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Oral History Interview with Vernon Oates, October 21, 1942 transcript

Oral History Interview with Vernon Oates, October 21, 1942

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vernon Oates. He discusses his childhood, education and growing up during the great depression. He talks about joining the US Army Air Corps, now called the Air Force, and the experiences he had at various different training camps around the country.
Date: October 21, 1942
Creator: Oates, Vernon
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Vernon Oates, October 21, 1942 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Vernon Oates, October 21, 1942

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Vernon Oates. He discusses his childhood, education and growing up during the great depression. He talks about joining the US Army Air Corps, now called the Air Force, and the experiences he had at various different training camps around the country.
Date: October 21, 1942
Creator: Oates, Vernon
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Bumgarner, March 18, 1995 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Bumgarner, March 18, 1995

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Bumgarner. He discusses his childhood and education and what led him to join the US Army. He describes his experiences as a doctor during World War Two and how he was captured and lived in a Japanese POW camp.
Date: March 18, 1955
Creator: Bumgarner, John & Marcello, Ronald E.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with a Palau Native transcript

Oral History Interview with a Palau Native

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with a native of Palau born in 1917. He lived briefly in Saipan and returned to Angaur, Palau, as a young man. In 1943 when the bombing of Palau first began, he volunteered for the Japanese Navy to avoid starvation, since natives were prohibited from buying imported food such as rice. He boarded a ship that was sunk by an American submarine and spent the night floating amidst 12-foot sharks. In the morning, he swam to a damaged but surviving Japanese ship and repaired their engine upon boarding. He then spent 10 months on an island at a Japanese airbase that sustained daily bombings. When the base was invaded by Australian troops, he hid in the jungle for three months before surrendering. He spent 10 months at a prisoner-of-war camp on Morotai. In 1946, he returned to Saipan and was reunited with his family.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with a Palau Native (open access)

Oral History Interview with a Palau Native

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with a native of Palau born in 1917. He lived briefly in Saipan and returned to Angaur, Palau, as a young man. In 1943 when the bombing of Palau first began, he volunteered for the Japanese Navy to avoid starvation, since natives were prohibited from buying imported food such as rice. He boarded a ship that was sunk by an American submarine and spent the night floating amidst 12-foot sharks. In the morning, he swam to a damaged but surviving Japanese ship and repaired their engine upon boarding. He then spent 10 months on an island at a Japanese airbase that sustained daily bombings. When the base was invaded by Australian troops, he hid in the jungle for three months before surrendering. He spent 10 months at a prisoner-of-war camp on Morotai. In 1946, he returned to Saipan and was reunited with his family.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with A. R. Evans transcript

Oral History Interview with A. R. Evans

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral monologue by A R Evans. Evans was the coastwatcher on Kolombangara who facilitated the rescue of the PT-109 crew, led by John F. Kennedy. One of his scouts noticed a fire on the water at night and saw an unidentified object floating the next day. Evans, having been informed that PT-109 was missing, instructed his scouts to search for crewmen. Two natives encountered the crew, who for want of a common language carved a message on a coconut to be delivered to Evans. Evans met Kennedy that afternoon and dispatched a message coordinating his safe return. When Evans visited the White House in 1961, he found a framed copy of the dispatch and the carved coconut in the Oval Office.
Date: unknown
Creator: Evans, R. A.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with A. W. McCasker transcript

Oral History Interview with A. W. McCasker

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with A W McCasker. McCasker joined the Royal Australian Navy and at the end of 1942 was stationed on Guadalcanal. He took a small party behind enemy lines to Lord Howe Island on a reconnaissance mission, accompanied by two American soldiers and a Javanese guide. There he was greeted by a Polynesian king who held a formal ceremony declaring war on the Japanese. McCasker brought along a radio that could reach several hundred miles; however, moving its heavy battery chargers required the labor of 12 natives. For nine months they moved from island to island, observing aircraft, reporting to headquarters at Guadalcanal. At one point they found two islanders who had drifted over 700 miles off course in a canoe. When enemy forces landed in August 1943 and McCasker was evacuated by PBY, he brought with him the two displaced islanders, who were eventually flown back to their homeland.
Date: unknown
Creator: McCasker, A. W.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Aaron C. Kulow transcript

