The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Gillespie. Gillespie joined the Navy and went right to radio school because he was already a radio technician ion civilian life. He was assigned to Special Task Air Group 1 and trained with them to conduct drone strikes on Japanese targets. When he went overseas, he was based at Banika Island, near Pavuvu in the Russell Islands. They attempted a few strikes, but nothing ever came of the project, so the unit went back to the US before the war ended. Gillespie was discharged in November, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifton P. Fox. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the US Marine Corps. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Atys Daniel Brunson. He discusses his family history, childhood, education and what led him to joining the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Milton Seacord. Seacord joined the Coast Guard in 1943 and received basic training in Oakland. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Coast Guard station at Coos Bay, Oregon, manning the lighthouse and helping fishermen who ran aground. He transferred to Point Loma, California, standing guard as ships were loaded and unloaded in the harbor. After a brief time aboard the USS Admiral W. L. Capps (AP-121), he traveled throughout the South Pacific aboard the USS Murzim (AK-95). Seacord returned home and was discharged in the fall of 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Lewane D. Herring. He discusses working at Corpus Christi and Kingsville Naval Air Stations in south Texas before being assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La and the destroyer USS Barton during his naval career. He also discusses his time spent in the Air Force during the Korean War. Mr. Herring then read a letter about his brother's service during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Florence Keliher. Keliher joined the Army as a registered nurse in December 1944 and received basic training at Fort Devens. Her training included a 20-mile hike in sub-zero temperatures. She was assigned to the 27th Station Hospital on Tinian, where she treated casualties from Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She often worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, tending to patients and training corpsmen. In her spare time, she would often take note of the B-29s leaving the base, keeping track of how many returned. When the Enola Gay departed, she said it looked like any other plane taking off. After the war, Keliher returned home and spent 30 years working at a VA Hospital in Maine.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willford Burks. Burks joined the Army around 1942. He was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division. They deployed to England in September of 1944. He participated in the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe Campaigns. Burks returned to the US and was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with H.L. Tyree. Tyree was born in Cullman County, Alabama on 4 August 1924. Drafted into the Army in 1943 he was sent to Camp Polk, Louisiana for basic training. He then went to Fort Ord, California where he trained as an amphibious tractor driver. After six months training, he was assigned to the 536th Amphibious Tractor Battalion and assigned as a tractor driver. After two months of advanced training, the unit boarded USS LST-608, along with their tractors, bound for the South Pacific. Tyree was in the first tractor to hit the beach during the invasion of Leyte, landing members of the 1st Calvary Division. Soon thereafter, Tyree became extremely sick requiring hospitalization. He was then put aboard a hospital ship and taken to San Francisco. He stayed in several hospitals before receiving a medical discharge on 4 September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Frasher. Frasher joined the Marine Corps in September of 1943. He provides details of his training. He served as a pilot in a Corsair in Marine Aircraft Group 51 (MAG-51). He served on the carrier USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107). He provides some details of his experiences catapulting off, and landing on, the carrier. Beginning in April of 1945 he participated in the Battle of Okinawa, covering landings and completing daily bomb runs in the Sakishima Islands. He also covered Australian landings that occurred in Balikpapan, Borneo. He strafed air strips on Formosa and made over 50 carrier landings. He shares some of his experiences of life aboard the carrier. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with E J Billings. Billings joined the Navy V-12 program in February of 1943. He completed Navy flight school in October of 1944. He also completed additional training in aerology and navigation. He provides some details of his schooling, carrier landings and various types of planes he flew, including the SNV and the FM-2 Wildcat. He served as a pilot aboard the FM-2 and traveled to Hawaii. While in Hawaii they practiced bombing runs to support Marine landings. He completed landings aboard the USS Lunga Point (CVE-94). They traveled to Guam, Saipan, Tinian and the Philippines, though never participated in combat. Billings remained in the Reserves and was discharged in December of 1953.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Stoeber. Stoeber joined the Navy in January of 1940 and completed a 6-year tour of duty. He completed machine gun school, learning how to fire a 50 caliber anti-aircraft gun. He served aboard the USS Whitney (AD-4), which was docked at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He describes his experiences through that fateful day of events. In May of 1942 they traveled to Tongatapu, tending to the destroyers in that area. Beginning in 1944 Stoeber served as Chief Carpenter???s Mate aboard the USS Pickens (APA-190), which participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Philippines. