George N. Boutwell was born in July 1924 in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up with one older brother and a younger sister. He had another sister who died at two years old, before he was born. After his father died, his mother remarried and had another son. Boutwell’s half-brother served in the Army and died in Germany from a heart attack. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], Boutwell’s family was poor and relied on welfare programs to get by. His mother washed and ironed, and he delivered newspapers and mowed lawns. In the late 1930s, he was aware of world affairs but did not think the United States would become directly involved. In December 1941, Boutwell was working as a soda jerk when he found out of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Following the attack, military recruiting stations were packed and the enthusiasm to fight was palpable. In January 1943, Boutwell finished high school and stayed home to aid his mother who suffered from tuberculosis. In late April, he enlisted in the Marine Corps along with friends from high school. They were inducted at For McClellan [Annotator’s Note: Anniston, Alabama] and given physicals. While Boutwell served in the Marines, his older brother served in the Navy as an electrician. He was training in Camp Pendleton, California when his mother died, and he returned home for the funeral. During his training he was homesick. The instructors were very serious and yelled at him a lot, especially on the rifle range. Boutwell scored well at the rifle range and became a sharpshooter.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] After recruit training, George N. Boutwell was assigned as a clerk typist with Headquarters and Service Company, 5th Medical Battalion, 5th Marine Division. In August 1944 he boarded a merchant ship bound for Hawaii from San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California]. The food on the ship was not very good, but luckily it was only a five-day voyage. Boutwell was stationed at the Parker Ranch [Annotator’s Note: Also called Camp Tarawa] until December 1944 when the 5th Marine Division engaged in invasion training on the island of Maui [Annotator’s Note: Maui, Hawaii]. He was allowed liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in Honolulu [Annotator’s Note: Honolulu, Hawaii] in January 1945. When they sailed into the Pacific in early February 1945, they were told they were heading for Iwo Jima [Annotator’s Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] and could expect to secure the island in 10 days. Boutwell drove a Jeep ashore on D+4 [Annotator's Note: four days after the initial invasion; the Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February to 26 March 1945] and delivered supplies to a hospital that had been established near an airfield on the island. He recalled seeing the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi. Boutwell never really had a strong opinion about the Japanese. He just knew that he had to follow orders. He had a difficult time driving the jeep up onto the beach because the wheels could not get any tread on the sand. He had some engineers pull him up with a tractor. Boutwell found his unit and begin setting up a hospital on the island. He had some breakfast with the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] until they were told to stop, and to eat their K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals]. He recalls hearing that the Germans had surrendered while on Iwo Jima, though it was only a false alarm.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] George N. Boutwell [Annotator’s Note: serving with the Headquarters and Service Company, 5th Medical Battalion, 5th Marine Division] was serving on Iwo Jima, Japan [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February to 26 March 1945; Iwo Jima, Japan] during World War 2. On 27 March, Boutwell left Iwo Jima for Hawaii. He was part of the burial detail for two Marines on this voyage. He managed to visit his brother during a brief stop on Eniwetok [Annotator’s Note: Eniwetok, Marshall Islands]. He saw over 150 ships in the harbor. His ship continued to Hawaii, where the flags were at half-mast when he arrived because FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] had just died [Annotator's Note: on 12 April 1945]. Boutwell was in Hawaii when the war ended. He was glad the war was over and felt sure that the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] saved many lives in the long run. In September 1945, he arrived in Sasebo, Japan for occupation duty. He could smell a horrible odor from the shore because the Japanese used human feces for fertilizer. Boutwell was very nice to the local children and gave them food. He realized that the Japanese had not wanted to go to war any more than the average American. He was subsequently stationed at a hospital in Nagasaki [Annotator’s Note: Nagasaki, Japan] for two months. He was surprised by the destruction of the city. He had his own quarters, and the Japanese took care of them, cutting their hair and giving them oranges. He returned to Sasebo in late January 1946 and 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] was there performing shows.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] In March 1946, George N. Boutwell began his voyage back to the United States. He was discharged in April as a sergeant, but joined the Reserves a few months later after he returned to Birmingham [Annotator’s Note: Birmingham, Alabama]. He trained about every two weeks. Through much of the 1950s, he served on Reserve active duty. He also found a job working in the oil business as a bookkeeper. He married his wife on 11 August 1950. On Labor Day 1950, Boutwell joined an active-duty Marine outfit in California. He and his friend found out that they were in the same unit. Both their wives and children were able to come out and visit them in California. Boutwell was promoted to staff sergeant during this time. He visited different areas of California with his family and friends while he was stationed there. He returned to the station one night and found out that there had been a fire at an ammo depot. He was told to get some food and get ready. They went to the area of the fire and help extinguish the fire. He was discharged again in 1951 and returned to Birmingham to work for Standard Oil Company. After six months, he asked for a raise, but the company told him no. By the persuasion of his friend, he joined the Marine Corps again because he would make more money in the military. He moved his family out to California in 1960.