A certificate promoting Clifford R. Baird to Staff Sergeant.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with T. G. Crews. Crews was born on 26 February 1917 in Erath County, Texas and enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 1937 after graduating from high school. He was sent to China in 1938 as a member of the North China Marines tasked with guarding the American Embassy in Peking and railroads. He was in China on 8 December 1941 when the Japanese took 204 Marines prisoner. Crews was among the Peking Marines taken prisoner. In March 1942 the prisoners were loaded into boxcars and taken to an internment camp north of Shanghai. Approximately 1100 Marines and civilians previously captured at Wake Island were already there. He soon came down with malaria and dysentery. He spent three years as a POW around Shanghai. On 9 May 1945 approximately 1,000 POWs were taken by rail to Fengtai, China a district near Peking. The conditions there were the worst he had experienced as the POWs lived in large warehouses on dirt or brick floors without bedding. The latrines were open and the water was bad. Crews’ weight fell to less than 100 pounds. On 19 June 1945 the prisoners …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Iliff Richardson. Richardson was commissioned in the Navy in 1940 and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 as the executive officer of PT-34. After the loss of his boat in April 1942, he joined a band of Filipino guerrillas. Richardson tells of setting up radio transmitters and of the unusual features of the operations and equipment used. At the request of General Douglas MacArthur he plotted the Japanese mine fields in Leyte Gulf and he gives the details on how this was accomplished. Upon returning to the Philippines, General MacArthur met with Richardson on the USS Nashville (CL-43) and he describes the discussion. After returning to the United States, he had a seven hour meeting with Admiral Ernest J. King concerning pending court martial charges against him and tells of the outcome of the meeting. Richardson joined the Industrial Incentive Division of the Navy and he comments on his travels and speeches given to industry workers. [A copy of the manuscript written by Richardson during the war describing PT boat operations in the Philippines is in the archives of The National Museum of the Pacific War and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Donley. Donley was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, 7 October 1923. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy in 1942. He went to Fleet Torpedo School in San Diego following basic training. In September, he volunteered for PT boats and was sent to the Motor Torpedo Boat Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island. After training, he volunteered for assignment to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15. He was assigned as a torpedoman to PT-202, which was loaded on a tanker and transported to Gibraltar. The boats were sent to Bone, Tunisia to augment the British Coastal Forces in North Africa. Their primary objective was to prevent movement of German forces by sea from North Africa to Sicily. Following the German surrender in North Africa, Donley’s squadron was engaged in screening Allied landing craft during the Sicily invasion. Later, while intercepting a convoy of eight German supply barges, Donley was wounded by shell fragments. He also describes the numerous shortcomings of the Mark VIII torpedo and his boat’s involvement in the invasion of Italy at Salerno. Donley also describes later operations out of Corsica, Elba and Naples …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Schley. Schley enlisted in the Naval Reserve in August of 1940. He was assigned to 5 destroys and served as skipper on 3 of these. He was commissioned in March of 1941 and sent to the USS Rhind (DD-404), serving as assistant engineer. He describes their supporting the British war effort. They traveled to Bermuda maintaining a destroyer tender, providing convoy escort, carrier screening and anti-submarine warfare services. They joined a Task Force commanded by the British and operating out of Scapa Flow. They moved up the Norwegian coast to Murmansk battling German bombers, torpedo planes and submarines. He describes an encounter with the German battleship Tirpitz. He provides narrative details of the sinking of HMS Punjabi. In August of 1942 they traveled to the North African landings with his destroyer division. They provided support in the advance up to Italy. By early 1944 Schley was sent to the Pacific as executive officer of the USS Stringham (APD-6). He later became the commanding officer of this ship. They escorted the main force to the Palau Islands. He describes the Pearl Harbor West Loch explosion. He became a lieutenant …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Crain. Crain left law school to join the Army Air Forces in January 1942. He was assigned to an ordnance detachment with the 3rd Air Depot Group in Agra, India, where he loaded ammunition onto trains. He was transferred to Karachi, where he made reusable practice bombs out of tin cans and sand. He applied to OCS and returned to the States in April 1943. As an Infantry officer he taught math, reading, and ordnance use. He was sent to Italy and assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 86th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. In the Apennines, his unit furnished ammunition and performed light engineering. Crain was the battalion commander’s primary troubleshooter. He was assigned to the 85th Infantry Division when the armistice went into effect in Italy. There was no resistance from Germans in the Po Valley, who pleaded with Crain to help them