Howard T. Maki was born in May 1925 and grew up in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. His parents were from Finland. Maki was the last of five sons. He was a student of World War 2 and studied books and watched newsreels to glean information on the transpiring events. He wanted to enter the Army which was typical for his friends. Many of those buddies volunteered for service in the war. He heard of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] over the radio and told his father that the country had entered the war. He listened to Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] Day of Infamy speech declaring war on the Japanese [Annotator's Note: Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress, 8 December 1941]. Both students and teachers skipped school so that they could hear the speech. He felt part of the events because he listened to the speech. It inspired him and many others to enter the military. Support for wartime participation was great in the country's populace. Rationing was accepted because of that level of support. Maki told his mother that he needed to be drafted. His brother was already in Air Force gunnery school but did not see what life as an infantryman was like until 1944. His brother was sent overseas to Germany in April 1945 when the war was nearly over. At that point, he only had to wait for his time to return home.

Howard T. Maki desired to enter the Army Air Forces as a pilot. Before he was drafted, he had passed various examinations that would have enabled him to enter flight school. He was surprised after being drafted that he was assigned to the infantry. In retrospect, he liked the idea of being in the infantry because it faced the brunt of combat in the military. The 11 percent of the service personnel who were infantrymen sustained 80 percent of the casualties. The camaraderie Maki had with his buddies was sustained past the war years as they attended and enjoyed reunions. The men never forgot each other. It was great. Maki was initially sent to Camp Grant, Illinois [Annotator's Note: near Rockford, Illinois] in September 1943 after being drafted. He was then sent to Mississippi as a member of the 63rd Division with the 254th Infantry [Annotator's Note: 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division]. Basic training lasted about 13 weeks with advanced training afterward in preparation for overseas deployment. Upon entry into the training camp [Annotator's Note: Camp Shelby, Mississippi near Hattiesburg, Mississippi], the recruits were forewarned of the poisonous snakes that inhabited the local area. The men were cautioned to be aware of that before going into the forests. Maki completed his basic and advanced training and was designated as a replacement to be sent overseas. He did not yet know his destination would be Italy. He sailed out of Newport News [Annotator's Note: Newport News, Virginia] without the customary post-training furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. He was granted a telephone call to his family instead. He boarded the troopship John C. Breckinridge [Annotator's Note: USS General J.C. Breckinridge (AP-176)] bound for Naples, Italy. Disembarking the ship, he ended up in the replacement depot nearby at Caserta [Annotator's Note: Caserta, Italy] in April 1944.

Howard T. Maki spent time in the replacement depot [Annotator's Note: in Caserta, Italy in April 1944] until he was assigned to the 85th Division [Annotator's Note: 85th Infantry Division] on the front in northern Italy. He was a member of the 339th Regiment, Company E [Annotator's Note: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division] which was a rifle company although he was trained in mortars. Later, he was moved to a heavy weapons company. As a replacement, Maki was treated with little respect by the veterans. There had been many casualties during the prior spring offensive. Some of the old-timers tested Maki's reactions with a dummy grenade. The new guy passed muster on the test. His acceptance level grew over time. He progressed from ammunition bearer to number one gunner in his outfit within six weeks. He worked hard at gaining recognition in the mortars. Prior to that, he worked with graves registration picking up American bodies along the Gustav Line [Annotator's Note: one of the multiple defensive lines established by the Germans making use of the rugged terrain across the Italian peninsula] west of Monte Cassino [Annotator's Note: Monte Cassino, Italy]. Dealing with the dead resulted in flashbacks later in life. A team of Italian litter bearers would gather the bodies discovered by Maki and his group. Bodies would be stacked like a cordwood. Maki found the tasks easier as time went by. Most of the dead resulted from German interlocking machine gun fire and mines. After the enemy was driven out, Maki's group would go in to recover the bodies of the American dead. He wore a Red Cross on his helmet and had two arm bands. The Germans observed them, but their snipers never fired on them. Moving further north, Maki marched through Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy] after it had been taken by the Allies. Fighting was limited. He was assigned to Company D [Annotator's Note: Company D, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division] about a month after joining the division. His acceptance level with the new company was much better. In July 1944, his company was briefly put on the line but then pulled back for additional training. In September, the company was sent to oppose the German Gothic Line [Annotator's Note: the last major German line of defense across northern Italy's Apennine Mountains]. Supplies were brought in by mule or manpower. The regiment was on the line until November [Annotator's Note: November 1944] when it had to be pulled back for rest, retraining and replacements. At Christmas [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1944], coincidental with the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], the Germans appeared ready to begin a counterattack along the Gothic Line. Maki's regiment was sent to help plug the line, but nothing actually happened. It was a wintertime stalemate.

