Alvin von Frisch was born in Giessen, Germany in 1920. He began his education there but he, his mother, two sisters, and a brother immigrated to West Haven, Connecticut in 1927. His father had died before then. Once he discovered what was happening in Germany, he better understood why the move was made. His education continued in the United States. He enrolled in college after the war using the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He learned German while in his birthplace but spoke English to his German speaking mother after reaching his new country. His siblings learned English after coming to America. His mother was well educated in Germany and attended a school for refined women. In his youth, von Frisch had significant eye surgery to improve his vision. He was hospitalized for four or five days as a result. It was an adventure to sail to the United States. His port of entry was New York Harbor and Ellis Island [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York]. He learned the English language quickly in school after entering the United States. He started high school in New Haven [Annotator's Note: New Haven, Connecticut] and took German to learn it better. The family had hardships but made out well. The banks failed in the 1930s [Annotator's Note: causing the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] and money was lost but they managed. Von Frisch's mother met a German and married him when von Frisch was 12 years of age. The news of Sunday, 7 December 1941 [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] came after church. Many thought that America had to get involved and clean up the world. Hawaii was not a state at the time. Even though 99 percent of the Japanese were good people, they were kept in confinement similar to what Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] did to his people. Von Frisch got into the Army as he was working as a draftsman following completion of trade school. He had received multiple deferments [Annotator's Note: postponement of military service] but was tired of being called a slacker. He decided to join the Navy and signed up for the draft. Afterward, he discovered that the Navy had reached its quota. He ended up in the Army in 1943.

Alvin von Frisch was sent to Camp Croft [Annotator's Note: in Spartanburg, South Carolina; now Croft State Park] for his basic training. Some of the trainees were made into officers due to the extent of their training. Von Frisch chose not to become an officer despite his IQ [Annotator's Note: intelligence quotient] allowing him to do so. He was chastised by his superior officer as a result. After basic training, he went to radio specialist school at the same facility. He trained as a gun mechanic and could efficiently reassemble multiple weapons in the dark. His toolmaker background aided him in that. He liked talking fluent pig Latin [Annotator's Note: a language formed from English] over his radio. He had an adventurous, long train ride to the West Coast after Camp Croft. When he sailed overseas, he had the top bunk of a four high arrangement. Often, he would go topside and sleep in the captain's gig [Annotator's Note: a small boat used on ships as the captain's water taxi]. He joined the 7th Division [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] in the Aleutians [Annotator's Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska]. He had a treacherous nighttime arrival in the Aleutian darkness, but it worked out. He knew he was going to the Aleutians at the last minute. He had been issued a summer uniform and had no preparation for what to expect. He learned after receiving warm clothing that the division would be transferred to Hawaii. All the warm clothing including von Frisch's favorite scarf was burned. The islands were nearly secure when the 7th arrived. Ordered to Hawaii, the MPs [Annotator's Note: military police] were very strict with the new arrivals of the 7th Division until some of those troops got even with them. The pressure slacked off at that point. Paid before leaving the Aleutians, all but five guys lost their money. One of those five disappeared on the ship. There had been no action at Attu [Annotator's Note: Attu Island, Alaska] while von Frisch was based there.

