The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vernon Kelly. Kelly joined the Navy in June of 1941. From mid-1941 through March of 1943, he served as a gunner aboard the USS Honolulu (CL-48). They were stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Beginning in the spring of 1942, they provided escort duty to Australia, Samoa, Alaska and Guadalcanal. They participated in the Battle of Kula Gulf in July of 1943. Kelly was then transferred to the USS Chilton (APA-38), participating in the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Geoffrey Fiskin. When Fiskin first tried to enlist in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, he was ordered to return to his farm, an essential duty at the time. He was accepted to the RNZAF on his second attempt and was assigned to the No. 205 Squadron, a flying boat squadron stationed in Singapore. He and other RNZAF personnel were then transferred to the RAF No. 243 Squadron, seeing their first action just one day after Pearl Harbor. Fiskin struck a Japanese Ki-27 which then exploded beneath his plane, causing Fiskin to fall into a tailspin for 5,000 feet. He survived that event only to later be shelled and wounded. He was erroneously reported missing and believed killed, which he learned while speaking to his mother by phone. Fiskin, though on crutches and with steel lodged in his hip, continued to fly. In March 1942 he joined the No. 14 Squadron as a P-40 pilot. In bad weather off New Caledonia, the whole unit made a sea landing and abandoned their planes. He later discovered on Guadalcanal that American troops had found his aircraft and salvaged it; he …

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.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gunner Johnson. Johnson joined the Marines in January, 1944. He trained at San Diego and was assigned as a machine gunner to the Fifth Marine Division. He travelled with the division to Hawaii, then Iwo Jima, where he landed with the second wave with the 27th Marines. He spent several weeks in combat and relates several stories. On 12 March, Johnson was wounded and then evacuated to Guam via C-47. He rejoined his unit and was loading out for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. He went for occupation duty at Sasebo. He returned to the US and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack H. Lucas. Lucas was born in Plymouth, North Carolina on 14 February 1928. On 8 August 1942 he quit attending Edwards Military Institute, Salemburg, NC and joined the Marine Corps when he was 14 years old. He forged his mother’s signature on the enlistment documents thus allowing him to join the military even though he was underage. Lucas went to Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp and received additional training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. Contrary to orders he received, he joined the cadre with which he had trained and went by troop train to California. He then went to Camp Catlin, Hawaii. There, Lucas stowed away on the USS Deuel (APA-160) bound for Iwo Jima. He graphically describes the action in which he was severely wounded. Returning to the United States by hospital ship, he was taken to the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina where he remained until 2 September 1945. On 5 October 1945, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman. Following this, Lucas joined Admiral Chester Nimitz in touring the country during which he met various dignitaries including …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Finnegan. Finnegan joined the Marine Corps without finishing high school right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He went to Parris Island to train in February 1942. At New River, North Carolina, Finnegan was assigned to G Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, First Marine Division. Finnegan was among the first Marines to arrive on Guadalcanal in August, 1942. He participated in the Battle of the Tenaru River. After leaving Guadalcanal, Finnegan went to Melbourne, Australia with the rest of the First Marine Division. From there, he landed on Cape Gloucester and recalls an engagement with the Japanese. After that, he went to Pavuvu prior to landing on Peleliu. He describes landing on Peleliu and his experiences in combat there. Finnegan was wounded and evacuated after a week on Peleliu. He spent time at a hospital on Manus and then was returned to the US in November, 1944. Upon recovery, he was sent to an ammunition station in Indiana to perform guard duty. The war ended and he was discharged in November, 1945. He re-enlisted in 1948 and was on hand to go to Korea.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vestine Schroeder. Schroeder joined the Marines in October of 1942. After boot camp he was assigned to guard duty on North Island in California. He received additional training in the supply room, and was transferred to the Marine base in El Centro, California with Air Group 35. Schroeder worked on the instruments aboard the planes at the base. He did not go overseas, and remained in California for the duration of the war. He was discharged in May of 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Todd Gerald. He was born in Star, Texas on January 19, 1924. He joined the Aviation Cadets in July, 1942 and had flight training in PT-13's, PT-17's, AT-6's, AT-9's, RP-322's, P-38's and P-39's. He was transferred to Goxhill, England in June 1944 to train pilots and to Wormingford Air Field. He recalls flying fighter support in a P-51 during the D-Day invasion over the English Channel and several incidents during bomber escort duty over the North Sea. He recalls crash landing during one of his missions behind enemy lines in France. He was taken to a German POW camp in Alencon, France and then in a Convent in Chartres. He recalls several experiences at the two camps and then being taken to Paris. He boarded a train and was taken to Hamburg, Germany and then to Stalag Luft III in southeast Germany near the border with Poland. He was confined in the North Compound, where the Great Escape had occurred a year earlier. He recalls many details of captivity in the Stalag and eventually being marched from there to Musberg, Germany, where the prisoners were liberated by General Mark Clark of Patton's 7th Army …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a group oral interview with Charlie Screws, Todd Gerald, Henry Castle, Willie Walker and Sam Smith. These veterans speak about flying combat operations over Europe. Some served as fighter pilots and others as crewmembers aboard bombers. One mentions getting shot down and becoming a prisoner of war. Another mentions being shot down and evading capture. He managed to locate the French Resistance and escape to Spain. He was able to rejoin his unit in time for the Normandy invasion. Others mention aerial combat and flying bomber missions. Each veteran relates personal experiences and shares anecdotes about flying in formation, making attacks and flying in poor weather conditions.

