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Vaughan Pitman

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Vaughan Pitman describes his first encounter with German V-1 flying bombs while preparing for war in England in early 1943. Interview conducted by David Watts, Jr. (3:37)

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Vaughan Pitman explains his role handling combat film during the Normandy invasion in 1944. Interview Conducted by David Watts, Jr. (5:43)

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Vaughan Pitman talks about how British Spitfires and American industry helped keep England out of German hands during World War II. Interview conducted by David Watts, Jr. (4:39)

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Vaughan Pitman shows off two cameras, an aircraft-mounted combat camera and a 4” x 5” Speed Graphic press camera, which were commonly used during World War II. Interview conducted by David Watts, Jr. (5:02)

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As a wartime photographer, Vaughan Pitman recalls a memorable image that was taken in St. Lo, France, in 1944. Interview conducted by David Watts, Jr. (3:12)

Verner Chaffin

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Verner Chaffin was in Law School when Pearl Harbor was attacked and then, in a whirlwind of activity, he got his degree, took the bar exam, and applied to the Naval Intelligence Japanese language school. He was accepted and began the grueling program. (5:09)

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The Navy Japanese language school was concentrated, intense and psychologically taxing. Vern Chaffin cultivated an air of detachment that kept him from washing out. In fact, he was near the top of the class. Most of the teachers were Japanese Americans from the internment camps. (7:12)

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Graduates of the Naval Intelligence Japanese language school had been put right to work, but the Navy decided that they really needed intelligence training, as well. So Verner Chaffin went from there to the advanced school where he learned the craft of intelligence. Finally, he got his first assignment, at the ONI office in Washington and he was ecstatic to get away from being instructed. (5:26)

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At Camp Ritchie in Maryland, Navy Japanese linguist Verner Chaffin pored over documents shipped from the Pacific, but most of them had already been gone over and sorted as less important. Later, he was assigned to the translation section at the Joint Intelligence Center at Pearl Harbor and he picked out the plum documents. (6:14)

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The translators at Naval Intelligence in Pearl Harbor liked to kid their counterparts back in Washington by writing uncomplimentary notes on the boxes of documents they shipped there. Verner Chaffin was one of them and he was lucky enough to get out of the office and go with the fleet to Okinawa, where he assisted with Japanese translation. (5:51)