Melvin C. Whitman was born and raised in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. In high school, his family moved to Metairie [Annotator's Note: Metairie, Louisiana], and when he left the service, he built a house in the town. While on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], Whitman got married. While he waited to be shipped to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], his wife stayed with him. When he returned, he found his wife had worked on the house. [Annotator's Note: Whitman gets emotional.] They decided to build a new house. Whitman was born in 1923 and he had three siblings. During the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945], his family bounced from job to job. He made about 12 to 15 dollars a week. When Whitman was 13 years old, he started a paper route with his two brothers. His father had a leg issue, which prevented him from working sometimes. The three boys brought home more money than their father. Whitman continued the paper route until he graduated from high school. He worked for the railroad for a couple months until he decided to join the military. He enlisted in December 1942, and he did not tell anyone he was going to enlist. He was married, so he told his wife he was leaving after New Year's. That is when he was shipped to San Diego. He decided to join the Marine Corps because he saw a friend at the rail depot going to the Marines and he thought the branch was all class. He did not want to join the Army because he did not like the cold weather. At the railroad, Whitman had worked 12 hour shifts. He thought it would be easier being in the Marine Corps.

Melvin C. Whitman did his basic training in San Diego [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego County, California]. He arrived in January 1942 and was put in Platoon 42. There were barracks for 30 Marines. There was a view of Lindbergh Field [Annotator's Note: now San Diego International Airport]. The Marines could see B-24 bombers [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] on the field. After boot camp, Whitman was chosen to go to El Centro Marine Airbase [Annotator's Note: now Naval Air Facility El Centro in El Centro, California]. It did not rain often, and the heat would mess with the asphalt. When he left there, he went on leave, got married, then returned to San Diego, where he did infantry and mortar training at Camp Elliot [Annotator's Note: in San Diego, California]. Whitman became an expert gunner and enjoyed being a mortar man. It was pitch black on the morning he left California. He left with no escort and went to New Caledonia [Annotator's Note: New Caledonia, Overseas France]. Whitman was in the 56th Replacement Battalion and remained in the assembly area until he was told where to report. He was sent to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu Island, Russell Islands] in the Solomon Islands. That is where he was assigned to the 11th Marine Regiment [Annotator's Note: Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] to serve with a 105mm howitzer [Annotator's Note: M101A1 105mm howitzer] unit. Whitman did not understand why he was trained for mortars but sent to the artillery. The two weapons were not too dissimilar. He joined the unit when it returned from New Guinea and trained with it until he was sent to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu Island, Palau].

The operation on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu Island, Palau] was supposed to be in conjunction with the offensive in the Philippines. Melvin C. Whitman was told it would be over in 48 hours, but it took over a month. When the battle was over, he returned to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu Island, Solomon Islands] to rest. Pavuvu was mountainous, but also had a swamp. Whitman's job was to drain the swamp and dry it out. One of his friends was hit in the head with a falling coconut. After being trained, he packed up and left for Peleliu. Whitman saw Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War], Jerry Colonna [Annotator's Note: Gerardo Luigi "Jerry" Colonna, musician, actor, and comedian], and Patty Thomas [Annotator's Note: Patty Thomas, American dancer] on the island. One night, there was a boxing match on the island. The boxer was killed on Peleliu. They made a swimming hole on the beach and the men would swim and play basketball. He thought Pavuvu was not all bad. Ships were able to pull up close to the island. When he had time off, Whitman would explore the island and would watch movies at night. It rained all the time. It took two weeks to load up a convoy. Whitman landed on Peleliu on 15 September 1944. His brother Bob was in the Marine Corps as well, but in a different division. While traveling to Peleliu, Whitman found out his brother was on Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] through v-mail [Annotator's Note: Victory Mail; postal system put into place during the war to drastically reduce the space needed to transport mail].

