The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. O’Keefe. He was born in Centralia, Illinois 13 June 1923. After high school he worked for the Illinois Railroad until he was old enough to join the Navy in 1942. After training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, he was assigned to Diesel Service School in Chicago. After six weeks, he went to patrol boat school at Melville, Rhode Island. O’Keefe and several other PT boat replacements, boarded the Robert C. Greene for a 43 day trip to New Hebrides. At Tulagi, he was temporarily assigned to work on PT-107, part of Patrol Boat Squadron 5. He was then assigned to PT-184, in Squadron 11. He recalls the need for one hour rotations by the boat diesel engineers, due to extreme heat in the engine room. He visited a small island and found group picture of Amelia Earhart, a Japanese officer, a missionary and a native boy. Following Navy orders to report any evidence regarding Amelia Earhart, they contacted headquarters. Three days later, a PBY arrived with an officer from Naval Intelligence, who took possession of the picture. After making inquires as to the disposition …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Rudd. Rudd was drafted in October 1942 and became a member of the Army Air Forces. He was sent to radio school and served as a radioman on a C-47 in the 83rd Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Rudd took part in the D-Day invasion and describes pulling gliders, dropping paratroopers, and evacuating wounded. He describes his duties and the type of equipment he used as a radioman. Rudd also describes how equipment was dropped to supply the front lines. A flight nurse pressed him into service to help care for the wounded on a flight where they transported former POWs. Rudd describes a few close calls due to enemy flak, an engine malfunction, and also mentions seeing a German jet in flight. He also describes how radio signals were used to guide friendly aircraft back to England. Rudd left the service at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald L. Campbell. Campbell joined the Navy in August 1943, at the age of eighteen. He completed gunnery school in Gulf Port, Mississippi and served as an Armed Guard aboard Merchant Marine ships. In February 1944, he was transported to Fremantle, Australia. Campbell shares his experiences getting initiated upon crossing the equator, and transporting supplies of ammunition, bombs, planes and Army trucks to Calcutta, India. He notes going through the Suez Canal in their travels to New York. In August 1944, he was assigned to SS Ralph W. Emerson, and traveled to Scotland and unloaded food and ammunition supplies to Omaha Beach in September. In December, they traveled through the Panama Canal on their way to deliver supplies to Manus Island and Bougainville and landed in Manila by the end of May 1945. He continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in March 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas C. Geary. Born 1 November 1917 in Victorville, California, Geary attended Calaveras high school in San Andreas graduating in 1935. In 1937, Geary graduated from junior college and enlisted in the Army Air Forces in April 1943 hoping to be a bombardier. After completing basic training at Kearns Army Air Base, Utah, he was sent to Utah State University in Logan and then Kingman, Arizona where he received gunnery training. He then went to Carlsbad, New Mexico where he was trained as a bombardier. Upon graduation he went to Mountain Home, Idaho for advanced training. Following this, he embarked from Travis Army Air Field for Nadzab, New Guinea. Upon arriving there 20 January 1945 he was assigned to the 307th Bomb Group (Heavy) flying B-24 bombers. He tells of bombing missions over various targets and recalls one mission when his plane was attacked by Japanese fighters and damaged by flak. Geary recalls the mission over Balikpapa, Borneo when he was seriously wounded by shell fragments. Upon returning to base he was taken to the hospital at Tacloban for treatment. After a period of time he was placed …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Gerards. Gerards joined the Army Air Forces in April of 1943. He completed pilot training and aerial gunnery school in June of 1944. He served as first lieutenant B-24 bombardier in the 380th Bomb Group, 531st Bomb Squadron, 5th Air Force. They traveled to Hawaii, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Leyte and Murtha Field on Mindoro Island. He completed 33 missions over the Philippines, Okinawa, Balikpapan, French Indochina and Japan. They completed combat, weather reconnaissance and POW rescue missions. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Henry Gerards. Born in Kennewick, Washington, 3 March 1917, Gerards joined the US Army Air Forces in November 1942. After competing basic training in Santa Maria, California, he entered pilot training. Upon receiving his wings and being commissioned he was sent to Ardmore, Oklahoma for transition to multi-engine aircraft flying the B-17. Upon completion of crew training, the crew flew a new B-17 to Scotland where they were assigned to the 390th Bomb Group, 570th Bomb Squadron. They flew twenty-two missions before being shot down over Magdeburg, Germany on 28 May 1944. Gerards recalls the flight encountering over thirty German fighter planes, which shot down four other bombers as well as their own. He was captured soon after he landed and was interrogated during the ten days he spent in Dulag Luft before being sent to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany. One of the highlights of being a prisoner was receiving Red Cross packages of food. Recalling an attempt to escape by a group of POWs from his barracks, he tells of the deaths of many of the men. The prison camp was liberated by members of …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Vern A. Kissinger. Kissinger joined the Army Air Forces on 10 June 1942, at the age of seventeen. He received only basic infantry training, then arrived in Ipswich, England in September. He served as a private with Headquarters 12th Air Force. In November, Kissinger was shipped to Oran, Africa. He describes some of the events of the North African Campaign. Kissinger was then transferred to Corsica in the spring of 1943. He then headed to Italy, where he worked as a GMC 6 by 6 cargo truck driver transporting German prisoners and later General Mark Clark. Around September, he transferred to Marseille, France. He returned to the US and received his discharge on October 5, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tony Defusco. Defusco joined the Marine Corps in June 1942 and received basic training at Parris Island. He received further training as a rifleman in California. