosho. His new assignment was degaussing ships. Also while in Hawaii, he served aboard the USS Skenandoa (YT-336), an ocean going tugboat. In early 1944, Loyd was assigned to the USS Springfield (CL-66). He was aboard her when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Victor Liptrap. Liptrap was drafted into the Army and after basic training, volunteered for paratrooper training. Once overseas in New Guinea, Liptrap was assigned to the 711th Ordnance Company in the 11th Airborne Division. He travelled with this unit to Leyte in October, 1944. There, he joined the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as a replacement. He remained with the unit during the Luzon invasion. From there, he went to Yokohama for occupation duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marvin Fields. Fields joined the Navy in July 1942 and trained at Great Lakes. He went to diesel engine school and was then assigned to the engine room aboard USS LST-306. He shares several anecdotes about being in North Africa after the invasion. He shares two encounters with Sam Donahue, the bandleader. His LST was at Sicily when several air transports were shot down. He also shares anecdotes from landing at Salerno. Fields also was aboard USS LST-306 during the Normandy invasion and made over 50 trips across the English Channel delivering supplies to Omaha Beach. He stayed with the 306 for the duration of his time in the Navy and was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Earnest Cochran. Cochran joined the Navy in May, 1940. When he finished boot training, he was sent to North Island Naval Air Station outside San Diego and trained further as an aviation machinist. He moved to Pearl Harbor with Utility Squadron 2 (VJ-2) in August, 1941. Cochran was on Ford Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Cochran left Hawaii for a school in Chicago in 1943. Then he moved to New Caledonia to serve in Utility Squadron 9 (VJ-9).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Blanchard. Blanchard joined the Navy in February, 1943. His first assignment after boot camp was in an office at the Norfolk (Virginia) Naval Air Station. In early 1945, Blanchard reported aboard USS Franklin (CV-13). Blanchard was aboard USS Franklin (CV-13) when she was hit by Japanese bombs. He was below decks during the attack, suffered from smoke inhalation and was eventually transferred to USS Santa Fe (CL-60). Blanchard returned to the Franklin at Ulithi and went with it to Brooklyn. He was discharged in February 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George L. Craig. In 1943, when he was 18, he signed up for service in the Marine Corps in Richmond, Virginia. He had basic training at Parris island, South Carolina. After that, Craig went to Quantico, Virginia to Field Artillery School where he trained as a surveyor. Then, he had more training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before heading to Camp Pendleton, California where he joined the Fifth Marine Division. From there, he went to Hawaii for more advanced training at Camp Tarawa. Then, Craig speaks about landing at and fighting on Iwo Jima. He also talks about occupation duty at Sasebo, Japan when the war ended. Craig returnded home and attended the University of Maryland on the GI Bill and went into public education in Winchester, Virginia until he retired in 1985.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Dotson. Dotson joined the Navy at 18 when he finished high school in 1943. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Training Center outside Chicago. From there, he went to Maryland to train in the Navy's Amphibious Forces. Upon completing training, Dotson joined the crew of a brand new Landing Craft, Infantry (USS LCI-471) and headed throught the Panama Canal for the Pacific. Initially, he served as a helmsman while his LCI carried underwater demolition teams (UDT) in support for the invasion of Guam. During the campaign for Guam, USS LCI-471 served as a Japanese prisoner-of-war clearing station. About 100 Japanese POWs came on and off USS LCI-471. After assembling at Ulithi, Dotson sailed with the invasion force to Iwo Jima. USS LCI-471 continued to operate supporting he UDTs prior to the invasion. The Japanese fired on and hit USS LCI-471, causing some damage and killing 11 crewmen. When the UDT completed their tasks prior to the invasion, USS LCI-471 continued on station as a support vessel ferrying supplies to shore, escorting members of the press, and making smoke screens for the fleet. After the battle, Dotson went …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Taylor. Taylor joined the Navy in 1942 and trained at Great Lakes as an electrician. He was assigned to USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) and was aboard when the kamikazes hit her. He was assigned to a damage control unit on the flight deck and was fighting fires from the first kamikaze strike when the second kamikaze struck. He was rescued from the water by a neighbor from back home who as a crewmember of USS Edmonds (DE-406). Taylor was injured badly and returned to a hospital in the US. Taylor stayed in the Navy and earned a commission.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John V. Wilson. He volunteered for service in the Marine Corps at Tyler, Texas in January, 1942. He went to San Diego for basic training, then earned his wings as a paratrooper by completing parachute school. At Bougainville, Wilson joined the 1st Parachute Battalion. He was there 30 days before being relieved by the Army. The 1st Parachute Battalion was soon disbanded and Wilson was then assigned to the newly formed Fifth Marine Division at Hawaii. He was assigned to a machine gun squad in the Third Platoon, H Company, Third Battalion, 26th Marines, Fifth Marine Division and sailed for Iwo Jima in December, 1944. He landed about four o'clock in the afternoon on D-Day at Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945. Wilson shares several anecdotes about the fighting on Iwo Jima and describes in some detail the gruesome nature of the combat there. Wilson ended up having his arm broken in a blast. He was evacuated to Guam, then Oahu and was in the hospital still when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Buckner. Buckner volunteered for service in the Marines Corps in 1943. When he finished basic training, he attended field music school before being assigned to the Fifth Marine Division, 26th Marines. After extensive training, Buckner's unit landed at Iwo Jima in the afternoon of D-day. He was only one of 16 original members of his company to survive the battle. After the war, Buckner went on to occupy Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Monte Guidry. He enlisted in the Navy after high school and went to boot camp in San Diego. He qualified for radio school and was sent to Texas A&M. From there, he was assigned to the attack cargo ship, the USS Libra (AKA-12). He continues with anecdotes about being aboard ship: seasickness, radio room work, practical jokes, etc. He participated in the Luzon landing and had a brief leave in Manila in 1944. Then he went on to Iwo Jima and tells more personal stories. His ship was present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender and he had leave later in Hokkaido where he mingled with some local Japanese. He then relates a few more anecdotes about being aboard ship before concluding.