defend their homes from the Russians. When the war ended, he was assigned to keep the peace between political factions in Tarvisio. His last occupation duty was overseeing refugees in Milan. Crain returned home and was discharged in December 1945. He returned to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Orland Harris. Harris went to Santa Anna, California for Aviation Cadet training in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He went to primary flying school in Visalia, California and then went to LaeMoore, California for more training. From there he went to replacement training units, flying the P-38, P-322 and P-39. Harris had take civilian pilot training for one year at college before he went into the service. He received his wings at Williams Field in Arizona 3 Nov 1943 and became an officer that day. He went to the South Pacific in a C-54, along wih about 30 other pilots, ending up in Nadzab, New Guinea with the 8th Fighter Group (part of the 5th Air Force). His P-38 missions included targets of opportunity around New Guinea, a cave on Corregidor and straffed ships on the way to Borneo, and the Philippines. Normally they flew cover missions for B-17s and B-24s but on occasion covered B-25s and A-20s. Harris was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) when he was flying out of Mindoro in the Philippines on a night mission (26 Dec 1944) attacking a Japanese task …

Transcript of an oral interview with Al Flocke. He discusses his flight training and being the radio operator on a B-24 bomber which did raids on Guam, Turk, Iwo Jima and other islands. He also ancedotes about food, rations and living conditions on the islands.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ed Harrell. Harrell grew up in Kentucky and joined the Marine Corps in 1943. Once he finished training, he was assigned to the USS Indianapolis in 1944. His first encounter was in the Carolina Islands. He then went to Eniwetok Islands, Kwajalein Islands, Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. The next battle was the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Then the ship went on to Peleliu until the island was secured, and onto Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The ship protected other ships as well as invasion troops during the battles. At Okinawa, the ship was damaged by a kamikaze plane and went back to the United States for repairs. He discusses the kamikaze culture and his experience at a forty-millimeter gun when the kamikaze hit the USS Indianapolis. At the point, while in the United States, the ship was chosen to take the atomic bomb parts to Tinian. At San Francisco, he describes the acquiring of the atomic bomb materials without the knowledge of the Captain of the ship or the soldiers. Next, he describes the bombing of the USS Indianapolis and the aftermath. Harrell witnessed other soldiers drink salt water, …

Transcript of an oral interview with Herman Billnitzer. Mr Billnitzer was a Pharmacist Mate in the Navy and spent most of his time as a corpsman with the 1st Marine Division, landing on Guadalcanal in October 1942. He describes the conditions on Guadalcanal as well as the conditions of the sailors that were rescued from ships sunk in Iron Bottom Sound. Near the end of the year, the 1st Marine Division was relieved by the Army and went to Australia for about eight months. From there, they were shipped to New Guinea, Milne Bay, where they stayed for about three months. Then, they landed on New Britain. Billnitzer gives a gripping description of the front line fighting on New Britain including the counterattacks by the Japanese; very revealing of what went on there. After New Britain, he was shipped back to the base hospital at Cape Gloucester and then to Pavuvu (Russell Islands) before he came back to the States for rest and rehabilitation in 1944; after over 20 months in the South Pacific. Billnitzer was sent to the naval hospital at Corpus Christi and then to the west coast for training at San Bruno, California. He went to Sasebo, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jospeh Edward Robeau. While attending Texas A & M, Robeau joined the Army and was sent to Office rCandidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned in June 1944. In October, Robeau was assigned to a heavy weapons company in the 87th Infantry Division an dsailed for England. He was assigend to a 81mm mortar section and arrived in France in November 1944. He recalls the winter weather conditions during the Battle of the Bulge. In February, Robeau was wounded by German artillery. When he recovered, he was sent from the hospital in England back to Paris where he served on a courts martial board. When the war ended, Robeau returned to the US in 1946 and resumed his studies at Texas A & M.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marcia Howe Bratusek and Marcile Howe Harrison. Twins Bratusek and Harrison grew up in San Antonio, Texas and participated in the local committee called the National Defense Recreation and Service Committee of San Antonio (similar to the USO). Born in 1932, they were nine in 1941 and 13 in 1945. They took dance lessons and their mother made them costumes. Their costumes were bought in Mexico. They took classes from Bertha Almaguer. During the war, they performed dances for military men as frequently as three nights a week. They performed at different bases and mention Dodge Field near Fort Sam Houston. They also had three brothers in the military. They had their pictures in National Geographic magazine. They also visited the military hospitals.