On the way to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu Island, Palau], Melvin C. Whitman crossed paths with a Navy ship that was shooting mines. The water was rough on the journey. On the LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank], he got onto the tank deck and at 500 miles from the island he was released near a reef. He was able to cross it in his craft and he saw amphibious tanks cross the reef using special tracks. On the sand the tanks would stall. Army soldiers drove the vehicle Whitman was on. The driver messed up and accidentally put the nose of the artillery gun into the water. It was not until late in the morning that Whitman was able to get onto the beach with his gun. He saw things burning and at first thought it was because of naval gun fire. When he got closer, he realized that could not be true because the only things on shore that could burn were landing craft. Whitman landed on Orange Beach and when he got in, he could see he landed in the wrong spot. There was a blown-up pillbox [Annotator's Note: type of blockhouse, or concrete, reinforced, dug-in guard post, normally equipped with slits for firing guns], but the next one had Japanese troops in it still. Those troops started firing on Whitman and his unit [Annotator's Note: Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division]. Whitman was hanging on the side of the landing craft and he had some of his comrades had to drop when the firing happened. One of the men was hit in the arm and the other was killed. Whitman remained underwater and tried to get out of the way of the pillbox. He came up away from the gun and started moving forward. He held extra ammo for a BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR] man. He made it to the soldier but was missing his helmet. Whitman took the helmet off a dead Marine. Further ahead, he found a man crying with gun powder all over his face. He thinks it might have been from a rifle grenade. Whitman told the Marine a corpsman [Annotator's Note: the naval equivalent of a medic used by the Marine Corps] was on the way, then made his way to the BAR man. They got into position and saw American troops all around. The Japanese men in the pillbox were still alive. The following day, the BAR man killed the people in the pillbox. It was extremely hot on the island. Whitman had to be careful with his water. He believes if there were American tanks on the island when the Marines were moving on the airport, the Japanese tanks would have been blown up quickly. The artillery and infantry bazooka [Annotator's Note: man-portable recoilless anti-tank weapon] teams took out the Japanese tanks. Whitman did harassment fire against the enemy in the morning. There was a small island nearby. Someone was shooting at the artillery from the island. One young Marine took off in a boat and tried to kill the enemy but was wounded by a grenade.

[Annotator's Note: Melvin C. Whitman was on Peleliu, Palau with Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division on 16 September 1944]. An LCI [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry] brought more troops to the island. Whitman found out later there was an artillery piece nearby that had destroyed many landing craft the previous day. It was destroyed after a spotter plane sent its location to American artillery. Whitman carried canister shot [Annotator's Note: artillery shell similar to a shotgun shell] for his artillery piece. He does not think the Japanese gun could have been too big since it was pushed by troops. A landing craft was coming in and almost hit Whitman. The LCI moved through a hole was made in the coral reef and started shooting off rockets. The next morning, the 7th Marines [Annotator's Note: 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] went ashore and went to the area the rockets landed. The weather was hot with occasional rain. Men started getting dysentery [Annotator's Note: infection of the intestines] from the water brought ashore. There was also disease transmitted from flies. On the sixth or seventh day, the Japanese had been run into some ridges. Whitman was told he could take a shower. He went to the beach, dropped his clothes, and went into the ocean. The tide came in and his clothes disappeared. He did not have any replacement clothes, so he had to scrounge around for clothes, even though they did not fit. Most of the fighting took place in the ridge. Whitman was not able to use his artillery piece because he would have hit American troops. One day, a Japanese soldier got onto a reef and some tanks started firing at him. Whitman believes that everyone has a natural reaction to try and save themselves. He never wanted a medal, he wanted to get back home. He believes heroes are the men that gave up their lives. Whitman heard there were wounded men near the airport, but a Japanese tank ran over them. There was a swamp near Orange Beach. One night while Whitman was on security, he heard someone screaming for help. Whitman refused to jump into the knocked-out bunker, even though there was a mortar and grenade attack. The next morning, a mortar hit a nearby tree, and landed near Whitman. A sliver of the tree went into one of the Marines. That Marine did not want a Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy] unless he got killed. Whitman watched a Marine kill a Japanese soldier with his rifle butt. The shell for his 105mm howitzer [Annotator's Note: M101A1 105mm howitzer] was 43 pounds, but his loader handled it like it was nothing. He wore a leather glove to protect his hand from being wounded in the breech of the gun.

