National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection - 95 Matching Results

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Oral History Interview with Alex Vraciu, October 9, 1994

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alex Vraciu. Vraciu was born in East Chicago, Indiana on 2 November 1918. He graduated from DePauw University in 1941, where he received civilian pilot training. He joined the Navy and in February 1943. He joined fighter squadron VF-6, flying the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat as wingman to Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare. He entered combat in August 1943, flying off the USS Independence (CVL-22) to make strafing run… more
Date: October 9, 1994
Creator: Vraciu, Alex
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Allen Havron, July 9, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Allen Havron. Havron joined the Army in January 1943. He was trained at Ft. Bliss as an anti-aircraft crewman in a unit that became the 487th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. His unit was sent to New Guinea. He describes meeting the native people and the flora and fauna that he encountered. He was then detached to the 158th Regimental Combat Team for a landing on Noemfoor Island. Havron earned a Bronze Star for his actions… more
Date: July 9, 2010
Creator: Havron, Allen
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, September 9, 2000

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arwin Bowden. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment, then joining the battle of Saipan. He ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he ma… more
Date: September 9, 2000
Creator: Bowden, Arwin
Location: 1.451817 172.971662
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Barbara Cameron, August 9, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Barbara Cameron. Cameron describes her experience on the home front as a child whose older brothers were in the military. Her brother Roger was in the Navy and her brother Victor joined the Coast Guard. Victor wrote home and said that being in the service was much easier than working as a farmhand during the Depression. Cameron’s father worked ten-hour days, seven days a week, making airplane propellers for General Motors. H… more
Date: August 9, 2001
Creator: Cameron, Barbara
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Bennet Reed, December 9, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bennet Reed. Reed was born in Tom Green County, Texas in 1923. In 1943 he was drafted and entered the Navy. Reed was sent to Keyport, Washington to torpedo school. In September he was sent to Guadalcanal and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 5. In January 1944 Reed was assigned to the USS PT-65 [Editor Note: PT-65 was in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 4, a training unit in Rhode Island]. He relates that the boat drive scr… more
Date: December 9, 2001
Creator: Reed, Bennet
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Bernard McKeone, December 9, 2014

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernard McKeone. McKeone was born in Omaha, Nebraska on 29 September 1927. In 1944 he joined the Marine Corps and went to San Diego for two months of boot camp followed by a period of training as a mortar man. Assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 8th Marine Regiment, he boarded the USS Collins (AP-147) bound for Tinian. He landed on the island by means of an LCVP. McKeone recalls a personal encounter where he captured a Japa… more
Date: December 9, 2014
Creator: McKeone, Bernard
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Bill Hardin, November 9, 2005

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Hardin. He was born in Brock, Texas 25 December 1921. His three other brothers served in the military during World War II. Two were killed in action. After graduating from Howard Payne College at Brownwood, Texas, Hardin entered the Naval Officer’s Candidate School program and was sent to Columbia University for sixteen weeks of training. Upon being commissioned, he was sent to San Diego for small boat training. While t… more
Date: November 9, 2005
Creator: Hardin, Bill
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Bill Meyers, November 9, 2000

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bill Meyers. Meyers entered the Naval ROTC program at the University of California in 1930. Beginning in 1932, he served two years as Quartermaster aboard the SS Monterey. He returned to college in 1934, received his commission through the NROTC in 1936, and graduated in 1937. In 1940 he served as the Gunnery Officer and Assistant Navigator aboard the USS Aldebaran (AF-10). They transported cargo between the West Coast and the Ha… more
Date: November 9, 2000
Creator: Meyers, Bill
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Burl Bonnell, July 9, 2002

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Burl Bonnell. Bonnell joined the Army Air Forces in April of 1941. He served as an aircraft mechanic with the 20th Carrier Group. They deployed to Africa in July of 1943, where Bonnell worked as a crew chief in a Ferrying Command. He was discharged in October of 1945.
Date: July 9, 2002
Creator: Bonnell, Burl
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Carl Gorman, October 9, 1994

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Gorman. Gorman was working for the US government as a Navajo interpreter when the war started. He heard the Marines needed Navajos for a special assignment, and was among the first 30 selected. After basic training, at Camp Elliott, Gorman and his group codified the Navajo language for communications usage. Once the code was in place, the Navajos were attached to the First and Second Marine divisions and sent to Guadalc… more
Date: October 9, 1994
Creator: Gorman, Carl
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Carter Wheelock, November 9, 2002

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Carter Wheelock. Wheelock joined the Navy in 1943. He served as a Radarman aboard USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). He participated in every naval battle the ship went through from mid-1943 through the end of the war, traveling to the Aleutian, Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He was discharged in 1946.
Date: November 9, 2002
Creator: Wheelock, Carter
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Cecil Young, October 9, 2003

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Young. Young was born in Bowie, Texas on 2 October 1919. After graduating from high school in 1937, he attended Abilene Christian College on a football scholarship. After graduating from college in June 1941, he began a coaching career. He entered the Navy in June 1942 as a Chief Petty Officer and went to Norfolk, Virginia for two weeks of boot training. He then went to Little Creek, Virginia for three months of amphib… more
Date: October 9, 2003
Creator: Young, Cecil V.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Allen, October 9, 2004

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Allen. Mr Allen went into the Marine Corps in September 1942, took boot camp in San Diego, and then was stationed in Santa Anna at the lighter-than-air base as a guard. In September 1943, he was sent to Noumea, New Caledonia and from there to New Guinea where he was put in the First Marine Division, HQ Company, 1st Battalion. His first introduction to combat was when they landed on the southern tip of New Britain. Al… more
Date: October 9, 2004
Creator: Allen, Charles E.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Baldwin, August 9, 2016

