The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Hassenplug. Hassenplug was born 5 May 1921 in Melton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Naval Academy in June, 1944. His first assignment was aboard the USS O-7 (SS-68). Then on 29 January 1945 he was ordered to report on board the USS Pintado (SS-387) at Pearl Harbor. He served on the boat for six months during which time it was on two combat patrols. Hassenplug recalls the experience of picking up crew members of a downed B-29 off the coast of Japan. [The fairwater from the Pintado is on display at The National Museum of the Pacific War]

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Carpenter. Carpenter served aboard USS South Dakota (BB-57), going aboard in early 1942. He was assigned to a 20mm gun. He shares several anecdotes about his experiences aboard the ship. He discusses the Battle of Santa Crus Islands and night action of Guadalcanal.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral monologue by Nubuo Kishiue. Kishiue, the son of Japanese immigrants, joined the Army in November 1941 and received training at Camp Robertson. After the war began, he was granted leave to help his family relocate to an internment camp. Upon his return, he was sent to language school at Camp Savage. He was then assigned to the 27th Infantry Division and shipped to Saipan. There he served as a medical interpreter for civilians at Camp Susupe. He occasionally accompanied personnel on intelligence missions, scouring battlefields for paperwork in the aftermath of firefights. After the war, and during a sweep of the island, Kishiue was nearly killed by a Japanese soldier who refused to surrender. Kishiue later returned home and rented land to farm. He believes the discrimination his family faced before the war, including being unable to own land, was remedied by the Nisei soldiers who proved their loyalty to America. Kishiue ultimately purchased his own land and farmed until his retirement in 1990.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Drachnik. Drachnik graduated from the Naval Academy in June of 1942. He served aboard USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11), transporting cargo and troops for the invasion of Guadalcanal. They made several resupply and reinforcement voyages to Guadalcanal and Tulagi in support of the campaign, and returned to the US in January of 1943. Beginning October of 1943 through October of 1945, Drachnik served as Executive Officer aboard USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692), completing patrol duty during the battles of Leyte and Luzon. He completed 30 years of service, retiring in 1972.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gerold (Jerry) Haynes. Haynes grew up in Mississippi and went to Memphis, Tennessee to join the Navy in 1939. He was assigned to the USS California and went to Pearl Harbor. The California was bombed December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Haynes describes the recovery efforts. In March 1942 he was reassigned to the USS Sante Fe (CL-60). He was on a 5 in/38 gun. He discusses sinking a ship in the San Bernadino Strait. In 1945, he rescued two survivors from the USS Franklin and received a citation. He describes the experience of pulling survivors from the ocean. NOTE: Haynes identified the USS Tingey (DDS-539) but the action described (Attu, Tarawa, USS Franklin rescue) supports the USS Santa Fe (CL-60).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Kleiss. Kleiss discusses training for carrier landings on USS Enterprise; the arrival of VMF-211 aboard Enterprise and their delivery to Wake Island; and the attack on Pealr Harbor on 7 December 1941. Kleiss was in a dive bomber and attacked Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, where he earned the Navy Cross.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Ross. Assigned to the 267th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, he describes training and living conditions at camp Joseph T. Robinson. He describes crossing the Atlantic in November 1944 as well as being transported to Weymouth, England. He also recalls narrowly missing being transported on the SS Léopoldville (1929) and arriving at Cherbourg, France in December 1944. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge near Lorient, France. When the war ended in Europe, he was in placed in charge of supplies for two general hospitals near Arles, France. He was subsequently transferred to the 4289th Provisional Supervision Company. He talks about taking charge of SS Troops in Vienna and setting up a hospital in Wels, Austria. He recalls the entertainment in Vienna. He was discharged in April 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Taisuke Maruyama. He was born in 1922. After finishing the sixth grade, Mr Maruyama took an exam for Navy pilot school and passed; he was 15 or 16 at the time. At that time, preparatory flight school (navy basic training) for the Navy was one and one half years. Once he completed this, Maruyama entered flight training, which lasted for one year. After flight training, he was ordered to the carrier Hiryu; to be a scouting member of the 97th torpedo plane, a Kate. He was not assigned as a pilot but as a scout. In July/August 1941, the Hiryu escorted the invasion fleet when the Japanese Army landed in French Indo-China. Mr Maruyama saw his first combat on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor; the first wave (183 planes). His target was the USS Oklahoma and he had the job of releasing the torpedo; it hit. He was 19 years old. After the attack, the carriers returned to their own harbors and the planes went to bases. Mr Maruyama states that either the pilot or the scout could be the leader on the plane. At Midway, he was still a scout but was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Warnes. Warnes joined the Navy in 1936. He was first assigned to USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), serving aboard until September of 1937. He was then transferred to the Asiatic Fleet, aboard the USS Alden (DD-211). They traveled back and forth between Manila, Philippines and Chefoo, China. He worked on the ship as a cook and radio