Oral History Interview with Aaron C. Kulow

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Aaron C. Kulow. Kulow grew up in Michigan and enlisted in the Navy in 1942. After training, he joined the ship USS Pollux AKS-4 at Norfolk, Virginia. Initially the ship runs trips down to the Carribbean and Brazil but in 1943 is fitted with radar and sent to the Pacific Theater. In the Pacific, the general stores issue ship visited Australia, New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and the New Hebrides Islands. He then returned to San Francisco in 1944 where his wife met him to get married. He left for the Pacific again and in 1945 traveled to the Philippines. In 1945 Kulow met survivors of the Bataan Death March that had been liberated. He remembers going to a friend's burial in the Philippines. On V-J Day Kulow was at Manila Harbor. He left for America in October 1945 and was discharged in New York December 12, 1945.
Date: unknown
Creator: Kulow, Aaron C.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Aaron C. Kulow (open access)

Oral History Interview with Aaron C. Kulow

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Aaron C. Kulow. Kulow grew up in Michigan and enlisted in the Navy in 1942. After training, he joined the ship USS Pollux AKS-4 at Norfolk, Virginia. Initially the ship runs trips down to the Carribbean and Brazil but in 1943 is fitted with radar and sent to the Pacific Theater. In the Pacific, the general stores issue ship visited Australia, New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and the New Hebrides Islands. He then returned to San Francisco in 1944 where his wife met him to get married. He left for the Pacific again and in 1945 traveled to the Philippines. In 1945 Kulow met survivors of the Bataan Death March that had been liberated. He remembers going to a friend's burial in the Philippines. On V-J Day Kulow was at Manila Harbor. He left for America in October 1945 and was discharged in New York December 12, 1945.
Date: unknown
Creator: Kulow, Aaron C.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Agadito Silva transcript

Oral History Interview with Agadito Silva

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Agaito Silva. Silva was inducted into the US Army in January 1941. Trained in anti-aircraft guns at Fort Bliss, Texas he was assigned to the 200th Coast Artillery. Several months later the unit was shipped to Fort Stotsenberg, Luzon, Philippines. He describes the Japanese attack on 8 December 1941 and the serious shortages of food and medical supplies that developed. He tells of retreating to Corregidor and of being wounded by shell fragments. After surrendering on 6 May 1942, Silva tells how the prisoners were treated. They sent to Bilibid Prison and then to Cabanatuan. He was then taken to Japan to work in the mines and gives several anecdotes describing the inhumane treatment of the prisoners by the Japanese. He relates how after the Japanese surrender, food and medical supplies were dropped to the POW camp. Silva returned to the United States on 18 October 1945.
Date: unknown
Creator: Silva, Agadito
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alex Trentoff transcript

Oral History Interview with Alex Trentoff

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Trentoff. Trentoff was born to Russian parents who immigrated to Yap during the Russian Civil War. He recalls his childhood in Chamorro Bay as peaceful and easy. His family tended livestock and the island had a rich agricultural foundation. He worked as a domestic servant for a Japanese military officer who may have been an American spy. He remembers hearing the officer speak English with his parents during evening visits. Trentoff followed instructions to lay certain-colored pieces of laundry in specific formations in the field by the officer’s house. He would often see the officer climb a mountain wearing all white so that he would be plainly visible to American planes. The officer’s home was never bombed or came under machine gun fire, despite the rest of the valley being decimated. He also went past the reef and left handwritten messages in a bottle daily. When the war ended, the officer disappeared with American troops and was never seen again. Trentoff trained with the American Navy at Yap, and although he enjoyed the work a great deal, the salaries paid to Chamorros were too low. The cost …
Date: unknown
Creator: Trentoff, Alex
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alex Trentoff (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alex Trentoff

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Trentoff. Trentoff was born to Russian parents who immigrated to Yap during the Russian Civil War. He recalls his childhood in Chamorro Bay as peaceful and easy. His family tended livestock and the island had a rich agricultural foundation. He worked as a domestic servant for a Japanese military officer who may have been an American spy. He remembers hearing the officer speak English with his parents during evening visits. Trentoff followed instructions to lay certain-colored pieces of laundry in specific formations in the field by the officer’s house. He would often see the officer climb a mountain wearing all white so that he would be plainly visible to American planes. The officer’s home was never bombed or came under machine gun fire, despite the rest of the valley being decimated. He also went past the reef and left handwritten messages in a bottle daily. When the war ended, the officer disappeared with American troops and was never seen again. Trentoff trained with the American Navy at Yap, and although he enjoyed the work a great deal, the salaries paid to Chamorros were too low. The cost …
Date: unknown
Creator: Trentoff, Alex
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alfred Wunderlich transcript

