Search Results

Oral History Interview with Bruce Gordon Elliot, May 17, 2002
Interview with Bruce Elliot, a Navy veteran and POW from Montezuma, Kansas. Elliot discusses his family, joining the Navy and volunteering for Asiatic service, the start of war and the bombing of Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, escaping internment on Palawan and joining Moro guerillas, sabotage, linking up with Australian forces, evacuation to Australia and returning to the United States, becoming a deepsea diver, and Korean War service. In appendix are a photo of Elliot, a map of the Philippines, two photos of a POW camp on Palawan, and a photo of three of his comrades.
Oral History Interview with Frank Curre, Jr., April 19, 2002
Interview with Navy veteran Frank Curre Jr. The interview includes Curre's personal experiences about joining the Navy, boot camp, being aboard the battleship USS Tennessee during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, and his subsequent experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Additionally, Curre talks about pre-war shipboard life and training exercises, his activities during the attack on Pearl Harbor, aftermath of the attack, his transfer to the yard minesweeper YMS-102 at Bremerton, Washington, operation around Midway Island, his transfer to the escort carrier Petrof Bay, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, kamikaze attacks, the Okinawa campaign, and continued combat against kamikazes.
Oral History Interview with Herb Elfering, December 6, 2001
Interview with electrical engineer and Army veteran Herb Elfering, The interview includes Elfering's personal experiences with a searchlight/radar battery, 251st Coast Artillery Regiment, at camp Malekole during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Elfering also gives brief descriptions of his later experiences at Bougainville and Luzon.
Oral History Interview with John C. Reas, June 23, 1998
Interview with John Reas, a Navy WWII veteran and POW from New Albany, Indiana, who survived the sinking of the USS Houston (CA-30). Reas discusses his assignment to the Houston and prewar operations in the Pacific, the start of the war and convoy duty, being bombed by 54 Japanese planes, the Battle of Sunda Strait, the sinking, capture by the Japanese, experiences in internment at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, transfer to Thanbyuzayat, work on the Burma Railway, the USS Houston Survivors List, liberation, and life after the war. In appendix is the USS Houston Survivors list, letters of his regarding the list, brief accounts written by Reas of different experiences in the war, a letter by Lanson H. Harris confirming how the list was given to OSS officers, and a photo of Reas' wallet that he carried through the war.
Oral History Interview with Willie Fred Sander, May 22, 2002
Interview with Willie Fred Sander, a Navy WWII veteran from Brenham, Texas. Sander discusses his background and life before the war, joining the Navy and aviator training, flying PBM patrol bombers throughout the Pacific, and his family life after the war.
Oral History Interview with Martin J. Rodgers, June 22, 1988
Interview with Martin J. Rodgers, a Army WWII veteran from Butler, New Jersey, who was at the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Rodgers discusses joining the Army and training, assignment to coastal artillery at Fort Shafter, operations there, work in communications, alerts, life in the peacetime Army, the morning of December 7th and reaction to the attack, handling communications at battalion HQ, the aftermath and following days, and his subsequent service in the Pacific War. In appendix is a letter by Rodgers to his mother of December 31, 1941, and a journal of his experiences typed during the war.
Oral History Interview with Hayes H. Bolitho, July 17, 1973
Interview with Hayes H. Bolitho, a businessman and an Army Air Corps veteran, concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Bolitho discusses the bombing of Clark Field (1941), his surrender at Clark Field, prison camp at Malaybalay (1942), Davao Penal Colony (1942-1944), the torpedoing of his hell ship and rescue by Filipino guerrillas, and his evacuation by the American submarine USS Narwhal.
Oral History Interview with L. B. Smith, February 20, 1989
Interview with L. B. Smith, a Army WWII veteran from Magnolia, Mississippi, who was present at the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Smith discusses entering the Army and training, events prior to the attack, the morning of December 7th and the bombing of Schofield Barracks, the aftermath and defensive preparations, and his later service in the Pacific Theater.
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 Robert E. Galer, August 27, 1998
Interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences concerning the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; the Guadalcanal Campaign as commander of VMF-224; and as head of the 584 Radar units during the campaigns for the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Navy ROTC at the University of Washington, 1931-35; pilot training at Sand Point, Pensacola, and Quantico, 1935-38; assignment to amphibian squadron on Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1938-40, and his minor role in the "destroyers-for-bases" deal with Great Britain, 1940; assignment as commander of VMF-224, 1942; description of the Grumman Wildcat fighter plane; assignment to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 1942; episodes involving aerial combat against the Japanese; aerial combat tactics; living conditions at Henderson Field; shot down for the first time on September 12, 1942; shot down for a second time on October 2, 1942; personnel problems with dysentery and malaria; reassignment to COMAIRPAC, November, 1943; Command and Staff College, 1943; awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for twenty-nine consecutive days of combat and eleven-and-one-half kills; meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Oval Office; development of the 584 Radar for close-air support; Iwo Jima, Philippines, and Okinawa campaigns, 1945; comments about Charles Lindbergh as his tentmate on Guadalcanal.
Oral History Interview with Joe Gear, July 18, 1970
Interview with Joe B. Gear regarding his experiences in the military and as a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. He was captured near Corregidor in the Phillipines.
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 Warren Amy, April 17, 1996
Interview with Warren Amy, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the submarine USS Chub in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Amy discusses Submarine School in New London, Connecticut (1943-1944), his assignment to the Chub (1944), his responsibilities as an electrician's mate, and various patrols in the North China Sea, the Java Sea, and off the Philippines.
Oral History Interview with Jim Mason, September 28, 1996
Interview with Jim Mason, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences as a corpsman at the Naval Hospital during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941: also anecdotal information about Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
Oral History Interview with Duane Cleere, April 4, 1996
Interview with Duane Cleere, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the submarine USS Hoe in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Oral History Interview with William Coffey, May 20, 1996
Interview with William Coffey, a Navy WWII veteran from Hopkins County, Texas. Coffey discusses joining the Navy in 1937, boot camp in San Diego, service aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), transfer to submarines in the Philippines, the bombing of Cavite Navy Yard at the start of the war, assignment to the S-41 as a cook, combat around the Solomon Islands, attaining submarine qualifications, patrolling the northern Pacific, the character of the crew, transfer to the USS Sterlet (SS-392), patrols, medical leave, and service postwar.
Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Nelson, April 18, 1996
Transcript of an interview with Ralph W. Nelson, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the submarines USS Batfish and USS Parche in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Submarine School, San Francisco, California, 1942; early torpedo problems; his responsibilities as a fire controlman; assignment to the Batfish, 1944; various patrols in the Luzon Strait and Makassar Strait; lifeguard duty off Palau for downed airmen; transfer to the Parche, 1945.
Oral History Interview with Hollis G. Duell, May 22, 1996
Interview with Hollis G. Duell, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the submarine USS Sargo in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Assignment to the Sargo, 1941; his responsibilities as a yeoman; early war patrols off the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines; transfer to the Submarine Division Commander's Office, Pearl harbor, 1944; postwar duty in the Submarine Service.
Oral History Interview with Odis Taylor, February 26, 1997
Interview with Odis Taylor, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the submarine USS Sculpin in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Assignment to the Sculpin, 1941; his responsibilities as a radioman; various patrols off the Netherlands East Indies and in the South China Sea, 1942-44; lifeguard duty off Japan for downed airmen, 1944-45.
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