Howard T. Maki explored towns in Italy and found wounded and murdered local inhabitants. One individual serving with him found the body of a buddy he had trained with. He completely disappeared from the Grave Registration detail after that. After that assignment, Maki was trucked up to rejoin his outfit. The regiment [Annotator's Note: 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division] reached Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy] where the liberated local populace was celebrating the end of their war. After quickly moving through the celebrating masses, the regiment assembled outside the city. Some individuals were reassigned to other companies. Maki was one of those. He was transferred from E Company [Annotator's Note: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment] to D Company [Annotator's Note: Company D, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment] and the 81mm mortar [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar] that he had been initially trained on before deployment. His picture was taken by a photographer and has been repeatedly used in various publications. It shows marching troops with Maki turning his face as the picture was taken. The troops were fired on while marching but a lieutenant pulled a squad together and wiped out the snipers.

Howard T. Maki had taken basic training on the 81mm mortar [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar]. It was a devastating weapon. He was proficient with the mortar's use. A squad of Germans was wiped out by his accurate targeting. After leaving Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy], he reached the Arno River and the German resistance at the Gothic Line [Annotator's Note: the last major German line of defense across northern Italy's Apennine Mountains]. The Germans were looking down on them during September [Annotator's Note: September 1944] until the Americans reached the Po Valley [Annotator's Note: Po Valley, Italy] in April 1945 where their advance accelerated. After the war, Maki met a German who had been opposing the American forces in this same sector. The German had been a prisoner in America and learned to speak English in the manner of an American. Both men felt lucky to have escaped the casualty lists on that battlefield. Fighting in Italy was rough because of the weather and terrain, as well as the enemy fire. When he first arrived in Italy, Maki thought he was safe after running into a straw chicken coop during an artillery barrage. The next day, he discovered his error. He was told to report to a major who assigned him to Graves Registration to recover dead American troops. It was Maki's first encounter with combat dead. He wore Red Cross armbands and helmet insignias. The stench of death was horrible with the heat. Flies proliferated and maggots made things worse. An Italian team of litter bearers aided Maki's efforts. That was Maki's introduction to Italy. Near the Arno River [Annotator's Note: Arno River, Italy], two men would be posted on the perimeter to listen for German patrols. When Maki was in the pit, he would pull the pin out of his grenade to have it ready in case the enemy arrived. His hand would fall asleep, and he had to reinsert the pin in the grenade. It was very boring duty. Maki found it easy to fall asleep. He slept so soundly that he lost track of the time he had not been awake. The rotation was two hours on duty and four hours off. He sent home a photograph he had taken in Rome. His mother saw the photo and cried because of worry about the way her son looked. After his brother told him of the incident, Maki softened his notes home to be as cheerful as he could. He would not discuss the horrible weather conditions or other negative things he experienced. Things were tough enough on his folks back home without that burden. Censorship would remove any information about his whereabouts. The V-mail [Annotator's Note: Victory Mail; postal system put into place during the war to drastically reduce the space needed to transport mail] was a clever way to transport mail. Letters were photographed on small film near the point of origin and then developed back to normal size near the point of receipt.

Howard T. Maki had a section sergeant who was a good looking guy who looked like a soldier. The man fell apart near the Arno River [Annotator's Note: Arno River, Italy] and began crying and said he could not take anymore. Medics took him away. It showed that some individuals could take more than others. The sergeant had been at the breakout at Monte Cassino [Annotator's Note: Monte Cassino, Italy]. It was terrifying for the non-commissioned officer to realize that he was going back up to the front again. The extent of similar issues is more prevalent today with troops having two or three deployments to Afghanistan [Annotator's Note: War in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001 to 2014, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, 2015 to 2021] or Iraq [Annotator's Note: Iraq War, 2003 to 2011]. Some combatants have terrible mental blocks as a result. That was not as extensive during World War 2. Some people just cannot take combat. Maki found war to be fascinating. Seeing the destruction and loss of life drew his attention but never made him "feel like going bonkers." The movie about Patton [Annotator's Note: "Patton", American movie, 1969, about US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] depicted the General as saying that he loved war. Maki did not love war but felt a certain fascination with it.

