National Museum of the Pacific War - 2,665 Matching Results

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Oral History Interview with James Phinney, July 15, 2010

Description: Interview with James (Jim) Phinney, an aircraft electrician for the U. S. Navy during Wold War II. He discusses joining the Navy, going through boot camp and becoming an aircraft electrician. He was assigned to the USS Lexington but abandoned ship after it was hit by a torpedo. He was rescued and was then sent to San Diego to be reassigned to the USS Enterprise. He mentions being at Guadalcanal and later aboard a sub-chaser. The crew crossed the Equator and consequently participated in an initi… more
Date: July 15, 2010
Duration: 2 hours 38 minutes 49 seconds
Creator: Cox, Floyd; Phinney, James & O'Konski, Susan

Oral History Interview with Edwin R. Seace, January 7, 2011

Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Edwin Seace. Seace enlisted in the Navy in June of 1942 and was assigned to the USS Independence (CVL-22). He was one of the plank owners (i.e. part of the first crew on a new ship) and mentions going through the Panama Canal as the first ship of that size to go through, scraping the sides of the flight deck overhang on the canal walls. From there, the ship docked in San Diego before heading out to Pearl Harbor then across the Pacific Ocean, making raids at … more
Date: January 7, 2011
Creator: Seace, Edwin R.

Oral History Interview with A. W. McCasker

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with A. W. McCasker. McCasker joined the Royal Australian Navy and at the end of 1942 was stationed on Guadalcanal. He took a small party behind enemy lines to Lord Howe Island on a reconnaissance mission, accompanied by two American soldiers and a Javanese guide. There he was greeted by a Polynesian king who held a formal ceremony declaring war on the Japanese. McCasker brought along a radio that could reach several hundred mile… more
Date: November 20, 2014
Creator: McCasker, A. W.

Oral History Interview with A. R. Evans

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral monologue by A R Evans. Evans was the coastwatcher on Kolombangara who facilitated the rescue of the PT-109 crew, led by John F. Kennedy. One of his scouts noticed a fire on the water at night and saw an unidentified object floating the next day. Evans, having been informed that PT-109 was missing, instructed his scouts to search for crewmen. Two natives encountered the crew, who for want of a common language carved a message on a coconut … more
Date: April 8, 2014
Creator: Evans, R. A.

Oral History Interview with B. J. Pumphrey

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with B.J. Pumphrey. Pumphrey joined the Navy in June of 1942. He served for a short time as crewman on a PBY flying anti-submarine missions. Pumphrey was then sent to the USS Midway (CVE-63) where he served as a phone talker on the bridge. He describes the superstitions of the crew when the name of the ship was changed to the St. Lo. Pumphrey describes Taffy 3 coming under attack and seeing the Japanese shells land near the ship.… more
Date: August 12, 2010
Creator: Pumphrey, B. J.

Oral History Interview with Valdemar Johansen, July 22, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Valdemar P. Johansen. Johansen joined the Navy in December 1942. and was assigned to the 62nd Construction Battalion. After training in Rhode Island and California, he shipped out in late 1943 to Pearl Harbor and went to work expanding the submarine base. His unit next participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima. After landing, Johansen injured ligaments in his knee. His unit began repairing one of the airstrips. Johansen opera… more
Date: July 22, 2010
Creator: Johansen, Valdemar P.

Oral History Interview with Horace Johnson, September 17, 2016

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Horace Johnson. Johnson joined the Navy in February 1942 and received basic training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Seabees and sent to Port Hueneme. From there he set sail for the Pacific, where he constructed airstrips and aviation refueling stations in Suva, Funafuti, and Samoa. He returned to the States on 8 June 1944, and his battalion was decommissioned. Johnson did a second tour, stationed at an a… more
Date: September 17, 2016
Creator: Johnson, Horace

Oral History Interview with Everett Ike McKay, August 6, 2013

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Ike McKay. McKay joined the Navy as a part of the V-7 program. He was commissioned as an ensign in July 1943. McKay was sent to minesweeper school and then assigned to the commissioning crew of the YMS-293. He discusses his duties as the executive officer. McKay also describes the operations, types of mines, and capabilities of the ship. He describes sweeping the invasion approaches. McKay discusses an incident where… more
Date: August 6, 2013
Creator: McKay, Everett

Oral History Interview with Harold Leon, July 7, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Leon. Leon graduated from the Army Air Forces Cadet School at Kelly Field in San Antonio in April of 1942. He was assigned to the 12th Bomb Group, 83rd bomb Squadron, a B-25 outfit at Esler Field in Louisiana. He worked as the squadron navigator. In July of 1942 he traveled to Moascar in Egypt to a base the British had established. He completed 55 missions and his group helped stop the advance of German General Erwin Romme… more
Date: July 7, 2010
Creator: Leon, Harold

Oral History Interview with Anthony Geer

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Anthony Geer. Geer was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He completed boot camp in San Diego, then served as a yeoman. He received additional training in aircraft recognition. He traveled to the Philippines aboard the USS Tazewell (APA-209), and worked on Samar Island until the atomic bombs were dropped, then transferred to Manila until the surrender of Japan. He traveled back to the U.S. aboard the USS Menard (APA-201). Geer was ho… more
Date: December 14, 2015
Creator: Geer, Anthony

Oral History Interview with Manuel E. Quijas, January 16, 2012

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Manuel E. Quijas. Quijas grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and was drafted into the the Army in July, 1942. He describes training at Camp Wolters, Texas. At Fort Hood, Quijas was assigned to the 820th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Quijas trained as a driver for a half-track. Upon completion of training, Quijas and his unit were shipped to England where they immediately left for France in October, 1944. Eventually, his unit moved … more
Date: January 16, 2012
Creator: Quijas, Manuel E.

