Emory Maurice Ornelles was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in September 1922. He lived in Waikiki two blocks from the beach and five miles from Pearl Harbor. He was just leaving church when the Japanese attacked on that horrible Sunday [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He did not see the explosions in the harbor, but he did see Japanese planes flying overhead. Toward the end of the attack, he witnessed two American planes flying to meet them. He could hear the attack. Everyone clustered around the radio. Not at war with Japan, two of their ambassadors were in Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.] talking peace terms at the same time as they were bombing the fleet. Although he did not see the sunken ships immediately, he did a few days later when he was in the Army. Ornelles was 19 years old and in college studying to become a dentist at the time. The Army did not assign him to the Medical Corps but put him in the infantry instead. He would be closer to the enemy than anyone other than forward observers [Annotator's Note: forward observers were placed ahead of the troops to locate enemy positions for artillery shelling coordinate identification]. It was announced that Oahu [Annotator's Note: Oahu, Hawaii] was being bombed by planes with the rising sun on the wings [Annotator's Note: the Japanese red circle insignia]. Such care was being taken that no one mentioned the Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] were bombing the island. It is ridiculous, but we were not at war with Japan.

Emory Maurice Ornelles joined the Army at the Honolulu Armory [Annotator's Note: he had just witnessed Japanese planes flying over Honolulu, Hawaii to attack Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941]. A radio announcement said for anyone who was in high school or college ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] to don their uniforms and report to the Armory. No mention was made of whether they were drafted or anything. Ornelles' father drove him there and would not see him again until Christmas [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1941]. His uniform showed three stripes of a buck sergeant because he played solo clarinet in the band. He had no training at all in handling a rifle or other military things. He just played in the band. Nevertheless, Captain Chang [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] saw the stripes and put Ornelles in charge of a squad of six or seven men who were to guard a reservoir [Annotator's Note: a water reservoir]. Their mission was to keep the Japanese from poisoning it. When Ornelles complained that he did not know anything about the military, the captain remembered Ornelles as a football player at the University of Hawaii [Annotator's Note: The University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii]. He told Ornelles that he was a smart man, gave him a very thick field manual, and told him to learn it. After Ornelles opened the book, he immediately closed it because it was too complicated. He got his squad together and headed to the reservoir. On a break in route, he told the men to practice loading their rifles. He told them to slowly load the rifles, counting out and shouting the process they followed. Ornelles observed them closely and then went behind a tree and loaded his own rifle. That was how he got started in the Army [Annotator's Note: he laughs]. In spite of that, we won the war. The Army illogically sent him to Europe instead of the Pacific. He received official training on Oahu for six months. He was tested for officer potential. He passed the test very well and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia to become an officer. He became a 90-day wonder [Annotator's Note: derogatory slang for a newly commissioned graduate of three month, or 90-day, officer candidate or midshipman school]. The training was extensive and intense during the 90 days. It was a very good course. The paratroopers were also training there. Ornelles considered transferring into the paratroopers but decided otherwise. In April [Annotator's Note: April 1943], he was shipped off to Europe. It was then that he realized he was actually in the Army. The convoy crossed the Atlantic with destroyer escorts that encountered a German U-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] that wanted to attack the transports. Ornelles realized he was finally in the Army.

Emory Maurice Ornelles was sent to Camp Wolters [Annotator's Note: later Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas] for training as a replacement officer. That was where he saw his first snake. There are no snakes in Hawaii [Annotator's Note: where he was born].. He was frightened by his first encounter with one. He hates snakes. After graduation from officer training school as a lieutenant, he was sent to join a company in the 1st Army [Annotator's Note: 90th Infantry Division]. It took some time to find the company. He saw a truck with what he thought were logs sticking out of it. It turned out to be the legs of dead soldiers. The body bags had not reached the front. They put the bodies in trucks and hauled them off. It was depressing to Ornelles. He will never forget the sight of the legs. He joined the company in early June [Annotator's Note: June 1944]. The company had four platoons. He initially did not have one. He was advised by the captain to be patient. He would soon have one after the first big offensive. The captain was right as he soon had the 3rd Platoon [Annotator's Note: unable to identify what battalion or regiment]. The action was in Normandy, France where he landed six days after D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. All the destroyed equipment was littered on the beach. The injured and dead were removed from Omaha Beach [Annotator's Note: Omaha Beach in Normandy, France] where he landed. The Germans were fastidious about laying mines [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact] and identifying safe passages. They forgot to remove the safe passage signs written in German, so the Americans took advantage of that. 50 years later, Ornelles returned to the battlefield for recognition of his division by President Bill Clinton [Annotator's Note: William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the US, 1993-2001]. A nice young reporter spoke with Ornelles. It was Tom Brokaw [Annotator's Note: Thomas John Brokaw, American television journalist and author] who called the veterans the best generation [Annotator's Note: the term The Greatest Generation refers to the generation in the United States that came of age during the Great Depression and later fought in World War 2 and is derived from the book The Greatest Generation by American network television journalist and author Tom Brokaw]. There were four tanks assigned to the company. Ornelles was the liaison between the tanks and the company. The tanks drew enemy artillery fire. That was when he had his most horrible, personal experience.