Howard T. Maki and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company D, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division] used mules to transport supplies and equipment because the animals were surefooted in the rugged Italian terrain. Muleskinners drove them and tended the animals' needs. When slopes were too steep for the mules, the loads had to be carried by the troops. There were many days that passed without any vehicle being seen. It was comical when a fellow named Stricker [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling; Maki later refers to him as "Mel"] took note of a jeep passing nearby. After joining the action against German positions on the Gothic Line [Annotator's Note: the last major German line of defense across northern Italy's Apennine Mountains] in September [Annotator's Note: 1944], the 339th was relieved near Monte Grande [Annotator's Note: Monte Grande, Italy] and sent for refit and rest at the resort area of Montecatini [Annotator's Note: Montecatini Terme, Italy]. After resupply and additional training, they were sent back up to the line on Christmas Eve [Annotator's Note: 24 December 1944]. Gifts that Maki had intended to open on Christmas Day had to be left behind. Italians received the benefits of those packages. Maki felt sorry for the Italians and the conditions they lived in. Children and older people were particularly vulnerable to being shoved to the side when there was a conflict over food or other items. Maki never saw it reach the level of the Donner expedition. [Annotator's Note: A group of pioneers headed west in the United States during a harsh winter in the 1840s and when they were stranded, some resorted to cannibalism]. Maki did not yell at the Italians during the conflicts over food. Maki grew tired of some of the C rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food] including SPAM [Annotator's Note: canned cooked pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation]. He had difficulties with the K rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals] also. In that case, he only ate the candy and used the cigarettes. Everyone seemed to smoke in those days. Being away from home in 1944 was his second Christmas away and not as bad as the first one the year before in Mississippi. He grew very homesick during the first time he was away from family and home during the holiday. He recovered the next day with a big Christmas dinner. He really disliked having to discard the gifts in Italy but wrote the gift givers' names down in order to thank them for their thoughtfulness at a later time. Some of the gifts sent to him would not have been very useful to him personally. He went up against the 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] while in combat. It was a deadly killer during the war even though it was not as easily deployed as the 105 [Annotator's Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer]. The Germans used it effectively in the Apennines Mountains along their Gothic Line [Annotator's Note: the last major German line of defense across northern Italy's Apennine Mountains]. Maki dug multiple foxholes to protect himself against the 88s. He was blown off his feet by a tree burst on one occasion. He landed hard. A man in the squad named Pop Rider [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling; unable to identify] was hit and Maki attempted to yell at him but could not hear himself talk. He had temporarily lost his hearing for about five minutes. Rider had been seriously injured and returned to the United States. Maki was not as badly hurt but has some residual hearing loss as a result. He was lucky the tree burst by the 88 did not wound him worse than it did. A German tank that was destroyed caused exhilaration in Maki's squad. That is how war is. Maki could have received Purple Hearts [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy] but did not think it important at the time. He felt differently after the war. He was not thinking clearly the day he could have gotten the medal.

Howard T. Maki found that the Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy] was worth five 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] and would have gotten him home faster. He had accumulated 57 points compared to the 85 needed to return home. Married men with multiple children particularly fared well in the point system. Maki was single and better off not worrying about family back home. There were humorous times while he was on the line. One circumstance involved grabbing some guinea hens and boiling them for his squad. The food was so rich that he and his buddies came down with the GIs [Annotator's Note: gastrointestinal malady]. Harry Baker [Annotator's Note: unable to verify identity], the squad leader, teased Maki after the war about everyone having stomach problems after eating those chickens. Finding humor allowed Maki to deal with combat better than worrying through times. Mel Stricker [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling; unable to verify identity] from Nebraska was part Indian [Annotator's Note: Native American] and could tell where he was at any time during combat. He had an instinct for knowing his position. Maki helped an injured soldier who had nearly lost his foot. After returning to the American lines, the wounded man was elated because he had a "million dollar wound" [Annotator's Note: military slang for a non-fatal, or non-crippling, wound serious enough to be remove a soldier from combat] that would get him back to the United States and out of combat. Maki admired one of the men who chased after the Germans. He was anxious to confront the enemy because they had hurt one of his men. Loyalty was significant at the time. At one time, there was some anticipation of a German offensive similar to the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Maki's company [Annotator's Note: Company D, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division] was sent to reinforce an Indian outfit. He felt sick at the time. The smell of food made him sick. He had hepatis [Annotator's Note: inflammatory condition of the liver] and was sent back to a hospital. He slept for 40 continuous hours. It was January 1945. The doctor diagnosed him with a reoccurrence of malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite] from the previous June. It almost did him in. He has never had a relapse since the hospital stay. He enjoyed sleeping as much as he wanted in the hospital and having access to better food. After a month, he was glad to anticipate getting back to his company, but then he had a horrible relapse where he did not even know where he was. He had a 15 percent disability due to the malaria that was eventually released in 1947. The division held their position until spring when the offensive was renewed. In May 1944, the division was on the west coast of Italy until they drew near the Arno River adjacent to British positions. That remained the case through action in the Apennine Mountains. The Indians troops loved the crackers from the American rations. They brought no food to trade. Maki did not want anything from their rations. Their beef and pork did not appeal to him. The report of the Mussolini and Clara Petacci [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, also known as il Duce, and his Italian mistress, Clara Petacci, were killed by Italian partisans in May 1945] deaths was announced in Stars and Stripes [Annotator's Note: United States military newspaper]. Maki saw the blood where the fascist leader had been hung. An Italian greeted Maki. The man did not look like a partisan, but it takes all kinds.

