National Museum of the Pacific War - 211 Matching Results

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Oral History Interview with Clinton E. Morris, November 2, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clinton E. Morris. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to joining the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and the rest of World War Two in the Pacific Theatre.
Date: November 2, 2011
Creator: Morris, Clinton E. & Misenhimer, Richard

Oral History Interview with Leo Rose, November 12, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leo Rose. Rose joined the Army Air Forces in early 1942. He served as a B-29 Bombardier and Navigator. Beginning in early 1944, he was assigned to a squadron and plane in Kansas, he does not note his squadron or group number. They were one of the first groups to fly the Superfortress and use the Norden Bombsight. They traveled to Saipan in the Mariana Islands. From these islands, Roses crew flew bombing missions across the Pacifi… more
Date: November 12, 2011
Creator: Rose, Leo

Oral History Interview with Howard Hollinger, March 19, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Hollinger. Hollinger joined the Coast Guard in 1941. He completed Radio School and High-Frequency Direction Finder training. Hollinger traveled to the Aleutian Islands, and was stationed at a High-Frequency Direction Finder station on a Navy base in Kodiak, Alaska. He tracked Navy planes that took off from Attu to bomb the Kuril Islands. Hollinger returned to the US and received a discharge around late 1945.
Date: March 19, 2011
Creator: Hollinger, Howard

Oral History Interview with Kenneth Spray, September 1, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenneth Spray. Spray joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training at Great Lakes. During sonar training, he developed a system to cheat the tests; however, on patrol in Florida he was the first to detect an enemy submarine. In 1944, he deployed to the Pacific aboard the USS Sierra (AD-18) and completed his shellback initiation just before a torpedo attack. In Manus, Spray worked around the clock repairing radar, sonar… more
Date: September 1, 2011
Creator: Spray, Kenneth

Oral History Interview with Ky Putnam, September 27, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ky Putnam. Putnam enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 in El Paso, Texas. After training, he was assigned to the 414th Night Fighter Squadron. His squadron was based in Italy and Putnam describes his living conditions, his squadron mates, and several of his combat experiences. Putnam tells the story of the time he got shot down in February, 1945. He and his radar man both parachuted out of the damaged P-61 and landed separ… more
Date: September 27, 2011
Creator: Putnam, Ky

Oral History Interview with William Morris, August 15, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Morris. Morris joined the Army in 1939. He served with the 369th Infantry Division, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, consisting mainly of African Americans. He served in the motor pool, during the European and Pacific Theaters. In May of 1942, Morris and his united worked in labor and security operations in the Southwest Pacific Area. He returned to the U.S. and was discharged in 1945.
Date: August 15, 2011
Creator: Morris, William

Oral History Interview with Thomas Wetherel, December 28, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Wetherel. Wehterel joined the Army Air Forces in July 1942 and served as a ground crewman in the 312th Bomb Group. He went overseas with them to New Guinea and fought at Buna. He stayed with the 312th BG for the duration of the war, going to the Philippines and Okinawa. His job was driving the fuel truck and moving airplanes. Wetherel shares anecdotes about his experiences on the various islands during the invasions. He wa… more
Date: December 28, 2011
Creator: Wetherel, Thomas

Oral History Interview with Newton Zanes, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Newton Zanes. Zanes joined the Marine Corps in July 1940 and served in Guantanamo Bay until April 1941. In February 1942 he was assigned to MAG-13 as an SBD radio gunner and sent to Samoa, where his first task was to make a campsite by clearing enormous banyan trees using dynamite. He was soon promoted to then-Major General Price’s PBY-5A crew, visiting almost every island in the Pacific theater. Zanes returned to the states… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Zanes, Newton

Oral History Interview with Buck Ward, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Buck Ward. Ward joined the Navy in 1944 and received basic training in San Diego. He received aviation communication and gunnery training on the West Coast. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Hornet (CV-12) where he served as a Helldiver radio gunman. He flew missions over Chichi Jima and the Philippines. After the war, Ward was stationed for R&R on Guam, where at night he heard Japanese holdouts sneaking into the c… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Ward, Buck

Oral History Interview with Mel Trenary, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Mel Trenary. Trenary joined the Army in March of 1943. He served as a machine gunner with Company A, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Trenary participated in the Italian Campaign, the invasion of southern France and the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Trenary, Mel

Oral History Interview with James Pfeiffer, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer joined the Navy in June 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Tappahannock (AO-43), where he encountered many close calls with Japanese bombers and one Kaiten. At the end of the war, Pfeiffer was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder because he was experiencing quiet sounds as though they were as loud as gunshots. His time in the service took … more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Pfeiffer, James

Oral History Interview with Joseph Smith, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Smith. Smith joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942 after working for Curtiss-Wright and Emerson. Upon completion of boot camp, aerial gunnery school, and celestial navigation training, he earned his wings. He was given further training until he qualified as a B-29 bombardier, radarman, and navigator. Smith was then assigned to the 29th Bomb Group, flying all of his missions out of Guam. His crew once voted to ma… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Smith, Joseph

