Search Results

Oral History Interview with Albert E. Kennedy, April 15, 1987
Interview with Albert E. Kennedy, a United States Navy veteran from East Prairie, Missouri, regarding his experiences and memories as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese after surviving the wreck of the USS Houston during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Aletha Barsanti, January 17, 2003
Interview with Aletha Barsanti regarding her experiences as the wife of U. S. Army General Olinto Barsanti. They married in 1942. She remembers their courtship in San Antonio; their assignments in Europe, Japan, and Washington, D.C.; raising their children; his activities in the Korean War; his promotion to general; military protocol for the wives of general officers; and his one-year tour in the Vietnam War as the commander of the 101st Airborne Division. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in May 1973.
Oral History Interview with Bennie G. Snider, June 10, 2002
Interview with banker and Navy veteran Bennie G. Snider. The interview includes Snider's personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, youth and education in Denton, Texas, joining the Navy, and boot training and electrical engineering school. Snider talks about duties aboard the USS Hancock, his assignment to Task Group 58 and the invasion of the Philippines, as well as the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, kamikaze attacks and the Hancock being hit by a kamikaze, burials at sea, and his postwar duties aboard the Hancock as part of Operation MAGIC CARPET.
Oral History Interview with Billy Allen, March 1, 1976
Interview with Billy Allen, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Van Alstyne, Texas. Allen discusses his entry into the Marine Corps, deployment to Shanghai with the China Marines in 1940-41, arrival in the Philippines, the Japanese attack on Mariveles Navy Yard, the retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, and experiences in internment at Bilibid Prison in Manila, Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
Oral History Interview with Billy Drawe, June 13, 2000
Interview with dairyman and Marine Corps veteran Billy Drawe. The interview includes Drawe's personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, enlistment and boot camp, tank training, invading Guam, coming under Japanese mortar fire on Guam, invading Iwo Jima, hauling supplies ashore to the infantry on Iwo Jima, and returning to the states for training in the V-12 Program.
Oral History Interview with Bryghte D. Godbold, April 7, 1972
Interview with Bryghte D. Godbold, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Coy, Alabama. A brigadier general at retirement after the war, Godbold discusses his time in the Marine Corps before the war, his duties on Wake Island shortly before December 7th, 1941, his experiences during the Battle of Wake, the Japanese landing and American surrender, his internment at Woosung and Kiang Wang in China, and his last internment at Ashibetsu (Hakodate #4) in Japan.
Oral History Interview with Bunichi Ohtsuka, March 18, 1995
Interview with Bunichi Ohtsuka, a veteran of the Imperial Japanese Air Force, concerning his experiences while training to become a kamikaze pilot in 1945.
Oral History Interview with Burton S. Pearsall, April 20 and 21, 1997
Transcript of an interview with Burton S. Pearsall, a Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences as a dive-bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Appendix includes photos, newspaper articles, samples of flight log, and US Marine Corps certificate.
Oral History Interview with Captain Victor Delano, March 13, 1998
Transcript of an interview with Captain Victor Delano, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Delano discusses his first assignment to the battleship USS West Virginia and his experiences during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to the antiaircraft cruiser USS San Juan, 1942; naval battles around Guadalcanal; Battle of Savo Island; assignment to the destroyer USS Wedderburn, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944; Pacific typhoons; Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations, 1945.
Oral History Interview with Carl Horton, August 31, 1997
Interview with Carl Horton, an operating room nurse and Vietnam Army veteran. In the interview, Horton describes his experiences while serving as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War. He goes in depth about his assignments, which include Yokohama, Japan and Dong Tam and Can Tho with the 3rd Surgical Hospital. Horton also discusses living accommodations, hospital facilities, American relations with the South Vietnamese military personnel and civilians, "short time" and out-processing, leisure time, and recreational activities. He also discusses the adjustments that he had to make after the war was over and his continuing work with the Veterans Administration.
Oral History Interview with Cecil Minshew, February 18, 1983
Interview with Cecil T. Minshew regarding his experiences in the military and as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. He was part of the Texas National Guard, 36th Division, 131st Field Artillery, 2nd Battalion, also known as the "Lost Battalion." He was captured on the island of Java in March of 1942 and spent the duration of the war thereafter as a prison of war in camps in South East Asia and in Japan.