Alvin von Frisch departed Hawaii [Annotator's Note: as a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] and arrived at Eniwetok [Annotator's Note: in the Marshall Islands]. Later, he would witness an atomic bomb detonation there [Annotator's Note: a pair of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in July 1946 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands]. The Japanese did not like the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945], but it helped the United States in the long run. The assault on Eniwetok [Annotator's Note: Battle of Eniwetok, 17 to 23 February 1944 at Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands] resulted after the Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] tried to install refueling stations there for their fleet. LSTs [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] were used in the invasion. Tanks would depart the ship and pass through the water to the land. Most trees were broken in half after the airplanes bombed the islands. The island was secured in two days. As he ate under a broken tree, von Frisch found a dead Jap lying behind him. There were gruesome things that he would not like to experience again. He pities those having to go through it today. The resistance on Eniwetok included rifle fire from hidden positions in caves. Colonel Hartle [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] fired into a cave and eliminated an enemy defender refusing to surrender. There were no prisoners taken on Eniwetok. Friendly planes took care of the enemy airpower. After cleaning up the island, the division returned to Hawaii. There were dry runs for the next invasion—Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944 at Leyte, Philippines]. Since a stroke in recent years, von Frisch has had memory issues. The 7th Infantry Division had the mission in Leyte to cut across the island on tanks eliminating enemy resistance. When the Japanese shelled his position, von Frisch was in a trench with wood covering the top. His kit ended up with extensive shrapnel in it. After securing Leyte, General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] arrived. The troops did not like him. Someone shot at him. The gunfire did not sound like a Japanese weapon to von Frisch. After Leyte, the next objective was Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945 at Okinawa, Japan] for the 7th. As a member of C Company, 17th Infantry Division, von Frisch patrolled looking for Japs. He also had the radio operator and gun mechanic under him. He was mosquito control officer, too. On Okinawa, there was a large truck with colored [Annotator's Note: an ethnic descriptor historically used for Black people in the United States] boys picking up bodies. When they asked von Frisch where the frontlines were, he said they were in the middle of it. That scared them into immediately departing the area [Annotator's Note: he laughs]. For eight straight days, von Frisch volunteered to go on patrols looking for Japs. He stopped on the ninth day. A tank in which he would have been the assistant driver hit a mine [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact]. A young soldier had both his legs broken. The bodies were brought back to the outfit.

Alvin von Frisch [Annotator's Note: with Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] was on the receiving end of enemy fire during the invasion of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945 at Okinawa, Japan]. Tanks rolled off the landing craft. After hitting the beach, the men scattered. There were many holes in the ground. The enemy dead were buried in caves. The body was placed in a chair until scavengers ate the meat off the bones. Von Frisch took a shot at a body in a dark cave once. There were several different beaches used for the landings. [Annotator's Note: von Frisch has trouble with reviving memories of that time. He had suffered a stroke in recent years. He reviews documents to refresh his memories.] Okinawa was where he received the Star [Annotator's Note: the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy]. A lieutenant and von Frisch were scouting for Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] to fire on from their base. Finding them, von Frisch radioed back the location. Meanwhile, the officer was shot in the neck. Patching him up, von Frisch confirmed the location of the enemy to his superior officer. It was just one incident. At one point, his whole outfit, except for him, had dysentery [Annotator's Note: infection of the intestines]. He had to relieve himself while out looking for the enemy. Pulling off a Japanese trail, he sat down to do so. Across the valley, he spotted the Japs, and they could see him. One shot whizzed by him. That was enough for von Frisch. He ran in the opposite direction without pulling up his pants. The Japanese would swear at the Americans in English and Japanese. The Japanese attacked in banzai charges [Annotator's Note: Banzai charge; Japanese human wave attacks]. They came at the American positions in droves at Okinawa. A Japanese pilot flew a small plane every day at supper time over the American positions to spot their locations. The troops fired their rifles at him. The pilot would not return if holes had to be patched in his plane. One American took a .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] and manually sprayed the enemy plane. The Americans used to wait for that enemy plane.

The war itself is Alvin von Frisch's worse memory of that time. He hated to see people die. He lost good friends who disappeared. He did not see them die, but they just did not return. His company [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] had three platoons and a cooking group. Cooked meals with flour containing boll weevils was used to make bread. They had to eat it. The war changed him from being timid. He learned a lot in school and seemed to know all the answers when others did not. His son is smart in the same way. He learned to be open in his career with G.E. [Annotator's Note: General Electric Corporation]. He retired with that company. Most people do not get much out of studying the history of the war. It is the history of the United States. The most important thing to remember about the Second World War was the magnitude of it. The conflict was across the world. People should learn from the past, but they do not. He also learned about people during the war. The Japanese were fighters where anything goes. In basic training, the trainees learned to fight even without their guns. A tent peg was demonstrated in training to serve as a weapon if used properly during hand-to-hand combat. That was part of his training. Von Frisch has enough stories and notes to write a book.