Transcript of an oral interview with Charles Screws. He was born in Sipe Springs, Texas on December 7, 1921. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. He recalls his assignment to Gunter Field, Alabama training American and British cadets in the BT-13 aircraft. He recounts graduation from Flight School as as a Flight Officer in November 1942, with the rank of Warrant Officer junior grade. He sailed aboard the SS Queen Elizabeth in November 1943. He recalls escorting bombers over occupied France in Janurary 1944, when he crash landed in a farmer's field near Dunkirk. He recalls being aided by a French farmer's family, where he was hidden in a hay stack for three days, and then being escorted by a farmer's wife on a train to Paris. In Paris he stayed for several weeks with a French family. He met up with ten other Americans and all boarded a train to a village in southern France where he shared a tiny hotel room with eighteen other evaders. He recalls his experiences in Pau, France including several instances in which he was almost caught by the Germans. He and another German evaders were driven to the foothills of the …

Transcript of an oral interview with Willie Walker. He was born in Stephens County, Texas on February 5, 1920. After completing two years at Los Angeles City College, he was accepted into the Army Air Force. He completed cadet training in June 1942 and was transferred to the 81st Fighter Group at Muroc Army Air Force Base where he trained cadets flying P-39s. He sailed on the Queen Mary to England in October 1942. His squadron was sent to Tunisia in January 1943, to support General Patton in North Africa. He describes patrol missions, ground support and strafing runs. He recalls that the fighting in North Africa was over by May 1943, when his squadron began flying out of Tunisia in support of Allied shipping. After the Allied invasion of Sicily, his unit flew several missions from Sicily into the Balkans without experiencing much action. After the Allied invasion at Anzio, the 81st Fighter Group was pulled from Africa and sent into the Chinese theater. He states that since he had completed 251 combat missions in P-39s, he returned to the United States in March 1944 as an Instructor Pilot in P-47s, out of Camp Barkley in Abilene, Texas. His …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Castle. He was born in Abilene, Texas in 1923. He enlisted into the Army Air Corps on December 27, 1942 with orders to Aviation Cadet Flight Training. After extensive training, he was transferred to the Eighth Air Force in England in October 1944. Initially he flew P-47 Thunderbolts escorting B-17s and B-24s and later he flew P-51 Mustangs escorting B-25s and B-26s. He recalls many details of those aircraft and his various missions including dive bomb attacks to support Patton’s armor and infantry in the “Battle of the Bulge.” Castle recalls one crash landing on the English coast upon return from a mission. He describes the first time he shot down an enemy aircraft, a Messerschmitt 109E over Belgium, as well as several instances where he observed American bombers shot out of the sky nearby. He recalls that after the war ended he volunteered for the 9th Air Force as they were setting up the Occupational Air Force of Germany where he was assigned to a Mustang Fighter Group at a well-known Luftwaffe Fighter Air Field near Nuremburg. In late April 1946, he crossed the Atlantic on …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vernon Kelly. Kelly joined the Navy in June of 1941. From mid-1941 through March of 1943, he served as a gunner aboard the USS Honolulu (CL-48). They were stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Beginning in the spring of 1942, they provided escort duty to Australia, Samoa, Alaska and Guadalcanal. They participated in the Battle of Kula Gulf in July of 1943. Kelly was then transferred to the USS Chilton (APA-38), participating in the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Geoffrey Fiskin. When Fiskin first tried to enlist in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, he was ordered to return to his farm, an essential duty at the time. He was accepted to the RNZAF on his second attempt and was assigned to the No. 205 Squadron, a flying boat squadron stationed in Singapore. He and other RNZAF personnel were then transferred to the RAF No. 243 Squadron, seeing their first action just one day after Pearl Harbor. Fiskin struck a Japanese Ki-27 which then exploded beneath his plane, causing Fiskin to fall into a tailspin for 5,000 feet. He survived that event only to later be shelled and wounded. He was erroneously reported missing and believed killed, which he learned while speaking to his mother by phone. Fiskin, though on crutches and with steel lodged in his hip, continued to fly. In March 1942 he joined the No. 14 Squadron as a P-40 pilot. In bad weather off New Caledonia, the whole unit made a sea landing and abandoned their planes. He later discovered on Guadalcanal that American troops had found his aircraft and salvaged it; he …