Oral History Interview with Charles M. Lagow, October 11, 2000
Interview with Charles M. Lagow, a Army WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Lagow discusses his family history, attending Texas A&M, joining the CCC, the lead up to war, activation and training with the 352nd Engineer Battalion, deployment to Khorramshahr, Iran, building roads, delivering supplies to the Soviets, crash landing in a B-17 in Palestine, returning to the States and transfer to the 1346th Eng. Bat., deployment to Okinawa, occupation duty and Japanese holdouts, thoughts on Hideki Tojo, attitudes towards the Japanese, shell shock and mental breakdowns, the atomic bomb, and life after the war.
Oral History Interview with Charles W. Lindberg, February 19, 1998
Transcript of an interview with Charles W. Lindberg, a Marine Corps veteran (3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division), concerning experiences during the battle for Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945, in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Appendix includes a photocopy of a map of Iowa Jima and copies of multiple photographs of Mr. Lindberg with other Marines on and around Mt. Suribachi.
Oral History Interview with Clyde J. Shelton, July 27, 1987
Interview with Clyde J. Shelton, a United States Army veteran from Mexia, Texas, regarding his experiences and memories as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II after being captured when his artillery unit, the "Lost Battalion," was captured off the coast of java in 1942.
Oral History Interview with Colonel John. E. Olson, March 15, 1998
Interview with Colonel John E. Olson, a Army WWII veteran and POW from Leavenworth, Kansas. Olson discusses his family background, commissioning in the Army from West Point, assignment to the Philippines in 1939 as an infantry officer, the start of the war, withdrawal to Bataan and the ensuing battle and surrender, the Bataan Death March, internment at Cabanatuan, transfer to Osaka, experiences there in internment at a factory labor camp, liberation, organizing the evacuation of POWs, returning to the US, and his postwar career.
Oral History Interview with Commander Alex Vraciu, October 9, 1994
Interview with Cmdr. Alex Vraciu, a Navy WWII veteran and Navy Cross recipient from East Chicago, Indiana. Vraciu discusses his family and educational background, naval flight training, Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the F6F Hellcat, various combat operations throughout the Pacific, his actions at the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," being awarded the Navy Cross and time stateside, and returning to combat. In appendix is an autobiographical sketch by Vraciu, including a picture of him and his Hellcat with visible victory markings on the fuselage.
Oral History Interview with Daniel Thomas, February 26, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Daniel Thomas, a Navy veteran (4th Marine Division), concerning his experiences while attached to the 4th Marine Division as a medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Thomas discusses his decision to join the Navy in 1943; Hospital Corps School, San Diego, 1943; assignment to the Fleet Marine Force; Field Medical School, 1944; assignment to the 4th Marine Division, 1944; Iwo Jima, February, 1945; detailed description of casualties and their treatment during the battle for Iwo Jima; and the postwar effects of his Iwo Jima experience.
Oral History Interview with David Braden, February 4, 2005
Interview with David Braden, architect and Army Air Forces veteran. In the interview, Braden speaks about his impressions of General Curtis LeMay in the Pacific Theater during World War II, his assignment to Saipan, Mariana Islands, for bombing operations against the Japanese homeland, LeMay's arrival in the Marianas and changes in bombing techniques, the thirty-five mission limitation and improvement in aircrew morale, his functions as a B-29 navigator, LeMay's decision to conduct incendiary night rights at 5,000 feet, the strategic importance of Iwo Jima for bomber crews, and his assessment of how LeMay's policies made a decided difference in ending the war.
Oral History Interview with David W. Peake, Sr., October 9, 1994
Interview with Acting Sergeant David W. Peake, Sr., a Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II as a member of the 5th Marine Division. Peake discusses Iwo Jima and his occupation duty in postwar Japan. Appendix includes a photocopy of a "Veteran's Questionnaire" from the Admiral Nimitz Museum and Historical Center, filled-out by David W. Peake, Sr. [3 pages]
Oral History Interview with David W. Peake, Sr., October 9, 1994
Interview with Acting Sergeant David W. Peake, Sr., regarding his memories of the invasion of Iwo Jima and experiences as a member of the 3st Replacement Battalion, 27th Regiment, 5th Marine Division during the invasion and occupation of Japan.
Oral History Interview with Dean M. McCall, February 26, 1971
Interview with Dean M. McCall, Army Air Corps veteran and survivor of the siege of Corregidor. The interview includes McCall's personal experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. McCall talks about the Japanese bombing of Nichols Field, the fall of Bataan, the fall of Corregidor and his capture, Bilibid Prison, hell ship to Japan, copper mining at Motiyama, Honshu, American air raids and naval bombardment, and liberation.
