National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection - 111 Matching Results

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transcript

Oral History Interview with Joedy Adams, December 5, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joedy Adams. The daughter of Naval aviator Joseph Cronin, 12-year-old Adams lived on Kaneohe Naval Air Station in 1941. On 7 December 1941, the drone of Japanese planes shook her family home. When her father left and reported to base, Adams and her mother fled to Honolulu. Their Japanese maid had gone missing earlier that morning; she was later found to be a spy. While Adams was en route to Honolulu, she saw a Japanese plane… more
Date: December 5, 2008
Duration: 42 minutes 55 seconds
Creator: Adams, Joedy
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Ray Amstutz, April 5, 1997

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Amstutz. Amstutz joined the Army Reserve (Student Training Corps) while in college at the University of Tulsa. On May 8, 1943 he was inducted and went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for processing and then to Camp Maxie, Paris, Texas for three months basic training. The Army sent him back to school at the University of Oklahoma where he finished one semester. From there, he went to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana where they were tra… more
Date: April 5, 1997
Duration: 1 hour 13 minutes 20 seconds
Creator: Amstutz, Ray
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Jack Bailey, July 5, 2007

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Bailey. Bailey joined the Texas National Guard when he was 14 years old, lying about his age. In November 1939, his unit was mobilized and he left for the Philippines with the 36th Division. Bailey shipped overseas and his group was diverted to Australia after the attack on Pearl Harbor. They boarded a Dutch troop ship and headed for Java. On Java, outnumbered and out of ammunition, his unit surrendered to the Japanese … more
Date: July 5, 2007
Duration: 1 hour 1 minute 06 seconds
Creator: Bailey, Jack
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with William Belt, December 5, 2005

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Belt. Belt joined the Navy after earning a master's degree and went to midshipman' school. He earned a commission and reported aboard USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)in May 1943. Belt was aboard when the Tuscaloosa participated in the invasion of France and was at Iwo Jima. He also recalls being off Okinawa. Belt went aboard HMS Duke of York and met Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser one day. He also attended the Japanese Language Schoo… more
Date: December 5, 2005
Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes 38 seconds
Creator: Belt, William T.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Wendell R. Benson, August 5, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wendell R. Benson. Benson joined the Navy in August of 1943. He was trained as an electrician and then attended submarine school in Groton, Connecticut. Benson then joined the crew of the USS Trutta (SS-421) for three war patrols. He details the advantages of the Tench-class submarines over their predecessors. Benson also tells an amusing story of how the crew celebrated the announcement of the Surrender with a swim call.
Date: August 5, 2010
Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes 14 seconds
Creator: Benson, Wendell R.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Richard K. Bentley, October 5, 2012

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard K. Bentley. Bentley finished high school in Oklahoma nad joined the Navy in October, 1942. After boot camp, Bentley served with a Marine communications unit in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea before being assigned aboard the USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108).
Date: October 5, 2012
Duration: 30 minutes 10 seconds
Creator: Bentley, Richard K.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Robert Bland, December 5, 2009

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Bland. Bland joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served as Signalman Third-Class aboard the SS Francis Preston Blair (1943). They traveled to Australia, New Zealand, India and Manila picking up and delivering cargo. Bland served aboard the ship until it got stranded on Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during a cyclone in 1945. Bland continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in May of 1946.
Date: December 5, 2009
Duration: 28 minutes 55 seconds
Creator: Bland, Robert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with James Bond, July 5, 2009

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Bond. Bond joined the Navy in early 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to USS Callaghan (DD-792), where he ran the handling room, sending ammunition up the hoist. He also was coxswain of a 26-foot gig that would be sent out from the main ship periodically. On night voyages he would communicate with the ship using a bell. He endured a perilous typhoon in the China Sea that la… more
Date: July 5, 2009
Duration: 1 hour 22 minutes 30 seconds
Creator: Bond, James
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Ernie Bowdre, September 5, 2012