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.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gunner Johnson. Johnson joined the Marines in January, 1944. He trained at San Diego and was assigned as a machine gunner to the Fifth Marine Division. He travelled with the division to Hawaii, then Iwo Jima, where he landed with the second wave with the 27th Marines. He spent several weeks in combat and relates several stories. On 12 March, Johnson was wounded and then evacuated to Guam via C-47. He rejoined his unit and was loading out for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. He went for occupation duty at Sasebo. He returned to the US and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack H. Lucas. Lucas was born in Plymouth, North Carolina on 14 February 1928. On 8 August 1942 he quit attending Edwards Military Institute, Salemburg, NC and joined the Marine Corps when he was 14 years old. He forged his mother’s signature on the enlistment documents thus allowing him to join the military even though he was underage. Lucas went to Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp and received additional training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. Contrary to orders he received, he joined the cadre with which he had trained and went by troop train to California. He then went to Camp Catlin, Hawaii. There, Lucas stowed away on the USS Deuel (APA-160) bound for Iwo Jima. He graphically describes the action in which he was severely wounded. Returning to the United States by hospital ship, he was taken to the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina where he remained until 2 September 1945. On 5 October 1945, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman. Following this, Lucas joined Admiral Chester Nimitz in touring the country during which he met various dignitaries including …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Finnegan. Finnegan joined the Marine Corps without finishing high school right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He went to Parris Island to train in February 1942. At New River, North Carolina, Finnegan was assigned to G Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, First Marine Division. Finnegan was among the first Marines to arrive on Guadalcanal in August, 1942. He participated in the Battle of the Tenaru River. After leaving Guadalcanal, Finnegan went to Melbourne, Australia with the rest of the First Marine Division. From there, he landed on Cape Gloucester and recalls an engagement with the Japanese. After that, he went to Pavuvu prior to landing on Peleliu. He describes landing on Peleliu and his experiences in combat there. Finnegan was wounded and evacuated after a week on Peleliu. He spent time at a hospital on Manus and then was returned to the US in November, 1944. Upon recovery, he was sent to an ammunition station in Indiana to perform guard duty. The war ended and he was discharged in November, 1945. He re-enlisted in 1948 and was on hand to go to Korea.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vestine Schroeder. Schroeder joined the Marines in October of 1942. After boot camp he was assigned to guard duty on North Island in California. He received additional training in the supply room, and was transferred to the Marine base in El Centro, California with Air Group 35. Schroeder worked on the instruments aboard the planes at the base. He did not go overseas, and remained in California for the duration of the war. He was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a group oral interview with Charlie Screws, Todd Gerald, Henry Castle, Willie Walker and Sam Smith. These veterans speak about flying combat operations over Europe. Some served as fighter pilots and others as crewmembers aboard bombers. One mentions getting shot down and becoming a prisoner of war. Another mentions being shot down and evading capture. He managed to locate the French Resistance and escape to Spain. He was able to rejoin his unit in time for the Normandy invasion. Others mention aerial combat and flying bomber missions. Each veteran relates personal experiences and shares anecdotes about flying in formation, making attacks and flying in poor weather conditions.

