Hilar Clement Moore, Jr., served in the United States Marine Corps in the 2nd Marine Division. During the war, he was a PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class; E-2], but retired as a Sergeant Major [Annotator's Note: senior sergeant; E-9]. He was born in May 1925 in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. Moore had some great times as a kid. He went to school and had plenty of friends. They played baseball and football in the old railroad yard. During the week, the kids made their own baseball diamonds and formed their own teams. Nobody had much money. A family friend worked in the local cotton mill and would bring some thread home and the kids used it to make baseballs. Occasionally there were fights, but the kids still left as friends. They would use knives to play games. Knives were gifts from family members. Moore's father had been a Marine in World War 1 and worked as a barber, and his mother stayed at home. She had contracted malaria [Annotator's Note: a mosquito-borne tropical virus], so she would occasionally be ill. Moore's mother always made sure the family was fed and that the kids went to church and did their homework. The family ate plenty of red beans and spaghetti. Moore was returning home on a streetcar after playing football in Audubon Park when he heard about the attack at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. The boys did not know where Pearl Harbor was located. That evening, Moore went to a drug store and that is how he found out where it was. By that time, he knew Europe was not doing well. The following day, high school seniors started joining the military. The professors wanted the kids to finish their education before going to war. Everyone wanted to join the war effort. Because his father was a Marine in World War 1, and because of all of the Marine Corps movies, Moore wanted to join the Marine Corps. When He told his father about joining, his father did not think Moore would make it into the branch. Just before graduating, his father sent him to try to join the Navy. While in a physical, Moore found out he was color blind, disqualifying him from the Navy, so he joined the Marine Corps instead. As he did his official physical for the military, Moore memorized the color chart so he could pass the test. His colorblindness never affected Moore. His boot camp was in San Diego [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego County, California]. He did not attend any specialized school. He tried to become a seagoing Marine, but failed his test. Moore was in great physical condition after boot camp. From there, he did artillery training at Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California]. Moore's drill instructor was a small man, but tough. Moore enjoyed his training and thinks today's Marines have a tougher training regime. He entered boot camp in the summer of 1943 and was shipped overseas by December.

Hilar Moore sailed from San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He remained there for about a month, and then was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division stationed on the big island of Hawaii. Because the base was between two mountains, it would get cool at night and then be a beautiful day. He trained there from January [Annotator's Note: January 1944] to May then was loaded onto a ship that sent him back to Pearl Harbor for two weeks while the fleet prepared to sail to Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands]. While sailing, the fleet had a day of R&R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation] in the Marshall Islands. On 15 June 1944, Moore landed on Saipan. He knew wars were being fought across the world and felt like the battle was no big deal, that the Marines would take the island. Being onboard the ship was nice. He was on an attack cargo ship, not a transport ship. His gun was going to be one of the first on the beach. Moore was fed good meals, ice cream, and had plenty of time to read and relax. At night, the ships sailed under blackout conditions, but it was peaceful. The day of the landing, Moore felt for fear, especially getting on the Higgin's Boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat]. He did not land in the first wave, he landed that night and started firing the next day. In the foxhole, he could hear all sorts of creatures moving around. The nights were peaceful, but scary. The first firing mission happened after the full battery came ashore. The island had a large mountain on it and the infantry had a hard time clearing out the heights. The Japanese used the heights to fire on the Americans. A forward observer would call back firing locations. Moore usually fired on vehicle convoys, pillboxes, and troops. He trained on the 105mm [Annotator’s Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer] and then was given a 155 howitzer [Annotator’s Note: M1 155mm howitzer] before the invasion. His unit was the second 155mm howitzer battalion in the corps artillery. By the end of the operation on Saipan, Moore was sent to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands] to fight. He moved six or seven times before operations on Saipan were over. One night, the Japanese broke into the rear where the artillery was located. The artillerymen fired their guns at point blank range against the Japanese. During banzai attacks, you never knew what would happen, if the front line would hold. When the Japanese broke through, the Americans got their bayonets ready for hand-to-hand combat. The Japanese used banzai attacks often until Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February though 26 March 1945]. As Moore moved forward, he could see the after effects of battles. He saw many dead Japanese and Americans. After firing missions, lists of targets hit would be brought back to the crews. On Saipan, the infantry moved around the low areas where the Japanese were located. The Japanese were surrounded and would come out at night looking for food. They would break into American lines. Moore thought the Japanese were generally small, but they had larger Marines. They all wanted to win, and if they could not, they would commit suicide. Moore admired their steadfastness. He thought they were good fighters. Moore did not see any civilian suicides, but was told about them. Boats would circle the island asking the civilians not to jump off the island's cliffs. Finally, enough American troops and Japanese prisoners made it to the area to talk them out of the suicides. As the Americans moved forward, the civilians would move into the American rear.

