James Roland Westbrook was born in November 1923 in Birmingham, Alabama, where his father was studying accounting. They later moved to Buena Vista, Mississippi, then New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] to continue his schooling. His father tried farming, then the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] hit. They moved to Houston, Mississippi where Westbrook went to school. He was not a good student but graduated from Holmes Junior College [Annotator's Note: now Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Mississippi] in 1948. That summer he went to Utica, New York and worked for himself in the insurance business. Westbrook turned 18 in November 1941. He was playing football with friends when he learned that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His father had served in World War 1, and Westbrook felt confident the United States would easily win. The next day, Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] declared war on the Japanese. The Germans then declared war on the US [Annotator's Note: United States], so the US declared war on Germany.

James Roland Westbrook enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 1943. He wanted to be a Marine even though his father, who served in the Army, did not like the Marine Corps. He had seen movies about the Marines and that was what excited him, but the reality was not like the movies. At a certain point, recruiting stations were closed and you had to register for the draft, Westbrook was an alternate, but was sworn in in March. He was sent to New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] by train, then on to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] where he completed boot camp. They were asked if anyone was previously in a band, which Westbrook was, and he became a bugler which they called field musician. He was then sent to Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: in San Diego, California] and assigned to the 4th Marine Division [Annotator's Note: Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division]. They trained aboard ship, doing training landings on Catalina Island [Annotator's Note: Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Long Beach, California].

In January [Annotator's Note: January 1944], James Roland Westbrook [Annotator's Note: in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division] shipped out and went directly into combat, taking the Marshall Islands [Annotator's Note: Marshall Islands Campaign was two separate invasions of the Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atoll groups, 31 January to 22 February 1944] after a 26-hour skirmish. The Japanese had a small tank which they were able to quickly knock out. They then went back to Maui [Annotator's Note: Maui, Hawaii], where they would return after each operation, to pick up replacement troops and retrain. On 15 June [Annotator's Note: 15 June 1944] they landed on Saipan [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Saipan, part of Operation Forager, 15 June-9 July 1944; Saipan, Mariana Islands]. Westbrook was wounded on the beach, evacuated, and hospitalized until August [Annotator's Note: August 1944], and missed the invasion of Tinian [Annotator's Note: Battle of Tinian, 24 July to 1 August 1944 at Tinian, Mariana Islands]. Westbrook rejoined the unit after his hospital stay and shipped out in February [Annotator's Note: February 1945], landing at Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945 at Iwo Jima, Japan]. They were told it would take three to five days to take the island, but in reality, it took 35 before it was completely secured by the 3rd [Annotator's Note: 3rd Marine Division], 4th [Annotator's Note: 4th Marine Division], and 5th Marine Divisions. There were 72 Marine frontline rifle companies at Iwo Jima, each made up of 220 to 225 men. The average number of men left after 30 days was only between 12 and 18. Westbrook was one of only 15 men left in his company after the battle.

James Roland Westbrook served in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines [Annotator's Note: 24th Marine Regiment], 4th Marine Division. The 4th Marine Division was deactivated after World War 2, and later made a reserve division with units based all over the country. Roi-Namur [Annotator's Note: in the Marshall Islands] was Westbrook's first experience being shot at [Annotator's Note: part of the Battle of Kwajalein, 31 January to 3 February 1944 at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands]. The 24th Regiment hit Namur [Annotator's Note: the current island used to be two different ones, Roi and Namur], the 25th [Annotator's Note: the 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division] hitting Roi. The Japanese had a block house on Namur, containing aerial torpedoes, near where Westbrook landed. The Americans hit it, covering the island in heavy, black smoke. They lost 43 percent of their company in the explosion, the heaviest losses in the division during that battle. His First Sergeant's head was taken off in his helmet from the explosion. He never saw anything quite like that anywhere else. Westbrook carried a .30 caliber carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine], as he was a captain's runner. In Saipan [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Saipan, part of Operation Forager, 15 June to 9 July 1944; Saipan, Mariana Islands], Company F was in the Battalion reserves, and went in around one or two o'clock in the afternoon, the invasion having started at nine in the morning. There was enemy artillery on a small mountain, the beach was shelled without mercy. When Westbrook and his unit were about 30 yards from the beach, they experienced intense shelling. He was surrounded by men killed by shrapnel. He took a piece of shrapnel in the leg, still there at the time of this interview. They landed in amtracks [Annotator's Note: Landing Vehicle, Tracked or LVT; also referred to as amtrack or alligator], though Westbrook preferred Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] as the front would be lowered down thereby making it easier to get off, compared to climbing over the side of an amtrack. A friend of his serving in the same company at Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945 at Iwo Jima, Japan] froze when they landed. Westbrook kicked him and told him to get off the beach. The man later credited Westbrook with saving his life that day.