Oral History Interview with Donald Boots, May 17, 2001
Interview with building contractor and Marine Corps veteran Donald Boots. The interview includes Boots' personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, childhood, boot camp, camouflage school, training in beachhead organization with the 4th Pioneer Battalion, mopping-up operations on Kwajalein, rest and retraining on Maui, being assigned as a BAR man, invading Saipan, and assaulting enemy caves on Saipan. Boots also talks about the stress of battle, returning to Maui for rest and retraining, the invasion of Iwo Jima, Japanese resistance on the Iwo Jima beaches, the rescue of his friend, his role in organizing the beach operation at Iwo Jima, establishing beach defenses on Iwo Jima, evacuating and returning to Maui, retraining and refitting for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.
Oral History Interview with Donald C. Brain, March 11, 1981
Interview with Donald C. Brain, a United States Navy veteran from Long Beach, California. Brain discusses his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II after his cruiser, the USS Houston, was sunk off the coast of Java in 1942.
Oral History Interview with Douglas F. Knight, March 12, 1978
Interview with Douglas Knight, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Knight talks about the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), the hell ship to Japan (1942), Hakodate, Hokkaido (1942-1944), and his liberation.
Oral History Interview with Eldridge Rayburn, January 16, 1980
Audio interview with Eldridge Rayburn, a veteran of the Texas National Guard from Lubbock, Texas, about his experiences as a member of the "Lost Battalion" captured at Java in 1942 by the Japanese army during World War II. Rayburn discusses his memories of being in a Field Artillery unit, a prisoner of war, and surviving.
Oral History Interview with Fiske Hanley, October 13, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Fiske Hanley, an aeronautical engineer and Army Air Forces veteran (398th Bomb Squadron, 504th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force), concerning his experiences during World War II, including as a flight engineer aboard B-29s in the Pacific Theater and as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese.
Oral History Interview with Frank Fujita, November 9, 1970
Interview with Frank Fujita, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Abilene, Texas. Fujita recounts his experiences as a captured member of 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (the "the Lost Battalion"), including: joining the Guard and deploying to East Asia; diversion to Brisbane and assignment to Malang, Java; repelling a Japanese infantry assault; attempted evasion of Japanese forces before being captured; and internment and labor at Surabaja, Bicycle Camp in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, Nagasaki, and Omori Camp in Tokyo. Fujita recorded his POW experiences in an encrypted diary.
Oral History Interview with Frank H. Bigelow, June 13, 2002
Interview with Navy veteran Frank H. Bigelow, survivor of the siege of Corregidor. The interview includes Bigelow's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boyhood in North Dakota, various jobs during the Great Depression, and enlisting in the Navy. Additionally, Bigelow speaks about volunteering for duty in the Philippines and his assignment to the submarine tender USS Canopus, pre-war military life in the Philippines, the Japanese bombing of Cavite Navy Yard and the destruction of the Canopus, retreating to Bataan and to Corregidor, the fall of Corregidor, his confinement in the 92nd Garage area, the forced march down Dewey Boulevard in Manila and confinement at Cabanatuan, hell ship to Japan, coal mining for Mitsui Heavy Industries, the amputation of his leg by fellow prisoners after a mining accident, liberation, and the destruction in Nagasaki due to the atomic bomb. The interview includes an appendix with an article titled "A Soldier's Story."
Oral History Interview with Frank H. King, December 12, 1978
Interview with Frank H. King, a United States Marine Corps veteran from Shamrock, Texas. King discusses his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II after his cruiser, the USS Houston, was sunk off the coast of Java in 1942.
Oral History Interview with Fred Vogel, August 8, 2001
Interview with Fred Vogel, a Army WWII veteran from Austin, Minnesota. Vogel discusses his family and upbringing, football and college, working as a lawyer, joining the Army and basic training, attending Officer Candidate School, infantry training, deployment to New Guinea with the 33rd Infantry Division, the invasion of Morotai, combat around Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, and occupation duty in Japan.
Oral History Interview with General Alpha Lyons Bowser, March 12, 1998
Transcript of an interview with General Alpha Lyons Bowser, a Marine Corps veteran (3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division), concerning his experiences as an artillery officer in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bowser also discusses his role in planning the Inchon landing, 1950, during the Korean War.