Transcript of an oral interview with Todd Gerald. He was born in Star, Texas on January 19, 1924. He joined the Aviation Cadets in July, 1942 and had flight training in PT-13's, PT-17's, AT-6's, AT-9's, RP-322's, P-38's and P-39's. He was transferred to Goxhill, England in June 1944 to train pilots and to Wormingford Air Field. He recalls flying fighter support in a P-51 during the D-Day invasion over the English Channel and several incidents during bomber escort duty over the North Sea. He recalls crash landing during one of his missions behind enemy lines in France. He was taken to a German POW camp in Alencon, France and then in a Convent in Chartres. He recalls several experiences at the two camps and then being taken to Paris. He boarded a train and was taken to Hamburg, Germany and then to Stalag Luft III in southeast Germany near the border with Poland. He was confined in the North Compound, where the Great Escape had occurred a year earlier. He recalls many details of captivity in the Stalag and eventually being marched from there to Musberg, Germany, where the prisoners were liberated by General Mark Clark of Patton's 7th Army …

Transcript of an oral interview with Willie Walker. He was born in Stephens County, Texas on February 5, 1920. After completing two years at Los Angeles City College, he was accepted into the Army Air Force. He completed cadet training in June 1942 and was transferred to the 81st Fighter Group at Muroc Army Air Force Base where he trained cadets flying P-39s. He sailed on the Queen Mary to England in October 1942. His squadron was sent to Tunisia in January 1943, to support General Patton in North Africa. He describes patrol missions, ground support and strafing runs. He recalls that the fighting in North Africa was over by May 1943, when his squadron began flying out of Tunisia in support of Allied shipping. After the Allied invasion of Sicily, his unit flew several missions from Sicily into the Balkans without experiencing much action. After the Allied invasion at Anzio, the 81st Fighter Group was pulled from Africa and sent into the Chinese theater. He states that since he had completed 251 combat missions in P-39s, he returned to the United States in March 1944 as an Instructor Pilot in P-47s, out of Camp Barkley in Abilene, Texas. His …

Transcript of an oral interview with Charles Screws. He was born in Sipe Springs, Texas on December 7, 1921. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. He recalls his assignment to Gunter Field, Alabama training American and British cadets in the BT-13 aircraft. He recounts graduation from Flight School as as a Flight Officer in November 1942, with the rank of Warrant Officer junior grade. He sailed aboard the SS Queen Elizabeth in November 1943. He recalls escorting bombers over occupied France in Janurary 1944, when he crash landed in a farmer's field near Dunkirk. He recalls being aided by a French farmer's family, where he was hidden in a hay stack for three days, and then being escorted by a farmer's wife on a train to Paris. In Paris he stayed for several weeks with a French family. He met up with ten other Americans and all boarded a train to a village in southern France where he shared a tiny hotel room with eighteen other evaders. He recalls his experiences in Pau, France including several instances in which he was almost caught by the Germans. He and another German evaders were driven to the foothills of the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Castle. He was born in Abilene, Texas in 1923. He enlisted into the Army Air Corps on December 27, 1942 with orders to Aviation Cadet Flight Training. After extensive training, he was transferred to the Eighth Air Force in England in October 1944. Initially he flew P-47 Thunderbolts escorting B-17s and B-24s and later he flew P-51 Mustangs escorting B-25s and B-26s. He recalls many details of those aircraft and his various missions including dive bomb attacks to support Patton’s armor and infantry in the “Battle of the Bulge.” Castle recalls one crash landing on the English coast upon return from a mission. He describes the first time he shot down an enemy aircraft, a Messerschmitt 109E over Belgium, as well as several instances where he observed American bombers shot out of the sky nearby. He recalls that after the war ended he volunteered for the 9th Air Force as they were setting up the Occupational Air Force of Germany where he was assigned to a Mustang Fighter Group at a well-known Luftwaffe Fighter Air Field near Nuremburg. In late April 1946, he crossed the Atlantic on …