National Museum of the Pacific War - 142 Matching Results

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Oral History Interview with Robert Donihi, October 13, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Donihi. Donihi was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from high school in 1934. During the Depression, he worked low wage jobs and lost his leg in an automobile accident while hitchhiking to Florida. His experiences influenced him to attend law school. He passed the Bar in 1941 and went to work in Tennessee. He was exempt from the draft, but was motivated to learn to fly under the Civil Air Patrol. He joined the… more
Date: October 13, 1996
Creator: Donihi, Robert

Oral History Interview with Robert Galer, March 14, 1998

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert E. Galer. Galer was born in Seattle 23 October 1913. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Washington, having earned a commission through ROTC. During flight training at Pensacola, he accepted a regular commission in the Marine Corps. His classmate at Washington was Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, who also trained with him at Quantico. During the ensuing years, Galer became carrier qualified and flew sea planes in t… more
Date: March 14, 1998
Creator: Galer, Robert

Oral History Interview with Robert Herrick, October 4, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Herrick. Herrick entered the Naval Academy in 1944 and was graduated in 1944. He first reported aboard the USS Mississippi (BB-41) in time to participate in the Battle of Surigao Strait and support the invasion of Luzon. He was still aboard for the invasion of Okinawa and witnessed the kamikaze attacks on the Mississippi. Herrick remained in the Navy after the war, retiring in 1964.
Date: October 4, 1996
Creator: Herrick, Robert

Oral History Interview with Robert Sinks, February 18, 1999

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Sinks. Sink was in the Naval Reserve when called up and then trained at Corpus Christi as a meteorologist. He volunteered for duty in China, arriving Chungking in 1944. Sinks eventually headed into the country to establish a weather station in Fujian Province and train Chinese guerrillas. Sinks shares several anecdotes about his time in China. When the war ended, he went to Shanghai before heading back to the US in Novembe… more
Date: February 18, 1999
Creator: Sinks, Robert

Oral History Interview with Rogers Aston, May 4, 1993

Description: The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Rogers Aston. Aston joined the Navy in July 1942 and was assigned to USS LST-446 as a gunnery officer. They delivered trucks to Guadalcanal on his first cruise. He recalls a time USS LST-446 came alongside the USS Kanawah (AO-01) to help fight its fires after it was hit. Aston relates several anecdotes about operating an LST in the Solomon Islands. He recalls meeting Admiral Nimitz one day at Pearl Harbor. He also remembers hauli… more
Date: May 4, 1993
Creator: Aston, Rogers

Oral History Interview with Rudy Kiehne, March 3, 1999

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudy Kiehne. Kiehne was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, 25 October 1919 and enlisted in the Navy in 1938 upon graduating from high school. He was assigned to the USS Maryland (BB-46) in Pearl Harbor as a gunner’s mate responsible for a battery of 5-inch/.51-caliber broadside guns. He was aboard the Maryland the morning of 7 December 1941 and watched a Japanese plane drop a torpedo on the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), which was tied u… more
Date: March 3, 1999
Creator: Kiehne, Rudy

Oral History Interview with Sam Moody, October 10, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sam Moody. Moody joined the Air Corps in 1940 to become an aircraft mechanic. He arrived in the Philippines in November, 1941 and when the war broke out, he went to the front at Bataan. After the surrender, he walked out of Bataan and spent 10 days on the Death March. He was moved from Camp O'Donnell to Cabanatuan. From there, he was sent to Manila to a camp near Clark Field. Moody stayed on a work detail in Manila for a whi… more
Date: October 10, 1996
Creator: Moody, Sam B.

Oral History Interview with Samuel Spencer, February 1994

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Samuel Spencer. He discusses his experiences fighting in the battle of Tarawa in November of 1943 and other stories as a Marine in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
Date: February 1994
Creator: Spencer, Samuel

Oral History Interview with Sanford Hunt, May 1, 1993

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sanford Hunt. Hunt was born in Newark, New Jersey on 18 October 1915 and after graduating from high school in 1934, joined the Naval Reserve as a radioman. In October 1940 he resigned from the Navy Reserves and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a radio operator, where he worked with Holland M. Smith. He was next transferred to the newly established Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and … more
Date: May 1, 1993
Creator: Hunt, Sanford

Oral History Interview with Tex Hill, Joe Robert and Dick Rossi, June 17, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents oral interviews with Tex Hill, Joe Robert and Dick Rossi. Hill and Burken go into great detail regarding an issue of LIFE Magazine with a picture of General Claire Lee Chennault on the cover and a drawing of a panda bear dressed like a cowboy, as Hill was a member of the Panda Bear squadron of the Flying Tigers. Burken then visits with Joe Robert about a print that Joe is looking to sell and a LIFE Magazine that Joe is featured in, sitting on the … more
Date: June 17, 1996
Creator: Hill, Tex; Robert, Joe & Rossi, Dick

Oral History Interview with Tom Peays, February 6, 1999

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Peays. Peays served as a pilot with the Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. He joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program in Lubbock, Texas in 1940. He received his commercial pilot’s license and joined the Army Air Forces primary training program in 1941. He received his instructor’s rating and served as a flight instructor for aviation cadets in 1942. He went to the Air Transport Comm… more
Date: February 6, 1999
Creator: Peays, Tom