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ernie Bowdre. Bowdre joined the Navy in mid-1943. He served as a Storekeeper aboard a liberty ship and traveled to Noumea, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. He was then assigned to USS President Jackson (APA-18). In 1943, they participated in the Bougainville Campaign, transporting troops from island to island. They landed troops in the reinforcement landing at Lingayen Gulf and Iwo Jima. Bowdre recalls the ship being hit by enemy f… more
Date: September 5, 2012
Duration: 1 hour 38 minutes 14 seconds
Creator: Bowdre, Ernie
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with B. B. Browning, November 5, 2020

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with B B Browning. Browning joined the Navy in mid-1943. Beginning mid-1944, he served as Seaman First Class, supporting Marines aboard a troop ship. He recalls his experiences through the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot in June of 1944, and going ashore on Tinian with the Marines. He vividly describes his time on the island, serving on guard duty, communicating with Japanese civilians on the island, supervising work of the remaining Japa… more
Date: November 5, 2020
Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes 32 seconds
Creator: Browning, B. B.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Robert Brunk, December 5, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Brunk. In November 1940, 17-year-old Brunk joined the Navy. Upon finishing hospital corps school, he was assigned to the USS Curtiss (AV-4), a seaplane tender at Pearl Harbor. While on liberty ashore on the morning of 7 December, he received orders to report to his station. As he passed Battleship Row, he gaped at the extensive damage to other ships and soon found the Curtiss listing. He climbed aboard and fulfilled h… more
Date: December 5, 2008
Duration: 1 hour 14 minutes 24 seconds
Creator: Brunk, Robert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Wallace Brunton, July 5, 2009

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wallace Brunton. Brunton was born in Glouster, Ohio in 1924. Drafted at age 18, he went into the Navy and attended boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He was then selected for training in sonar. Upon completion of the sound school he received training in both surface and air search radar. He tells of going aboard the USS Callaghan (DD-792) and being seasick during four days of the shakedown cruise. He recalls… more
Date: July 5, 2009
Duration: 50 minutes 20 seconds
Creator: Brunton, Wallace
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with John Brush, January 5, 1993

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Brush. Brush was assigned to serve as the Chief Engineer of the Philippine Manufacturing Company in Manila, before World War II. He and his wife traveled to Manila in May of 1941 and operated the factory until the end of December. He and his wife were taken prisoner into Santo Tomas Internment Camp in January of 1942. Brush shares details of the accommodations, building structure, atmosphere, food rations, starvation, illnes… more
Date: January 5, 1993
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes 28 seconds
Creator: Brush, John
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003

Description: Interview with E.R. (Ed) Dolinar, a serviceman with the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses going to boot camp, torpedo school and submarine school. He was on the SSN Stingray as a torpedo crewman that offloaded supplies and guerillas in the Philippines. It picked up stranded Japanese sailors and transported them to Australia. The Stingray was then decomissioned. He was then part of a crew that studied and stripped captured German submarines, and he discusses the differences between th… more
Date: April 5, 2003
Duration: 46 minutes 08 seconds
Creator: Bryk, Clarence & Dolinar, E. R.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Lewis Burke, February 5, 2013

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lewis Burke. Burke enlisted in the aviation cadet corps and was called up in January 1943. Burke primarily reads a testimony that details his experiences in the Army Air Forces. He also reads details about the combat missions he flew over Europe with the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd Bomb Squadron between November 1944 and April 1945.
Date: February 5, 2013
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes 46 seconds
Creator: Burke, Lewis
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Herbert Cavness, March 5, 2018