striker. Around spring of 1939 they traveled to North China, where their ship was assigned to the South China patrol for diplomatic courier duty along the coast. In the summer of 1940 Warnes was promoted to Third Class Radioman and transferred to the USS Langley (CV-1) as a radio operator. By the fall of 1940, they were operating in Manila. In February of 1942 the Langley was sunk off Java. Warnes and the surviving crew, were transferred to the USS Pecos (AO-6), which was also sunk in March of 1942. He provides details of each fateful event, including their rescue aboard the USS Whipple (DD-217). In April he traveled back to the US aboard the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22). At Terminal Island, California, Warnes was assigned to a submarine chaser, SC-538 …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Stanton. Stanton joined the Navy in 1943 after his brother Joe disappeared on the Yangtze River as part of the South China Sea Patrol. Stanton received basic training at Camp Farragut. Upon completion, he went to gunnery school in Newport, Rhode Island, and was assigned as a gunner’s mate to USS Rapidan (AO-18), where he spent two years in the Atlantic, stopping at Murmansk, Oran, Casablanca, and the Caribbean. He returned to California via the Panama Canal. While on liberty, he visited his mother, who supported troops on the home front by giving over 450 servicemen a place to stay. Stanton was stationed at the Aleutian Islands for a time and recalls the perils of hundred-mile-an-hour winds (williwaw) and giant ocean swells. While loading a ship, he broke his ankle and was sent to the hospital at Bremerton. After recovery, he was assigned as a coxswain aboard the oceangoing rescue tug USS ATR-61. While aboard, he transported divers to Manila Bay to recover plunder from sunken Japanese ships and classified equipment like ciphering machines from American ships. He gives a first-hand account of the poverty and devastation …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Truman Gill. Gill grew up in Texas and joined the Marine Corps in April, 1942 at San Antonio. Gill trained in San Diego and attended Sea School there prior to arriving at Pearl harbor to board the USS Mississippi (BB-41). Gill served as an antiaircraft gunner aboard ship and mentions going on patrols in the Coral Sea and around the Aleutians. Gill also mentions witnessing the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) sinking after a torpedo attack off Tarawa. He also describes attending a burial at sea. The Mississippi sopported the Army invasion of Makin. Gill was eventually transferred off the Mississippi and sent to New Caldonia, where he describes a deer hunt. Gill was training with the Fourth Defense Battalion on Tinian when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Depoy. He was born in Pulaski County, Indiana on April 1, 1920. He recalls joining the Army in the spring 1944 and being assigned to the 670th Field Artillery Battalion. He describes how he had two brothers and both were assigned to different batteries in the 670th. He recalls shipping out from Boston to Le Havre, France. His unit trained in the mountains of France and then joined up with the 1st Army under General Bradley. Next he describes his unit fighting with the 3rd Army under General Patton. He describes some near encounters with V-1 Bombs. He describes getting caught behind enemy lines near Dusseldorf for ten days. Near Berlin, he describes how the Russians fired upon both the surrendering German troops and the Americans. He recalls hearing Patton ordering the Americans to return the fire and the Russians finally ceasing fire. He got to know General Patton very well and describes several instances of direct contact. He describes taking German prisoners, many of whom were SS, and very difficult to deal with. He recalls that he was in Yugoslavia when Germany surrendered. He says he …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clement Good. Good was born in Deland, Illinois 29 September 1920 and upon graduation from high school, was drafted into the Army in July 1942 and joined the 80th Infantry Division. He recalls that he was assigned as the driver for the division artillery’s headquarters battery commander. Good describes in detail the division’s training while operating out of Camp Forest, Tennessee. His division was moved to California for desert training in November 1943. Several weeks of more training followed at Fort Dix, New Jersey in April 1944, before being shipped to Great Britain on the Queen Mary in July. He describes the conditions on the Queen Mary during the seven day transit. The division landed on Utah Beach on 3 August 1944, and was assigned to General Patton’s Third Army. He describes his participation in the Battle for Paris and in the Battle of the Bulge. He recalls seeing the remains of the Maginot Line, the countryside of Luxemburg, crossing the Rhine River into Nuremberg, Germany and entering Munich in April 1945. He was in Austria when the war ended. During the following five months his unit was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Restorff. Restorff joined the Navy in August of 1940. He served as Seaman First Class, and later moved to the Engineering Division aboard the USS Balch (DD-363). They worked guard duty on the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Restorff volunteered for the Asiatic Fleet and was sent to Manila, Philippines. His job was refueling PBY aircraft and transporting ammunition to cruisers, destroyers and submarines in combat. In late 1941 he was assigned to the USS Langley (CV-1) and traveled to Australia, where they picked up Army personnel and pilots. He provides some details of the carrier. In February of 1942 the Langley was scuttled after an attack by the Japanese, and Restorff recalls surviving that fateful day. He later completed Diesel School and served aboard PC-618, a submarine chaser, as an engineman. He remained in the Navy until 1960.