[Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Sits with CINCPAC Staff on Porch]

Photograph of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz sitting with CINCPAC staff on porch in Guam. There are two couches arranged in a L formation, Admiral Nimitz sits on the far couch with two unidentified men on his left. To his right there is a man leaning against the building next to a large window and another sitting on something out of view. On the couch to the right there are three more men sitting. All the men are wearing light-colored uniforms with two pockets on the front of the shirts and black dress shoes, some are wearing short sleeves and shorts while others have full length sleeves and pants. In front of the men on the couches is a small wooden coffee table with a small metal ashtray on top of it.
Date: 1944
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Charles Stasny to his Parents, August 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Charles Stasny to his Parents, August 1, 1944]

Letter from Charles Stasny to his parents discussing his participation in the bombardment and landings on Guam. He also discusses several people from back home, the possibility of calling his parents, and the possibility of getting leave, and sends his parents some money orders. This letter is written on United States Navy stationery.
Date: August 1, 1944
Creator: Stasny, Charles, 1921-2014
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Chester W. Nimitz and Sergio Osmena]

Photograph of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz with President of the Philippines Sergio Osmena, in Guam. Admiral Nimitz stands on the left with his hands clasped in front of him and wearing a light-colored uniform with two pockets on the front, stars pinned to each side of his collar, a simple belt and a brimmed hat with the Navy's emblem on the front. President Osmena stands on the right with his body turned to the left and wearing a very similar uniform to Admiral Nimitz but with long sleeves and missing the stars pinned to his collar and the U.S. Navy hat. In place of the Navy hat, president Osmena is wearing a light-colored helmet with a single stripe on the front.
Date: 1945
Creator: United States. Navy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Chester W. Nimitz, Forrest P. Sherman, and Charles H. Mcmorris Stand Near Binoculars]

Photograph of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Forrest P. Sherman, and Charles H. McMorris stand behind binoculars mounted on a tripod. The three men are wearing light-colored uniforms with two pockets on the front of the shirts, a belt, and dark dress shoes. Nimitz and the man beside him stand on the right in shorts while the man on the left wear's full-length trousers. Behind the men are some trees and a building can be seen in the distance to the right.
Date: 1945
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Scenes of Guam]

Photograph of an unidentified building in Guam. Pallets of wood sit in front of the entrance of the building and a dirt road runs in front of the structure.
Date: 1945
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Jane Kendeigh with Injured Soldier on Flight]

Photograph of Jane Kendeigh sitting with an injured soldier on flight from Iwo Jima. The soldier is lying on the bottom of a bunk with their head wrapped in bandages. Another person is lying on the top bunk. Jane is kneeling by the bottom bunck and wearing a military uniform.
Date: March 6, 1945
Creator: United States. Navy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Sits at Desk in Headquarters]

Photograph of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz sitting at his desk holding a large document open in his hands. His desk is covered with papers, folders, books and a pair of glasses. Flt. Adm. Nimitz is wearing a light-colored uniform with short sleeves, two pockets on the front and five stars pinned to either die of his collar. Behind him is a phone sitting on a small table in front of a window.
Date: April 16, 1945
Creator: United States. Navy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser Awards Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz the Grand Cross of the Bath]

Photograph of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, Royal Navy, awarding Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz the Grand Cross of the Bath aboard the HMS Duke of York, Guam. Chester W. Nimitz stands on the right in a white Naval uniform with embroidered epaulettes, a brimmed hat with the Navy's emblem and holds up a sash to his torso. Sir Bruce Fraser is on the right leaning towards Flt. Adm. Nimitz to pin the sash on him. He is dressed in a white uniform and a brimmed hat with a Royal Navy emblem on it. another man stands behind them in a white uniform and holding up a dark pillow. In front of the men is a microphone and a tripod.
Date: August 10, 1945
Creator: United States. Navy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Salutes on Board HMS Duke of York]

Photograph of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz saluting on board the HMS Duke of York. He is wearing an all-white Navy uniform with a dark sash and a brimmed hat with the Navy's emblem on it.
Date: September 1945
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from On Board the U. S. S. Anzio, September  15, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from On Board the U. S. S. Anzio, September 15, 1945]

Letter to the press about the USS Anzio (CVE-57) and the experiences of her crew in the Pacific Theater from her commission in August, 1943 to the end of the war in September, 1945.
Date: September 15, 1945
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Letter
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
Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (open access)

Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Transcript of an oral monologue with Hal Lamar. He reflects on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during his time serving as the Admiral's personal aide and secretary. He describes Nimitz's character and abilities as a leader. Lamar shares anecdotes about visiting wounded men and awarding Purple Heart medals, other officers coming to call, recreating, visiting Tarawa ,and activities at the new headquarters on Guam.
Date: February 1, 1980
Creator: Lamar, Hal
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz transcript

Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Transcript of an oral monologue with Hal Lamar. He reflects on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during his time serving as the Admiral's personal aide and secretary. He describes Nimitz's character and abilities as a leader. Lamar shares anecdotes about visiting wounded men and awarding Purple Heart medals, other officers coming to call, recreating, visiting Tarawa ,and activities at the new headquarters on Guam.
Date: February 1, 1980
Creator: Lamar, Hal
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Elliott Ross, May 1, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Elliott Ross, May 1, 2001