Oral History Interview with Alfred Wunderlich

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alfred Wunderlich. Wunderlich recalls working on restoring the old Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg when he was a young man prior to being married.
Date: unknown
Creator: Wunderlich, Alfred
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alfred Wunderlich (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alfred Wunderlich

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alfred Wunderlich. Wunderlich recalls working on restoring the old Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg when he was a young man prior to being married.
Date: unknown
Creator: Wunderlich, Alfred
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Allan Champion transcript

Oral History Interview with Allan Champion

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Allan Champion. Champion was born in New Guinea in 1905 and spent his career in the Australian civil service. He was stationed at Buna in 1942 as assistant resident magistrate when a B-17 piloted by Fred Eaton went missing. Champion received a coded message instructing him to locate and rescue the crew. He traveled up the Musa River and found them in a small village. He brought them back to Buna and coordinated their safe return. Eaton resumed his missions, signaling hello to Champion whenever he flew over Buna. Champion abandoned his station later that year when the Japanese invaded. After the war, he was tasked with rehabilitating war-torn villages. He retired from civil service in 1960. This interview was conducted in 1988 as part of the effort to recover Eaton’s plane, which is now on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum.
Date: unknown
Creator: Champion, Allan
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Allan Champion (open access)

Oral History Interview with Allan Champion

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Allan Champion. Champion was born in New Guinea in 1905 and spent his career in the Australian civil service. He was stationed at Buna in 1942 as assistant resident magistrate when a B-17 piloted by Fred Eaton went missing. Champion received a coded message instructing him to locate and rescue the crew. He traveled up the Musa River and found them in a small village. He brought them back to Buna and coordinated their safe return. Eaton resumed his missions, signaling hello to Champion whenever he flew over Buna. Champion abandoned his station later that year when the Japanese invaded. After the war, he was tasked with rehabilitating war-torn villages. He retired from civil service in 1960. This interview was conducted in 1988 as part of the effort to recover Eaton’s plane, which is now on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum.
Date: unknown
Creator: Champion, Allan
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alpha Bowser transcript

Oral History Interview with Alpha Bowser

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alpha Bowser. Bowser joined the Marine Corps and completed basic training at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in June 1933. He received further training at fleet gunnery school and attended field artillery school at Fort Sill. In February 1937 he served as Roosevelt’s security guard at Warm Springs and got to know the president well. In June 1940 he returned to Quantico as an artillery instructor. He joined the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune and was promoted to major. In July 1942 he activated the 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines. He became G-3 of the 3rd Marine Division during the Bougainville operation. On 24 July 1944 he went to Guam as a lieutenant colonel. He landed just after the assault waves with his recon party under heavy fire. He sent for his batteries early and lost 35 men that day. His landings at Saipan and Tinian were much easier, and he lost no men at Iwo Jima. Bowser returned home in June 1945 and was tasked with demobilizing the Marine Corps. He describes the origin and efficacy of the points system. Bowser went on to participate in the planning …
Date: unknown
Creator: Bowser, Alpha
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alpha Bowser (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alpha Bowser

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alpha Bowser. Bowser joined the Marine Corps and completed basic training at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in June 1933. He received further training at fleet gunnery school and attended field artillery school at Fort Sill. In February 1937 he served as Roosevelt’s security guard at Warm Springs and got to know the president well. In June 1940 he returned to Quantico as an artillery instructor. He joined the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune and was promoted to major. In July 1942 he activated the 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines. He became G-3 of the 3rd Marine Division during the Bougainville operation. On 24 July 1944 he went to Guam as a lieutenant colonel. He landed just after the assault waves with his recon party under heavy fire. He sent for his batteries early and lost 35 men that day. His landings at Saipan and Tinian were much easier, and he lost no men at Iwo Jima. Bowser returned home in June 1945 and was tasked with demobilizing the Marine Corps. He describes the origin and efficacy of the points system. Bowser went on to participate in the planning …
Date: unknown
Creator: Bowser, Alpha
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alton Halbrook, {1972-03-21,1972-04-18} (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alton Halbrook, {1972-03-21,1972-04-18}