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Herbert Cavness. Cavness was born in Mason County, Texas in 1924. He quit high school in his junior year and joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. After completing basic training at Wichita Falls, Texas he was sent to Las Vegas, Nevada for training in aerial gunnery. He then went to Sioux City, Iowa for additional training and assignment to an air group. He recalls the loss of air crews during training mission. In early 1943 he boa… more
Date: March 5, 2018
Duration: 1 hour 46 minutes 13 seconds
Creator: Cavness, Herbert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Robert Chaffin, December 5, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Chaffin. Chaffin was born on 30 March 1922 in Spring Valley, Texas. After graduating from high school in 1940 he worked for the National Youth Administration as an aircraft mechanic trainee. He joined the US Navy and had two weeks of boot camp at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station (NAS), Texas. Upon completing boot training he was sent to the Beeville NAS, Texas. In 1943 he was assigned to United States. Navy. Carrier A… more
Date: December 5, 2001
Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes 56 seconds
Creator: Chaffin, Robert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Clyde Combs, September 5, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Combs. Combs was attending a vocational school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. During his senior year, he worked for a company that manufactured parts for military planes. He was then drafted into the Navy in March 1943 and sent to quartermaster school. Combs then had motor torpedo boat training to study their engines, radio, radar, and gunnery. Upon completion, he was assigned to PT-515 as a quartermaster stationed in… more
Date: September 5, 2011
Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes 28 seconds
Creator: Combs, Clyde
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Bernard Comito, December 5, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernard Comito. Comito joined the Navy in September 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was sent to Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station as a seaman. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, he fired a Lewis gun, despite having only learned to shoot a carbine. After the bombing, he and a group of soldiers stood watch until the following morning, expecting to be invaded. He recalls that American planes were … more
Date: December 5, 2008
Duration: 52 minutes 45 seconds
Creator: Comito, Bernard
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with John Connolly, February 5, 2016

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Connolly. Connolly joined the Navy in mid-1943. He served as a Hospital Corpsman. In mid-1944, he was assigned to St. Albans Naval Hospital in New York. In early 1945, Connolly served aboard the USS Repose (AH-16). They served as a base hospital ship in Shanghai and later Tsingtao, China, supporting the occupation forces in northern China. He received his discharge in May of 1946.
Date: February 5, 2016
Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes 47 seconds
Creator: Connolly, John
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Robert Cooper, July 5, 2009

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Cooper. Cooper was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He served aboard the USS Callaghan (DD-792) as an electrician. He describes life aboard the destroyer. They participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June of 1944, and he describes his experiences through this event. They were in Task Force 39.3 and traveled throughout the Pacific. In October of 1944 they participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He describes goin… more
Date: July 5, 2009
Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes 04 seconds
Creator: Cooper, Robert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with William Crawmer, December 5, 2008

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Crawmer. Crawmer joined the Marine Corps in 1939. He was assigned to the 4th Defense Battalion, trained as a .50 and .30 caliber machine gunner. In September of 1941, they transferred to the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor. Crawmer was stationed on the island when the Japanese attacked. Shortly after the attack, he was transferred to Johnston Island. In mid-1944, he joined an aviation group in New Hebrides, repairing military a… more
Date: December 5, 2008
Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes 01 second
Creator: Crawmer, William
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Hubert Douglas Crotts, October 5, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hubert Douglas Crotts. Crotts joined the Marine Corps in July 1941. He was trained as a tanker, but realized he was claustrophobic. Crotts became a ground guide for the tanks and helped direct their fire from outside of the vehicle. He was sent to the Pacific as a part of the 2nd Marine Division. Crotts landed at Tarawa and tells of the difficulties that the tanks faced. He was awarded a Navy Cross by Admiral Nimitz. Crotts … more
Date: October 5, 2010
Duration: 1 hour 13 minutes 43 seconds
Creator: Crotts, Hubert Douglas
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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Oral History Interview with Bianca Cunningham, May 5, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bianca Cunningham. Cunningham was born in Brazil to an Italian mother and a German Jew who was a sculptor and architect that had won a competition to build the Presidential Palace. Eventually Cunningham traveled with her mother to her hometown in Capri where she remained throughout the war. She witnessed life under Mussolini, the German occupation, bombing of Naples, and the American occupation. Cunningham became a hostess f… more
Date: May 5, 2011
Duration: 2 hours 31 seconds
Creator: Cunningham, Bianca
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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