[Annotator's Note: A person appears in the background throughout this segment.] Andrew Petrus was born in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. His aunt and uncle would drive him to the nearby lake every summer. His father was of Czechoslovakian decent and could not speak English and could not read or write. His father worked in the coal mines and the Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan] automobile factories. Petrus also worked in the coal mines and lived in the company's housing. He was close with his grandparents and eventually lived on their property for some time. The house did not have running water or inside toilets. They carried their water into the house in buckets from a pump. Petrus hitchhiked to his high school every day. In 1938 and 1939, Petrus and his two friends signed up for a program that took them to Washington D.C. to learn to be soldiers for 30 days. He graduated high school in 1940. After the war broke out, his aunt found him a job at a hospital in Detroit. He lived at the hospital even though his aunt did not live far away. He decided to apply for a job as a streetcar driver. He passed the test and reported for work but found out that they wanted him to drive a bus. He did not like driving the bus, and eventually was assigned to a streetcar. He slept at the car house and worked all the time because the war had started. After six months of working as a streetcar driver, he received his draft notice.

[Annotator's Note: While he was living in Detroit, Michigan and working as a streetcar driver,] Andrew Petrus received his draft notice and was inducted into the Army. He was transferred to Alabama for six weeks of basic training. He and a friend decided to go into town before they were shipped out. While they were sitting at an ice cream parlor, a woman accidently dropped a can of milk on his friend's toe. When they returned to base, his friend found out his little toe was broken, so when Petrus was shipped out, his friend had to stay behind. Petrus was shipped out to California. It took about five days to move across the country in a troop train. He reported to Fort Ord [Annotator's Note: now Fort Ord National Monument in Monterey Bay, California]. When he arrived, no one was there because the regiment was out on desert training maneuvers. One friend from camp showed up later that day. After three days the troops began to return from their maneuvers. Petrus participated in amphibious invasion training. The water was very rough and the troops in the boats were getting sick from the motion. It was so bad that Petrus could not even fire a shot. After receiving new clothing and equipment, Petrus and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] boarded a ship and headed to Attu, Alaska [Annotator's Note: Attu Island, Alaska]. The troops were given an orientation about the island, their mission, and the enemy they were about to face. Petrus and his unit went on a few more amphibious practices in a harbor before the actual invasion took place [Annotator's Note: Battle of Attu, 11 to 30 May 1943 at Attu Island, Alaska]. The commanders kept changing the date of the invasion because planes were bombing the area and there were no resistance from the Japanese, so it was possible that the Japanese left the island. The commanders decided to invade anyway to make sure the island was secure.

Andrew Petrus [Annotator's Note: with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] invaded the island of Attu [Annotator's Note: Battle of Attu, 11 to 30 May 1943 at Attu Island, Alaska]. The troops boarded transport boats, and the weather was so foggy that no one could see anything. When Petrus and his unit made it to shore, they were met with no resistance. By this time, the weather conditions were better, and they began moving inland. Someone pointed out a dead Japanese soldier in a ravine, and the whole unit ran over to see him. As the day wore on, the weather became colder, and the terrain became difficult to walk on because of all the ice. They stopped for the night on a large piece of ice. They moved out the next day and found a riverbank to rest in for a few days. The troops were given sleeping bags which they used and then left at the site when they moved out again. As they travelled across the island, a blizzard came through. Petrus was assigned as a rifleman for his unit. As they went across a hill, the enemy opened fire on them. The snow was thick and came up high on his leg. He ran to a spot that was high and with no snow. As it was getting dark, he found a foxhole with a dead Japanese soldier it. With the help of another army soldier, they removed the body out of the foxhole. Petrus slept in the foxhole and when he woke up the next morning decided to hike back to the beach. After being on the island for several days, he had not eaten or had any water. He found a hospital once he made it to the beach. When he removed his boots, his feet swelled up and they stung so bad that he could not put blankets on them. He soon smelled food cooking and forced himself to get up because he was hungry. He ate several helpings of food. He then boarded a boat and was taken to an area where he was given a shower and new clothing. After a while, he was placed in a Reserve unit and headed to Kiska [Annotator's Note: Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska]. He remained in the boat during the invasion Annotator's Note: Operation Cottage, 15 August 1943 at Kiska Island, Alaska]. Petrus soon learned that the Japanese had retreated, but there was some friendly fire between the Americans and Canadians. Petrus remained in the Aleutians [Annotator's Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska] for four months and then he and his unit left for Hawaii. While fighting in the Aleutians, Petrus never saw a living Japanese soldier because the weather was so foggy it was impossible to see anything.

Andrew Petrus [Annotator's Note: with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] disembarked in Hawaii [Annotator's Note: after returning from battle in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska]. Petrus and his unit were given quarters near the Japanese internment camps in Hawaii. He was put on detail to unload supplies off a ship. Some of the supplies included beer, so Petrus would put a couple of bottles in his pockets to have with his lunch. His unit remained in Hawaii for five months and trained in amphibious assault. He practiced with life preservers because he could not swim. His unit left for the Marshall Islands with a mission to knock out a radio station on the Kwajalein Atoll. This mission was very easy, and it did not take them long to secure the island [Annotator's Note: Battle of Kwajalein, 31 January to 3 February 1944 at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands]. They had some issues figuring out how to time their mission to coincide with the tide. Petrus carried a BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR]. [Annotator's Note: Petrus off topic and begins speaking about Boston transportation infrastructure.] At nightfall, Petrus could see the main island in the distance and the lights of ammunition shells exploding. Once the island was secure, he remained there for another three or four weeks. Previously, when his unit was in Alaska, they were given clothes to wear in the desert which made his time in the cold conditions unbearable [Annotator's Note: Interviewer pauses interview to change tapes at 1:01:18.000; goes black and video reappears at 1:01:30.000].

