James Franklin Young was born in Toledo, Ohio in June 1921. He grew up with one older brother. His mother and father met each other while working for an ammunition plant during World War 1. However, his parents separated when Young was a child, so he does not remember his father very much. To support her family, Young's mother was a dancer and waitress at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia [Annotator's Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. At one point during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s], she decided she wanted to move to Arizona, so on the way there, she stopped in a little town near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She met a lady, and they became fast friends. His mother opened a small produce store on the side of the road, and she quickly became successful. [Annotator's Note: An air conditioner disrupts interview at 0:07:37.000.] Young and his brother worked for their mother after school and during the summers. His brother was in the Army at Schofield Barracks in Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] but left due to medical reasons shortly before the Japanese attacked the Island on 7 December 1941. Young first heard the news of the attack over the radio. The next morning, he quit his job at a shoe factory and hitchhiked to Philadelphia. He arrived at a recruiting office to enlist in the military. He saw a mass of young men waiting to get into the building. Young initially wanted to enlist in the Navy but was denied because he had too many cavities. As he left the Navy recruiting office, he saw the line for the Marines recruiting office and began talking to a guy in line. The guy told him that the Marines will take anyone, so he stood in line and was eventually accepted into the Marine Corp. Young was ordered to report to active duty the day after Christmas 1941.

James Franklin Young was sent to Parris Island [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina] for basic training. By this time, his mother had remarried, and his stepfather insisted that Young go by his last name, Wolfe. On his way to camp, he rode on a packed train full of new recruits and construction men. When he left the train, the sergeant called out for James Young. No one responded, not even Young. One of his acquaintances asked Young if the sergeant was calling for him and Young realized the miscommunication. Young was so embarrassed. Young recalled a couple of days after he arrived at the base, the sergeant came in with a Jewish gentleman who wanted to buy the civilian clothes from the Marine recruits. Young sold his suit for 10 dollars. Many other guys in the barracks also sold their clothes too. Young had another embarrassing moment when he was coming out of the mess hall and cut through a platoon trying to get back to his barracks. The platoon leader scolded him in front of the troops and told Young that he needed to report what he had done to his drill sergeant. Young thought the physical training was not too strenuous, but the drill instructors could be harsh on the recruits. He did not receive much combat training during basic training. It was mostly physical conditioning, marching, and following orders. On the first Sunday at boot camp, he bought some ice cream from the PX [Annotator's Note: post exchange]. As he was sitting on a porch of the barracks eating the ice cream, his drill sergeant came by. The drill sergeant asked him where he got the ice cream and asked if he could have a bite. Young gave him the pint and the sergeant took a bite then poured the rest over Young's head.

After basic training, James Franklin Young was sent to New River, North Carolina and placed in the Fleet Marine Force. They were forming the 1st Marine Division at this time. He was placed in special weapons where he learned how to work mortars, machine guns, and cannons. He chose to focus in on mortars because he made friends with two other men who were going into that area of expertise. As they trained, they used sticks and other fake weapons until the real weapons arrived at the base. When Young trained with the real mortars, he was surprised by the heavy weight of the equipment. His outfit had a contest to see who could set up the gun the fastest. Whoever won would be given a promotion to corporal. Young was the first to finish and received the status of number one gunner and Corporal. Young trained at New River until June 1942 and his outfit was put on a train. They stopped at the Fred Harvey Houses, which were chain restaurants near the train depots. The stopped in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] on his birthday. The day after, he boarded a ship to sail to the Pacific. Young became seasick soon after the ship was on its way out. He remained sick until for 18 days until they reached Wellington, New Zealand. He met Al Schmid [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Sergeant Albert “Al” Andrew Schmid] whom he soon despised because he would kick Young's bunk bed while he was sick. When they landed in New Zealand, the captain told Young that he was going to send him back to the United States because of his chronic sea sickness. Young said he wanted to stay and never got seasick again. Young was in New Zealand for ten days before he was shipped out for combat. Even though it was raining the whole time, Young was able to sneak out and go to town. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer adjusts the camera at 0:43:39.000.]

