Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO)

The map only displays records that have geographic information. Switch to the grid view to see all records.

Map is loading...
Timeline is loading...

The timeline only displays records that have date information. Switch to the grid view to see all records.

James Gaffney reveals how the PT Boat reacted to rough seas. Included is an explanation of how the bilge pumping system...
Irwin Schneider was injured on a PT boat patrol out of Milne Bay [Annotator’s Note: in Papua New Guinea]. He went to...
When hostilities ended, Irwin Schneider was sent up to the Philippine Islands. It was in the Philippines that he was...
James Gaffney’s assessment of the John Wayne World War II movie entitled "They Were Expendable" was that it was mostly...
James Gaffney was once allowed to buy a case of beer after an announcement that there was an excess supply. Each sailor...
Jackson Augustus "Jack" Ashton, Senior [Annotator's Note: of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 28 (MTB RON 28) aboard PT-381...
Richard Bennett remembers that it was in the Palau Islands that his vessel had their most memorable encounters with the...
Paul Sparacino [Annotator's Note: Sparacino served aboard the USS Princeton (LPH-5) during Operation Dominic, series of...
Billy Grieves watches movies like Run Silent, Run Deep religiously. He feels that they are more Hollywood than reality...
Norman Hatch [Annotator's Note: a photographer in the 5th Marine Division] felt that capturing combat on film was very...
[Annotator's Note: Ittsei Nakagawa was in a factory in Hiroshima, Japan when the atomic bomb exploded over the city on...
At the first prisoner of war camp, Pearson Riddle had to work hauling earth and material in a giant cart. Riddle did...
Richard Witaker was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded on Okinawa. He was leaving Sugar Loaf Hill when a buddy...
On the way to Okinawa, Joe Clapper answered a call on the ship's horn for all those wounded on Peleliu to appear...
Oran Harris said the Americans went first by sea in pursuit of the Japanese that had retreated into the mountains of...
Lester Hecht's commanding officer's name was John L. Smith [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith...
[Annotator's Note: Emil Schoonejans served in the Navy aboard the submarine USS Burrfish (SS-312), and was rated a...
William Hill was assigned to the USS Bonefish (SS-223) in the role of the quartermaster. War patrol became an everyday...
John Wesley Tatum left Fiji [Annotator's Note: Fiji, Oceania] to go to Goodenough Island [Annotator's Note: Goodenough...
Voniedoe "Voni" or "Bus" Grimes [Annotator's Note: drafted into the Army in late 1943] was transferred to the 246th...
[Annotator's Note: Eugene Tarrant served in the Navy as a captain’s mess attendant aboard the USS San Francisco (CA38...
Lawrence Winnier cannot really blame the people because it [Annotator's Note: racial discrimination in the service] was...
[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Vaughn Whitworth if he experienced racism from other Marines while serving in...
Archie Kelley arrived at Annapolis [Annotator's Note: United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland] and had to...
Attending the Southern Signal Corps School at Camp Murphy in Jupiter, Florida, Robert Kinzler became a radar officer...
[Annotator's Note: Keith Kiefer was assigned to a Radiological Cleanup detail on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands while...
Buck Donaldson was involved in school. He would make the honor roll. He would participate in the plays. They moved to...
Edward O. Wood, Senior was assigned to the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]...
After Gerald Wayne Lux was in boot camp [Annotator’s Note: in Farragut Naval Training Station near Bayview, Idaho in...
Leon Griffith had a Tommy gun [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun] on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte...
Richard F. Penwell departed California and arrived in Dobodura, New Guinea but soon departed for Leyte [Annotator's...
Fred L. Keller, Jr. helped load bombs on torpedo planes, TBMs [Annotator's Note: Keller served as an ordnanceman aboard...
Jack Leaming and the crew of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) left Pearl Harbor and attacked the Marshall Islands in February...
George A. Damiano recalled the weather [Annotator's Note: on Okinawa, Japan] being so wet that they had to talk their...
Ervin Markwald [Annotator’s Note: drafted into the Army at age 18] did 17 weeks of basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas...
In Iceland, Keith Renstrom took and passed the test for corporal. When he got back to San Diego, he took the test for...

Pages