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernard Rubien. Rubien joined the Army Air Corps after his 22nd birthday and received basic training at Fort Slocum. Upon completion, he was assigned as a clerk typist to bomb squadrons at Hickam Field. He was then transferred to Hawaiian Air Command headquarters. On 7 December 1941 he received a distress signal from Wake Island via teletype. With Pearl Harbor also under attack, Rubien quickly set about burning classified documents. Within a few days, he was relocated to an alternate command post in a mountainside cave. After a year, he returned to the States for Officer Candidate School at Miami Beach. After training troops in Atlantic City, he returned to his former office in Hawaii. He was soon transferred to VII Fighter Command at Fort Shafter as adjutant for the 318th Fighter Group. He then joined ComAirForward, a joint task force designated as Task Force 59. Rubien returned home and later served in the Korean War. He retired after 26 years in the service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joe Mason. Mason entered the Navy in September of 1944. He completed storekeeper school at Samson, New York. He trained and served on a PT boat throughout the war. They traveled to Samar, Philippines on 1 September 1945, which he describes his experiences. He was stationed at PT Base 17. The war was over by the time he traveled overseas. He discusses his time in Samar and witnessed the burning of the PT boats. He traveled to other Philippine Islands and was discharged in June of 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Olian Perry. Perry went to boot camp in San Diego. They were supposed to have ten week's of training but only had seven before they were shipped overseas on the Mastonia, landing in New Zealand. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 18th Marines, 1st Battalion, Company "C" as a dynamite man. After some training on New Zealand, they went to Guadalcanal on a troop ship. Once onshore, they started digging their foxholes but couldn't get any sleep because of washing machine charlie coming over. Perry talks about the land crabs crawling into their foxholes after the Japanese would bomb or shell the island. After Guadalcanal, he went back to New Zealand and then to Tarawa. Perry went into Tarawa on a Higgins boat and describes it as "just murder"; he went over the side of the boat and into waist deep water. Perry states "men were dropping around you side by side". After Tarawa, they went to Parker Ranch in Hawaii for R&R. From there they went to Saipan and Tinian. Perry describes seeing a man and woman come out, throw their kids over the cliff, and then jump in right after …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Underwood. Underwood joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. He entered the Navy in 1940 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Portland (CA-33) at Pearl Harbor, where he was trained as a signalman. He was out on maneuvers on 7 December 1941 and recalls seeing a signal come in from the flag ship that the harbor was under attack. When he returned a few days later, the USS Arizona (BB-39) was still smoking. Underwood spent the remainder of the war escorting ships and carrying out shore bombardments. After the Portland was torpedoed at the Battle of Surigao Strait, Underwood enjoyed a few months in Australia. There, he reconnected with old friends he had made on a goodwill tour before the war began. When the war ended, Underwood returned home for shore duty and remained in the Navy for another 20 years. His picture can be found in LIFE Magazine’s January 1942 issue, showing the Portland’s signalmen.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William St.John. St. John graduated from high school in 1939 and joined the Navy. He was assigned to the USS West Virginia (BB-48) in the gunnery division. His duties also included handling plane catapult charges. In December 1940, St. John received radio communication training in Hawaii. He was then assigned to the brand new Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, maintaining radio equipment. On the morning of December 7, he was working on a transmitter when he watched in shock as the Japanese attacked. St. John later spent nine months in aviation communication on Palmyra Island, coordinating emergency landings. He was sent back to the States to oversee the installment of electronics on the USS Guam (CB-2) and USS Portsmouth (CL-102) prior to commissioning. He was then trained in coding machines and sent aboard the USS Dayton (CL-105) as a radioman, first class. His final duty before his November 1946 discharge was preparing top secret monitoring stations in California and New York. He applied his wartime experience to embark upon a civilian career at both the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Kelly Air Force Base.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Wallace in memory of his father Paul Eugene Wallace. Wallace joined the Marines in 1927, graduated from Annapolis in 1933 and completed Marine Corps Officer Training in 1934. He was assigned to the USS Maryland (BB-46). Following that he was a China Marine and served with the 4th Marines in Shanghai. He later served aboard the USS Augusta (CA-31) with the Marine detachment. He completed Chemical Warfare School and was transferred to San Diego as commander of a chemical warfare company. He later became Commanding Officer of the Marine detachment aboard the USS Pensacola (CA-24). Paul???s mother was the secretary to the Chief of Naval Intelligence, 14th Naval District and their family was stationed in Pearl Harbor, present on the day of the attack. Paul describes life growing up in Pearl Harbor and what he witnessed that fateful day in December of 1941, including his mother???s and father???s reactions to the attack and their providing help in the weeks that followed. He and his mother were shipped back to California