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] George N. Boutwell reenlisted with the Marines in 1960 and moved his family to California. His wife drove the car with their children from Birmingham [Annotator’s Note: Birmingham, Alabama] to California. She had stopped in New Mexico and was told by a mechanic she needs new tires. Boutwell and a friend met her and drove the car to California. They found a house in Vista, California. He left California for some administrative training and schooling at Parris Island [Annotator’s Note: Parris Island, South Carolina]. He became a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Division and served in the battalion landing team throughout ports in the Pacific, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, and China. When he was in the jungles in the Pacific, he had a hard time during the time of day because the flora was so thick. When he returned from his deployment, he took his family to Birmingham and then to Utah to visit some friends.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] In 1969, George N. Boutwell served a tour of duty in Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] as the first sergeant of Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. His unit’s mission was to help with the Vietnamese scouts and patrol the area for four or five days. He was part of 12 patrols. One of his corporals got shot in the leg, and while a lieutenant was bandaging him up, he was shot in the heart by the enemy. On another occasion, Boutwell found out that one of the Marines did not want to go on patrol, so his commander went over and pulled the Marine out of bed and berated him until he followed orders. Boutwell knew that Vietnam was not a popular war and was viewed negatively by the American people. He tells a story of a young marine that enjoyed photography and took a photograph of Boutwell. Days later, the young Marine died on patrol. The patrol team could not get his body out, so the company commander grouped a special team to retrieve the body. One night while watching a movie in the mess hall, a rocket blew up nearby. Boutwell had to gather his unit and bring them to a bunker. He left Vietnam in December 1969 and went to Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan], returning to the United States the following June. He believes that the war was very unpopular because the media viewpoint and coverage of the war.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] George N. Boutwell served in the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975]. The logistics of the war caused many problems and could have been won if it was fought differently. Before Vietnam, in 1963, he became a drill instructor at Camp Pendleton [Annotator’s Note: Camp Pendleton, California]. Being from Birmingham, Alabama he was afraid he would not get the position because of the racial tensions going on in the South. However, Boutwell told the board that he had no problem training a black person to be a Marine. Boutwell learned later that his company commanders and leaders did not think he would make it out of instructor training, but he exceeded their expectations. He received positive words from a colonel whose son was in Boutwell’s recruit unit. As a drill instructor, he managed four platoons, and made sure all his recruits went to church on Sunday. He found an envelope of 200 dollars and let his commander decide what to do with the money. He also said there was a squad leader that did not like a platoon guide. The Squad leader jumped the platoon guide, so the guide bit the squad leader’s earlobe off.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] George N. Boutwell served as a drill instructor in 1963 at NORAD [Annotator’s Note: North American Aerospace Defense Command] Headquarters in Colorado Springs [Annotator’s Note: Colorado Springs, Colorado]. He retired from the Marines on 5 August 1975 with the rank of Sergeant Major. He was last stationed at Camp Lejeune [Annotator’s Note: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina] for four months. He also did independent duty from 1970 to 1974 at Dobbins Air Force Base [Annotator’s Note: in Marietta, Georgia]. In 1963, defore Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975], Boutwell became a Drill Instructor at Camp Pendleton [Annotator’s Note: Camp Pendleton, California] until he was assigned to NORAD Headquarters in Colorado Springs. He met 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] while he was in Colorado. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 2:00:48.000.] Boutwell was an escort for celebrations in Colorado Springs, and later had a formal dinner party.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear ringing from interviewee’s hearing aid throughout segment.] George N. Boutwell’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was when he entered Japan during occupation. He fought because it was his duty. The war changed his life by giving him more respect for the military and he made a career out of it. His service allowed him to receive benefits from the government. Younger Americans do not know anything about World War 2 and the major battles. Boutwell believes there should be institutions like the National World War 2 Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.