James Stewart Rosenbaum was born in Chicago, Illinois in August 1925. His father was an insurance and hat salesman. He had one older brother who served in the Army during World War 2. Rosenbaum was listening to a Chicago Bears football game when an interruption came over the radio, announcing the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. After he heard the news, he was in disbelief and wondered what was going to happen next. In early 1944, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Rosenbaum had a couple of reasons for joining the Marines. First off, he wanted to be a hero. Second, he did not think there were any Jewish people in the Marine Corps. Rosenbaum was sent to San Diego, California [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California] for boot camp. Rosenbaum, with two years of college under his belt, thought he would qualify for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school], but he was denied due to his overbite. Rosenbaum believes he was denied OCS because he was Jewish. When he arrived in San Diego, he was outfitted with all his clothing and equipment and sent to camp. He saw Tyrone Powell [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Major Tyrone Edmund Power, III; American actor] at the base getting into trouble with his superior officers. The idea of being hero went away as soon as training began. He recalls doing obstacle courses and hiking a lot. After eight weeks of boot camp, he was sent to Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California] for combat training. It was rough training, but at 18 years old he could handle anything. Throughout boot camp, he received some anti-Semitism by his comrades, but they quickly accepted him as training progressed. Rosenbaum was trained as a rifle man. He assumed he the Marines would use him as a French interpreter because he could speak the language fluently, but he was mistaken.

In early September 1944, James Stewart Rosenbaum shipped out for the Pacific from San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. Within six hours of being on the troop ship, Rosenbaum became seasick. It took him about three days to feel better. In addition to many of the Marines aboard being seasick, several guys contracted meningitis [Annotator's Note: inflammation of fluid and membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord]. The outbreak forced the transport to put in at Hawaii for 24 hours. After leaving Hawaii, Rosenbaum was shipped to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau] as a replacement for the depleted 5th Marine Regiment [Annotator's Note: 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division]. He was assigned to the message center of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Rosenbaum got to Peleliu at the very end of the battle and apart from some mop up operations he saw very little action. During the night, the Japanese would try to break into their foxholes. In October 1944, when Peleliu was secured, the Marines pulled back to the island of Pavuvu, Russell Islands. When the ship Rosenbaum was aboard neared the island, he could see Red Cross girls on the beach passing out juice. After 30 days of eating K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals], Rosenbaum enjoyed his treat from the Red Cross. Rosenbaum worked with a couple of the Navajo code talkers [Annotator's Note: also called Diné code talkers, one group of many Native American groups of code talkers who were employed by the military to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication]. For the first 60 days, the island was considered a rest camp, so Rosenbaum enjoyed relaxing and was treated to a USO [Annotator's Note: United Services Organization] show. Soon after, they began heavy combat training on Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. In early 1945, they learned they were training to invade Okinawa [Annotator's Notes: Okinawa, Japan]. His unit rendezvoused with other troop ships in Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi, Caroline Islands] for seven days before heading to Okinawa. Rosenbaum was put on an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. The weather was hot while waiting on Ulithi.

On 1 April 1945, James Stewart Rosenbaum, and his unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] invaded the island of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Everyone was waiting for the Japanese to attack them as they breached the beach, but they were nowhere to be found. There were a few mortars but no other resistance. Rosenbaum and his unit were able to move into the island over a mile and a half and captured Kadena Airport [Annotator's Note: now Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan]. The next three weeks they continued to move forward with no resistance. Then, around the first of May, Japanese began to appear, and combat ensued. After capturing Shuri Castle [Annotator's Note: castle in Shuri, Okinawa, Japan], Rosenbaum had a near death experience when American planes bombed his area by accident. It was the scariest moment of his time in World War 2. About 40 men died in the friendly fire. Rosenbaum's two friends would go around and steal the gold teeth out of the dead Japanese. Many of the bodies deteriorated rapidly, turning black. Rosenbaum received a medal for an event where he protected Colonel Paul Douglas [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Paul Howard Douglas; American politician and economist] during a heavy mortar barrage. The weather was miserable and rainy. Toward the end of Okinawa, more Japanese came out of the caves with flame throwers that Rosenbaum and his unit had to combat. They eventually found a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] camp in the city of Naha. They released around 70 prisoners. Toward the end of May 1945, Rosenbaum noticed combat was lightening up and his unit was taken off the front lines. His unit was sent back to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands] in late June 1945. During this time, he heard that Franklin D. Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] died. They began preparing for the invasion of mainland Japan when he the United States dropped atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945]. Rosenbaum says, Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] saved his life.