The last day of the war in Italy for Howard T. Maki was in early May 1945. It was VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] but the war against Japan continued. Maki regretted leaving the men in his platoon, so he gathered all their home addresses. It was tough to break up the outfit [Annotator's Note: Company D, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division]. He even missed the training they went through. The squad was broken up and Maki was sent to the 101st Military Police Battalion as an MP [Annotator's Note: military police]. He did not want to go. They taught him how to direct traffic and disable a fleeing man by throwing a baton at his legs. The battalion commander made Maki his driver so the latter could narrate how combat was in Italy. After a short time, Maki was sent to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] to return home. Maki's outfit was broken up with some men even destined for the Pacific to fight the Japanese. If the bloodbath of the invasion of the Japanese home islands had occurred, Maki might have been sent there also. He was discharged when the Pacific war ended. He was 20 years old. He had served two years, three months and four days. He flew home because he had applied to do so at the replacement depot in Naples and been accepted. He flew in a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] bomber converted to fly with 18 passengers and then finally in a C-54 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-54 Skymaster cargo aircraft] transport taking a lengthy route home. The planes had to refuel after flying eight hours which extended the flight requirements. Landing in Homestead, Florida, he took a train to Illinois. He had 45 days leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. After his leave, Maki was mades a prison guard and assigned to watch German prisoners of war. He confronted a German prisoner and almost killed him. To Maki, the German was an evil monger, so he pulled his pistol when the prisoner attempted to leave the prison without permission. Maki was brought before his commanding officer who reassigned him to the fire department to direct traffic. He was there when discharged in December [Annotator's Note: December 1945].

Howard T. Maki wanted to stay in the Army but was convinced by family to leave. He missed the service though. He applied for 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] and had difficulty with it for some reason. He decided to reenlist and was happy to be back in his preferred environment. He left the Army in December [Annotator's Note: December 1945] and married the following May [Annotator's Note: May 1946]. He married a former neighbor who had been a playmate of his in his youth. She was a tomboy and good friend. After leaving the Army he had some offers, including training courses. Things went along well but the battles with VA [Annotator's Note: United States Department of Veterans Affairs; also referred to as the Veterans Administration] drove him back into the Army. In the Army, he did well. Promotions came fast when he went to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] as a motor pool instructor. He applied for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] and was accepted. He took six months of infantry oriented courses at Fort Riley, Kansas. It all came easy for him with his background. He was in electronics school when the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] started in June 1950. He completed that training and went to Virginia to train infantry recruits. Afterward, he returned to the electronics school as an instructor. He then went to Korea attached to the 2nd Division [Annotator's Note: 2nd Infantry Division] for a year service as a forward observer. He volunteered for duty close to the Chinese lines. Eventually, the battalion commander took him off the hill. He was assigned to a reconnaissance unit. After Korea, he went to El Paso [Annotator's Note: El Paso, Texas] and then Germany. After several other assignments, he was sent to Korea for a second time. He retired after serving in Colorado with the North American Air Defense Command. He then served in Taiwan and then retired but regretted doing so because he felt he had nothing to do. He retired in January 1970 after 40 years' service. Maki had some memories and visions of recovering bodies [Annotator's Note: while serving in Italy]. He particularly remembers an individual he recovered who had bled to death. His body was stiffened in the death position when it was placed on a litter. That memory lingers. He has never had nightmares even though he had six campaigns and three battle stars [Annotator's Note: device worn to denote subsequent awards on medals and ribbons; also called campaign stars or service stars] between Europe and Korea. The war matured him and removed his shyness. His older brothers teased him constantly. He overcame that while in the infantry. His future wife was the first to notice the change in his confidence. He became stronger.