Oral History Interview with Traute (Gertrude) Manning, November 1, 1998

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Traute (Gertrude) Manning. Born in 1907 in the East German town of Koenigshuette, she moved, along with her engineer husband, to the Dutch East Indies to build roads. She shares anecdotes of her time in Java and Borneo, the living conditions and living among the Dutch community. When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, her husband was taken and held in an internment camp and she and her son, Robert, were imprisoned f… more
Date: November 1, 1998
Creator: Manning, Traute

Oral History Interview with Vernon Hanks, March 7, 1998

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Chaplain Vernon Hanks. Hanks was born in Sterling, Kansas on 21 November 1908. He joined the National Guard doing drills with horse-drawn caissons and French 75s while attending Sterling College in Kansas. He graduated in 1931 and then attended the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, graduating in 1940 with a Master of Theology. Hanks joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor and received orders for Naval Chaplains School (NCS), No… more
Date: March 7, 1998
Creator: Hanks, Vernon

Oral History Interview with Victor Delano, March 13, 1998

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Victor Delano. Delano was appointed to the Naval Academy in June of 1937 and graduated with distinction in February of 1941 and was commissioned ensign. He was assigned to the gunnery department of the Fire Control Division aboard the USS West Virginia (BB-48), where he was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship was moored in the Harbor, and Delano provides vivid details of the attack and sinking of the West Virgin… more
Date: March 13, 1998
Creator: Delano, Victor

Oral History Interview with Wade Holcomb, August 21, 1998

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wade Holcomb. Holcomb joined the Navy in 1938. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he was in the radio shack on the USS Crosby (DD-164) at San Diego copying code. He was transferred to the Electronics Material School in late 1943. Upon completion of the course, Holcomb became an instructor at various locations throughout the US. When the war ended, Holcomb stayed in the Reserves, serving during the Korean War.
Date: August 21, 1998
Creator: Holcomb, Wade

Oral History Interview with William Akers, April 6, 1997

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Akers. Akers joined the Navy I n1944 and trained at San Diego. After training he went to an air station in California before being assigned to CASU 53 and going to Guam. From there, Akers went to a seaplane base on Saipan aboard the USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71). On Saipan, he serviced aircraft by refueling and rearming, etc. Akers was discharged in 1946.
Date: April 6, 1997
Creator: Akers, William

Oral History Interview with William Gill, October 13, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with William Gill. Gill went to Fort Benning for Officer Candidate School in early 1942, and then was assigned to the 98th Infantry Division. He traveled to Hawaii with them and continued training for the invasion of Japan. Instead of active combat, Gill went with the 98th to occupy Japan after the war ended. He ended up gathering evidence against war criminals for prosecutors. He provides some insight in the treason case against John… more
Date: October 13, 1996
Creator: Gill, William

Oral History Interview with William Gill, October 13, 1996

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Gill. Gill was born in Pennsylvania 21 July 1920. He attended Pennsylvania State College and graduated in December 1942. He then reported to Ft Benning, Georgia to attend Infantry Officers Candidate School. Upon graduation in March 1943 he was commissioned and assigned to the 98th Infantry Division at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. While there he was assigned as an air-ground umpire during maneuvers and he explains the… more
Date: October 13, 1996
Creator: Gill, William

Oral History Interview with William Lesko, February 17, 1999

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Lesko. Lesko was drafted into the Army Air Forces in August of 1943. He was trained in long-range navigation [LORAN] radar. In February 1945 he went to Calcutta, India aboard the USS General W. A. Mann (AP-112). He worked on C-46s as a radar and radio technician in the 13th Squadron, 4th Combat Cargo Group. He describes his work on the planes. His unit also went to Myitkyina, Burma, where he assisted in setting up the cam… more
Date: February 17, 1999
Creator: Lesko, William

Oral History Interview with William Pleasants, February 21, 1997

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Pleasants. Pleasants was born in Canon City, Colorado in 1919. He graduated from the University of California in 1942 and enlisted in the United States Navy. After training, Pleasants applied for and received a commission. He was assigned to Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron 22 (RON 22) based on the island of Corsica. He served as the executive officer aboard PT-309 [this boat is on display at the museum]. He tells of par… more
Date: February 21, 1997
Creator: Pleasants, William

Oral History Interview with William Schaper, July 19, 1997

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Schaper. Schaper joined the Flying Tigers as a crew chief and was soon promoted to hangar chief, handling all the heavy maintenance that could not be done on the field. Part of his job included salvaging carburetors and engines from crash sites. He recalls that many of the mechanics in his crew were not well trained after transferring in. Finally, he laments that much of the history around the AVG is obscured and for… more
Date: July 19, 1997
Creator: Schaper, William

Oral History Interview with Zenji Abe, May 4, 1993

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Zenji Abe. Zenji was born in Honshu on 18 August 1916 and graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in March 1937. He received a year of training on various combat vessels as a midshipman. In March 1938 he was promoted to ensign and assigned to the destroyer Uzuki. In August he was sent to flight school and became a dive bomber pilot. After serving aboard the Soryu, he was transferred to the Akagi as a squadron leader of Val… more
Date: May 4, 1993
Creator: Abe, Zenji
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