[Annotator’s Note: This interview is outside so there is a lot of background noise throughout the clip.] Everett Pope was born [Annotator’s Note: in July 1919] in the greater Boston area [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. He attended college at Bowdoin College in Maine and graduated in July 1941. He knew war was coming, so he enlisted in the Marines because he liked the way the dress uniforms looked. He went through Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in November 1941. He joined the 1st Marine Division in April 1942 and was sent overseas in June. He commanded a machine gun company. He boarded a train to San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California] and then boarded the USS Barnett [Annotator’s Note: USS Barnett (APA-5)] that took him and his company to New Zealand where they were supposed to train for six more months. Their plans were cut short, and they boarded a ship headed for Guadalcanal [Annotator’s Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Pope invaded the island on 7 August 1942. His first sight on the island was two Marines playing football with a coconut. Pope knew that they were on the island to capture the airfield [Annotator’s Note: what would become know during World War 2 as Henderson Field and is today the Honiara International Airport], but he had no other information about the island. His company found the airstrip and took it without much resistance. He mostly saw Korean laborers and not very many Japanese. However, for the next three or four months, the Japanese attempted to get the airstrip back. It was not until late August that his company engaged the enemy in serious battle. When the Americans come out on top, Pope knew that the Marines could take on the Japanese. While on Guadalcanal, the Marines were left by the Navy on the first day. The Marines had very little food and ammunition. After four months, Pope left Guadalcanal on Christmas Day [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1942]. The Marine Corps suffered from malaria [Annotator's Note: disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans] while on the island. Because food was scarce, they captured a lot of Japanese rice and went down to two meals a day. Pope recalled that he did more patrols than fighting battles. When he left Guadalcanal, he was taken to Melbourne, Australia for rest. The Australian people welcomed the Marines with open arms. For the first few months, the Marines began to build up the division again and then began training in maneuvers. The 1st Division stayed at a cricket stadium, but many of the Marines befriended Australian families who invited to stay in their homes too.

[Annotator’s Note: The interview is outside, so there is a lot of background noise throughout this clip.] Everett Pope [Annotator’s Note: serving as an officer with the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] left Australia in December 1943 and headed for Cape Gloucester [Annotator’s Note: Cape Gloucester, New Britain]. The mission of his unit was to take an airfield on the island and chase the Japanese out the northwest of the island. His unit mainly patrolled the coast and communicated with the natives and missionaries. After about eight weeks of jungle fighting, his unit was relieved. Pope was awarded the Bronze 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] for leading patrols and killing Japanese. On one patrol, they came across a stream bed with a deep depression across the way. They spotted some Japanese cooking and ambushed them. One of the Japanese, a major, put his hands up and yelled "Don't shoot!" Pope was surprised by this gesture and did not shoot him. When they apprehended and searched him, they saw that he had been a student at the University of California [Annotator’s Note: campus unspecified], and had a California driver’s license. Pope sent him back to the division and does not know what ever happened to him. [Annotator’s Note: There is a break in the video at 0:21:55:000.] After his unit left Cape Gloucester, they were sent to the island of Pavuvu [Annotator’s Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands]. Pope hated the island because it was underdeveloped and unpleasant. His unit trained on the island practicing amphibious invasions. This was also a time when many of the Marines were sent home and new Marines came in as replacements. Pope was not selected to go home at that time. He described his friendship with Andy Haldane [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Captain Andrew Allison Haldane]. While they rested on Pavuvu, Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War] came and performed a USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Inc.] show for the Marines.

[Annotator’s Note: The interview is outside, so there is a lot of background noise throughout this clip.] Before heading to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II; 15 September to 27 November 1944; Peleliu, Palau Islands], Everett Pope [Annotator’s Note: serving as an officer with the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was given command of a rifle company. The Navy had bombarded the island for three days before his company stepped onto the island. Unfortunately, the Japanese were hiding in caves, so the Naval support was considered a failure. On the second day, Pope and his company ran into heavy Japanese resistance by a block house. It took several days and Naval support to secure the area. When he landed on the island, the first sight was amphibious vehicles burning up from Japanese fire. He learned very quickly that the Japanese were well prepared to attack the Marines as they invaded the island. Pope was told by his commander that taking Peleliu would be a quick mission, however, his commander was mistaken. Casualties were heavy on the beach, and the Japanese dominated the shoreline. Pope did not like Chesty Puller [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] and thought he never knew what was going on, and therefore not a good commander. On 19 September, Pope and his company were ordered to take Hill 100. They had much difficulty in taking the hill because they had to move through swamp-like terrain which was very slippery, and the hill was very steep. As they came to a causeway, they were hit with heavy resistance by the Japanese. After much fighting, Pope and the remaining men continued up the hill. There were heavy casualties as they stormed up the hill due to Japanese cannon fire. When Pope reached the top, he realized that the maps they had been given were wrong. During the night, Pope and his men faced hand to hand combat with the Japanese and by dawn, he figured that they would be thrown off the hill. Orders came to Pope to get off the hill, which he did. When he reached the foot of the hill, he found a stone wall where he and his men took cover from the Japanese setting up a machine gun at the top hill. He returned to the causeway. [Annotator’s Note: There is a break in the video at 0:44:00.000.] The following afternoon, Pope received orders from Puller to retake the hill. He found 13 people and was looking for a corpsman [Annotator's Note: enlisted medical specialist in the US Navy who may also serve in the US Marine Corps] when he received orders that the mission was cancelled. Pope and his men were so low on ammunition while on Hill 100, that they were throwing rocks at the Japanese. After the mission on Hill 100, Pope and his remaining men took rest on a beach. Pope came across a mortar man that he had recruited to the Marines, and the man wanted to kill him. Pope was injured from shrapnel during his mission on Hill 100 and pulled it out with pliers. [Annotator’s Note: The video goes black from 0:54:48.000 to 0:55:03.000.]

[Annotator’s Note: The interview is outside, so there is background noise throughout this clip.] After his mission on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II; 15 September to 27 November 1944; Peleliu, Palau], Everett Pope [Annotator’s Note: serving as an officer with the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was sent back to the island of Pavuvu [Annotator’s Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands]. He soon learned that his friend and college mate, Andy Haldane [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Captain Andrew Allison Haldane] was killed at Peleliu. Orders came through that Pope and many of the men he fought with for the past two years would be returning to the United States. He boarded an Army transport ship with 1,000 men and arrived in San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] harbor. When he got to the hotel, he called his wife and told her that he was back in America. Pope was assigned for one year as a student in a Japanese language course at Yale University [Annotator’s Note: in New Haven, Connecticut]. While he was in school, Pope received news that he would receive the Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor] for his actions on Peleliu. President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] signed the citation, but he died before the ceremony, so President Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] presented the medal to Pope in June 1945. Pope remarked that he would have been part of the initial invasion of the Japanese mainland and hundreds of thousands of people would have been killed if Truman had not given orders to drop the atomic bombs. After the war concluded, Pope found a job working at a bank in Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts] and eventually became president of the bank. He retired after 35 years. He and his wife moved Florida.

[Annotator’s Note: The interview is outside, so there is background noise throughout this clip.] Not one day goes by that Everett Pope does not think about his experience on Peleliu. He cannot escape the memory of the men that died during that campaign. After being awarded the Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor], he felt pressure to continue to serve in the Marine Corps by higher officials, but Pope did not agree with that. He had a tremendous respect for the Marines that are on active duty, but is opposed to the War in Iraq.