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ralph Moreland. Moreland joined the Navy in March of 1944. He served aboard the USS Hope (AH-7), helping transport wounded servicemen to hospitals from the battles at Leyte and Iwo Jima. Moreland was in charge of the loading stations, hoisting a platform up and down helping to get men from shore to ship. He shares details of a kamikaze attack on their ship. Moreland also served aboard the USS Texas (BB-35) during the Battle of Okinawa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wendell W. Fenn. Born in 1922, he enlisted in the Regular Army in June 1940. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Division at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After his unit received one hundred motorcycles, he volunteered to take over the Motor Pool. He subsequently trained in the use of the cryptographic machine and was assigned to the Division Headquarters. He quickly advanced to the rank of Master Sergeant. He attended Officers’ Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He describes social refinement training after receiving his commission. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne, 327th Glider Infantry and sent to England. He shares an anecdote about using glider boxes for living quarters. He describes his glider training as well as his additional duties as a Military Police Officer. He talks about landing in a glider in Normandy immediately prior to the D-Day invasion. He describes the capture of Sainte-Mère-Église. He shares an anecdote about flying an American flag there. He returned to England via Omaha Beach. He speaks of the grave registration unit located there. He describes participating in Operation Market Garden. In November 1944, he was evacuated to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William A. Klenk. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1942. He was accepted into the Naval Air Cadet Program and received his commission in June 1943. He talks about his qualifying carrier landings at NAS Glenview. He was assigned to U.S. Carrier Air Group 80 Dive Bomber Squadron United States. Navy. Bombing Squadron 80 (VB-80) on the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). They joined the Third Fleet in Ulithi. He recalls various bombing locations in the South Pacific. He describes when the ship was hit by two kamikaze airplanes near Formosa. His air group was subsequently assigned to the USS Hancock (CV-19). He talks about making air strikes on Iwo Jima, Tokyo, and Okinawa. He describes making the trip back to the U.S. aboard various ships. He got out of the Navy in September 1945. After graduating from Penn State, he joined the Naval Reserve from which he retired in 1965. Kathryn Klenk remembers blackouts and rationing. She shares an anecdote about being married in bedroom slippers due to the rationing of shoes. William Klenk shares an anecdote about getting married despite the national holiday declared upon President Roosevelt’s …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Lamanna. Lamanna joined the Navy in November 1942 and was transferred to hospital corps school in Alabama, where he tended to casualties of flight training. He then attended field medical school at Camp Elliot. Upon completion, he was assigned to a medical battalion in the V Amphibious Corps where he worked as an orderly in hospitals. He landed on Saipan on the eighth day of the invasion and worked at an abandoned Japanese hospital there. He recalls the staff worked 96 hours straight, triaging the wounded before they were sent aboard hospital ships. Natives were also enlisted to help at the hospital. Lamanna returned to Maui and tended to the 4th Marine Division casualties at a hospital there. Next, he went to Iwo Jima and landed four days after the invasion. There the wounded were treated in tents on the beach. After working at a hospital in Sasebo, Japan, supporting the occupation forces, Lamanna boarded the ATA 197, picking up troops from the Philippines and China. He returned to the States and worked at the naval hospital in Oakland until his discharge in 1948.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bill Sheehan. Sheehan joined the Navy in June of 1933. Beginning October of 1943, he served as Quartermaster aboard USS Porterfield (DD-682). In February of 1944, they provided shore bombardment in the Marshalls. In April, they screened escort carriers during the Marianas invasion, and participated in the Guam Campaign in August. Sheehan provides details of their invasion of Saipan in June and Okinawa in April of 1945. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Taylor. Taylor was born April 3, 1921 in Scott, Louisiana. He worked in the rice and cane fields during his youth before joining the Navy in 1939. He was sent to Norfolk, Virginia for boot camp and recalls being in a segregated navy. He was assigned as mess attendant on the USS Dobbin (AD-3). He recalls the attack on Pearl Harbor and his role as an ammunition handler below decks. Taylor was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) in 1942 as a mess cook 3rd class. He was later assigned as the officers cook and eventually promoted to chief cook. Taylor tells of two friends that died in battle aboard ship. He describes visiting Nagasaki after the Japanese surrender. He discusses the changes that occurred after desegregation of the Armed Forces was ordered. Mrs. Taylor tells of being a young woman traveling to Bremerton, Washington by train to be with her husband and then returning home when Alex’s ship went to sea. She tells of buying a home with the money out of an allotment check she received each month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Grace Carr. