The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Forrest Biard. Biard graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934. From 1939 through September 1941, he completed full immersion in Japanese language and culture training in Tokyo. Biard was a cryptologic linguist, serving in all three Navy codebreaking units during World War II. In September, Biard was stationed at Pearl Harbor as a senior linguist for Station HYPO, the codebreaking unit at Pearl Harbor where he served as a language officer until August 1943. From February to May 1942, he was assigned to USS Yorktown (CV-5) as the radio intelligence officer under Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Biard’s translation and decryption work on JN-25 contributed to Allied efforts in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. From August to October 1943, he was sent to the codebreaking unit OP-20-G in Washington, also known as Station Negat. From November 1943 to April 1945, he was sent to the Station Cast codebreaking unit at Melbourne, Australia. While in Melbourne he deployed on several ships operating in the South Pacific. He worked in Melbourne to decrypt and translate captured Japanese Army code books for Douglas MacArthur, then used to accelerate the island-hopping …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard W. Tate. Tate was born in Perry, Oklahoma 16 May 1918. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve while attending Oklahoma State College. After graduation he reported to midshipman’s school at Columbia University. After completing the four month course, Tate was commissioned and reported to the Amphibious Force at Little Creek, Virginia, where he trained as a boat officer of landing craft. He volunteered for the scouts and rangers program and received four months of intense training. In December 1943 the unit boarded a freighter for Bizerte, Tunisia and reported to the Special Operations Group of the Mediterranean Fleet. The commanding officer was Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He describes several of the missions the unit made into Italy and his participation in planning for Operation Dragoon. Prior to Dragoon, Tate was reassigned to the Amphibious Force as a scout officer and describes his participation in the invasion. Tate was ordered back to the US and comments on situations he encountered during his return. In December 1944, Tate reported to the Chief of Naval Operations and received orders to Kunming, China. He gives a detailed account of his experiences in …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wallace Short. Short entered the Naval Academy in 1920 and upon graduating, went aboard the USS Texas (BB-35). Later, Short joined the Civil Engineer Corps and worked with the Naval Construction Battalions during WWII. He recalls several anecdotes about their work on Manus Island and Okinawa. He describes the destruction caused by typhoons at Okinawa. Short covers several aspects of his career in naval construction after World War II: the US, Spain, Thailand, Western Pacific, etc.