Earl Dean Browning was born in January 1926 in Annawan, Illinois. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Browning what it was like to grow up there during the Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945.] Nobody knew each other was poor because everybody was the same. His uncle had a farming store and he worked there. It was a farming community and still is. He had one brother. He had several aunts and uncles and they all lived in a small section of the town known as Browningville. For fun, he played sports as that is all they had. He was at home listening to the radio and the news came on and said the Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was in disbelief. He had some idea of where it was. At that time, everybody was volunteering or being drafted. He and a buddy were seniors at high school and got their draft notices. The superintendent pleaded their case and they were allowed to stay in school until they graduated [Annotator's Note: in 1944]. His buddy then got the Navy. Browning volunteered for the Marines but got the Army.

Earl Dean Browning holds up a book that he put together after he came home from the service [Annotator's Note: in August 1946]. He uses it so he can remember what happened. It was an interesting time. It was not a fun time. He was in several skirmishes where he thought he was going to get shot but he did not. He came out with a medal and now he is trying to fight a virus. Basic training was hell at Fort Hood, Texas [Annotator's Note: near Killeen, Texas] and it was really hot. Many times they went on 25 mile forced field marches with full pack and rifle. He was in an anti-tank company as a rifleman. They had 57mm anti-tank guns [Annotator's Note: M1 57mm anti-tank gun] in training, but in combat they had 37mm guns [Annotator's Note: M3 37mm anti-tank gun]. The 57 was quite a gun. Browning went overseas at Christmas 1944. They finished basic and went to Fort Ord, California [Annotator's Note: now Fort Ord National Monument, Monterey Bay, California]. The trip overseas was an experience. He had never seen ships that size. His bunk was way down in the bottom hold and he had a bottom bunk. He could feel every vibration, particularly in storms. They spent 31 days with one quart of water per day. He was never so thirsty in his life. Water was sacred. They landed on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte, Philippines], and he thinks he guzzled five gallons of water. The Japs [Annotator's Note: derogatory period term for Japanese] bombed them at the replacement depot. They bombed them every night in a row until the engineers painted three P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft] flat black. The P-38s got the bombers after that. They reboarded the ship and went to the Lingayen Gulf [Annotator's Note: Lingayen Gulf, Philippines]. His company [Annotator's Note: Anti-Tank Company, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division] had made roads and his column traveled by truck. They had six-by-sixes [Annotator's Note: two and a half ton, six by six truck, also known as deuce and a half] which were good trucks. One guy he was assigned to had been there 16 years. He was Regular Army [Annotator's Note: United States Army] and he treated Browning like a son.

Earl Dean Browning was on a gun crew in his company [Annotator's Note: Anti-Tank Company, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division]. He did just about everything that nobody else wanted to do. He was gunner sometimes, loader sometimes. The 37s [Annotator's Note: M3 37mm anti-tank gun] and bazookas [Annotator's Note: man-portable recoilless 2.36 inch anti-tank rocket launcher weapon] did a good job. Encountering a tank was like having a car come in an intersection. Everybody fired towards the tank whether you had a bazooka or an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand]. They wiped them out because they were not heavily clad with armor. They used their M1s with armor-piercing bullets on the infantry. They would go through trees. They intercepted a group of Japanese trying to infiltrate their lines and they killed all 27 of them. One was standing behind a tree about six to eight inches diameter. The bullet shot through the tree and through him. Browning loaded his gun with a tracer, then regular ammo, and then armor-piercing alternatingly in his clip.

Earl Dean Browning took part in three major battles [Annotator's Note: with the Anti-Tank Company, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division]. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer lists them as Battle of Baguio, 21 February to 26 April 1945, Baguio, Luzon, Philippines; Battle of Balete Pass, 21 February to 31 May 1945, Dalton Pass, Luzon, Philippines; and the Battle of Santa Fe, 13 May to 27 May, 1945.] Balete Pass stands out most in his mind. They were fighting for that pass because it symbolized the strong point on Luzon [Annotator's Note: Battle of Luzon, 9 January 1945 to 15 August 1945; Luzon, Philippines]. When they won that pass, it was a beautiful thing. They had P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft], P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft] and Corsairs [Annotator's Note: Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft] backing them up all the way through. They did a victory roll all down the Pass and it was great. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Browning to tell him about some of the close calls he had.] You do not want to hear that. Mortars landed close by him. He had a six-and-a-half-inch mortar land about 30 feet from him. It knocked out his hearing. His platoon sergeant asked if he was hurt. They both had bleeding noses. Browning still has problems hearing today. Browning thinks their equipment and training were great. Everything worked out fine. The guns were in good shape. One time his rifle would not fire. His sergeant gave him a brand new gun in Cosmoline [Annotator's Note: name for petroleum-based corrosion inhibitors] while in combat. He ran down a jeep and stole a gallon of gasoline to clean the Cosmoline off. That was a good gun, and he should have brought it home. He wishes he had it. He could have mailed it in a box.