After the Japanese surrendered, James Stewart Rosenbaum thought he would be heading home, but he and his unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] were immediately deployed to Peking, China [Annotator's Note: now Beijing, China]. They were there to take the Japanese surrender of North China at the Forbidden City [Annotator's Note: palace complex, Beijing, China]. He remembers the ceremony event. His unit was part of the honor guard and resided in very nice accommodations. Everyone wanted steak and eggs in North China and the Marines were entertained by Chinese prostitutes. His unit was to retain law and order and keep the Communists [Annotator's Note: Chinese Communists] from taking over the area. He stayed in China until May 1946, when he was given orders to return to the United States. On his voyage home, the ship ran into a typhoon, but survived. His ship ported in America in June 1946. Rosenbaum was discharged in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] as a corporal soon after. He brought back a few souvenirs that he still has today. While he was deployed, his sister asked her neighbor-friend to write to Rosenbaum. They met up after the war, eventually married and started a family. Rosenbaum returned to college.

James Stewart Rosenbaum worked with two Navajo Code Talkers [Annotator's Note: also called Diné code talkers, one group of many Native American groups of code talkers who were employed by the military to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication] named Sandy and Carson B. Charlie. They both liked to drink alcohol, so another Marine would mix alcohol and rotten fruit to make it for them. On Rosenbaum's first day on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau], he was under a little bit of bombardment, so he stayed in a foxhole. Since he was part of the message center, he was not up on the front lines. However, during the night his unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was attacked by Japanese who broke the lines by dressing as Marines. He experienced combat on Peleliu for only six days. After the war had ended, he was on occupation duty in Beijing [Annotator's Note: Beijing, China]. He was able to attend Jewish services even though he did not care for the rabbi. He thought the rabbi had a devious disposition because he was always with the Red Cross girls. Rosenbaum was wounded while he was on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] during a mortar barrage. He was hit in the knee with shrapnel. He spent three days on a hospital ship and then went back to duty. He remembers when the ships were bombarded by the kamikazes off Okinawa. He could see the heavy flames when looking off a hill. He was surprised that many of the ships survived. While capturing Shuri Castle on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: castle in Shuri, Okinawa, Japan], Rosenbaum can remember that they were under heavy bombardment from the Japanese for four days. On the fifth day, the Marines received tank help and were able to secure the area in a week. After the battle, Rosenbaum and his friends went back to the dead bodies and stole gold teeth, flags, swords, and other items from the Japanese [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses to adjust camera at 0:42:41.000.] The terrain was woody, and weather was rainy. The Marines were living in foxholes and eating c-rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food]. His unit was attacked by an American plane because they did not realize how far Rosenbaum's unit had advanced across the island. They did not have any supply problems. They were able to get whatever they needed. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer shares a story 0:45:25.000.] Rosenbaum came upon some of the Okinawan civilians near the city of Naha. Sometimes a Japanese would be disguised within a group of civilians with the intent to attack, but nothing ever came of it. They found a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] camp while in Naha [Annotator's Note: Naha, Okinawa, Japan].

James Stewart Rosenbaum heard about the surrender of Germany while he was fighting in Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Many of the troops celebrated. While on Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands], he lived in a tent and played softball to pass the time. He would also go out on the water with other guys and shoot at sharks with a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. He was on the island of Pavuvu when the Japanese surrendered to the United States. His unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was part of the color guard during the surrender ceremony in North China. Rosenbaum still holds animosity towards the Japanese and still calls them Nips [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese]. Japanese soldiers were blood thirsty. After the war, Rosenbaum was sent to Northern China for occupation duty. He lived in barracks, and did not have much to do, so he read a lot. Rosenbaum wishes he would have kept a diary during his time overseas. When he returned home, he hung up his uniform, and dressed in civilian clothing. He never had a problem transitioning back into civilian life. He remained in contact with many of the guys from service.

James Stewart Rosenbaum's most memorable experience was when his friend went on a mission and was killed by a sniper. It could have been him instead. The other most memorable experience was the pomp and circumstance of the Japanese surrender ceremony in North China. The end of the war is also a happy memory. Rosenbaum remembers the armada of ships gathered at Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi, Caroline Islands] before they left for Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer stops interview to change tapes at 0:59:50.000.] After he returned home and married, he had a reappearance of malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite]. He returned to college, using the G.I. Bill, and went to work as soon as he was discharged. Rosenbaum enlisted in the Marine Corps because he wanted to be a hero. He felt he did what he was supposed to do and when it was over, he moved forward. He does not agree with the war in Iraq [Annotator's Note: Iraq War, 2003 to 2011]. Rosenbaum would not have met his wife if it were not for World War 2, other than that, the war did not change him. World War 2 proved that America is a great country. Many of the men who fought in the Pacific never received the credit they deserved because most people concentrate on the war in Europe. He thinks in the future, America should mind its own business and be careful of the involvement of conflict in other countries, especially in the Middle East. Rosenbaum considers himself an isolationist. Rosenbaum believes there should be institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to continue to teach World War 2 history to future generations.