Oral History Interview with Charles Callanan, May 14, 2019

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Callanan. Callanan joined the Army in March of 1942. He trained in California, building airstrips, hangars, temporary bridges, Quonset huts and worked on other construction projects. Callanan served as a master sergeant with the 1876th Engineer Aviation Battalion in New Guinea and in the Philippines. He returned to the US in December of 1945.
Date: May 14, 2019
Creator: Callanan, Charles M.

Oral History Interview with Robert B. Walker, December 28, 2010

Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Robert B. Walker. Born in 1920, he was drafted in November, 1943. He completed pilot training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama in 1945. He flew B-25 airplanes. He arrived in England as the war in Europe ended. He was there for a month and did not see combat. He was discharged in March, 1946. He used the GI Bill to obtain his Doctor of Education (Ed.D.). He mentions the 1943 Detroit race riot and shares an anecdote about race relations at Tuskegee. The… more
Date: December 28, 2010
Creator: Walker, Robert B.

Oral History Interview with Norman E. Winter, January 5, 2010

Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Norman E. Winter. Born in 1924, he was inducted into the Army in October 1944 after a one-year agricultural deferment. He talks about basic training and weaponry at Camp Hood, Texas. He was assigned to a light weapons platoon in Company E, 129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division. He shares an anecdote about sea sickness on the ship to the Philippines and describes the living conditions of the Filipinos. He describes advancing to the northern end of L… more
Date: January 5, 2010
Creator: Winter, Norman E.

Oral History Interview with Harry Maclin, January 19, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Maclin. Maclin was a pre-med student when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Two of his childhood friends perished aboard USS Arizona (BB-39). Maclin was moved to sign up for the Navy, and joined the V-12 program. In June 1944, he contracted the mumps and was quarantined at Balboa Naval Hospital. Upon recovery, he was assigned to USS Coral Sea (CVE-57), later renamed the Anzio, as a hospital corpsman, assisting in surgeries su… more
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Maclin, Harry

Oral History Interview with James Price, February 5, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Norman Price. Price was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces in May 1942. He served as a B-17 pilot and flew missions during the Guadalcanal Campaign. He was selected to serve with the 509th Composite Bomb Group, 393rd Bomb Squadron. Price became a qualified B-29 commander, and piloted the bomber titled Some Punkins, arriving at Tinian in June 1945. On 6 August he made the final check of the Enola Gay … more
Date: February 5, 2010
Creator: Price, James

Oral History Interview with Arthur Bertanzetti, February 2, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arthur Bertanzetti. Bertanzetti joined the Army in February of 1941. After 2 years he transferred to the Army Air Forces. He was commissioned in 1943. He flew B-24s and was assigned to the 489th Bomb Group, 846th Bomb Squadron. In 1944 Bertanzetti traveled to England and completed 31 combat missions. On the last mission his plane went down. He and the crew bailed out over Germany, were captured and taken as prisoners of war to St… more
Date: February 2, 2010
Creator: Bertanzetti, Arthur

Oral History Interview with Gerard Noteboom, January 22, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gerard Noteboom. Noteboom was a child living near The Hague when his father was taken away by the Gestapo and sent to Buchenwald. From December 1940 to September 1944, his father remained active in resistance groups while interned. Meanwhile, the Dutch underground provided financial assistance to Noteboom's family. Noteboom prudently invested in salt, a valuable commodity that could be easily traded for food. He also activel… more
Date: January 22, 2010
Creator: Noteboom, Gerard

Oral History Interview with Raymond Wortham, February 16, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Wortham. Wortham joined the Marine Corps in August 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. Because he already knew Morse code and enjoyed electronics as a hobby, he was sent for further training as a radio operator. Upon completion, he was assigned to radio materiel school in Omaha, where he learned to repair two-way electronic equipment. He was then sent to the US Army’s main signal depot in Fort Monmouth to … more
Date: February 16, 2010
Creator: Wortham, Raymond

Oral History Interview with Thomas Jeter, February 20, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Jeter. Jeter was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He found boot camp to be tough, and some men committed suicide there. Jeter attended fire-control school in Bainbridge and then boarded USS New York (BB-34) as a fire controlman, working with highly classified computers and gyroscopes. Because his commanding officer was a childhood friend, Jeter turned down promotions to avoid misperceptions of favoritism. He instead ser… more
Date: February 20, 2010
Creator: Jeter, Thomas

Oral History Interview with Herman L. Bell, February 23, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Herman L. Bell. Bell worked in a shipyard in California at the beginning of the war and describes his duties as a welder. He joined the Navy in April 1943 and discusses his time in boot camp at Farragut, Idaho and the additional training that he received as a firefighter. Bell was sent to the USS Independence (CVL-22). He describes his duties and some of the work he performed. Bell discusses when his ship was hit with a torp… more
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Bell, Herman L.

Oral History Interview with Angelo Gagliano, February 10, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Angelo Gagliano. Gagliano joined the Navy in August 1942. He describes his experiences in basic training at Newport, Rhode Island. Gagliano was assigned to an air service unit and then transferred to the USS Langley (CVL-27). He became an aviation storekeeper and also served as an ammunition handler on a 40mm gun. Gagliano describes a time when he was a passenger on a TBF that catapulted off of the ship and how he blacked-ou… more
Date: February 10, 2010
Creator: Gagliano, Angelo

Oral History Interview with Charles Horn, February 16, 2010

Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Horn. Horn was drafted into the Army in February of 1943. Horn was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He was first gunner in a machine gun squad. In March they traveled to Africa. Horn provides details of the water-cooled 30mm machine gun he fired. Theirjob in Africa was to move the remaining Germans out. Later in 1943 they traveled to Sicily, then Salerno. In September … more
Date: February 16, 2010
Creator: Horn, Charles
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