Melvin C. Whitman had few harassing fire missions during the nights when the Japanese would move on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu Island, Palau]. Whitman did not receive any harassing fire from the enemy. When the Marines were arriving, the ships were providing naval fire. When they landed the artillery, those Marines started firing too. The Japanese did not use their heavy guns, mostly mortars. They were more concentrated on the infantry, so Whitman did not receive much of that fire. He was originally going to land at Purple Beach. The Frogmen [Annotator's Note: Naval Combat Demolition Units or NCDUs] told the Marines that Purple Beach was well defended. Whitman believes he would have been slaughtered if he landed there. The enemy could not figure the Marines out. He was told the Peleliu mission was supposed to last for 48 hours. There was poor intelligence on the island's ridges. It was almost impossible to make it through some of them. The Japanese had the high ground, which was difficult to assault. Once the Marines took it, the Japanese would stay underground. Whitman thought the operation would take longer than 48 hours. He was not told about the terrain before he landed. He does not think the operation was necessary, even though it was in support of MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area]. One admiral sent planes out without enough gas to fight. Whitman knew there needed to be sacrifice for gain but saw no gain with Peleliu. He was against the battle. Some of the DUKWs [Annotator's Note: DUKW, six-wheel-drive amphibious truck] that came in had names on them. One was named "Miscarriage", which Whitman did not like. There were around 16 or 18 dead Marines in that craft. The Buffalo [Annotator's Note: Landing Vehicle, Tracked] had a ramp in the front that lowered for the troops to exit from. Whitman is thankful to not be on the "Miscarriage.” He tried to be alert at all times, but it was not always helpful. The Japanese were bad shooters. The wind was blowing when he landed, but there was smoke on the landing zone. His landing craft was off course which caused confusion. Somehow the flags used to direct the drivers got knocked down. On Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], Whitman got into a 20-hour artillery duel.

The older guys in the division [Annotator's Note: 1st Marine Division] went home after Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Battle of Peleliu, 14 September 1944 to 27 November 1944; Peleliu, Palau]. The younger guys like Melvin C. Whitman took over. On Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan], the naval guns shot at the kamikazes. Whitman had to create a cover to hide from falling debris. The Japanese on the island were good shots. One shell went over Whitman's position and another six were duds. A BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR] man started trying to jam a rod into the artillery piece, so Whitman ran away in case it blew up. He was able to watch the antiaircraft fire against the kamikazes. The Navy was in a tough battle against the kamikazes. Someone Whitman knew was on one of the bigger ships. Whitman remained on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau] until 26 October 1944. He thought they should have fenced the island and called it a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp. After leaving Peleliu, Whitman's division [Annotator's Note: Whitman was a member of Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] returned to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu Island, Russell Islands] to gain more men before going to Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands]. There, he saw Big Ben [Annotator's Note: the USS Franklin (CV-13)] that had been hit by two massive bombs. Only 700 of the 3,000 man crew survived. The ship was hit in one of the last big battles of the war. He enjoys seeing the Alabama [Annotator's Note: USS Alabama (BB-60)], but does not think it was at Okinawa. He spent a night on Ulithi and the next day he saw ships everywhere. It took about two days to reach Okinawa. He saw planes all over the skies which made him feel good. The invasion of Peleliu made some men lose it. In contrast, the invasion of Okinawa was quiet. Whitman did not hear a shot fired except for naval gun fire. During a three-mile steep march, Whitman saw the skeletons of two Frogmen [Annotator's Note: Naval Combat Demolition Units or NCDUs]. That night, the weather turned cold. On his watch, Whitman heard a Japanese bomber overhead. A bomb dropped nearby, and Whitman jumped into a hole. The bomber barely missed his target. The men laughed after because of how they jumped out of their cover. A nearby airport was used for B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] bombers to bomb Japan. He thinks the Japanese should have surrendered when the bombing stopped. Whitman would have used the a-bomb [Annotator's Note: atomic bomber; nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] after Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], if it was available. He thinks the Japanese were animals for the atrocities they committed.