Emory Maurice Ornelles [Annotator's Note: in the 90th Infantry Division] was working with tanks when a driver asked him if he wanted to ride inside to avoid machine gun fire. Lieutenant Ornelles gladly agreed and sat in the bottom. There were five crew members besides Ornelles. The battalion commander had told him that the road they were to travel was perfectly safe. Ornelles felt comfortable until he held the artillery. A German 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] struck the tank. Three crewmen were killed immediately. One was wounded. The driver was not too badly hurt so he moved the tank off the road. Germans advanced on the derelict tank. Ornelles had studied German in college and could translate what they were saying. The man in charge of the group of four enemy soldiers told his sergeant to throw a hand grenade in the tank. The sergeant said that the crew was kaput [Annotator's Note: slang for broken or useless] because the tank was so badly damaged. Ornelles was ready to give up before they threw the grenade. Thank God—not everyone was kaput. Ornelles knew where his company was, so he followed his training, put mud on his face, removed shiny objects, and wriggled through the grass back to his lines. The Germans persisted in trying to find him and the other uninjured man. As artillery rounds were fired overhead, the two men continued to progress. Finally reaching safety, the two made it to their company where they were challenged. Ornelles said they were survivors from the blasted tank. Asked if any others were back there, Ornelles said one man was there, but he could not walk. Ornelles was ordered to go with a medic back to the tank and retrieve the last man alive. Reaching the tank, Germans overheard the loud medic. Ornelles had previously warned the medic to keep quiet. The enemy challenged the American voice and when the medic spoke to them, they shot him. Ornelles had previously dropped into the grass and sought to escape through the same field a second time. As artillery rounds went overhead, Ornelles spent two hours getting back to his lines. He told them the medic was killed. He did manage to learn where the Germans were digging in for the night. Massive artillery shelled the area designated by Ornelles. He fell asleep exhausted but with a good feeling. The next day, he passed the location and saw the many Germans he killed that day. He felt good about it considering the trouble they had caused him by hunting him for hours. The company clerk made out a morning report to indicate who was killed in action. Ornelles had been put in as missing in action. Luckily, the report was late going in, so Ornelles' wife did not have the incorrect information to worry her.

Emory Maurice Ornelles and the 90th Infantry Division was transferred from the 1st Army to the 3rd Army under General George S. Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.]. He was known as Old Blood and Guts. The joke was that it was his guts and the division's blood. Ornelles met General Patton face-to-face twice. In May 1945, the division had crossed northern France and was ready to be first to go into Germany. The Saar River ran parallel to the Rhine River and had to be crossed prior to reaching Germany. Ornelles was tasked with a night patrol with three volunteers from his 42-man platoon. They were to reconnoiter the river for machine gun positions and verify the slope of the banks of the river. Ornelles picked the three for his patrol. The selected men did the best they could. A master sergeant who had been on night patrols showed them how to prepare. They removed shiny buckles and the hard helmets plus covered their faces with dark make-up. They were warned not to look at the moon too much. Paddles for the boat were covered with cloth so they did not splash too much. The patrol snuck across and could hear the Germans talking and even those asleep who were snoring. The Americans checked out the area for emplacements. One of the enemies awoke but did not pursue the patrol. Using the paddles, the men poked the bottom of the river and could tell the selected landing spot would be dangerous. When the Germans heard the Americans, they started firing. Tracer rounds came close to the patrol. It was nerve racking, but the enemy fire missed them. Reporting their search findings to the battalion commander, he was more interested in the slope of the river than the machine gun locations. The location was changed which saved hundreds of lives. Ornelles received the Silver Star for his actions [Annotator's Note: the Silver Star Medal is the third-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy]. That military decoration is the third highest he could receive.

Emory Maurice Ornelles felt World War 2 was the last good war. The Americans all pulled together and were united. They accomplished a miracle in a complicated situation. Not just D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] but the entire war was complicated. It was completely different from anything experienced before, but Americans adapted because they were 100 percent in it. Even in the most horrible events of war, there are some good things and even funny things going on. If you connect with those, you can survive. Friendships with fellow soldiers are an example of good things. World War 2 should be studied for a long time. There will never be one like that again. Millions of men fought in the air, on the ground, and sea. Terrorists and guerrillas provide for a horrible condition today, but it is not war. Ornelles closes with recognition of his family in Hawaii, Texas and South Carolina. He says to them that he is still alive and kicking, and he will love them to the day he dies.