[Annotator's Note: The video starts with a long conversation before the interview actually starts.] Lester Hecht was born in April 1915 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He had one brother and one sister. His father lived to be 100 years old. His father came from Hungary and had been in their Navy. He worked on ships as an engineer and helped build the Panama Canal. He contracted malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite] and after recovering, moved to New York. He ended up in the bottling business. He had a plant. Hecht worked for Esso, Standard Oil, in New Jersey for a few years. The war broke out and they wanted to send him to Venezuela, but the ships were getting sunk, so it was called off. He stayed home and had a delivery route for a beverage company. He did that until Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He decided to enlist. Hecht was at a party and his brother-in-law told him he had gone in the US Marine Corps. Hecht's sister said she didn't think he could get in, so the next day he went over and he did get in. He had gotten married in 1940. He met his wife in 1936. He had been out to dinner when someone said that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Nobody knew where Pearl Harbor was.

Lester Hecht went to boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina. He got in shape. It did not bother him. He was older than everybody else. He was 26 and a father to all the kids. He then went up to Newport, Rhode Island to electrical school with the Navy. The sergeant major made him a corporal because of his age. He was told to pick four more corporals from his group. He was then sent to Cherry Point, North Carolina and from there to Pollocksville, North Carolina. They were forming a new squadron. There were about 70 men. They went to El Toro, California for school. His wife wanted to come out to California. He got her plane tickets out and three days later he was notified he was going overseas. He could not use the phone. He went to the chaplain who let him call her. Three days later he was on the USS Hornet (CV-8) for its maiden voyage. They slept wherever they could and ate whatever they could. They went to Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii]. They had nothing protecting them. They unloaded there and stayed awhile. That is where they got started with Marine Air Group 32 [Annotator's Note: Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32)], Headquarters. They formed their field in Zamboanga [Annotator's Note: Zamboanga, Philippines].

Lester Hecht and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32)] trained pilots in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii]. They would go into town on leave. Moret Field [Annotator's Note: now Zamboanga International Airport, Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines] was where they were. Hecht knew nothing about airplanes but was named a plane captain. It meant he took care of one plane and the pilot. There were about 20 of them. One day a man came out with a couple of officers, and said he was flying the plane. He was not wearing any rank, so Hecht did not know what to call him. One of the officers said, "I want you to meet Charles Lindbergh." [Annotator's Note: Charles Augustus Lindbergh, American aviator] Lindbergh worked for Chance Vought in Connecticut who made the engines for these planes. He asked Hecht a lot of questions. That is how he got his start. It was a big deal. He got to know everybody: the corpsmen, parachute men, mechanics. They were a nice family with great officers. These officers and pilots had just come from Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] and Bougainville [Annotator's Note: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea]. Lindbergh had visited them in Hawaii. Lindbergh lived 30 miles from Hecht [Annotator's Note: from Hecht's home in New Jersey] and right after that visit, was when his son was kidnapped and murdered - the Lindbergh Case. Hecht remained in Hawaii about three months. The new squadrons were under the command of his outfit.

Lester Hecht's commanding officer's name was John L. Smith [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith]. He was an ace and had shot down 25 planes. Faust [Annotator's Note: unable to identify] was with them and Pappy Boyington [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington] was too. The colonel told Hecht that when they go to the islands he would have plenty to do. They got on a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] after they had been in Hawaii about a year. They went to different islands in the Philippines. They were sent out and made a base. The Colonel asked him if he could put on shows for the boys. He did fake shows. He had the guys in the post office do the McGuire sisters [Annotator's Note: The McGuire Sisters, singing trio in American popular music]. They also had movies every night. The natives used to attend. Hecht would read the news. They had crap games [Annotator's Note: dice game] and cockfights. The pilots would all bet on them. Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: born Leslie Townes Hope, American comedian, actor, singer, author; named “Honorary Veteran”, 1997] came once and picked Hecht out of the group and had him on stage. The colonel [Annotator's Note: Smith] knew Hecht was a little older and they were friendly. Hecht used to runs shows for an organization. He was president of all the liquor stores in New Jersey. He used to live just 30 minutes from New York and would see every show. He liked Fiddler on the Roof [Annotator's Note: musical play] and more.