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 25th Marines where he joined BN2, Battalion Intelligence. In January 1944 he invaded the Marshall Islands, focusing on Namur. Afterward his unit went from island to island in search of information on Amelia Earhart. He describes his base in Maui as desolate. His next invasion was in Saipan, in June, where he went ashore at the old sugar refinery. He recalls a dogfight between Zeros and Wildcats, appreciating the protection from the Navy pilots. His unit lost men when Japanese infiltrated their camp in the middle of the night. And one morning, he tried to save a good friend who was fatally wounded by shelling and gunfire. He next went to Tinian and on to Iwo Jima, where he was wounded. He was immediately taken by Higgins boat to a carrier with medical personnel aboard and was later treated at hospitals in Saipan, San Francisco, and North Carolina. Defusco returned home and was discharged in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John V. Geary. Geary joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1942, and received training as an aircraft electrical specialist at Chanute Airforce Base in Rantoul, Illinois. He worked on the AT-17, AT-9 and B-29 engines, propellers and electrical systems. Geary was assigned as a B-29 crew chief with the 355th Bomb Squadron, 331st Bomb Group, 315th Air Wing. Their plane was titled Slicker Four. In late 1944, he went to Guam. He describes living on the island and working on his assigned plane and other B-29s as needed. After the war ended, Geary returned to the US and received his discharge in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth O. Good. Good joined the Army Air Forces in December of 1942. He completed Radio Operator and Mechanics Technical School at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and the Aviation Cadet Pilot Training Program in Texas. Good received his wings in August of 1944. He served with the 528th Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, 14th Air Force as a P-51 fighter pilot, under the director of General Claire Chenault. In May of 1945, Good was deployed overseas and completed missions over China and Burma, escorting bombers, flying interception missions, striking enemy communications, and supporting ground operations. He served in combat until the end of the war. Good returned to the US and received his discharge in January, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clarence LeMieux. LeMieux was born on 16 December 1916 in Virginia, Minnesota. Graduating from high school in 1934, he joined the US Army Air Corps. He was sent to Chanute Field and enrolled in an engine and airframe training course. Upon graduation he was assigned to a B-10 crew and participated in gunnery and bombing practice. He was later, transferred to a B-17 crew and sent to Townsville, Australia. LeMieux tells of a bombing mission over Rabaul, of attacks by enemy fighters and of a forced landing in a swamp in New Guinea. He relates the harrowing trek out of the swamps and arrival at a native village and of being taken to Buna for travel to Australia. He tells of getting malaria and his return to the US. He received a direct commission from enlisted rank in 1943 and he tells of his various assignments and training he received prior to his retirement in 1965. The B-17 that crashed into the swamp was discovered intact in 1972. Given the name Swamp Ghost, it was reclaimed and taken to Honolulu in 2013.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Claude Olds. Olds joined the Navy in February of 1943. He served as Motor Machinist 2nd Class aboard the LCI-498 during the landings on Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. Olds worked as a mechanic tending to landing craft. In late 1944 through mid-1945 he served aboard USS LSM-134, traveling to Cebu, Leyte, Subic and transporting troops to Lingayen Gulf and Ie Jima. They delivered supplies from the Philippines to Okinawa. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Iverson. Iverson joined the Navy in July of 1943. He completed radio school, and served with the Hospital Corps. Beginning in the spring of 1945 Iverson worked as Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class aboard the USS Tranquility (AH-14). In August, they picked up surviving crew from the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) in the Palau Islands and transported them to Guam. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernie Broussard. Broussard initially served in the Merchant Marine and describes his only mission where he had a close call with a submarine and how it led to his decision to leave. He joined the Navy in December 1942 and was trained as a bombardier. Broussard served on PBYs for the remainder of the war. He describes an emergency landing on the way to Hawaii and the delivery missions they performed while operating out of Kaneohe Bay. Broussard was then transferred to VPB-71 and performed night missions on Black Cat PBYs. He describes a typical mission, the crew complement, armament, and how they hunted Japanese ships using radar and looking for phosphorescent wakes. Broussard earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals and left the service in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Austin. Austin joined the Navy and was commissioned as an ensign before being assigned to the USS Pope (DD-225 in the Philippines. He was there when the war started. Austin was aboard the Pope when she was attacked and sunk. He was rescued by a Japanese destroyer and made a prisoner of war. He was held on Java and then Makassar. He was around when Richard Antrim intervened during a beating of a POW (Antrim was awarded the Medal of Honor). He shares several other POW anecdotes about their treatment, their daily lives, etc. in the camps. He also shares the experience of being liberated.