Melvin C. Whitman was surprised the Japanese did not fight back against the invasion [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan]. He thought something was wrong. The following day, he came up against very little resistance while moving north. The Marines and the Army started moving in opposite directions. The President [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] died [Annotator's Note: on 12 April 1945] while Whitman was on the island. The Marines moved too fast, leaving a flank open. The Army moved slower. The Americans fought there until August against 100,000 Japanese troops. The island had caves on it. Sherman tanks [Annotator's Note: M1 Sherman medium tank] were used with the infantry to knock out the caves. A small field artillery piece was used to kill the tanks. The infantry knocked out the gun. Near Naha [Annotator's Note: Naha, Okinawa, Japan], the fighting got really bad. The Americans would shoot flares so they could see the Japanese at night. Whitman tried to hit them in one shot of his carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. He thought the shooting was bad because the shadows moved as the flares fell to the ground. The Americans came up with tactics to trap enemy soldiers in the open under a flare. Naha was as big as New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. By the time Whitman made it there, the buildings were destroyed by artillery fire. One boy from Florida was pinned down by something on fire. The skin on his face melted off, but he survived. Whitman thought he was lucky. There was plenty of fighting. The artillery stayed behind the infantry but was accurate and could always reach past them. Every morning, the infantry moved. The artillery fired a lot of shells. Whitman thought his gun would start messing up because it was wearing down, but it lasted through the end of the war. The Marines would make anything work. They used the infantry as a guide for their shells. Whitman constantly thought about how far his shell had to go and what charge he needed to use. An Army captain told his crew they fired too many rounds during a one mission. Whitman liked those missions because he could act quickly.

Not far from Naha [Annotator's Note: Naha, Okinawa, Japan], Melvin C. Whitman got into a 20 plus hour artillery duel. The Japanese gunners were pretty good, but many of their shells were duds. The American OP [Annotator's Note: observation post] could not get close enough to the Japanese artillery because the infantry was in the way. The spotter planes were able to see the Japanese guns, and they artillerymen would figure out the distance. Whitman did not know how the plane could see the guns. On Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau], he was told he was firing at tanks and to fire quickly. He does not remember seeing big guns on the island. The artillery duel on Okinawa was at night. Plenty of spotter planes were shot down. The civilians in Naha were gone when Whitman went through. They went to Hacksaw Ridge [Annotator's Note: nickname given to the Maeda Escarpment] to hide. If a baby made noise when the Americans came by, the baby was killed. The Japanese killed many civilians. They told the civilians the Americans would rape them. It was hard for Whitman to believe that. It would be too difficult to get American soldiers to that kind of thing. He does not think something like the Mai Lai Massacre [Annotator's Note: Mỹ Lai massacre of civilians by American soldiers during the Vietnam War on 16 March 1968] could happen. Whitman would not have done anything like that. Some of the kids would hide grenades in bicycle baskets and throw them at the Americans. Whitman did not hear about a Japanese counterattack. On Peleliu, the Japanese changed their tactics, stopping banzai charges [Annotator's Note: mass charges made by Japanese infantry]. Small groups of troops would attack the Marines, particularly at night. One night, Whitman could see large naval shells going into enemy territory. He does not know how many civilians were killed in that strike. Many civilians were at Hacksaw Ridge. The water near there was tainted by dead bodies. Whitman thinks if the Americans knew civilians were in the nearby cave, they would have gotten them out before sealing it. He did not witness the events at Hacksaw Ridge.