Lester Hecht was heading to the invasion of Leyte. Halsey [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey] was his neighbor in Elizabeth [Annotator's Note: Elizabeth, New Jersey]. 1,500 boats met in the middle of the ocean. Once in a while they saw a Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] plane come over and an aircraft would go off a carrier and go after them. Hecht and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32)] went in on D minus one on Leyte. They stayed there for a while. Halsey and Nimitz [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Sr.] fooled the Japs. They came right in with little resistance. A couple of kamikazes dropped right near them. They stayed around Clark Field [Annotator's Note: on Luzon, Philippines] and then ended up in Mindanao [Annotator's Note: Mindanao, Philippines]. Hecht was going to write a book, MAG 32 [Annotator's Note: Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32)]. He tried to set up a reunion, but many had died, and the others could not afford it. He still keeps up with them. His duties in Zamboanga [Annotator's Note: Zamboanga, Philippines] were taking care of a plane and doing shows. Six men were out looking for souvenirs and never came back. There were many squadrons under them. Colonel Smith [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith] ran all of the different groups of pilots. Hecht worked on Corsairs [Annotator's Note: Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft]. He was friendly with the pilots and knew them all. He had to buckle them in. He would wish them good luck. Then he would sit and wait for them to return. He would write up the report and put the plane back in the garage. One of his friends from Elizabeth was there in the Army and was staying at Doris Duke's [Annotator's Note: Doris Duke, American heiress and philanthropist] house [Annotator's Note: in Hawaii].

Lester Hecht was having a beer on liberty in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii] when the man next to him, who was with the press, asked Hecht what he could do to liven up the guys who came there to The Royal Hawaiian [Annotator's Note: Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii]. Hecht recommended a weekly state. They did that. Coca-Cola would bring the coke and the hotel would give something to eat. He got to meet so many people from his state. It worked very well. When they were ready to sign the peace [Annotator's Note: with Japan], Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States], Nimitz [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Sr., Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet], MacArthur [Annotator's Note: US Army General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area], and Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945] all came to Honolulu. The harbor was already cleaned. The colonel [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith] said he needed him to guard the car all of these guys would be in. Hecht was on the side where Churchill was sitting. Roosevelt was a big smoker. Churchill told Roosevelt that he had not brought a cigar. Hecht's brother used to send him cigars, so he always had two in his pocket. He gave a cigar to Churchill and Churchill hugged him. Hecht met a lot of people. He was a big sports man and he met a lot of people. It was not fun, but it was interesting. Hecht would visit the hospital. His brother-in-law's outfit was there too. About eight months ago [Annotator's Note: eight months before this interview was recorded], he was going to write a book titled MAG-32 [Annotator's Note: Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32)]. It would have been a good movie. He asked ten men he knew were left to write him a story, but he only got two. He wanted it to be like MASH [Annotator's Note: a 1970 American film which later became a television series].

Lester Hecht returned to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] on a Coast Guard boat. He was sent back to Cherry Point [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina] to get flight time in. They had to fly four hours every month to get flight pay. He returned home and went back into the liquor business with his father and his wife. He was offered different things and Smith [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith] would ask him to stay in. At El Toro [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California], the only place they could go for liberty was Hollywood. Hecht would go there on Saturday nights. If they volunteered, they could work there. Trianon Ballroom, Horace Heidt's [Annotator's Note: Horace Heidt, American pianist, big band leader] orchestra. He called Hecht to the stage to play musical chairs. Adjusting to civilian life was hard. Hecht became active in an association for the stores [Annotator's Note: Hecht was in the liquor business]. He was made vice president nationally. [Annotator's Note: Hecht's wife interjects with her story.] After a couple of years, he was nearing 50 years old, and he decided to get a job with Brown-Forman distillers [Annotator's Note: Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, Kentucky]. He was state manager in New Jersey. His son is now in charge of all of New England. If he made quotas, he got trips and they went to Europe.

