Kent Butzer Kellegrew was born in September 1923 in Duluth, Minnesota. After four years in Duluth, his family moved to Kansas City [Annotator's Note: Kansas City, Kansas], and then three years later moved to Salina, Kansas. He grew up with one sister. His father sold diesel engines to small towns until 1929 when he lost his job due to the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. Until 1942, he and his father did various jobs to support the family. One of the jobs Kellegrew had was delivering newspapers for one dollar a day. Even though his family struggled, his life was normal because everyone else in his community was poor. His family lived in his grandfather's house, who owned a meat packing place, so Kellegrew was able to eat well. Kellegrew got along with his parents and had many friends. As a kid, he played softball, rode bikes, visited, and performed songs with his friends. Often, after Sunday school, the kids would pick a house to go to and sing and play on the piano. He enjoyed his childhood. Kellegrew was 18 years old when Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] happened, but he cannot remember exactly what he was doing when he heard the news. After graduating high school in 1942, he found employment at the Lockheed [Annotator's Note: now Lockheed Martin Corporation] plant in Burbank, California. His father had already been working there for three months. He supervised three other men and together they cut various materials for bomber planes. Kellegrew was surprised that he received a draft notice in March 1943 because he had an important position in the home front war production. Kellegrew's father served in World War 1 as a flight instructor. He trained many pilots who fought in Europe, but his father never made it over there himself. Kellegrew's father was "really pissed" that he never got to go to war and fight. [Annotator's Note: An announcement over an intercom interrupts the interview at 0:10:25.000.] Kellegrew's father was not upset when he was drafted into the Army. He was sent to Camp Swift, Texas for basic training. During his training, he took an aptitude test and passed, so he was sent to Lake Forest College [Annotator's Note: in Lake Forest, Illinois]. As the war was dying down in Europe and America was focusing more on the Pacific, Kellegrew was transferred out of college and put in a combat unit. He joined a heavy weapons company in the 96th Infantry Division. His main duty was to lay wire for the 81mm mortars [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar]. He and the forward observation man would go to the front lines and find an observation post. After digging in, Kellegrew would lay wire from the post to the guns, so the forward observer could tell the gunners when and where to shoot. If the wire ever broke, he would fix it. If his company moved out, he was responsible to lay more wire. He had a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] and carried the wire and his pack on his back. His job was very dangerous because he was on the front lines often. He was able to get behind the lines sometimes and felt safe when he was there. The outfit he was part of was called the "Deadeyes." They chose Marjorie Main [Annotator's Note: Mary Tomlinson, professionally known as Marjorie Main; American actress and singer] as their pinup. At the end of the war she came to visit them and served them in the mess hall.

Kent Butzer Kellegrew's first campaign was on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte, Philippines]. He had turned 21 while on a ship in the Pacific. On his birthday he tried his first cigarette, smoking pipe, and chewing tobacco. This was the first and only time he "lost his cookies" [Annotator's Note: slang for vomiting] on a ship. The combination of the smoking and the motion of the ship made him sick. His ship departed from a small town right outside of San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. His ship first stopped in Hawaii where he and his outfit [Annotator's Note: the 96th Infantry Division] did jungle training, taught by Marines. They received orders to attack a small Pacific Island, called Wake [Annotator's Note: Wake Island, Territory of the United States], but orders changed, and they were sent to another Pacific Island. Kellegrew and his outfit remained for 54 days aboard ship while the military leadership decided where they should invade next. MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] finally decided to invade the Philippines. Kellegrew and the "Deadeyes" [Annotator's Note: nickname of the 96th Infantry Division] landed on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944]. He was on the third wave of the amphibious invasion. Once he found his outfit on the beach, he began to move inland. He found green coconuts, cracked them open with a machete and drank the milk. It tasted good. While Kellegrew was in basic training, he was often on punishment duty instead of training. His commander gave him a perfect shooting record anyway to boost the groups record. Because he was given a perfect record, his commander on Leyte assigned him as the wireman. He would lay down wire with the forward observer. His outfit was in the Philippines for about six to eight weeks and then headed to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Years later, he and 17 of his Army friends donated money to build libraries in the Philippines. During the opening of the library, he was amazed at what he and his outfit accomplished on the island because the jungle was so thick. The Filipinos were thanking the Americans when they arrived. However, a Filipino man holding the body of his dead wife approached Kellegrew asking why he had killed her. Kellegrew saw that the man was very angry and all he could tell the man was to go to the beach. This moment changed the entire complexion of the war for him. It was the first dead body he saw in war. It still bothers him today. Kellegrew killed civilians and animals because when his outfit dug in at night, the soldiers shot at anything that moved. At the end of the war, they were having shooting competitions. He came in eighth place out of about 10,000 soldiers, so in the end he was a good shot. Kellegrew feels awful for killing civilians during the war. He believes the war did not change him but did make him mature faster. The loudest noise he ever heard was when he saw three battleships in the harbor firing their guns toward the jungle and knocking down coconut trees. He did not see many snakes or animals as his unit moved through the jungle. His unit was loud and probably scared all the animals away. His unit's mission was to get off the beach and head to the top of a mountain, which they did, but they had to go through a lot of jungle. They dug into the top of the mountain looking down onto a town where the Japanese had taken. The plan was for another American unit to attack the Japanese and drive them up toward the mountain to be captured by Kellegrew's unit, but the Japanese ended up killed or dying by suicide in the town because they would not retreat. During his time on the mountain, Kellegrew contracted dengue fever [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne tropical disease] from mosquitoes. One of the scariest nights of his life, Kellegrew was walking back to the beach. He had been in the same clothing without bathing or shaving for 82 days. He was put into a tent with 20 other soldiers and given a cot to sleep on. During the night, one of the soldiers had a nightmare and began screaming. All the soldiers around grabbed their guns about ready to fire until a commander told them to hold their fire. No one could go back to sleep. After 48 days, his outfit received orders to invade Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He tried to learn the Filipino language while he was on the Philippines. He was invited to dinner to a family's house. After the meal, a python snake slithered near him. Kellegrew was "scared shitless", but the family laughed and said it was their family pet.