Interview with Elliott Ross who joined the U.S. Navy during World War II. He discusses being a landing craft coxswain carrying troops and supplies from ships to the shore in seven invasions: Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Santacristo, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and as an occupation force in Japan after the surrender. He talks mostly about Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan, but also mentions burials at sea and on the beachs, seeing his brother's ship get hit by torpedoes, and the emotional toll of the war.
Date: May 1, 2000
Creator: Cox, Floyd; Misenhimer, Richard & Ross, Elliott
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Brown, June 26, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Bill Brown, June 26, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Brown. Brown was studying at the University of Texas at El Paso whe nhe joined the Army Air Force in 1942. Brown discusses his flight training, which occurred throughout Texas. With training cmplete, Brown was sent to Hawaii where he continued training with the 45th Fighter Squadron, 7th Air Force. Soon his unit was shipped to Iwo Jima where they flew bomber escort for bombing missions over the home islands of Japan. Brown was shot down over Yokahama and bailed out over the Tokyo Bay, where he was resuced by the USS Pipefish (SS-388). Brown was taken to Hawaii to recover and was eventually shipped back to the US, where he was discharged in September, 1945.
Date: June 26, 2000
Creator: Brown, Bill
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Al Flocke, October 22, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Al Flocke, October 22, 2000

Interview with Al Flocke, a radio operator during World War II. 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 relates anecdotes about food, rations, and living conditions on the islands.
Date: October 22, 2000
Creator: Nichols, Chuck & Flocke, Al
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Trenton Fowler, January 17, 2001 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Trenton Fowler, January 17, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Trenton Fowler. Fowler grew up in Corpus Christi and enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1943. Once he finished training, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Raider Battalion and shipped out on the French transport ship Rochambeau to New Caledonia. From there he went to Guadalcanal for training and then to the Emirau, Guam, and Okinawa campaigns, with stops at Guadalcanal in between each campaign. Fowler discusses the pros and cons of the Browning Automatic Rifle versus the M-1 Garand. He tells of the change of his unit's name from the 4th Battalion Raiders to the 6th Marine Division, before he went to Okinawa. He relates the experience of finding out his brother, a fellow Marine, had died at Iwo Jima.
Date: January 17, 2001
Creator: Fowler, Trenton
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001

Interview with Garvin Kowalke, a pilot during World War II. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, going to Air Cadet training to become a pilot, and training on various aircraft (AT-17, UC-78, P-36, P-33, T-6, BT-13, B-17, B-29) before becoming a B-29 pilot; he shipped out to Guam and flew standard and fire bombing runs over Japan. He discusses having to ditch the plane on the way back to Guam once when the engines failed, seeing another B-29 crew have to bail out over Toyko Bay and get picked up by a U.S. submarine that was in the Bay, getting pulled down to the fires when they were trying to hide in the smoke to avoid Japanese fighter planes, and getting caught in a storm by Mount Fujiyama, as well as collecting data such wind direction, speed, and temperature over Hiroshima for future bombing runs, which turned out to be for the bombers who dropped the atomic bomb. He also talks about flying over Hiroshima two days after the bombing and gauging how high the radiation levels were at different altitudes. He also talks about being in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, becoming a B-57 pilot, and adopting a …
Date: January 23, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Kowalke, Garvin
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William C. Beyer, March 14, 2001 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William C. Beyer, March 14, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William C. Beyer. Beyer grew up in Texas and joined the Marines in January 1942. After training, he was assigned to the third division in artillery. He departed on the USS Mount Vernon for New Zealand. He anecdotes about meeting with some Maori people. Then he departed on the Cresent City for Guadalcanal in May 1943. From Guadalcanal he left for Bougainville in November 1943. He describes being caught in a foxhole for two days without communication. He also listened to Tokyo Rose on the radio. The Army relieved the Marines January 15, 1944, and his unit returned to Guadalcanal. On July 21, 1944, they landed on Guam and went into battle. Next Beyer left for Iwo Jima. The Third Marine Division was assigned to the central area of the island. He witnessed the raising of the flag. On the 50th anniversary of the war, Beyer and his wife returned to New Zealand and Guam.
Date: March 14, 2001
Creator: Beyer, William C.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Franklin B. Murphy, November 20, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Franklin B. Murphy, November 20, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Franklin B. Murphy of Milford, Maine. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Marines and going through basic training in South Carolina before completing his communications training in North Carolina. He also talks about his journey from Hawaii to Tarawa and the horrors he saw when they arrived and started to set up communication lines. Mr. Murphy was assigned to the twenty-fourth marines as their communication before being sent to Iwo Jima. He was in Guam for some recreational time when the bombs were dropped on Japan and the war ended, he was then discharged December of 1945.
Date: November 20, 2003
Creator: Murphy, Franklin B.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Franklin B. Murphy, November 20, 2003 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Franklin B. Murphy, November 20, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Franklin B. Murphy of Milford, Maine. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Marines and going through basic training in South Carolina before completing his communications training in North Carolina. He also talks about his journey from Hawaii to Tarawa and the horrors he saw when they arrived and started to set up communication lines. Mr. Murphy was assigned to the twenty-fourth marines as their communication before being sent to Iwo Jima. He was in Guam for some recreational time when the bombs were dropped on Japan and the war ended, he was then discharged December of 1945.
Date: November 20, 2003
Creator: Murphy, Franklin B.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date: February 23, 2004
Creator: Day, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date: February 23, 2004
Creator: Day, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History