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Best. Best was born 10 February 1921 in Paducah, Texas. He received his private pilot’s license while enrolled at Texas Tech University. He joined the Army Air Corps on 13 January 1942 and reported to Kelly Field in San Antonio for training. He received his primary flight training at several locations, and then he transferred to Columbia, South Carolina for B-25 training. Upon graduating in October 1942, he was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Group and sent to Australia. His group initially flew missions to New Guinea dropping supplies to Australian troops in the mountains. Best was next sent to Townsville, Australia in August 1943 where he met Colonel Paul Irvin Gunn, a retired Navy pilot commissioned into the Army Air Forces at the start of the war and was instrumental in modifying the B-25 for strafing missions. His first strafing missions were conducted over Rabaul. The modified B-25s made three more strafing runs on Rabaul, resulting in the destruction of 140 Japanese aircraft. Best was escorted during more than half of his strafing raids by Richard Bong. Following the Rabaul raids he returned to Townsville, Australia …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vicente Blaz. Blaz was a child during the Japanese occupation of his native Guam. He describes how he and his family lived under constant fear. Blaz discusses how he was forced to join a labor battalion as a young teenager. He talks about how he dug caves and cleared jungle for an airstrip. Blaz describes the hardships endured including lack of food and proper clothing. He discusses the return of the US military and the rapid changes to the island that followed. Blaz describes the profound appreciation that he felt when Guam was liberated. He goes on to describe his later life which included graduating from Notre Dame, becoming a Marine Corps general, and serving two terms as a congressman.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Brooks. Brooks joined the Navy in September 1939. He was assigned to the USS Houston (CA-30) and became an electrician’s mate. Brooks describes several Japanese air attacks including one that killed most of his damage-control party. He describes the battles of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. Brooks discusses abandoning ship and seeing her sink. He describes his capture, seeing the Lost Battalion arrive at the prison camp, and the conditions on board a hell ship. Brooks details the conditions he endured while building a railroad including the poor diet, diseases, and cruel treatment. He also describes the techniques and equipment used to build the railroad. Brooks details his liberation and return to the US. He remained in the Navy until August 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Cashin. Cashin passed his Foreign Service Officer examinations and was awaiting assignment when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. In July of 1942 he joined the Army, 17th Infantry Division. He began Officer Candidate School in December. Upon completion of school he was assigned Platoon Leader in the Cavalry Replacement Training Center. He later served as a lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Center at Fort Ritchie, Maryland. In the fall of 1943 Cashin was stationed in Knutsford, England with the headquarters of the 3rd Army, relaying some anecdotal stories of General Patton. In July of 1944 Cashin went to Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église in France and through Belgium to Bastogne in December. They moved into Renne, Brittany and Paris, France, where he took a job as a military liaison officer after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald B. Davis. While attending the University of Iowa, Davis joined the Marines Corps and was sent to Parris Island for boot camp. After boot camp, Davis went to Camp Lejeune for Officer Candidate School and was commissioned. Afterwards, Davis was transported to Hawaii and assigned as a replacement officer to lead a mortar platoon in the 4th Marine Division. Davis then describes landing on the beach at Iwo Jima. When an infantry officer was killed, Davis assumed his command and left the mortar platoon. He then describes combat activity and his experiences fighting on Iwo Jima up to the point where he was wounded in action. Davis then describes his experiences in the hospital at Guam and Honolulu. From there, he was sent to San Diego. Davis concludes by expounding on the meaning of war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Allen Ensor. Ensor joined the Navy in 1940 and was assigned to USS Nashville (CL-43). He was aboard for the Doolittle Raid, some action in the Aleutian Islands and the Solomon Islands and New Guinea as part of Seventh Fleet. He was eventually transferred from the Nashville to shore duty in California training amphibious boat crews. Ensor shares anecdotes about piping General MacArthur aboard the Nashville, shore leave in Australia and training boat crews in California.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Greffe. Greffe was born 20 June 1919 in Taylorville, Illinois. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1940 and was assigned to the 132nd Infantry Division. After training, he was shipped to Fiji before going to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides for jungle fighting training. He got jungle rot and malaria and was placed in the 25th Evacuation Hospital for treatment. He recovered in time to go to Bougainville in 1943 and fight the Japanese Imperial Marine. He also participated in the landings on Luzon and fought to recapture Clark Field. He also describes the personal effects of losing men of his platoon and the combat conditions during the liberation of Manila. Greffe liberated prisoners of war from Bilibid Prison and recalls the condition of these people. He was awarded 3 Bronze Stars during WWII. He returned to the US aboard the USS Hope (AH-7) and was discharged from the service in June 1945.

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 interview with George Gross. Gross joined the Navy around 1943 and served with the 107th Naval Construction Battalion. They traveled to Ebeye in the Marshall Islands to redevelop and repair an existing seaplane base by assembling a pontoon wharf and pontoon barges for transporting damaged carrier aircraft to repair units ashore. Additionally, they built Quonset huts and installed playing fields and a recreation area for ship crewmen. They traveled to Tinian to construct the biggest airdrome in the world, where B-29s took off for Nagasaki and Hiroshima with the atomic bombs.