Leo William Schmittgens was born in Saint Louis [Annotator's Note: Saint Louis, Missouri] in February 1926. He had four brothers [Annotator's Note: The interviewee begins to cry and tape is cut at 0:1:11.000.] His father worked for the railroad and Schmittgens followed in his footsteps after World War 2. Prior to the war, he sold newspapers in the morning before school and worked in a grocery store in the afternoons when school let out. Since he sold newspapers as a kid, he would read them and know what was going on in the war efforts. He did not finish high school because he joined the Marine Corps in 1944. On 7 December 1941, Schmittgens was leaving a movie theater and heard on a street corner that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He went home to tell his family and they began to listen to the news on the radio. Schmittgens recalled that as the war began, his family was sent shoe rations, meat rations, and food rations. It did not bother them too much because they were used to getting by with such a large family. A weeks after his 18th birthday, he was called to Jefferson Barracks [Annotator's Note: Lemay, Missouri] for physical examination. Schmittgens asked to be put in the Navy so they told him to go an induction center in downtown Saint Louis the next day. While he was waiting in a big room with a couple hundred other men, a Marine came up and asked if anyone wanted to volunteer join the Marine Corps, which Schmittgens did. He was led into another room with a handful of guys and sworn in. They were told they were leaving that afternoon, so he called his parents to meet him down there with somethings. He had a great sendoff with lots of family and friends there before he left. He was sent to San Diego, California for basic military training. He recalled boot camp had lots of running from morning until night. He thought the food was good. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer adjusts the microphone on the interviewee at 0:15:09:000.]

Leo William Schmittgens trained with a M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] and was awarded "Sharpshooter". [Annotator's Note: "Sharpshooter" is the middle of three US Marine Corps marksmanship qualifications. "Sharpshooter" is one step above "Marksman" and one step below "Expert".] Schmittgens was a little homesick when he received his first letter at bootcamp. He had to stay ten days longer to pass his swim test because he did not know how to swim. He went home on a furlough after he completed his basic training. His first day home he was sick with fever but got over it. He returned to Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San Diego, California] when his furlough came to an end. He was trained on 81mm mortars [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar]. He recalled constantly practicing putting the mortar together and firing the weapon. They received liberty a few times, so he would hitchhike to LA [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California] and end up at the Hollywood Canteen [Annotator's Note: Hollywood, California]. He was able to see a lot of shows and Hollywood actors while on liberty. Schmittgens recalled the process of maneuvering and firing a mortar and that it as a team effort. They worked so well, they could fire ten shots in less than 14 seconds.

Leo William Schmittgens recalled the constant mortar [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar] firing during World War 2 damaged his ears. When he completed his mortar training, he was shipped out on 15 September 1944. They zig-zagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] for about three days with a blimp hovering over the ship. When the ship crossed the equator, Schmittgens received an extreme initiation from a pollywog to a shellback [Annotator's Note: naval crossing the line ceremony]. He recalled eating three meals a day and slept on racks [Annotator's Note: bunks] six feet high. It was hot a lot of the time, so he would go and sleep out on the deck. Every now and then he would have to sweep the deck, but most of his time on the ship he sat out and looked at the water and sea life. They finally made their way to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Solomon Islands] to the 1st Marine Division rendezvous area. Schmittgens was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division]. As a few days went by, some of the Marines returned from Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau]. Schmittgens got to know some of the guys while they were there for a few weeks before a ship came to pick them up. While waiting on the island, they did more mortar training.

Leo William Schmittgens recalled getting on the Higgins Boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] and practice firing. His regiment [Annotator's Note: Schmittgens was an 81mm mortar man in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was put on the USS Rawlins (APA-226) and they lived on there for a few days in a lagoon at Pavuvu. He was put on a working party where he had to go to an ammo dump and load 75mm and 105mm ammo. He later learned that a lot of the military equipment was dumped into the ocean. He remained on Pavuvu from 1 October to February or March [Annotator's Note: 1 October 1944 to February or March 1945]. He recalled that when the weather was windy, rats would fall from the trees. He remembered they would get beer rations, which was about ten beers every two weeks. A lot of times he would sell his beer to make a profit. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer changes tapes at 0:58:03.000.] Schmittgens remembered they were taken to Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] sometimes for maneuvers. He thought the island was beautiful. He remarked that the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] treated the Marines well, but the Army did not.