James Franklin Young and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] shipped out to Fiji [Annotator's Note: from Wellington, New Zealand] for a mock amphibious invasion. The drill did not go very well, and they never made an official landing. Many of the Marines were injured in the process. They boarded back on the ship and began sailing. Young had no idea where they were going. One evening, Young was sitting on the deck and he noticed several ships in the distance assembling. They stayed with the fleet for two days until they received orders to invade Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal Campaign, 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943, Solomon Islands]. The following morning, they were given steak for breakfast. Young could hear explosions and he ran up to the top of the ship and saw the Navy bombarding the island. Young could not wait to get on the island. He soon was given orders to make the amphibious landing on the Higgins Boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Personnel (Large) or LCP(L)]. There was nothing to it. There was no gun fire. They had no enemy resistance when they ran up the beaches. His battalion's first orders were to advance inland and take the high ground, which was Mount Olson [Annotator's Note: Mount Austen]. The weather was warm, and many of the Marines were sweating profusely. Then the Marines had to hack their way through the jungle because of all the thick vegetation. When they reached their target area, they did not see any Japanese soldiers. Because many of the troops were out of water, some of the men gathered all the canteens and found some water with greenish slime. The sergeant put pills in the canteen to make the water safe to drink. Young recalled the water stank, but everyone was so thirsty they stilled drank it. A lieutenant was stung by a scorpion and his face swelled up so much he became temporarily blind. Young's outfit camped near a coconut grove and there were a couple of lime trees which Young used the limes to flavor his water. During the nights he melted chocolate from his K-rations, mixed it in his water and drank it like hot chocolate. Young found some of the Japanese rice and oats and his outfit cooked that and ate it for several days.

James Franklin Young was with his mortar unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] during the initial attack at the Battle of Tenaru [Annotator's Note: also called the Battle of the Ilu River, 21 August 1942, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Around one o'clock in the morning, Young and some of his mortar crew heard some scattered firing and bursts. They were wondering what was going on at the front lines. Suddenly all hell broke loose. His lieutenant told Young to prepare his crew to move out. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the video at 0:57:17.000.] Young carried his .45 pistol [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] and the bipod for the mortar as they filed through the field passing other outfits, near a coconut grove. Young was assigned as first gunner. His first shot hit the palms of a tree but went through anyway. They soon began to fire in earnest. The Japanese returned mortar fire. Young's unit fired back so fast that he could see the Japanese on fire. Around sunrise fighting began to calm down. American tanks broke through the Japanese line and the battle was over by the afternoon. Young was shocked by the gruesome battle scene. There were dead and wounded lying everywhere. This battle was the first real combat that he and his unit experienced since they landed on Guadalcanal. The Japanese really goofed up and the commanders led their soldiers into a meat grinder.

After the Battle of the Tenaru [Annotator's Note: also called the Battle of the Ilu River, 21 August 1942, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] James Franklin Young and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] had run out of food. Their ship had been hit by a Japanese plane shortly after their arrival at Guadalcanal. All their equipment, food, and supplies were on the ship. After weeks of no supplies, the Marines were starving, ammunition was low, and they were exposed to the tropical elements. Their clothes were rotting off them. Young's mortar crew was responsible to man the lines during the night. On his first night to man the line, he was with the 2nd gunner, Corporal Fisher, when others began to fire. Corporal Fisher decided to throw a grenade, but it hit a tree and bounced back. Luckily, it was not too close enough to anyone to cause damage. [Annotator's Note: The interview is interrupted by someone off the camera and short conversation follows from 1:15:38.000 to 1:17:00.000.00.] Air raids happened every day. It was a beautiful sight to watch. A gunnery sergeant ordered them to dig foxholes to protect themselves. One time, the bombs began to drop right over them, but no one was injured. Some of their guns and equipment were damaged. They had heard the Japanese were preparing for an assault. Young was given orders to reinforce the line. He was loaded on a truck and passed an airport. He soon saw a Japanese plane fly by and strafe the airport. Young was hit in the helmet, knocking it off his head. He reached his new designated area and combat ensued. The Japanese underestimated the jungles which foiled their plan to simultaneously attack the American Marines. The Americans were able to fight off the Japanese with heavy gun fire. Young was worn out and ready to be relieved. Many of the Marines had contracted malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite], dysentery [Annotator's Note: infection of the intestines], and jungle rot [Annotator's Note: also called Tropical ulcer]. They were all malnourished and lost significant amount of weight. The Marines had no tents, so they were forced to sleep on the ground and be subjected to various bugs and animals.

After his tour on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, James Franklin Young and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] were sent to Australia for nine months. He enjoyed his time meeting girls and going to USO [Annotator's Note: United Services Organization] events. Many of the Marines married Australian girls. One of Young's friends married an Australian girl, but shortly after, was killed in action at Cape Gloucester [Annotator's Note: Battle of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, New Guinea, 26 December 1943 to 16 January 1944]. [Annotator's Note: Young gets emotional.] While his friend and another Marine were in an observation post, Japanese soldiers attacked and killed his friend instantly. His body fell onto the other Marine who was able to survive the night unharmed. Young was shooting mortars towards the beach to keep the Japanese from advancing towards them. A Japanese grenade exploded near them injuring three of Young's crew members. Luckily, they were able to get up and walk to the aid station themselves. They were able to return to duty. After they had defeated the Japanese and secured the island, Young and his unit headed ten miles up the beach to reassemble with his division. They sang songs for most of the way and reached their division without any resistance. Young remarked that many of the men slept in hammocks, until they heard that the Japanese would sneak in the camps and whack the ropes, trapping them in the hammock, then kill them. Overall, it was an easy campaign for his company. His unit was relieved and sent to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands]. The captain called them together one day and told them that some of the Marines would be returning to the United States. Young was not chosen, and he felt horrible, because many of his friends were chosen to go. Young was selected stay and to prepare the replacements but did not have much time until they were shipped out again.