On one patrol, Melvin C. Whitman shot a big rat off a fence. The shot scared a hiding Japanese soldier and one of Whitman's comrades shot him. When the war was coming to a close, Whitman was told the Japanese were jumping into the ocean. He ran into a friend of his from boot camp. He had become a Marine Raider, but the unit was decommissioned due to losses and the islands becoming bigger. One August day, Whitman and his friends finished firing and moved forward. He found his Marine Raider friend moving up a ridge. He had a machine gun and ammunition. Whitman and his friend helped him move up the hill. Whitman was always in harm's way. On one patrol, he was burning down huts and ran into some civilians and some Japanese. On another mission, he was burning down a small community in the country, but there was only civilians. He brought the civilians into a safe zone. While on a mountain, he could see seven Japanese troops moving around. A flare went up and two enemy troops were shot while the others ran. His patrols were different from infantry patrols. They were trying to clear areas. The Japanese were trying to get away, which is why Whitman had to clear the villages. He thought they were giving up. The Japanese were trying to pass through the artillery area at night. The Americans would put up extra security when there was no firing. In war, anything can happen. Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, 1 April 1945 through 2 July 1945; Okinawa, Japan] was the longest battle. The Americans had to try and avoid grave vaults because the Japanese used them as machine gun nests. One night, the Japanese landed a force behind the Marines. Two out of the 32 enemy troops made it through because there was a unit of Marines camped on the beach. Whitman was not quick at shooting. It was hard to talk to the locals, but the Americans tried to protect them. Many of them did not believe the Americans. The kids were very afraid, so the Marines gave them candy. The parents were afraid as well. Whitman was told that several Japanese were moving down a hill, so his artillery unit [Annotator's Note: Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] hit it with heavy fire. The next day, he and a BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR] man were on a road and saw two dead Japanese troops near a pig pen. They were warned to be careful near bodies because they could be booby trapped.

Melvin C. Whitman and the rest of the artillery [Annotator's Note: Whitman was a member of Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], including naval guns, were fired to commemorate Victory in Europe Day [Annotator's Note: VE-Day, 8 May 1945]. Each gun sent out ten shells. After the war ended, he was moved north to build a camp. Whitman and 24 Marines were told to help the Army soldiers build their quarters. He did not like that idea, so he decided to visit a cemetery. Eventually, Whitman made it to the far south of the islands. He saw a friend from boot camp near there who had been a Marine Raider. Many of their friends from boot camp joined the raiders, but they all died. The war did not end until 2 September 1945. Whitman found a swimming hole with a beautiful coral. One night, he skipped a movie to go swimming. When he returned, his buddies told him the war had ended. He remained on the island for a couple weeks and was sent to China. His first stop was in Tientsin [Annotator's Note: Tientsin or Tianjin, China], then he went Peiping [Annotator's Note: now Beijing, China]. Whitman and the Marines collected war materials and personal items from the Japanese troops there. He took some watches as souvenirs. After they were disarmed, the Japanese were put on ships and sent to Japan. The prisoners were fed, and Whitman would have to protect that food from the Chinese locals. Once, Whitman heard someone in the grain and saw a bag of corn go over the fence. He shot over the man's head, causing the man to drop the bag. The thief started crying, which irritated Whitman. When he examined the man, he found a scab across his neck with puss coming out of it. He also found a bullet hole in his neck. Whitman was surprised he could lift the bag of corn because Whitman could not. The corn was for the man's children. He had stolen food from the Japanese, and they had shot him, cut his throat, and cut his hand off. Whitman allowed the man to go home with the food but warned him not to return. He thought that man had a big heart. The walls of the Forbidden City [Annotator's Note: palace complex in the heart of the Imperial City, Beijing, China] had never been penetrated. Whitman went on a tour and saw the wall and saw how they defended it. He also saw the various temples in the city. He thought the temples were beautiful. One day, a truck rolled up and Whitman was told to get his gear and get into the truck. They were going off to scare the communists. Whitman did not think they could be scared off, but it worked. Whitman was at a post and had to kick a Japanese man out of the post. The man had gone to an American school before returning to Japan. That Japanese person made Whitman mad. Whitman was told he was prejudiced by another Marine. That man told him to get over it because the war was over.