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alton Halbrook. Halbrook joined the Marine Corps in 1938 while enrolled at John Tarleton Agricultural College (Tarleton State University). After training at San Diego, Halbrook was assigned to duty in Shanghai before serving as a sea-going Marine aboard the USS Augusta (CA-31). Due to seasickness, he returned to the 4th Marine Regiment in China. Halbrook shares several stories of duty in China prior to the outbreak of war with Japan. When he asked permission to marry a Greek girl in Shanghai, the Marines shipped him to Cavite in the Philippines in early 1941. Halkbrook was present at the Cavite Navy Yard when the Japanese attacked in December, 1941. He recalls being supremely confident, cocky even, that when it came to a fight with the Japanese, the Americans would prevail easily. His illusion was shattered the day following the attack on Cavite when he was burying his dead friends. During the battle for Bataas, Halbrook hauled supplies from Manila until he was assigned to beach defense on Corregidor. Before Bataan fell, Halbrook volunteered to command a hastily organized unit of Philippine Army riflemen and went back to Bataan. He …
Date: {1972-03-21,1972-04-18}
Creator: Halbrook, Alton
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Anthony Geer transcript

Oral History Interview with Anthony Geer

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Anthony Geer. Geer was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He completed boot camp in San Diego, then served as a yeoman. He received additional training in aircraft recognition. He traveled to the Philippines aboard the USS Tazewell (APA-209), and worked on Samar Island until the atomic bombs were dropped, then transferred to Manila until the surrender of Japan. He traveled back to the U.S. aboard the USS Menard (APA-201). Geer was honorably discharged in late 1945.
Date: unknown
Creator: Geer, Anthony
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Antonio Borja transcript

Oral History Interview with Antonio Borja

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Antonio Borja. In 1938, Borja left his home in Tinian to attend navigator school in Saipan. He was in school and aboard ships until 1942 but did not graduate, due to the war. He sailed mostly in the Marianas and requested to leave for a vacation in Rota as he became increasingly concerned about his safety aboard ship. He was recruited for the Japanese army in Rota and served for two years in the artillery. When the United States liberated the island, Borja recalls that he was treated well and provided with clothing, food, and healthcare. Presuming that his parents had been killed during the war, Borja was surprised to learn in 1953 that they had been sent to Okinawa. His parents remained there for the rest of their lives, while Borja remained on Tinian.
Date: unknown
Creator: Borja, Antonio
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Antonio Borja (open access)

Oral History Interview with Antonio Borja

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Antonio Borja. In 1938, Borja left his home in Tinian to attend navigator school in Saipan. He was in school and aboard ships until 1942 but did not graduate, due to the war. He sailed mostly in the Marianas and requested to leave for a vacation in Rota as he became increasingly concerned about his safety aboard ship. He was recruited for the Japanese army in Rota and served for two years in the artillery. When the United States liberated the island, Borja recalls that he was treated well and provided with clothing, food, and healthcare. Presuming that his parents had been killed during the war, Borja was surprised to learn in 1953 that they had been sent to Okinawa. His parents remained there for the rest of their lives, while Borja remained on Tinian.
Date: unknown
Creator: Borja, Antonio
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Arleigh Burke transcript

Oral History Interview with Arleigh Burke

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue by Arleigh Burke. In March of 1944, Burke was promoted to Chief of Staff to the Commander of Task Force 58, the Fifth Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force, which was commanded by Admiral Marc Mitscher. Burke shares two versions of his bedtime story on the incident of Turn on the Lights during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He shares the events that ensued, while aboard the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), in the Philippine Sea beginning 19 June 1944. He describes the day long battle, also known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, when the Japanese fleet launched an attack against the US Fleet the Mariana Islands campaign. He provides vivid details of his experiences through this battle.
Date: unknown
Creator: Burke, Arleigh
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Arleigh Burke (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arleigh Burke

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue by Arleigh Burke. In March of 1944, Burke was promoted to Chief of Staff to the Commander of Task Force 58, the Fifth Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force, which was commanded by Admiral Marc Mitscher. Burke shares two versions of his bedtime story on the incident of Turn on the Lights during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He shares the events that ensued, while aboard the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), in the Philippine Sea beginning 19 June 1944. He describes the day long battle, also known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, when the Japanese fleet launched an attack against the US Fleet the Mariana Islands campaign. He provides vivid details of his experiences through this battle.
Date: unknown
Creator: Burke, Arleigh
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History