Oral History Interview with Robert Sheron, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Sheron. Sheron joined the Navy in May 1944 and received basic training and learned to operate a Higgins boat at Camp Peary. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS President Jackson (APA-18), where he worked as a typist in the S Division, managing dry supplies and disbursements. At Iwo Jima, he served as a stretcher bearer, retrieving wounded Marines from the shore. He recalls doctors performing amputations in the… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Sheron, Robert

Oral History Interview with William Miller, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Miller. Miller joined the Navy in October 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. After a bout with the mumps and the measles, he was assigned to the USS Argonne (AG-31) at Pearl Harbor, where his first duties included removing projectiles from the badly damaged USS Oklahoma (BB-37), while the USS Arizona (BB-39) was still smoking. At Manus he was instructed to unload ammunition from the USS Mount Hood (AE-11)… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Miller, William

Oral History Interview with Davis Mayes, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Davis Mayes. Mayes joined the Army in the summer of 1936 and received basic training at Fort Sam Houston. While there, he taught himself to type. Upon completion of his three-year enlistment, he left to join the Navy, where his typing experience qualified him to become a radioman, copying down Japanese signals. He was on standby aboard the USS Solace (AH-5) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, bearing witness to the incredible… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Mayes, Davis

Oral History Interview with Ramon Laughter, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ramon Laughter. Laughter joined the Army in March 1941 and received basic training at Fort Monmouth. Upon completion, he was sent to OCS and earned a commission in the Signal Corps. He was then assigned to Camp Pinedale for further electronics training before joining the 134th Signal Intelligence Company, intercepting Japanese command radio communications while stationed at Kadena. Remarkably, some men in his unit were able … more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Laughter, Ramon

Oral History Interview with Roy Hughes, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Hughes. Hughes joined the National Guard and was called into active duty in September 1941. He was assigned to an artillery unit with the 45th Division in Algeria, preparing for the invasion of Sicily. In Salerno, he was wounded by shrapnel and almost left for dead when the medic was frightened by enemy shelling. Hughes’s best friend forced the company medic out of his hiding place, and Hughes recovered at a British hosp… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Hughes, Roy

Oral History Interview with Lemar Hartman, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lemar Hartman. Hartman joined the Navy in 1940 and received basic training at Great Lakes. Upon completion of radio school, he was assigned to the USS Selfridge (DD-357) at Pearl Harbor. During the attack, Hartman was on standby as a radioman, unable to answer messages, because the transmitting antennae had been shot down. Hartman witnessed the gruesome aftermath of The Battle of Vella Lavella and the Marianas campaigns, whe… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Hartman, Lemar

Oral History Interview with Ralph Edgar, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Edgar. Edgar joined the Navy in October 1943 and received basic training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was sent to Guadalcanal, where he joined a special construction battalion that specialized in moving cargo. In the Philippines, he unloaded ships and brought supplies to the frontlines. The work was dangerous, and he encountered kamikazes. After the war, he ran a motor pool in Japan, supervising 260 Japanese drivers… more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Edgar, Ralph

Oral History Interview with Donald Bunnell, December 4, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Bunnell. Bunnell joined the Marine Corps in 1942, fresh out of high school, and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion of radio school, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division, working a Hagelin coding machine in the message center. He was instructed that in the event of impending enemy capture he should burn his records and then commit suicide. But by the time he arrived in Iwo Jima, his skills had … more
Date: December 4, 2011
Creator: Bunnell, Donald

Oral History Interview with James Brown, December 7, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Brown. Brown joined the Army Air Forces in March 1943 and received basic training in Florida. He received aircraft mechanic training in Newark and attended gunnery school in Florida. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 675th Bomb Squadron, as an engineer gunner in a two-man crew flying A-20s. Brown flew a total of 23 missions in New Guinea and the Philippines. He was wounded by an armor-piercing bullet over Luzon, … more
Date: December 7, 2011
Creator: Brown, James

Oral History Interview with Frank Nash, November 14, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Nash. Nash joined the Army Air Forces in the fall of 1942. He received his wings in April of 1944, and was assigned to the 433rd Troop Carrier Group, 67th Troop Carrier Squadron. Operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific, they transported in supplies and evacuated wounded personnel during numerous campaigns. Nash recalls traveling to Luzon, Okinawa and assisting with the liberation of POWs from Manila and the Bataan surv… more
Date: November 14, 2011
Creator: Nash, Frank

Oral History Interview with Oliver E. Marheine, December 22, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Oliver E. Marheine. During the Depression, Marheine worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1939 before moving to Detroit and taking a jobn in a factory making poarts for airplanes. From there he was drafted into the Army Air Forces in September, 1942. For a while he served as a cook at a glider pilot training base in North Carolina. Then Marheine shipped out to New Guinea. He continued serving as a cook there, th… more
Date: December 22, 2011
Creator: Marheine, Oliver E.

Oral History Interview with William L. Bonning, December 13, 2011

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William L. Bonning. Bonning had finished high school in 1941 and was grinding gears at Ford Motor Company in Detroit when he was drafted into the Army in January 1943. After a few failed attempts at joining the paratroopers, Bonning finally managed to pass the height requirement by stuffing matchbooks in his socks. He joined the paratroopers at Fort Benning, Georgia, in June, 1944. Bonning speaks of his experiences while tra… more
Date: December 13, 2011
Creator: Bonning, William Lewis
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