James Roland Westbrook [Annotator's Note: of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division] missed the invasion of Tinian Annotator's Note: Battle of Tinian, 24 July to 1 August 1944 at Tinian, Mariana Islands]. At Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945 at Iwo Jima, Japan], his unit was in the reserves. The initial invasion began at nine in the morning. He landed around two in the afternoon. The ground was volcanic ash and incredibly difficult to move in. They lost 2,500 men that day. The 4th [Annotator's Note: 4th Marine Division] and 5th [Annotator's note:5th Marine Division] landed on d-day [Annotator's Note: the day on which an operation or invasion takes effect], taking Mount Suribachi. The battle was very difficult. Morale was lifted when they saw the flag being raised on Mount Suribachi [Annotator's Note: United States flag raised on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan, 23 February 1943], because they knew they were making headway. He was not wounded at Iwo Jima but was hit in the arm while digging his foxhole. He removed the bullet himself and kept it as a souvenir. After about a week, he was assigned to carry a radio. While on the front line one day, a Japanese machine gun opened fire and Westbrook saw the tracers [Annotator's Note: incendiary ammunition used by gunners adjust the trajectory of their firing] passing right in front of his face. Nighttime in combat in the Pacific was the same everywhere. They would rig tin cans around their foxholes so as to be warned if the Japanese were near. It was two men to a foxhole, one remaining awake at all times, two hours on, two hours off. The Japanese were dug deep into 16 miles of caves on Iwo Jima, some of them as deep as five stories. They would fire artillery from inside the caves. "Howlin' Mad" Smith [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps General Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith] said they would win one way or another, but did not know quite how. They had expected to take the island in three to five days, but against the 21,000 Japanese dug in, the battle went on for 35 days. There were occasional banzai attacks [Annotator's Note: Banzai charge; Japanese human wave attacks].

When James Roland Westbrook [Annotator's Note: of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division] returned from Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945 at Iwo Jima, Japan], all the enlisted men of the frontline rifle companies were moved to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and put on guard duty. He was at the Navy yard on Pearl when he learned the war had ended [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. He then went to Maui [Annotator's Note: Maui, Hawaii], and back to the States for discharge. He spent two weeks at Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California] for debriefing. Westbrook's younger brother had been in the Air Force, flying missions over Germany. At this time, he was retraining on B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] to fly over Tokyo, Japan. Westbrook went to the East Coast by train to be discharged, with the rank of Field Music First Class, the pay equivalent to PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class], 54 dollars a month. Transition back to civilian life was easy for Westbrook, he was still a civilian at heart. He was discharged on 31 October 1945 at Camp Lejeune [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina]. They had formation and chow in the mornings, and then liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] the rest of the day. He would go off base to see a woman he was dating. He returned home in November 1945, having turned 22 years old the day before his arrival.

The war made James Roland Westbrook a better person. He had not finished high school, so went home to Mississippi and finished in spring 1946. He attended Holmes Junior College [Annotator's Note: now Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Mississippi] and graduated in 1948. He took a job with Utica Mutual Insurance Company for a few years, then started his own insurance company in Jackson [Annotator's Note: Jackson, Mississippi], finally ending up with a company in Vicksburg [Annotator's Note: Vicksburg, Mississippi]. Westbrook did not need to be thanked for his service; everyone was just doing what they were supposed to [Annotator's Note: by serving].