Oral History Interview with General Robert E. Galer, March 14, 1998
Transcript of an interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Galer discusses his pre-war training at Pensacola and Quantico; assignment to Saint Thomas and reminiscences about the "destroyers-for bases" deal, 1940; experiences at Ewa during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to Guadalcanal as commander of VMF-224, August 30, 1942-December 31, 1942; air combat around Guadalcanal; his receiving the Medal of Honor; reassignment to the States for war bond drives; experiences on Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945, as commander of a 584 Radar Team; and assignment to the Philippines and Okinawa, 1945.
Oral History Interview with George Burlage, November 18, 1970
Interview with George Burlage, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Visalia, California. Burlage was stationed in the Philippines before the war and fought at Corregidor in 1942 before his capture by the Japanese, after which he was interned at Camp Cabanatuan #3 in Central Luzon, Las Pinas airfield near Manila, and Moji, Japan.
Oral History Interview with George Charland, December 7, 1998
Transcript of an interview with George E. Charland, a Native American Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences during World War II. Charland discusses his experiences with the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his experiences with the 2nd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, at Guadalcanal, 1942; his experiences with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at Tarawa, 1943; his experiences with the 4th Marine Division at Saipan and Tinian, 1944, and Iwo Jima, 1945; medical discharge in April, 1945.
Oral History Interview with George Detre, August 17, 1978
Transcript of an interview with George Detre, a Navy veteran from Warren, Ohio, and a survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston. Detre discusses concerning his experiences during World War II, including as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese.
Oral History Interview with George J. Savage, October 21, 1996
Interview with George J. Savage, an Army Air Forces veteran (30th Squadron, 19th Bomber Group, 20th Air Force)., concerning his experiences as a B-29 pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bombing missions from Guam to Japan, 1945; Japanese fighter and flak opposition; fire bomb raids. Appendix (p. [54]) includes images, bombing mission history, selected bombing mission specifics, and chronology of post World War II Air Force career.
Oral History Interview with George Koury, Jr., April 27, 1972
Interview with George Koury, Jr., Marine Corps veteran and survivor of the Bataan Death March. The interview includes Koury's personal experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Koury talks about the Fall of Bataan and his capture, the Bataan Death March, Camp O'Donnell, Nichols Field, hell ship to Formosa and to Japan, Prison Camp No. 7, and liberation.
Oral History Interview with George L. McColm, March 18, 1995
Interview with George McColm, a Navy veteran and an agricultural expert, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. McColm discusses his education at Kansas State College, his experiences in agricultural marketing research, his employment with the Production Marketing Administration of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, his employment at Topaz Relocation Center for Japanese Americans (1942-1944), his induction into the U.S. Navy (1944), his role in planning for the invasion of the Japanese home islands (1945), and his role in writing Japanese land reform laws during postwar American occupation. Appendix includes photocopies of various biographical documents concerning George McComb and his career in the U.S. Navy and in agriculture.
Oral History Interview with George P. Lawley, November 3, 1973
Interview with George P. Lawley, an Army WWII veteran and POW from Odessa, Texas. Lawley discusses his time with the so-called "Lost Battalion" on Java and his experiences as a Japanese prisoner-of-war, including: joining the National Guard in 1940 and training, deployment for East Asia with 2nd Battallion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment; diversion to Java at the start of the war; the Japanese attack and his unit's capture; and his experiences in internment and labor at Tanjong Priok in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, Thanbyuzayat and several camps on the Burma Railway, and near Nagasaki.
Oral History Interview with George W. McDaniel, October 23, 1973
Interview with George W. McDaniel, draftsman and U.S. Marine Corps WWII veteran, concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. McDaniel discusses the fall of Wake island and capture; hell ship to China, 1942; Wusong Prison Camp, Shanghai, 1942; Kiangwang Prison Camp, 1942-45; Pusan, Korea, 1945; Hakodate, Hokkaido, 1945; liberation.
Oral History Interview with Harlan W. Crouse, July 2, 2004
Interview with Army veteran Harlan W. Crouse, including personal experiences about combat in the Philippines during World War II, the Japanese surrender in Yokohama Harbor, and being present during the post-war U.S. occupation of Japan.
Oral History Interview with Harry Strawn, August 16, 1997
Transcript of an interview with Harry C. Strawn, Army Air Forces veteran (31st Fighter Group, 12th Air Force; and 413th Fighter Group, 14th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a fighter pilot in the European, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters during World War II. Appendix includes the introduction to "In a now forgotten sky: the 31st fighter group in WW2" by Dennis C. Kucera.