Leo William Schmittgens thought he was treated well by the veteran Marines. He learned a lot from them and cherished their friendship. After days of maneuvers and training and one night of a beer bust, Schmittgens and his regiment [Annotator's Note: Schmittgens served on an 81mm mortar crew in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] were on their way to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He remembered seeing a massive convoy of Allied ships as they made their way to the Okinawa via Ulithi Atoll [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands]. His regiment was supposed to land on the second day, but they ended up going in on the first day [Annotator's Note: 1 April 1945]. His platoon was put in an LCM [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Mechanized] and as they came near the island, Schmittgens could hear on the radio that the troops on the island were advancing quickly up the beach. His platoon disembarked the LCM and began walking up to the beach without any resistance; he saw a big sea wall. There were bull dozers working on making a path through the sea wall and Schmittgens and his platoon were able to get through it. They found a road and they marched up it until they reached Yontan Airfield. They saw a Japanese Zero [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero] plane land at the airfield even thought the Americas had control of it. Years later, Schmittgens found out that the Japanese pilot was shot when he exited the plane. He remembered that during the night, the weather would get so cold and he was not used to it.

Leo William Schmittgens recalled the first day on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: 1 April 1945], his regiment [Annotator's Note: Schmittgens served on an 81mm mortar crew in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] marched from one village to the next which were all ruined by air strikes. They marched all day and into the night. They finally bedded down and Schmittgens had the most miserable night of his life because he was wet and cold, with the mosquitoes bothering him as well. The next morning, they found some horses and used them to help carry some of their ammunition. There were so many horses on the island that many of the troops tried to ride them and have a rodeo. Schmittgens tried to ride a horse, but he was bucked off and hurt his back in the process. His company supported G Company [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] for a while, and there was an incident where they were walking down a road at night and a Japanese came running down toward them then took a side road. Then, a few seconds later, they saw a bunch of mortar men running after the Japanese guy. They eventually found him and killed him. He was not wearing a uniform, so there was a hearing about this circumstance, but it was decided that he was a Japanese soldier. Schmittgens also remembered when his sergeants tried to play a joke on him by hiding a machine gun from him after he was on guard duty.

Leo William Schmittgens went on patrols and his Lieutenant, Jaffe [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps First Lieutenant Marcus H. Jaffe], told the patrol to bury a Japanese body he saw laying in a courtyard. Jaffe was eventually relieved of his command and was transferred because he stole a jeep to steal food from an Army regiment. Schmittgens claimed that they used condoms to protect their wallets from getting wet and protect their rifles from getting sand in them. They also used them for practical jokes. One time, Schmittgens and a couple of other guys went down to a ravine to shoot cranes. They made such a racket that G Company [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] came down to see what was going on. Schmittgens and his friends were able to sneak away before anyone could see them. His company [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] went south to relieve the 27th Army Division [Annotator's Note: 27th Infantry Division]. The following night, the weather was rainy and the Japanese were shelling them. The next morning, he received a letter from home giving him news that his mother had a baby girl. They moved out and as they did, they passed some dead Marines. Soon they were under fire for about three or four days. They moved across an airfield and headed to a beach to set up their mortars [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar]. At one o'clock in the morning, they came under fire. Schmittgens saw airplanes and tracers in the sky. They found out that the Japanese were landing east of them. All a sudden, he heard a bunch of noise behind him, and he turned around to see the Third Amphibious Armored Tank Battalion [Annotator's Note: 3rd Armored Amphibian Battalion (Provisional)] coming up onto the beach and gave them much needed support.

Leo William Schmittgens remembered after all the firing ceased [Annotator's Note: after a firefight during the Battle of Okinawa], he saw Japanese bodies lying everywhere. After everything was secured, Schmittgens and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] moved out. As he set up on a ridge where there are a bunch of caves, a sailor ran over to him. His buddy had been shot. Schmittgens and some other guys went over to see that the man was wounded in his stomach. They got him on a stretcher to get them off the front line. Later, his squad set up at a railroad track and they heard the 3rd Battalion [Annotator's Note: 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was getting hit. They went down to see what was going on. They saw white phosphorus explosions everywhere and found out later that they had several casualties. Soon after, his buddy asked him if he wanted to volunteer for OP [Annotator's Note: observation post], but Schmittgens had a bad feeling and told him he did not want to volunteer. On his way to the post, his buddy got hit in the legs by a machine gun. Schmittgens recalled that his unit did not have very many casualties and that a handful were wounded. Most of the guys were wounded by shrapnel. He believes they had so few casualties because they moved around a lot and did not stay in one place for very long.

