My name is Richard Meissheimer. Today is June
26, 2012.
Interviewing Mr. John Thomas, quote, Tom, close
quote, Maloney, M-A-L-O-N-E-Y, by telephone.
His phone number is 503-472-2247.
His address is 2407 West Hills Drive,
McMinnville, Oregon 97128.
This interview is to support the National and
Pacific War, the Nimitz Education and
Research Center for the preservation of
historical information related to World War II.
Tom, I want to thank you for taking time to do
this interview today, and I want to thank
you for taking your service to our country
during World War II.
you. Now the first thing I need to do is read
to you this agreement with the museum to make sure
it's okay with you. The heading says the
National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Historical
Commission, oral history project. The purpose
of the National Museum of the Pacific War oral history
project is to collect, preserve, and interpret
the stories of World War II veterans, home front
experiences, the life of Field Admiral
Churchill W. Nimitz, and the old Nimitz Hotel
by means of
the tape-recorded interviews. Audio recordings
of such interviews become part of the Nimitz
Educational Research Center, the archives of
the National Endowment of the Pacific War,
Texas Historical Commission. These recordings
are made available for historical and other
academic research by scholars and members of
the family of the interviewee. We, the undersigned,
have read or heard the above and voluntarily
offer the National Endowment of the Pacific War
for use of the information contained on audio
recordings and our written text of these oral
history research interviews. In view of the
scholarly value of this research material,
we hereby assign rights titled interest
pertaining to it to the National Pacific War
Texas Historical
Commission. Is that okay with you? Yes. Okay.
Now the next thing I'd like to do is get an
alternative contact. We find out that sometimes
several years down the road we try to get back
in contact with the veteran. He's moved or
something. So do you have a daughter or a
son or someone we could contact if we needed
to, to locate you?
Well, I have five children, yes.
Any one of them?
Well, I'm 92 and I'm not going to be here much
longer, you know.
Well, I hope that's not true, but you never
know. What's one of your sons' names?
A. Tom Maloney and Tim Maloney.
Q. Okay. Which one would you prefer giving me a
name? I need a phone number and an address.
A. Oh, boy.
Q. You have that handy, do you?
A. Well, the phone number would be Tom 503-472-4309.
four seven two okay four three oh nine okay and
he lives where in Mcminnville
okay and I don't need an address unless you the
last number is four three oh what
four three oh nine nine okay okay that's all I
need hope you'll never need that thing
Okay all right now what is your birth date?
June the 10th 1920. Okay and where were you born?
McMinnville. Okay and did you have brothers and
sisters? No. Okay now you grew up during
the depression how did the depression affect
you and your family? Well we came through it okay
We've fared quite well.
I was elected into the State of Oregon Air
Museum, State of Oregon Honor Roll, it s called.
Anyway, I'll read you what I was awarded and
what this comprises, okay?
J. Thomas Maloney realized war was imminent
upon joining the United States Naval Air Reserve
in October of 1941. Attending flight school at
Corpus Christi, Texas, Ensign Maloney earned
his wings, joined Air Group 98 aboard the newly
commissioned aircraft carrier USS Princeton
and headed for a land-based assignment in
Guadalcanal. Providing air support during
During the invasions of Munda, Bougainville,
and Green Islands, Maloney made over eighty
strikes against the Japanese, destroying enemy
aircraft, cargo, and transport ships.
He garnered three air medals for his efforts
assigned to Air Group Six aboard the aircraft
carrier U.S. Hancock. In July of 1944,
Lieutenant Maloney participated in fifteen
strikes against
enemy shipping and airfields in Nancy Chodo,
Wake Island, and Okinawa, resulting in a fourth
air medal. Another air medal was not signed by
the skipper who was killed. As division
leader Maloney led a strike against Okinawa
flying off of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock.
During his strike against Okinawa, he destroyed
a bridge used by a Japanese supply line, exploding
debris from the bridge smashed into his SB-2C
Helldiver, forcing Maloney to ditch his aircraft
into the sea where he and his rear seat gunner
barely escaped before it sank.
Later retrieved by a destroyer, they were back
aboard the USS Hancock when a kamikaze
dove into the ship, causing severe damage.
Returning to battle, Maloney led the attack
against Hokkaido Harbor.
Scoring a direct hit and annihilating an enemy cargo
ship earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.
At Kiri Harbor, Japan, Maloney dropped the
2,£000 bomb,
which along with other bombs hit and sunk a
Japanese aircraft
carrier on July the 4th, 1945, and for which he
received a Navy cross.
Four days later, Maloney achieved yet another accurate
strike, this time sinking a Japanese battleship,
earning a second Navy cross.
Discharged from the service in December of 1945
and returning to life in McMinnville,
Maloney graduated from Linfield College
and today devotes a significant amount of time
as an Evergreen Aviation Museum volunteer, period.
End of report.
OK, that's good.
That's very good.
Now, I do have some other questions I'd like to ask,
if you don't mind.
Well, I'm going to hang up pretty soon.
OK, don't do that to me.
OK, now, you went into the service,
I believe you said on October of 41.
Eberlestein You went into the service October
of 41.
You volunteered.
How did you choose the Navy?
Schwerin How did I what?
Eberlestein How did you choose the Navy?
Schwerin Well, some of my friends went in, left college
and went into the Navy Air Corps.
Thats why I did.
Okay, and you were about twenty-one at that
point, and you took your training at Corpus Christi?
Eberlestein Thats great, yes, wow. Wow.
How was your training there in Corpus?
Eberlestein Well, it was fine.
Im going to hang up now, okay?
I think we covered the basis.
A. Well, I'd like to talk about Guadalcanal.
You were at Guadalcanal, right?
S. Yes.
A. Okay.
S. Henderson Field.
A. Yes, Sir. And what were you flying out of there?
S. Dive bombers.
A. Okay, the SB-2C or was it the old SBD?
S. SBD.
A. Okay. And how was that plane?
S. Well, it was a very good dive bomber.
A. Okay. Now you mentioned that £2,000 bomb.
Was that from an SB-2C?
I mean, yeah, SB-2C? Ebert.
Yeah, the SB-2C, yes.
A. It could carry a two-thousand-pound bomb. Ebert.
A. Okay. Ebert.
When you carry a two-thousand-pound bomb and
you take off of a carrier, you have to be catapulted.
A. That's right.
Now, I understand the Hancock was hit by a
kamikaze, is that right? Ebert.
This is correct.
A. Were you aboard- Ebert.
I'm going to hang up now, okay?
A. Well- Ebert.
I think we've covered the basis.
A. Yeah.
Well, there's a lot of stuff I'd like to cover, but-
to hang up now. I think we've covered the basis.
If you don't want to, we don't have to.
Or do you want to do it at some other time?
Well, I'm not feeling too good.
I'm going to hang up.
Thank you again.
Very good.
I appreciate you very much, and thank you for calling.
Thank you.
This is the end of this tape.