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Baldwin. Baldwin was learning to fly through the Civilian Pilot Training program when he was called to active duty in January, 1943. After basic training, he went to flight training. He graduated and was commissioned in March, 1944. Baldwin was sent to France in November, 1944 and attached to the 36th Fighter Group, 23rd Fighter Squadron and began flying combat missions in a P-47. He flew 51 combat missions before the war… more
Date: August 9, 2016
Creator: Baldwin, Charles
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Butterworth, April 9, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific Ware presents an oral interview with Charles Butterworth. Butterworth was born in Anderson, South Carolina. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame. In May 1939, he quit college and joined the Army Air Corps. After attending flight engineering and gunnery schools, he was assigned as flight engineer on a B-17 piloted by Emmett “Rosie” O’Donnell. He arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands on 28 August 1941 where he was assigned … more
Date: April 9, 2008
Creator: Butterworth, Charles M.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Engh, May 9, 2012

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Engh. Engh entered the Navy’s V-1 program before beginning V-12 in July 1943. He graduated from midshipmen’s school in 1945 and was sent to Subic Bay in June on lighterage duty as a yeoman. In July he was sent to Okinawa with a flotilla of LCTs that drifted out of formation each night and would spend the following day reorganizing. He was beached by a typhoon at Okinawa for 10 days until a channel was dredged and a t… more
Date: May 9, 2012
Creator: Engh, Charles
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Goessling, July 9, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Goessling. Goessling’s father was in the Army 13th Field Artillery and was transferred to Hawaii in January 1941. Fourteen-year-old Charles and the rest of the family went along. Goessling was sleeping at their home in Schofield Barracks when the Japanese attacked on 7 December. He fled to Koli Koli Pass with part of his family, where they were able to witness the destruction at Pearl Harbor. Goessling describes the … more
Date: July 9, 2010
Creator: Goessling, Charles
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Harter, December 9, 2016

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Harter. Harter was drafted in December of 1942 into the Army Ordnance Corps. He went to the Ordnance station in Aberdeen, Maryland. His outfit was the 534th Ordnance, Heavy Tank Company. From there they went to Indio, California, and practiced tank maneuvers in the desert. He went to Normandy, where his outfit’s job was to put devices on front of the tanks so they could go through hedgerows so the infantry could foll… more
Date: December 9, 2016
Creator: Harter, Charles
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Charles Kunkler, October 9, 2003

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles W. Kunkler. Kunkler was born in Los Angeles on 5 August 1925. He joined the Navy and was sent to Farragut, Idaho for six weeks of boot training. He was then sent to Pearl Harbor. Upon his arrival he was one of five seaman selected by Commander Hal Lamar to serve on the Admiral Nimitz’s barge. After serving for a period of time in Pearl Harbor the crew was assigned to a newly constructed barge that was sent to Admiral… more
Date: October 9, 2003
Creator: Kunkler, Charles
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Clifford H. West Jr., September 9, 2003

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford H. West, Jr. West joined the Marine Corps Reserve while he was in college and was commissioned an officer in October 1943 after he graduated. He joined the Fourth Joint Signal Assault Company (JASCO) where he served as a forward controller for air, artillery, and naval gunfire. West landed on Peleliu. He details the difficult landing, heavy resistance, and the shortage of water. West discusses how he felt when the 1… more
Date: September 9, 2003
Creator: West, Clifford H. Jr.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with David Peake, October 9, 1994

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Peake. Peake joined the Marine Corps in 1943. After boot camp he went to Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, where he joined the 5th Marine Division, 27th Regiment. In early 1945 they left Hawaii on an LST and traveled to the Marshall Islands, forming up their convoy to invade Iwo Jima. They were involved at Iwo Jima when the preliminary bombardment took place. Peake provides vivid detail of what ensued when they landed. They were a par… more
Date: October 9, 1994
Creator: Peake, David
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Devoe Hedrick, June 9, 2007

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Devoe Hedrick. Hedrick joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1940. He joined the Navy in April of 1941. He served aboard the USS Corry (DD-463) as a Fire Control Technician. Their ship served on anti-submarine and escort duty in the Atlantic. Hedrick???s battle station was the five-inch gun director where he served as pointer and later as range finder operator. They participated in the North Africa invasion in September of 19… more
Date: June 9, 2007
Creator: Hedrick, Devoe
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Donald Shogren, April 9, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Shogren. Shogren joined the Navy in April 1943 and received basic training at Camp Waldron. He received gunnery training at Camp Peterson. He finished his training in advanced gunnery and electric hydraulics in San Diego and became a gunner’s mate on the USS Capricornus (AKA-57). An accomplished gunner, he was assigned to a battle station on the port side near the bridge to protect the navigator, captain, and gunnery … more
Date: April 9, 2011
Creator: Shogren, Donald
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with E. J. Billings, December 9, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with E J Billings. Billings joined the Navy V-12 program in February of 1943. He completed Navy flight school in October of 1944. He also completed additional training in aerology and navigation. He provides some details of his schooling, carrier landings and various types of planes he flew, including the SNV and the FM-2 Wildcat. He served as a pilot aboard the FM-2 and traveled to Hawaii. While in Hawaii they practiced bombing runs … more
Date: December 9, 2008
Creator: Billings, E. J.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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