Hilar Moore was shipped to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands] after the invasion started. He took an overnight boat ride to the island to support the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade [Annotator's Note: 1st Provisional Marine Brigade]. He did the same kind of work on Guam that he did on Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands]. The Japanese were harder to dislodge on Guam. Moore thought it felt good to take Guam back from the Japanese. The locals moved up the road to get away from the fighting. It was hard to keep them calm. During the day, one of the local kids would hang around the Marines, so they showed him how to fire a weapon. Guam was a beautiful island and Moore went back 50 years later for the anniversary of the recapture of the island. He felt good going back because the locals were so grateful to the Americans. He felt like the Japanese would rather kill themselves than get captured and lose the battle. Guam was a bigger island than Saipan, so there were Japanese who eluded capture for several years. Moore was not as nervous on Guam, but it was still scary. There was more incoming artillery fire on Saipan. From Guam, Moore was sent back to Hawaii where he started training with the 5th Marine Division. He remained there until Christmas 1944. He attended midnight mass on the island. Everyone knew they would be leaving soon for another operation. The priest gave a sermon about making it the best mass they could. Moore never thought he would die. Christmas away from home was always sad. He received many letters from home except when he was on Guam because he did not have time. His mother called the Red Cross [Annotator's Note: an international aid association] to ask about him because he stopped writing while on Guam. He wrote to his family and his girlfriend. He also wrote to some of his school friends and the nuns that taught him. Moore enjoyed reading letters from his teachers. His training on Hawaii entailed working around the islands volcano. The men had to wear goggles to protect their eyes. They would come home with ash rings around the goggles. The Marines hiked often and were all worried about gas attacks. They carried gas masks, but would ditch them because they were too much extra to carry. While on Guam, artillery hit a mountain and fumes came out. All the Marines started looking for their masks. Everyone had to shave to keep the mask air tight. A week after the mass, the fleet for Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] was convened. Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February through 26 March 1945] was being bombarded by the Navy and Air Corps, so the Marines figured that was where they were going. Once the ships were loaded, Moore went to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], then set sail. They stopped in the Marshall Islands for a couple of days, then set sail for Iwo Jima.

Hilar Moore arrived at Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February through 26 March 1945] and the Navy started bombarding it. The Marines did not think it would take long to take the island. The Japanese did a good job of digging tunnels underground with hospitals and mess halls. They found them after the battle was over. The Japanese general did not let his men do banzai charges. Moore could see Mount Suribachi [Annotator's Note: an extinct volcano on Iwo Jima]. The smoke was bad and it was a cold day. There was mist and some rain. Moore went ashore on the evening of the second day. It was miserable moving through the sand. They used special kinds of tractors to pull the guns. Moore set up his guns below Mount Suribachi. The 5th Marine Division had already split the island in two. He did not fire on the mountain as much as he did on the other side of the island. Moore saw the flag flying on the top of the mountain. He could hear the ships blasting their horns and saw men pointing at the flag. The island was small, so Moore only moved once while there. His gun could shoot 15 miles. One night, the Japanese hit the ammunition dump, causing a massive explosion. Moore tried to shade himself from the flares flying around. It scared the Marines nearby. The Japanese had a large mortar that was used every night. It sounded like a train coming through. Most of the shells landed in the ocean. Moore's first impression of the beach was people everywhere working. People were trying to cross the sand to get to the airfield. There were roughly 60,000 Marines on the island. Being close to the airfield, Moore could see the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] working on it. They used bulldozers and bullets would hit the steel machines. Moore saw the first B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] land on the airfield. He did not think it would survive the landing, but it did. The Marines felt like they had accomplished something when they saw that landing. Moore moved around cautiously. He watched fighter planes take off to escort the bombers. The pilots bivouacked [Annotator's Note: a bivouac is a temporary campsite] near the airfield. Once the island was secured and Moore had left, the Japanese amassed some men and killed some of the pilots. The Marines were told about the attack after they were out to sea. At Suribachi, the Marines would collapse the caves to trap the Japanese in them. His first day on the island was miserable. They had to dig holes and it was raining. Artillery fire was coming in and hit one of the guns during the night. The Marines managed to make it operational again after a few days of work. The nights were scary. They did not know how many Japanese were in the caves and they would come out, so they had to blow them closed. Moore never had a close encounter with the Japanese. He mostly fired on troops and pillboxes. It was not easy breaking through the pillboxes. The infantry loved the artillery. Moore thinks the artillery did a good job. Moore was told the guns would be left on the island and he would be transferred to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands]. He boarded a Higgin's Boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] to board his ship. It took five days to reach Guam. Moore wished he could have stayed longer. He was told the island was secured. Because the guns were left, Moore did not know what would happen next. He was on a Merchant Marine ship, which was not as nice as a Navy ship. He was fed twice a day. One man started selling sandwiches to the Marines. On the second night, the Marines took the food from him and sent him away. The captain of the ship wanted the Marines to do abandon ship drills, but the Marines gave him hell. There was bad weather on the way back and the ship went through big waves.