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1942 and accepted a job with Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California, where most of the C-47s flown in World War II were made. She recalls that the factory was covered with netting which acted as camouflage from the air. She also remembers gas rationing, difficulty finding new tires and having to drive with parking lights at night to avoid disclosing the factory to enemy aircraft. She left Douglas to work at Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation, as the Head of Payroll. The shipyard repaired ships damaged in the war and she recalls one Russian ship with both males and females onboard.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Carr. He was born in Benton County, Indiana on February 17, 1914. Upon graduation from high school in 1932 he hopped a freight train to California. He enlisted in the 38th Infantry Division, Indiana National Guard in December 1940. After Pearl Harbor he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and transferred to the 30th Infantry Division. He embarked on the troopship SS Brazil for the transit to England, during which he recounts several experiences. He remembers London, including bombings by the German Luftwaffe and V-1 flying bombs. He was placed in charge of the motor pool and joined the invasion of France six days after D-Day. He describes the ensuing confusion and his company getting separated from the Regiment. During a battle he recalls observing General Bradley arriving to discuss whether Carr's regimental commander should be court-martialed for refusing to follow an order that he considered suicidal. The commander was exonerated, but was transferred to another battalion. Eventually his regiment joined up at the Battle of the Bulge, where they remained just outside the front lines providing and maintaining vehicles used in the assault. After the battle, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Weldon Sherrard. Sherrard joined the Navy in July of 1942. Beginning in December, he served as a First-Class Machinist Mate with a special construction battalion at Guadalcanal, New Zealand and Japan. With little to no access from ship to shore to unload supplies, Sherrard’s battalion was assigned the unloading of ships with the help of pontoon barges. He also worked as an oiler and crane operator. They were the first battalion created to complete this type of work. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald O. Dencker. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 25, 1924. Upon graduation from high school in February, 1943 he joined the Army. In March 1944 after attending Army Corps of Engineers school, he was assigned to the 96th Infantry Division. He witnessed the explosion of a munition ship in Port Chicago, California. Eventually he departed Pearl Harbor embarked upon USS LST-745 sailing to Leyte Island in the Philippines. He recalls several anecdotes during the transit and landing on Leyte Island in October, 1944. He recalls gunfire support from a destroyer that was off target, resulting in six casualties from white phosphorus as well as a Japanese suicide attack on his company that resulted in 75 enemy killed. His unit was then sent to Okinawa on April 1, 1945. He remembers that his 3rd Battalion had so many casualties that it was relieved and sent to guard Kadena Airfield. He recounts the many nights of shelling at the airfield followed by assaults on Japanese positions in which he lost four company commanders and many of his fellow soldiers, including several close friends. His company had sustained over …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward Bale. Bale was born in Dallas, Texas on 19 March 1920. He attended Texas A & M University and upon graduation received a commission in the United States Marine Corps. In 1943 he was assigned to 1st Medium Tank Battalion as commanding officer of Company C. Bale expresses criticism of the training received in tank maneuvers for it lacked liaison with infantry and artillery units, which led to difficulties during actual combat. In November 1943 the battalion was loaded onto the USS Ashland (LSD-1) and embarked on the invasion of Tarawa. He discusses the difficulties in landing the tanks, combat conditions and heavy casualties encountered at Tarawa. Following refit and training on the island of Hawaii, the unit was assigned to the 8th Marine Regiment and landed on Saipan June 1944. He describes the civilians committing suicide by jumping off the cliffs of the island. Following action in the Mariana Islands, Bale’s unit was assigned to the 1st Marine Division during the Okinawa campaign. Bale tells of the death of General Simon B. Buckner. After the surrender of Japan he was transferred to division headquarters as Provost …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Haynes. Haynes was born in Dallas 5 January 1921 and upon graduation from Southern Methodist University, he joined the Marine Corps, training at Quantico in February 1942. Upon completion, he spent two years training incoming junior officers at Quantico. His next duty assignment was as an infantry member of the 28th Regiment, 5th Marines, conducting training at Camp Pendleton and on Hawaii. Haynes’ regiment was sent to Iwo Jima in February 1945. He observed the original flag-raising on Mount Suribachi and describes the machinations that resulted in the second flag-raising. He describes the battle in great detail until it ended in late March and his regiment was sent back to Hawaii to train for the invasion of Japan. When the war ended, his division was sent to Nagasaki and Sasebo as part of the occupation force. When the 5th Marine Division went back to the States in October 1945, Haynes was transferred to the 2nd Marine Division, where he served as a member of the occupation force on Kyushu. After a few months, he returned to Washington and decided to remain in the Corps. He was assigned …