The Filipino people were great, just like any American doing the same thing. They were forced to be in a war. When Earl Dean Browning landed [Annotator's Note: with the Anti-Tank Company, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division], he was in good hands. He liked them a great deal. He would like to see the family he met in the backcountry again. It meant a great deal to help free them. The biggest thing in his mind though was to get home. After securing Luzon [Annotator's Note: Luzon, Philippines] and the war there was over, they went into training again. That did not make them happy. Browning was scared to death of having to invade Japan. He knew how vicious the Japanese were. It would have been almost impossible. Browning was happy to hear about the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] but was concerned about how it was going to be used. It was used properly, and they did a good job with it. The day the war ended was just another day. Browning went on occupation duty but felt he should have been sent home, but it was the best for the country and the right thing to do. He got to know the people and learned the people were the same as people here [Annotator's Note: in the United States]. He would like to see some of them today. He really liked the kids. They loved to play ball. His feelings had changed about them. These were the common people and were good solid people.

Earl Dean Browning had one day where the 25th Division [Annotator's Note: 25th Infantry Division] had a parade in Kyoto, Japan. They had not been given any recognition and it was nice. He did not see that much destruction. The cities were bombed, and the manufacturing areas were flattened, he was not surprised by that. He never could listen to the War Crimes Tribunals [Annotator's Note: The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal]. He always got the news secondhand. Getting his notice to get ready to go home was the highlight of everything. [Annotator's Note: Browning gets his book to see when he got home.] He returned home on 25 August 1946. It was longer than he thought it would be. He was discharged that day as a Tech Sergeant [Annotator's Note: Technical Sergeant; now referred to as Sergeant First Class; E7] and platoon leader at Fort Sheridan [Annotator's Note: in Lake Forest, Illinois]. He did not consider staying in the Army. A recruiter would come to his place of business almost weekly for a while. He said no every time. They wanted him to train the recruits. He was done. He went to college on 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]. That was the best thing that ever happened to this country, and it should be done again. Anybody who does not take it is foolish. Go to school and be most anything you want to be.

Earl Dean Browning had no problems becoming a civilian. You have to make up your mind. His was that he was going to go home and be part of the family. That was it. He thinks post traumatic stress is kind of a joke. You can have nightmares all night long if you want to. You can just say it is over and it is done. A lot of guys cannot get rid of it but that is their problem. He cannot say that any one experience is outstanding more than any other because everything was important in order for him to come home safe and sound. The troopship on the way back was exciting. The troopship going over was 31 days with one canteen [Annotator's Note: one canteen of water per day]. Coming home, everybody was rowdy. They landed in California. Going over, the transport's desalination could not keep up with supplying water. He had no trouble being seasick. If you like hard-boiled egg, sugar bacon, or half-fried pork chop they had good food. Coming home was different and they had good food. Beans are not bad and better than most things. Ham and beans and K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals] he will still take.

Earl Dean Browning holds up a book and shows a page about the fighting at Balete Pass [Annotator's Note: Battle of Balete Pass, 21 February to 31 May 1945; Dalton Pass, Luzon, Philippines]. They killed 7,400 Japanese. The Americans lost 2,300. There were a lot of people lost fighting for that pass. He was there every day in it. Browning fought in World War 2 because he was drafted and that was it. He does not know why anybody would fight on their own. He would not have enlisted. His daughter reminded him of his best meal on ship. They were going overseas and had cream turkey on toast. Everybody on the ship got food poisoning. They were lined up for bathrooms or hanging over the rails. All of the waste was blowing back on the ship. The day after they had to hose it all down. That was still the best meal they had. He does not know how the war changed his life. He probably would have been working at the same store as before the war. One time, a family thought they were doing the right thing and mailed melons to their son at Fort Hood, Texas [Annotator's Note: in Killeen, Texas]. They were rotten and the juice was all over the mail. The kid really suffered for that. Browning is proud he served. He wishes other people would take the same attitude and join up. You will not know the country is the best in the world until you get out of it. You cannot find anything better. World War 2 is something that happened in a monstrous time. It affected everybody and is the best thing that ever happened. It changed a lot of things. Browning thinks it is definitely important for the museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] to exist and to teach future generations about the war. He taught school for 37 years and kids do not know about it. They could care less but they need to be reminded. The museum has a hard job to do the greatest job.