aboard the SS Lurline. His father was transferred back to the Marine Corps School to become a Chief …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Avery Willis. Willis left the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and joined the Navy in 1935. After training, he was assigned to the engine room of the USS Nevada (BB-36) as a machinist’s mate. On the morning of 7 December, he was filling in as an engineer on the motor launch. When the initial attack passed, he assumed his station in the engine room just before the ship got underway. Thinking he might be safer on a submarine, Willis soon requested a transfer and boarded the USS Tunny (SS-282). Conducting patrols off of Guam, he was at ease under the expert command of Lieutenant Commander John Scott. After five patrols, Willis was transferred to Mare Island, where he ran errands for Admiral Rickover. As the war came to an end, Willis’s last duty was decommissioning 57 submarines, some of them brand new.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edwin Schuler. Schuler joined the Navy and in early 1940 was assigned to the USS Phoenix (CL-46) as a fire controlman. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was at the gun director, preparing the ship’s artillery, which required the coordination of several hundred men. He describes the happenings at East Loch that morning, including a moment when he stopped to help a wounded Army man. After the ship got underway, they chased what they thought to be a Japanese ship, going so far as to train all of their guns on it, only to receive a signal at the last minute that it was actually the USS Minneapolis (CA-36). Still, Marines cheered them for their bravery upon return to the harbor. He recounts several escort missions in the Indian Ocean, including one in which the USS Langley (CV-1) was sunk off Java. He remembers that General MacArthur spent several weeks aboard their ship, and it was evident that he and the crew did not like each other. When the ship went back to the States for repair, Schuler returned home. He celebrated V-J Day on the lawn …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Rauschkolb. Rauschkolb enlisted in the Navy in 1938 and was assigned to the USS West Virginia (BB-48). As a third class signalman, Rauschkolb performed bunting maintenance, fixing torn flags as necessary. On the morning of the Pearl Harbor attack, he narrowly escaped strafing by jumping into oily water set ablaze by the USS Arizona (BB-39). He then reboarded his ship to fight fires, dragging a friend out of the flames and to safety. Recovering bodies in the aftermath was the most difficult job he’s ever had. On a trip home to attend his mother’s funeral, Rauschkolb learned that there had also been a service held a for him after he had been erroneously reported killed in action. On his return trip, aboard the USS Raleigh (CL-7), the skipper taught him navigation and requested that Rauschkolb be reassigned to their crew. On V-J Day, the ship fell silent until Rauschkolb suggested they shoot flares in celebration. He returned home and was discharged as a senior chief petty officer.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arthur Rees. Rees joined the Marine Corps in October 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. After training a few platoons as a drill instructor, he was transferred to Combat Engineers as a crane operator. He improved the airstrip at Guadalcanal and transferred supplies from LCTs to amphibious vehicles at Guam. He arrived at Iwo Jima just after D-Day and left for the States two weeks later. Although he was never on the frontlines, he was at the tail end of invasions and often operated under enemy shelling. Rees returned home and was discharged in October 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George A Richard. Richard joined the Navy during the Depression. Upon boarding the USS Tennessee (BB-43), he was delighted to have free room and board. A second class seaman, he was assigned to the range-finder in the fire control division, later transferring topside and working his way up to boatswain’s mate. After surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor, he helped to recover bodies the following day. In the Philippines, Richard experienced an attack by a kamikaze that dropped a 500-pound dud, as well as collisions with the USS California (BB-44) and USS Black Hawk (AD-9). In the Marianas, while watching Marines land, he gave up his seat to another sailor who was then immediately shelled. At the end of the war, Richard endured a typhoon on the way to Japan and watched a Japanese admiral board the ship to surrender. He stayed in the Navy another year and was discharged as a boatswain’s mate, first class.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gus Seeley. Seeley joined the Navy in July of 1940. During his career, he completed schooling for Yeoman, Naval Intelligence, Stenography and the Portuguese Language. Seeley served as Yeoman Third-Class aboard USS Honolulu (CL-48). They were moored in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Seeley was later transferred to USS LST-312, serving in the European Theater. He participated in the Sicily Campaign, the Salerno landings and the Invasion of Normandy. Seeley was transferred to another LST, and also served in the invasions of the Philippines and Okinawa, and served with occupation forces in China.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sally McNamara. McNamara was a young teenager living in Long Beach when the war started. They rationed, saved scrap metal, and bought war bonds. McNamara remembers seeing a sea battle . and being awoken by air raid sirens. McNamara’s mother was a Gray Lady and together with her children made bandages from home. McNamara’s father joined the Navy during World War I and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1922; he survived the attack at Pearl Harbor and retired as a Rear Admiral after 35 years of service.