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jimmy Tiller. Tiller went to A & M right out of high school in May 1943 and when he was 18 they all went into the military (December 1944). He took basic infantry training at Camp Hood and then went to Fort Ord, California for more training, climbing out of ships and onto landing barges. They were put on Liberty ships in July 1945 that sailed out of Seattle, Washington for Pearl Harbor. His ship joined a convoy there and they ended up on Okinawa (August 1945) where they joined the 27th Infantry Division. After a short time on Okinawa, they flew to Japan (Adsuki Field) where they started their duty as occupation troops. Tiller was a member of an Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon on Okinawa and in Japan. When the 27th Infantry was shipped home, Tiller was transferred to the 519th military police (MP) outfit in Yokohama. While in Japan, Tiller escorted the Emperor and was the Sergeant of the Guard of MP's that were guarding the war crime trials. Tiller was on occupation duty in Japan for one year and provides many interesting stories of his …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Rackley. Rackley was born in Nueces County, Texas, 26 April 1926. Graduating from high school in 1943, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for basic training. Upon completion of basic he was sent to Camp Stoneman, California and went aboard the USS General John Pope (AP-110) for a 31 day trip to New Guinea. He was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division, 145th Infantry Regiment as a combat radio operator in the headquarters section to serve as radioman for the company commander. He landed at Bougainville and describes the difficulties encountered in landing, the heavy rains that fell and the high number of casualties. During January 1945, the division landed on Luzon unopposed with orders to recapture General MacArthur’s former residence. Rackley remembers being ordered to take Bilibid Prison in Manila and he tells of the condition of some of the former prisoners. After spending two weeks retaking Clark Field they were ordered to conduct mop-up operations. Rackley recalls heavy fighting during the operation and mentions his captain being seriously wounded as he used the radio. He recalls receiving a radio …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fiske Hanley, II. Hanley was born in Brownwood, Texas in 1920. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1943, and joined the Army Air Forces. Completing an advance engineering course at Harvard University he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 504th Bombardment Group as a B-29 flight engineer. Hanley and crew flew to Tinian and began bombing missions over Japan. During his seventh mission Hanley’s plane was shot down. He and the co-pilot were the only survivors. Interned as a special prisoner of the Kempeitai, he was to be to be tried and executed. He describes in detail his experience as a prisoner existing in overcrowded, filthy cells, lacking medical treatment and starved on meager rations.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frances W. Lipe. Lipe recalls anecdotes and events from the life of her father, Colonel Worthington. Her father joined the Army in 1917 and trained as a veterinarian. Her father was on Bataan when the US forces surrendered there in 1942. Her father escaped and was captured by the Japanese and taken to Manila. From there, he went to Formosa and then on to Mukden, Manchuria.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Fleming. Fleming joined the Navy in 1943. He completed Radio School and served as a radio operator aboard the USS Drew (APA-162), beginning October of 1944. They transported troops to and from Saipan, Guam and Japan. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jim Calvert. Calvert joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1943. He is one of two pilots in the US who carried the wings on his uniform of 3 Air Forces, including the US, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the Chinese Air Force. Calvert served as a C-47 pilot with the Air Transport Command and flew missions over China, India, and Burma, including flying over the Himalaya Mountains, the Hump. He returned to the US and was discharged in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ramon Nelson. Nelson joined the Army in 1942, and graduated from the Morgan Park Military Academy. He served as an infantry officer with the 7th Infantry Division and participated in the battles of Attu, Kwajalein, Leyte and Okinawa. Following the Japanese surrender, the division was stationed in Korea. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Swan. Swan was born in Corvallis, Oregon in 1927. Upon joining the Coast Guard in 1944, he was sent to boot camp at Alameda, California. Completing training, he was assigned to radio school in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His training lasted over five months and after graduation he applied for LORAN (Long range navigation) training. Being accepted, he was sent to Groton, Massachusetts for four weeks of training. Upon completion of the training, he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he began working with the public information office. He tells of some of his experiences while working with the office.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sam Harris. Harris joined the Army in February of 1942. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. He traveled to Australia in July of 1943, participating in the line defense at Brisbane. In early 1944, as part of the reconnaissance force, Harris was shipped to Ora Bay in New Guinea and made landings on the Admiralty Islands. In October he invaded the Philippine Islands, and ultimately helped in liberating Santo Tomas Internment Camp prisoners. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sister Mary Aquinas Nimitz. She begins by relating information about her aunts and uncles on her mother's (Freeman) and her father's (Nimitz) sides of the family. She also sums up her school years by relating all the places she moved to during the period leading up to the war. Nimitz also relates several stories about her parents and her life in a religious community. She also speaks of her parents activities during the war while she lived with her mother in Berkeley, California. She mentions her siblings and their children.