National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection - 50 Matching Results

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Oral History Interview with Al Quackenbush, October 10, 1999

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Al Quackenbush. Quackenbush joined the Navy in 1931. He served as a First Class Ships Cook on the USS Tangier (AV-8). He is a plank owner of the Tangier and provides details of starting up the crew when it was first commissioned. His battle station was the .50 caliber gun on the forward mount. He discusses the training on the ship and activities prior to and on 7 December 1941. On the day of the attack, Quackenbush helped pull sa… more
Date: October 10, 1999
Creator: Quackenbush, Al
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000

Description: Interview with Arwin Bowden, a marine during World War II. 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 before joining the battle of Saipan. He describes ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made, and the ti… more
Date: March 9, 2000
Duration: 1 hour 1 minute 03 seconds
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bowden, Arwin J.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Ethel Blaine, April 24, 2000

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ethel ""Sally"" Blaine Millett. Millett grew up in Missouri and went to nurses training in San Diego, California. She volunteered for the Philippines in 1941. She witnessed the bombing at Clark Field. She took care of the soldiers wounded by Japanese strafing. When the bombing got too bad, the nurses left Statsenberg for Manila. Because of continued Japanese bombing all over the Philippines, the nurses had to keep moving as … more
Date: April 24, 2000
Creator: Millett, Ethel Blaine
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Orland J. ""Bud"" Harris, August 22, 2000

Description: 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 a… more
Date: August 22, 2000
Creator: Harris, Orland J.
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
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Francis R. Ferry, September 30, 2000

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Francis R. Ferry. Ferry grew up in Nebraska and taught for a year before joining the Navy in 1942. He had enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program prior to enlisting. He trained on the N3N, the SNJ, the OS2U, the BT, the SBC3 and other types of aircraft. He was assigned to be a dive-bomber, flying the SB2C Helldiver. Ferry was initially assigned to VB-14 and left aboard the USS Wasp to the coast of Venezuela where he … more
Date: September 30, 2000
Creator: Ferry, Francis R.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Trenton Fowler, January 17, 2001

Description: 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 c… more
Date: January 17, 2001
Creator: Fowler, Trenton
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Abe Santos, February 24, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Abe Santos. Santos joined the Navy in November of 1939. He served as a Fireman aboard the USS Astoria (CA-34). They participated in the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway and Savo Island, where the ship was sunk. He traveled back to Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Wharton (AP-7). Santos was placed on tugboat duty for six months, then transferred to Johnston Island as a Second-Class Machinist’s Mate. He assisted with airstrip constructi… more
Date: February 24, 2001
Creator: Santos, Abe
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Abe Santos, February 24, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Abe Santos. Santos joined the Navy in November of 1939. He served as a Fireman aboard the USS Astoria (CA-34). They participated in the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway and Savo Island, where the ship was sunk. He traveled back to Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Wharton (AP-7). Santos was placed on tugboat duty for six months, then transferred to Johnston Island as a Second-Class Machinist’s Mate. He assisted with airstrip constructi… more
Date: February 24, 2001
Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes 49 seconds
Creator: Santos, Abe
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Carl Peltier, March 4, 2001

Description: Interview with Carl Peltier, a U. S Marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then joined the Marines when he was old enough. He trained in San Diego before shipping out to Hawaii where he joined the 2nd Marine Division. Further training included heavy weapons and mortars. Later, he landed on Saipan and describes his small arms and rations. He witnessed General Simon Buckner getting killed on Okinawa. He was later wounded on Okinawa. Afte… more
Date: March 4, 2001
Duration: 59 minutes 21 seconds
Creator: Nichols, Chuck & Peltier, Carl
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

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

Description: 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 da… more
Date: March 14, 2001
Creator: Beyer, William C.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Alan Fouts, December 6, 2001