Lester Hecht's wife [Annotator's Note: Lillian] did not mind moving back in with her parents, when Hecht went to war. They gave each other consolation. She was anxious to go to California when he was stationed there. When Hecht got orders overseas, she just accepted it. It was a time where they just accepted what it was. They could not change it and had to make the best of what it was. She became occupied within her own sphere. They just wished, and hoped and prayed for the best. Her heart goes out to the kids today. It is a tremendous learning, but it comes at a price. She worked in his father's store and learned the business. She told the salesman it was too bad she was not man and they had to deal with her. She had good job offers but she could not leave Hecht's father alone in his business. It was what he needed, and it put his mind at ease. It kept them all going. She and Hecht became very good at writing letters. She gave him news and he told her what he could. There were hundreds of people in the same position. Once in a while, she and her friends would go for dinner and drinks. Rationing was no big deal. Everybody knew it had to be done. When Hecht came home from the war, she was living with her parents. They liked to play cards. She knew he was coming back; he had better come back. It was an adjustment again. Things had changed and there was so much to talk about but it cannot all be gotten out at once. They made the best of it.

Lester Hecht says there a couple of stories he cannot tell. [Annotator's Note: Hecht laughs.] When his ship pulled into Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte, Philippines], they were next to an Army ship that was unloading. There were hundreds of ships. Hecht was with the boys watching the next ship unload cases of beer. The Army had the beer, the Marine Corps did not. This was at Clark Field. Hecht asked the guys if they wanted to get some. Hecht made a plan. Some of the guys would get on the back of the next truck. He drove a jeep and followed the truck. When they got to a sandy area, they threw off cases of beer to be picked up. It worked. They got 90 cases of beer and took them to their station. They shared it with the officers and pilots. They were also close to a Philippine brewery. They went down there and they saw people fenced in as prisoners. The people asked them to come in and help them. They climbed over the fence and went in and got beer out of the vats. No matter where he was, Hecht would ask if there was anyone there from Jersey [Annotator's Note: New Jersey]. Once, a man came up and asked where in Jersey. Hecht told him Elizabeth. The man said he was a priest from there, Father Allen. Hecht knew his family. Nobody knew he was a captive. He came back to New Jersey and Hecht had dinner with him a couple of times. Hecht was happy to get home to his family and his wife. Legacy. Ben Hecht [Annotator's Note: American screenwriter, journalist, and novelist] is a relative.

When Lester Hecht was in Mindanao [Annotator's Note: Mindanao, Philippines], the aircraft he was in charge of always came back [Annotator's Note: from a mission]. They would go out for three or four hours. One of his best friends from his hometown was in the squadron across the base. He was shot down. People would write him a letter to ask if he had seen their relative or family member. He had a code for the mail. He had been in the liquor business, so he had a certain name of a bottle that would tell them where he was. Hecht was on the USS Hornet (CV-8) and it was a beautiful experience. It is now a museum in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. He was going to have his reunion there. Hecht was not on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. The war was over. They dropped the A-bomb [Annotator's Note: atomic bomb; nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. He read about that. Everybody asked what the bomb was but nobody knew. The colonel [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith] called him in and gave him two choices: he could go home if he wanted, but he wanted to take them to China. Hecht did not go and flew back to San Francisco. When asked why he did not go, he kids that he does not like Chinese food. The ones who did go were there for eight months. They got commendations from everybody. Hecht would get the news from the radioman. He would then read the news to the rest of the men. The Army needed help with the air [Annotator's Note: air operations] in China. General Eichelberger [Annotator's Note: US Army General Robert Lawrence Eichelberger] gave them a pretty good write-up. Hecht's colonel [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Colonel John Lucian Smith] did go. He was Hecht's hero. He made general. Another of his officers, Major Harold Marriott lived near him.