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Bill Toombs

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Keesler Field was not a desirable post to Bill Toombs. It was so bad, he volunteered for a school in Buffalo, where there was a couple of feet of snow. His second day there, they handed him a piece of paper to sign. What is it? It's so you can go to China and fly the hump. Ahh...no, not going to do that. (5:30)

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It was a great post. The barracks were nice and the duty wasn't bad, training B-24 crews. But, flight engineer Bill Toombs recalls that some of those pilots would scare you. One particular flight nearly led to his demise and that's when he decided he'd had enough of flying. (7:11)

Bill Tyre

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Bill Tyre tells his story of landing at Normandy 16 days after D-Day and heading towards Bastogne for the Battle of the Bulge. Provided by Sal Strom. This interview is audio only. (5:02)

Bill Vaughan

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He wanted the Navy but there were a couple of tough looking MP's there so he accepted it when they told him he was in the Army. Before long, Bill Vaughan was going ashore at Luzon as a machine gunner. He was only in the battle a few days when he was hit and had to be evacuated. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.) (5:01)

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The Banzai charges would come at night. Machine gunner Bill Vaughan was in his foxhole and had the advantage, but he was always glad to see daylight come. The living conditions on Luzon were not good, basically a hole with water in it and swarms of malaria causing mosquitoes. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.) (2:49)

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The Japanese were trying to regroup, but Bill Vaughan's unit had the high ground and took care of them in short order. They had fortified Luzon very well, hiding artillery pieces in caves high in the mountains and rolling them out at night to blast Allied ships. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.) (4:07)

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When Bill Vaughan's unit started out to secure Ipo Dam in the Philippines, they had 180 men. At the end, there were 34 left. Soon he was serving occupation duty in Japan, courtesy of President Truman's fateful decision to use the atomic bomb. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.) (3:04)

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While serving occupation duty in Japan, Bill Vaughan was shuffled through multiple units until he finally had enough points to return home. The banner that greeted him was very complimentary, but it made him think of those who didn't make it back. He headed for Georgia, where his high school sweetheart had waited for him. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.) (3:23)

Bill Watkinson

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Mr. Watkinson shares a funny incident between he and a fellow shipmate involving heavily armed explosives. (1:17)

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Mr. Watkinson discusses taking damage while operating a Hellcat fighter plane and successfully landing it. (2:06)