Melvin C. Whitman had to figure out how to work with the Army when he landed on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan]. The various terrains made it difficult to move without opening up a flank, causing one branch to slow down to cover the hole in the line. Eventually they started moving well together and become more coordinated. They did not fight lines of enemy, they fought small pockets of enemies. On level ground it was easier to kill the enemy with tanks. The Japanese soldiers were the most disciplined soldiers in the world. They caused a lot of trouble for the Americans. If the Americans fired too much, the Japanese would figure out the gun positions. They occasionally made it through the American lines. The Americans used passwords in their lines, so they chose words with the letter "L" in them because they were hard for the Japanese to pronounce. One night, Whitman was bringing ammo up to the ridges. He had to make it back to the American lines in the dark. He tried to make it to the beach where there were less guns. Whitman believes everyone gets scared when their life is on the line. The Japanese guns could fire American ammunition, but the Americans could not shoot the Japanese ammunition. The war taught him not to worry. Whitman's prewar life helped him too because he had to wake up early to work in any weather. During the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression starting in October 1929 and ending after World War 2], he had nothing. Many people in the Depression received skates as gifts and used the pieces for other things when they wore out. He cut grass with a push mower, a sickle, and a rake. The first thing he did as a grown man with his sons was build them all a house. Whitman tells his sons to cash their paychecks and give half to their wives. He sees his sons as accomplishments. He thinks World War 2 showed that the country is strong. Not many men were trying to avoid service. Whitman thinks the following generations have the same strength. He believes everyone fighting in Iraq [Annotator's Note: Iraq War, 2003 to 2011] is a volunteer. He would have used a bomb [Annotator's Note: an atomic bomb] on the people that attacked America on 9-11 [Annotator's Note: terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001]. He does not think anybody should be fighting in the Middle East. He joined the Marine Corps because he did not want frozen feet. Whitman was a grown man before he had air conditioning in his house. The war made everyone think. Wars make people think about everything. Cars have changed because people have thought about how to improve them. Kids are much smarter. Whitman did not want to go to college. He wanted to be there for his family.

Melvin C. Whitman thinks the servicemen who returned [Annotator's Note: from World War 2] were able to teach their kids a lot. His son is a fireman. Whitman thinks kids today learn from the television and they do not learn how to use their brain. The war changed how people work or learn. When Whitman left the war, he was ready to start living. He did not want his kids to go to kindergarten. He taught his kids about life. He believes it takes money to live today. Whitman never put money first. He tries to laugh every day and not be too serious. The attack at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was very vivid for Whitman. His mother told him and his brothers about the attack. Whitman did not know where or what Pearl Harbor was at the time. That was a vivid memory for him. Two boys that lived across the street joined the Air Force and the infantry. One of them was shot down over Germany. The other one transferred to the Air Force and was also shot down. His mother did not have the heart to talk to the mother of those two boys. He made many friends in the service. Whitman knew a man who was hit in the eye after a baseball injury. The man was not able to join the service because his vision was impaired. He would not talk to Whitman because he was ashamed for not serving during the war. He thinks The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is wonderful and is important for civilians to visit. Whitman feels like he did his job. The museum is a reminder of what the men had to go through. Whitman was not able to change his clothes very often. Everyone smelled terrible. When he would tell his kids about the war, he would make it a story and not tell them the dirty parts. Whitman was stuck in a storm on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau] for a full day and night.

While on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu Island, Palau], Melvin C. Whitman saw two Zeros [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero] shot out of the sky. On Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, 1 April 1945 to 2 July 1945; Okinawa, Japan], he saw kamikazes being shot at by Navy ships. They would fly between the ships, which made them stop shooting. Sometimes, there would be a decoy plane the ships would focus on while the actual kamikaze flew into a ship. Every time a plane was shot down, Whitman would clap. On the first day, a Buffalo [Annotator's Note: Landing Vehicle, Tracked] on the beach had its ramp down. Whitman hid under the ramp but jumped from the cover when he realized he could be run over. He watched ships burn for a few days. There were ships as far as the eye could see. Buckner [Annotator's Note: US Army General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.] was killed while in a forward observation post. Ernie Pyle [Annotator's Note: Ernest Taylor Pyle, American journalist and war correspondent] was killed on Okinawa. Whitman is surprised by how much he remembers. He was affected by the war. When he closed his eyes, he would see a ringing light. It did not last forever. Whitman dreams about the war. Usually it is a good dream, like talking to friends. Every few times Whitman fired his gun, he had to take the breech out and sand it down. Sometimes when he fired the gun, brass splinters would shoot into his arm. If he left them in, he would get an infection. It was so hot in the gun pits, no one wore shirts. His gun was worn down by the end of the war.