Leo William Schmittgens recalled that one day [Annotator's Note: one day while he was taking part in the Battle of Okinawa] it started to rain, and it did not stop for ten or 15 days. They got on a ridge and just started firing in the direction of Shuri [Annotator's Note: a district of Naha, Okinawa, Japan]. They had a bucket brigade to bring ammunition up to the ridge. There was mud everywhere and he remembered that he was always wet. He witnessed a Corsair [Annotator's Note: Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft] come through the valley and up the ridge strafing the area. Unfortunately, it blew up some of the Marine's ammunition and wounded someone. Schmittgens remarked that they had a lot of air support during the whole time he was on Okinawa. As the rain ended, they were able to break the line and the Japanese retreated. As they headed down the road, he saw Japanese bodies everywhere. There was a bit of water the Marines were drinking out of and Schmittgens joined in but noticed that he stepped on a dead Japanese laying in the water. He recalled the flies were horrible and everywhere. Schmittgens and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] moved south and set up towards Kunishi Ridge [Annotator's Note: the location of the Japanese last stand during the Battle of Okinawa]. He saw a bunch of Okinawans come through the valley, so he had to go and get them out of the way. He loved the Okinawan people and he treated them well. Schmittgens recalled the last position they were in before the 8th Regiment [Annotator's Note: 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division] took over, they had guns set up on a road, with a Grotto behind them. One night, a bunch of civilians ran down the road because there was a machine gun firing from a ridge. They found out that the Japanese were using the civilians to find out where their opposition were located. Many of these civilians were killed along with about 30 Japanese.

Around 21 June 1945, the 1st Marines [Annotator's Note: 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] were relieved by the 8th Marines [Annotator's Note: 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division]. Leo William Schmittgens remembered he was told to start packing. When he got everything together, he went to a Grotto to bathe. As he was walking through a field, a machine gun fired on him. He jumped into a ditch to cover himself. He decided not to take a bath. They began marching back to where they landed and he saw the Red Cross selling coffee and donuts for a nickel. Unfortunately, no one in the whole regiment had a nickel. Schmittgens remembered, prior to Okinawa, he was going to Ulithi [Annotator's Notes: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands] and he got a letter from his aunt asking him if he knew a fellow Marine because she is friends with his nephew. As he was reading the letter, that fellow Marine was standing next him reading a letter from his aunt asking if he knew Schmittgens. After passing the Red Cross with coffee and donuts, they set up tents on the northern end of the island overlooking the East China Sea. A typhoon came through and they were awakened to go down to the beach to help a ship that turned over. The war ended soon after the typhoon passed. Schmittgens remembered that the sky lit up with fire power. Not long after, Schmittgens helped load his ship and they headed to China.

Leo William Schmittgens waited sometime before his ship had arrived for them to leave Okinawa. He helped load the ship and was set to go to China the next day. Schmittgens woke up late the next morning because he had gotten drunk the night before. He was worried that the ship was going to leave without him, so he "booked it" the two miles down to the beach and made it on the ship. They landed in Taku, China and got on a train to Tientsin, China. He loaded up gear on a truck and went to some British barracks. The city was bustling with people and they talked with a lot of Europeans. The locals would bring the Americans all kinds of food. Because Schmittgens was six feet tall, he was selected to be on the honor guard for the surrender of Japan in North China. While he was in China, he had to do garrison duty. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings at 2:48:22.00 and a woman begins to talk.]

[Annotator’ Notes: This clip begins with an individual talking on a telephone. A telephone rings at 2:48:22.00 and a woman begins to talk on phone and interrupts interview.] Leo William Schmittgens recalled a few riots between the Chinese and Japanese people that he had to go in and break up. He was in China for seven months. He recalled the food was great. Men could get a steak plate for a quarter. The Chinese people would give them haircuts and toe massages. He remembered he stayed mostly in the British area of China and he felt like he was in an American city. The prostitution was unbelievable, and the military made them watch documentaries on the different venereal diseases [Annotator's Note: The interviewer stops interview to change tapes at 2:52:29.000.] They finally got word that anyone with 35 points or more would be able to go home. Schmittgens had only 34 points. He decides to take an NCO [Annotator's Note: noncommissioned officer] examination which he passed and was promoted to corporal. Schmittgens talks about an incident where a replacement was court marshalled for damaging government property. Schmittgens remarked that some of the new replacements had no discipline and should have never been in the Marine Corps in the first place. He remembered it being cold in China.

Leo William Schmittgens was finally able to return home [Annotator's Note: after seven months of occupation duty in Tientsin, China]. It took about 18 days to cross the Pacific Ocean. They landed in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. He was then put on a train to Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] where he was discharged. Within two days, he was working on the railroad. He did not use the G.I. Bill. Fifty years later, he went back to Okinawa for a reunion and many of the men were able to find their old foxholes and learned about how many people were killed on the island every day. Schmittgens thought that the atomic bomb allowed him to go home. He remarked that when he was in China, they had classes on how to speak Chinese.