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alan Fouts. Fouts joined the Navy in 1939 and trained in San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Fouts joined the USS Argonne (AG-31). Later, he was stationed at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor when the war started. He recalls witnessing the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He managed to get guns operational on the USS Widgeon (AM-22) before it got underway during the attack. Between the attacks, Fouts went alongside the US… more
Date: December 6, 2001
Creator: Fouts, Alan
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Jerell E. Crow, August 24, 2002

Description: Interview with Jerell E. Crow. He entered the Coast Guard in 1940 and trained in Florida and New York City. He served aboard a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) when those ships were first introduced. He traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Neville Island Shipyard operated by the Dravo Corporation as part of a crew that brought an LST down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. From there, the crew practiced operations at Biloxi, Mississippi. Eventually, Crow travelled to San Diego aboard the LST … more
Date: August 24, 2002
Duration: 51 minutes 18 seconds
Creator: Rabalais, Larry & Crow, Jerell E.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton c… more
Date: April 5, 2003
Duration: 42 minutes 25 seconds
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton c… more
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

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

Description: 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… more
Date: November 20, 2003
Duration: 12 minutes 23 seconds
Creator: Murphy, Franklin B.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

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

Description: 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… more
Date: November 20, 2003
Creator: Murphy, Franklin B.
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with James William Harrison, January 27, 2005

Description: Interview with James William "Bill" Harrison, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He explains how he joined the navy in San Diego without going to boot camp. He worked on an oil tanker that shipped out to Pearl Harbor a month after the attack there and transported fuel out of San Diego to various ships at sea. He was then transfered to Admiral Nimitz's public relations department. There he and two others wrote stories about the action in the Pacific theater, particularly about t… more
Date: January 27, 2005
Duration: 58 minutes 50 seconds
Creator: Parish, Brainerd & Harrison, James William
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Acencion Fernandez, February 19, 2005

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Acencion Fernandez. Fernandez, a Texas farm boy born in 1924, was drafted when he was 18 years old. He was based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the USS LCI-80 where he served as a loader on a 40-inch gun. At the Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian and at Iwo Jima, he was involved in strafing the beaches to enable Marines to land. Later his LCI landed Marines on Okinawa. He briefly mentions the presence of Navajo co… more
Date: February 19, 2005
Creator: Fernandez, Acencion
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Acencion Fernandez, February 19, 2005

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Acencion Fernandez. Fernandez, a Texas farm boy born in 1924, was drafted when he was 18 years old. He was based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the USS LCI-80 where he served as a loader on a 40-inch gun. At the Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian and at Iwo Jima, he was involved in strafing the beaches to enable Marines to land. Later his LCI landed Marines on Okinawa. He briefly mentions the presence of Navajo co… more
Date: February 19, 2005
Duration: 24 minutes 07 seconds
Creator: Fernandez, Acencion
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Al Hiegel, September 18, 2005

Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Al Heigel. When Heigel finished high school in June, 1944, he joined the Navy at Little Rock, Arkansas and went for boot training at San Diego. He was assigned as a radar operator and reported aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) at Pearl Harbor. Heigel describes the light carrier and its construction and features. He also speaks of the time the Independence was hit by a torpedo off Tarawa in 1943. Heigel then describes events off Okinawa: watching the USS F… more
Date: September 18, 2005
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes 24 seconds
Creator: Heigel, Al
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Al Hiegel, September 18, 2005

Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Al Heigel. When Heigel finished high school in June, 1944, he joined the Navy at Little Rock, Arkansas and went for boot training at San Diego. He was assigned as a radar operator and reported aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22) at Pearl Harbor. Heigel describes the light carrier and its construction and features. He also speaks of the time the Independence was hit by a torpedo off Tarawa in 1943. Heigel then describes events off Okinawa: watching the USS F… more
Date: September 18, 2005
Creator: Heigel, Al
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He … more
Date: April 11, 2006
Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes 14 seconds
Creator: Finley, Albert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He … more
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Partner: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
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