Kent Butzer Kellegrew [Annotator's Note: with the 96th Infantry Division] was sent to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] after the campaign on Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte, Philippines]. Kellegrew saw fleets of ships around him as they headed to the island. It looked like the whole Navy was there. He realized that this battle was big. When they arrived on the beach, he was told his regiment was in reserve. He had to wade in chest deep water. By the time he made it onto the beach, he heard that the Americans had already crossed the island. Nothing happened the first day, and the second day Kellegrew's regiment was ordered to move to the south of the island. Kellegrew's first foxhole on the island was near a dike. When the Japanese began to attack his area, Kellegrew was outside his foxhole. He thought he was a dead man. Somehow, he managed to make it to his foxhole. The Japanese artillery blew up the dike and all the dirt landed on Kellegrew burying him alive. The dirt on him was so cold. With a little help from his friends, he was able to get himself out. His regiment dug their foxholes in "X" patterns in order to protect them from enemy fire. This was a new way the Army had taught them, learning from the mistakes of World War 1 and the beginning of World War 2. Each man in the "X" had to do guard duty during the night. When it was time to switch turns, the man that was done with his duty, would throw a rock at the next man to begin his guard duty. One night, Kellegrew was sound asleep when all of a sudden he heard gun shots. He put on his helmet, began to climb out of his foxhole and was met by the face of a dead Japanese. Kellegrew realized how close he was to being killed and had nightmares for months. His job while on Okinawa was to lay communication wire. He would often circle back to the front lines to make sure his wire did not break. In one instance, he saw a Japanese jump out of his foxhole and he began to chase him down. He then saw the Japanese run into a cave. He grabbed a five foot pole charge, ignited it, a threw it into the cave. After he sealed the cave and was walking away, he heard a baby cry in a tomb nearby. He figured it was a mother and baby hiding. Another time he was on duty, he saw something move and fired twice. He later found out that he shot two women. He felt horrible. The rest of the guys in his group did not talk to him for a while. Kellegrew does not think they were mad at him; they just did not know what to say. Another time his unit supported a charge at the enemy. A Japanese soldier came very close to bayoneting him. Kellegrew was able to avoid the stab and shoot him in the chest with his rifle. Seconds later, Kellegrew turned and shot another in the head. Today, when people thank Kellegrew for his service, he often thinks of this moment, when he shot the man in his chest. He saw the lights go out of his eyes. Kellegrew found a hole and hid in it for at least 45 minutes until the charge was done. Towards the end of the Okinawa campaign, Kellegrew was injured trying to get up to a cliff. An American had opened fired with a machine gun and the shots ricocheted off a rock and hit him in the shoulder. Kellegrew walked to a Red Cross tent. The doctor was able to pull out the bullet from his arm and gave it to Kellegrew. He was eventually sent to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands] to heal. After being in a cast for a short while, he returned to his outfit. They had moved back to Leyte.

Kent Butzer Kellegrew does not remember when he was discharged but remembers that he was on Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands] when the war ended. Someone handed him two bottles of beer for celebration. Kellegrew did not want to remain in the military after serving for two years and ten months in World War 2. He returned home and found a job to support his wife and parents. When his parents reached 65 years, they were able to collect their social security which helped Kellegrew. He worked in various jobs, including as a telephone lineman. His wife wanted him to go to college, so he gave it a shot and soon realized he was pretty good at school. He decided he wanted to be an elementary school teacher and taught for over 30 years. He retired in 1983. He was not paid during the summers, so he worked for a furniture store on school break. Kellegrew is very proud of his service but would not do it again. People never asked him about his experiences until recently. He thinks many Americans are thankful for what the servicemen did in World War 2. He has people that thank him all the time.