Lawrence John Lejeune was born in June 1926 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked for Exxon and the family had a comfortable life and enjoyed living in his neighborhood. While in high school, Lejeune dated a Jewish girl and remembered hearing how some European Jews had escaped the Nazis and settled in Baton Rouge. Lejeune remembered hearing news about German and Japanese aggression on the radio. He also learned about it at school. He had a feeling that if Germany persists, America will be involved with the conflict soon. [Annotator's Notes: A phone rings in background at 0:09:05.000.]

On 7 December 1941, Lawrence John Lejeune had just come out of a movie when he found out that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. His father warned him that fighting Japan would not be easy for America because they had a more superior military than the United States. Lejeune had a friend who died on the USS Arizona (BB-39) and it had an effect on him. He joined the ROTC [Annotator's Notes: Reserve Officer Training Corps] at LSU [Annotator's Notes: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana] while in high school. [Annotator's Notes: A phone rings in background at 0:12:05.000.] Soon after Pearl Harbor, Lejeune recalled the need to ration everything. He remembered his parents saved the gas coupons for Sundays so they could attend church. He remembered that double and triple dating became popular because high school kids would carpool everywhere together. New clothes and shoes were hard to come by. He remembered collecting metal, iron, rubber tires, and anything that was useful for the war effort. Lejeune recalled that they would practice drills for bombing because at the time, Baton Rouge had the biggest oil refinery in America.

Lawrence John Lejeune did not want to be drafted because of the limitation of your choice, and he became interested in the Merchant Marine because several of his friends were already serving with that branch. With two other friends, he sought out information about the branch and asked his parents if he could join the Merchant Marine, which they agreed. Lejeune and his two friends joined the Merchant Marine in December 1943. They were shipped to Saint Petersburg, Florida for basic training. He recalled that there was a lot physical training, including how to row a lifeboat, diving into the water set aflame, and dispersing fire with your hands and arms. Lejeune was really interested in working in the engine room of a liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. He started as a wiper, which was the lowest rated job in the engine room. Being a wiper meant it was always your duty to keep the engine room clean. He remembers eating powdered eggs for breakfast and having something green to drink. After a month or two of training, he felt at home, and enjoyed his training. He graduated in May 1944 and shipped out.

Lawrence John Lejeune graduated from Merchant Marine training in Saint Petersburg, Florida in May 1944 then was shipped to New Orleans [Annotator’s Notes: New Orleans, Louisiana]. They were told to find a job on a ship. He was lucky to be put on the same ship as a couple of his friends. His captain could not tell them where they were going but told them they were transporting 550 mules. The engine room of the ship had an evaporated condenser that turned the seawater into drinking water for the mules. Lejeune was given the job to clean the evaporated condenser which was not an easy task. After leaving New Orleans, his ship headed up the east coast to meet a convoy of 88 ships. The convoy crossed the Atlantic Ocean and headed for Calcutta, India [Annotator's Note: now Kolkata, India]. One night during voyage, the convoy was attacked by the Luftwaffe [Annotator's Note: German Air Force] and German submarines. Lejeune recalled guns and bombs going off. A ship in front of his carrying 10,000 pounds of ammunition was torpedoed. The convoy lost 16 ships that night. They made it to Port Said, Egypt and was preparing to go to Calcutta by way of the Suez Canal. While they were at Port Said, Lejeune was able to go ashore. He was told not to eat vegetables, but he did anyway, and contracted dysentery. The cook on his ship put him on a special soup diet for eight days. When they made it to Calcutta, they began to unload the cargo, Lejeune found out that the mules were being used to rebuild the Burma Road to keep the Japanese out of India. After they unloaded their cargo, they fueled up and stocked up on food, then headed to Australia.

Lawrence John Lejeune was a Merchant Marine sailor on a liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] heading for Australia. His ship harbored at the island of Tasmania [Annotator’s Notes: Tasmania, Australia]. Lejeune remembered it to be one of the most gorgeous places he had ever seen. The people of the island were so happy to see Americans that they held a dance for them. While they were in port they loaded up on apples and chemicals. Six days later they set sail for Townsville, Northeastern Australia, then continued on to Port Moresby, New Guinea. As they pulled into the port, his ship was attacked by the Japanese, but Lejeune claimed they were in no real danger because the Japanese did not have enough firepower. He did recall the horrific smells of the dead Japanese because they did not bury their dead. They stayed in Port Moresby for about a week discharging cargo then headed to Hollandia, New Guinea to pick up some 1st Cavalry Division troops. Lejeune noticed that a lot of the guys had Japanese ears hung around their necks and teeth in a jar. They later set off for Antofagasta, Chile where they took on 7,500 tons of nitrate, which was highly explosive. Lejeune remembered that smoking became restricted to your room only. They headed to America by way of the Panama Canal and Gulf of Mexico. They landed in Panama City, Florida. Finally, they headed to New Orleans [Annotator’s Notes: New Orleans, Louisiana] where his deployment ended.

Lawrence John Lejeune was a Merchant Marine sailor who had just returned to New Orleans, Louisiana after his first deployment. He recalled that he felt like the Merchant Marines were second class citizens because they were never welcomed to anything that other troops had privileges to go to because they were not recognized as a military branch. He was bothered that he was not qualified for the G.I. Bill and other benefits, and they were not considered veterans until 1989. [Annotator's Notes: The tape pauses at 0:56:54.000.] He thought the Merchant Mariners were given "shabby treatment" by the government. Lejeune commented that the Navy had all the American facilities on their ships, but the Merchant Mariners had nothing. Lejeune went to Sheepshead Bay [Annotator's Notes: US Merchant Marine Academy, Sheepshead Bay, New York] in early May 1945 but decided to ask for a discharge and returned home. He was in New Orleans [Annotator's Notes: New Orleans, Louisiana] on VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] and VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. Lejeune and his friend were in the Blue Room of the Roosevelt Hotel when the orchestra made a drum roll and announced Germany's surrender.

Lawrence John Lejeune left the Merchant Marine and returned home. His sister waited for him at the bus stop. His most memorable moment as a Merchant Marine sailor was a battle with the Germans in the Mediterranean [Annotator's Notes: Mediterranean Sea]. He remembered the Germans were coming in by waves and it was just an unforgettable experience for him. He served in World War 2 because he thought he owed it to his country. The war affected his life in a good way. It taught him things he wouldn't have learned any other way. Lejeune believes his services helped him make lifetime friendships. He believes that World War 2 does not mean enough to America today. He believes that America is the greatest country the Lord ever made. He thinks its great to have institutions like The National WWII Museum.