Oral History Interview with Henry B. Stowers, May 25, 1973
Interview with Henry B. Stowers, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Searight, Alabama. Stowers discusses his deployments to China in the late-1930s; duties of the Marines in China before the war; the surrender of the North China Marines in December, 1941; his experiences in internment at Woosung; internment at Kiangwang and working on the "Mount Fuji" project; and internment as coal mining labor at Hakodate.
Oral History Interview with Henry Stanley, March 12, 1973
Interview with Henry Stanley, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran and POW who survived the Bataan Death March. Stanley discusses joining the Air Corps and prewar service, the Japanese invasion, Bataan and Corregidor, capture by Japanese forces, the march, internment at Clark Field, transit to Japan and internment there, and the war's end. In appendix are letters Stanley wrote during the war, telegrams and letters to his family from the War Department regarding his status, and a statement recording his health during the war.
Oral History Interview with Herbert M. Fish, July 31, 1985
Interview with Herbert M. Fish, an executive at Caltex Petroleum Corporation from Boston, Massachusetts. Fish discusses his time working at Shell Oil during the Depression, experience in the U.S. Army, his duties at Caltex, marketing with Chinese agents and visiting China, dealing with Japanese executives, and Caltex European operations.
Oral History Interview with Hugh M. Robinson, February 21, 1997
Transcript of an interview with Hugh M. Robinson, a Navy veteran (Patrol-Torpedo Boat Squadron 3), concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Robinson discusses the U. S. Naval Academy, 1934-38; assignment to the carrier USS Yorktown, 1938-39; assignment to the destroyer USS Bainbridge, 1939-41; assignment to Motor Boat Submarine Chaser Squadron 1, 1941; assignment to Patrol Torpedo Squadron 2, 1941; operations around the Panama Canal, 1942; reorganization of PT Squadron 2 and his transfer to Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 for duty in the Pacific; operations around the Solomon Islands, 1942-43; his promotion to commander of PT Squadron 3, 1942; engagements against the "Tokyo Express," 1942-43; his transfer to the staff of Patrol Torpedo Boat Flotilla 1, 1943; transfer to the States, 1943, to the Motor Torpedo Boats Squadron Training Center, Newport, Rhode Island; assignment as air defense officer aboard the battleship USS Wisconsin, 1944; his description of being caught with the 3rd Fleet in a massive typhoon in the Philippine Sea, December 18, 1944; offshore bombardment for the Iwo Jima and Okinawa Campaigns, 1945; offshore bombardment of Honshu and Hokkaido; and his postwar naval career.
Oral History Interview with J. C. Armstrong, October 17, 1996
Interview with J. .C. Armstong, an Army Air Forces veteran (20th Bomb Group), concerning his experiences as a B-29 pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bombing missions from Guam and Saipan to Japan, 1945; Japanese flak and fighter opposition.
Oral History Interview with J. D. Bradley, June 27, 2003
Interview with postmaster and Army veteran J.D. Bradley. The interview includes Bradley's personal experiences about being a guard during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo after World War II, enlisting in the army, basic training, various assignments, guard duty in the court docks during the tribunal, and guarding Hideki Tojo. Bradley talks about rules and regulations for Military Police guards, steps taken to prevent suicides among the prisoners, the physical description of the interior of the courtroom of the War Ministry Building, checks for hidden weapons in the courtroom, courtroom procedures, various security procedures, steps taken to impress the Japanese people, living quarters and conditions at the War Ministry Building, relations with Japanese civilians, black market activities, his relationship with a Japanese correspondent and trading cigarettes for photographs of the proceedings, Sugamo Prison, and his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Aubrey S. Kenworthy. The interview includes an appendix with photographs.
Oral History Interview with J. L. Sherman, March 4, 1976
Interview with J. L. "Smokey" Sherman, an Army WWII veteran and POW from Ponder, Texas. Sherman discusses joining the Army in 1940, going to the Philippines and being stationed on Corregidor, the siege and fall of the island, his escape from capture and time as a guerrilla, surrender, and experiences in internment at Cabanatuan and Kobe.
Oral History Interview with Jack Feliz, February 28, 2000
Interview with Navy veteran and survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston. The interview includes Feliz's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, the sinking of the Houston, imprisonment at Serang, Java, the Changi Prison Camp, hell ship to Japan, prison camp at Ohasi, Honshu, and liberation.
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