Hilar Moore was sent to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands], which was the forward base for the invasion of Japan. He was put in a camp area, but was without guns and a unit [Annotator's Note: Moore had previously been assigned to heavy artillery batteries in the 2nd Marine Division and 5th Marine Division]. Moore was sent to a 155 gun [Annotator's Note: M1 155mm howitzer] battalion. He trained there with that gun. It was big and difficult to move. There was a self-propelled 155, but Moore did not get one. He was on a nice part of the island. On Easter Sunday [Annotator's Note: 1 April 1945], Moore was told about the invasion of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He did patrols on the island because there were still Japanese troops hiding on the island. They would try to steal American food. Moore had a prisoner detail of 20 Japanese. They were happy to clean because they were given food and American cigarettes. The prisoners were in good health. Moore felt fear because he was in charge of 20 prisoners. The Japanese loved the American cigarettes. The war ended while Moore was on Guam. He wanted to go to China or Japan, but he had enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to be sent home. He returned to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], and stayed at Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California] where he was discharged. There was not a big reception when he returned. The Red Cross [Annotator's Note: an international aid organization] greeted him with coffee and donuts. Moore was happy when he heard about the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. The Marines figured it cut the war in half. They were receiving cold weather gear for the fighting in Japan. At Camp Pendleton, Moore had a physical, and had a ruptured duck [Annotator's Note: an insignia indicating that the individual wearing that uniform had been honorably discharged from the United States military] sewed on. He was given orders to go home. He took a three day train ride back to New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. It was nice to go home. Everyone was there to greet him. Moore got married and wanted to go to college. He took a job instead and remained in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was called back to duty for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 through 1953]. When he returned, he started night classes at Loyola [Annotator's Note: Loyola University New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana] in New Orleans using the GI Bill. It took eight years, but he finally graduated, which he was proud of.

Before joining the Marine Corps, Hilar Moore had never been more than 100 miles from his home [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. When he went to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], Moore decided to visit Hollywood [Annotator's Note: Hollywood, California]. He hitchhiked all the way to Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California]. He visited the Hollywood Canteen [Annotator's Note: a famous entertainment venue for Allied servicemen] and saw some movie stars. It was scary at first, but he enjoyed traveling. The depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s] was coming to an end and so Moore wanted to have a job. He got a job, then got married. He used the GI Bill to buy a house. Before he left high school, his music teacher told the kids to get a college education. That teacher was killed in Europe. The lady at Loyola [Annotator's Note: Loyola University New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana] who helped the veterans did a wonderful job. Moore believes that it is important for people to learn about World War 2. He likes to go to schools to talk to students. When the war ended, nobody talked about their experiences to their kids, which Moore realizes it was a mistake. His grandkids are taught about the war in school. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq made people think about World War 2 again. Moore believes it is important for there to be The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He thinks it is great and brings friends to the Museum. He enjoyed the movie, food, and the big band that played while he was there. Moore wants people to know wars are going to change as time goes on. He read an article about robots being used by infantry that is used to gain intelligence on the battlefield. He thinks we need to keep up with technologies and have a strong military. He also thinks the country needs to help its allies. He is not a big fan of the United Nations, but thinks it can be improved with some work. Moore believes the people in the military today are stronger than they were in World War 2. He admires them. He worried about the country during the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975], but has since changed his mind about the future of the country.