[Annotator's Note: A woman interrupts interview throughout this segment. Video begins Andrew Petrus of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division already talking.] Petrus witnessed an American plane crash while he was in the Aleutian Islands [Annotator's Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska]. After his tour in the Marshall Islands, his unit was sent back to Hawaii for a short stay and then sent back into the Pacific. After 30 days of sailing, their ship stopped on an island that had a Navy supply dump for a few hours so the troops could get some food and beer. They then headed for the Philippines. Petrus and his unit made an amphibious invasion a day later than the original invasion on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944 at Leyte, Philippines]. They secured the island in time for General MacArthur made an appearance [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area]. When MacArthur decided to invade Luzon [Annotator's Note: Luzon, Philippines], Petrus and his unit were given orders to head for Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] with a Marine Corps unit. Previously on Kwajalein Atoll [Annotator's Note: Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands], the weather and terrain were very favorable.

On Easter morning, 1 April 1945, Andrew Petrus [Annotator's Note: with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] invaded Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945 at Okinawa, Japan]. [Annotator's Note: Video cut at 1:13:27.000 after Petrus begins fidgeting with something off camera.] The weather was beautiful, and the Navy and Air Force were beating the island with bombs, shells, and explosions. An explosion blew off the gate to Petrus' boat, but his unit moved out into the water anyway. His friends, Jonesy and Foreman [Annotator's Note: phonetic spellings], were injured from the explosion and one man was killed. Petrus made it to the beach and worked inland with his unit. Their mission was to cross the island in five days. The first night his unit dug in near a cornfield, and heard people on the outside of the perimeter, so they opened fired in the direction of the noise. The next morning, they found bodies of women and children. His unit made it across the island in 42 hours. They found some more civilians in caves and farmlands. The Marine Corps went north and faced heavy resistance from the Japanese. Petrus' unit was taken to another island which the Japanese were using for artillery training. Petrus was on Okinawa for 30 days. One night, they had dug in near an open field. As he was reporting for mail call, shells began exploding. He ran to his foxhole but was hit in the back with shrapnel. He was taken to a hospital ship. While onboard, a kamikaze [Annotator's Note: Japanese Special Attack Units, also called shimbu-tai, who flew suicide missions in aircraft] hit the ship, damaging the operating room. The ship sailed to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] and admitted him into the Navy hospital. He remained there for a month and then transferred to Kwajalein Atoll [Annotator's Note: Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands] and then back Hawaii. He remained in Hawaii for two months before being shipped to the United States. He was promoted to First Class PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class] and given leave time. He reunited with a friend from high school during this time. He did not report back to base in time and was given an AWOL [Annotator's Note: absent without leave] status, put in jail, and lost his promotion.

[Annotator's Note: A woman interrupts interview throughout this segment.] Andrew Petrus returned home [Annotator's Note: after being wounded in Okinawa, Japan] and was admitted to Walter Reed Army Hospital [Annotator's Note: in Bethesda, Maryland] for rehabilitation. While there he took a course in jewelry making at a local women's college. A wealthy socialite names, McLean, [Annotator's Note: Evalyn Walsh McLean, American mining heiress, socialite, and social leader] in Washington D.C. invited some of the service men to her house for lunch, and Petrus was one of the ones invited. He sat next to Omar Bradley [Annotator's Note: US Army General Omar Nelson Bradley]. McLean showed off the Hope Diamond [Annotator's Note: a 45.54-carat diamond from Kollur Mine in Guntur, India] and the Star of the East Diamond [Annotator's Note: a 94.78-carat diamond likely from India]. He was also given tickets to football games and political rallies. He was also invited to Harry's Truman's [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] daughter's tea parties and birthday party at the White House. After 11 months, he was released from the hospital. He returned to Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan] after three years. He was discharged with a 100-percent disability. He reported back to work as a streetcar driver. He also took a two-year business course in downtown Detroit. He started to get chest pain due to the vibration of the streetcar. He visited a doctor who said that he needed to change job positions for his health. Because he had a 100-percent disability, he was given a check from the government every month and given a new car. He began doing bookkeeping and transferred to a public health department. He then became an inspector in bedding, food, and restaurants. He retired at 55 years old after working 30 years.

[Annotator's Note: Andrew Petrus' wife talks about her family offscreen.] Andrew Petrus had a friend who bought a hotel in California and he and his wife went to visit him. Petrus went to the VA [Annotator's Note: United States Department of Veterans Affairs; also referred to as the Veterans Administration] hospital and found out that some of the shrapnel came out of his lungs. However, the government did not believe him and cut his pension, until he could prove his case to the board of Veterans Affairs. Petrus was not affected by what he experienced in World War 2, especially from the Aleutian battle [Annotator's Note: Operation Cottage, 15 August 1943 at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] . He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.