James Franklin Young was shipped from Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands] to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, September to November 1944, Peleliu, Palau] with new replacements in his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division]. They stopped at Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] briefly to practice some maneuvers. Young had hardly any time to get to know the replacements and did not know how they would fare in combat. Young's unit was put in an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. There were amphibious tanks on board and stacks of crosses, which made him feel a little eerie. The Marines were told they would be invading a little island called Peleliu and should only take a few days to secure the area. The following morning, Young saw the island being bombarded by the Navy and it looked like the island was smoking. When Young exited the LST he knew instantly that something was not right. They were met with heavy enemy fire. The LST was penetrated by shells. Young's lieutenant, a replacement, froze in fear and his sergeant was wounded in the arm. Young began handing out weapons to all the men and made his way toward the beach. A shell hit near him, which temporarily damaged his hearing. He saw a Marine wounded in the water and Young helped him up and onto the beach. The Marine was severely wounded in the buttocks. Young had to leave him because he was a squad leader and had orders to assemble his squad. He saw blast hits near the boats and the Marines flew through the air. Young thought he was hit himself but realized that shrapnel hit his canteen and the water was running down his leg. He made it to a tank trap and found several Marines trying to get cover. Colonel Chesty Puller [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] told the Marines to move out. Young in the meantime began searching for his squad which was difficult because they were all replacements he did not know. [Annotator's Note: Young asks to pause the interview.] He ended up only finding one guy from his platoon. They were ordered by their sergeant to stay where they were for the night and stay low. If they stood up, they could be mistaken for Japanese and shot.

During his first night on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, September to November 1944, Peleliu, Palau], James Franklin Young felt eerie because there were constant shadows from the flares shot by the Navy. He kept thinking that the enemy was about to attack him. He did not sleep at all. In the morning, the Japanese tanks broke through their line, but soon fell into a crater. Young did not have his mortars ready because some of the pieces were missing. Many of the replacement Marines had dropped their parts in the water during the invasion the day before. Young remarks that he saw colored [Annotator's Note: an ethnic descriptor historically used for Black people in the United States] Marines [Annotator's Note: 11 Marine Depot Company, 16th Field Depot] for the first time the morning after the initial invasion. They were ordered by their sergeant to run ammunition to the front lines. The second day on the island, Young was ordered to move across an airstrip, which was another intense experience. There was so much firing, including small arms and mortar fire, and Young could not see one Japanese, which became frustrating. He came to a little bunker and spotted a Japanese sitting there with his arms crossed. Young’s sergeant yelled at the Japanese soldier to come up, but he refused. The sergeant ordered someone to shoot him. Young refused, so another Marine did. Later they found out the bunker was booby trapped. Young reached the side of the airstrip and set up the mortars. They had a hard time finding protection because the ground was made of coral and it was impossible to dig a foxhole. Young was nearly missed by a sniper; coral flew up on the side of his face. The Marines released dogs to go after the sniper. Young was promoted to sergeant. He received orders to fire at a Japanese mortar battery. They dueled for so long that they could not keep the barrels cool. Young's unit wiped the Japanese mortar battery out. [Annotator's Note: Young pauses because he becomes emotional.] His friend was killed on Peleliu. His friend was the only boy in his family with three sisters. Water was sparse, and the weather was very warm. When they finally got water, it came in gasoline drums which made the water taste horrible. The Marines still drank it because they were thirsty. Many of them got sick. They were on Peleliu for about ten days before they were relieved because they were no longer considered a unit. They had 70 percent casualties. Young boarded a ship and returned to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Russell Islands]. He got upset when he arrived at his tent and there were new replacements lounging on his dead friend's sleeping bag.

A month after fighting on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, September to November 1944, Peleliu, Palau] James Franklin Young boarded a ship that came from the China-Burma-India theater. There were eight Catholic nuns and children on board. The Marines enjoyed playing with the children and giving them candy. When Young arrived in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] there was a Navy band playing and the Red Cross was handing out donuts and coffee. Young noticed that many of the buildings near the coast were camouflaged, and there were nets hanging across. Young boarded a truck which brought him to a base. He received anything they wanted, and a BAM [Annotator's Note: Broad-Assed Marine; derogatory term for a female Marine] helped him got him a new uniform and campaign ribbons. He was put on a train and traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He paid a taxi driver to bring him the rest of the way home to Mount Joy [Annotator's Note: Mount Joy, Pennsylvania]. Young got a job at a cotton mill for a while, and then got a job at a government depot for several years. Young used the G.I. Bill to buy a house.