[Annotator’s Note: It is very difficult to hear the interviewer throughout this segment.] Milton Pearce was born in March 1923 in Gilliam, Louisiana. He grew up with three brothers. His father worked as a clerk at a general store, and his mother stayed at home with the children during the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. For fun, he played sandlot football and baseball with his friends. He played sports in high school. He began working at a young age. His first job was working in a store and he received 50 cents per half day. He was able to save up enough money to go to Louisiana Tech University [Annotator’s Note: Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana]. The first year of college, he worked in the library. The second year, he worked in the dining room and did laundry. After his third year of college, he was drafted. At the age of 18, Pearce heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], but chose not to enlist based on the advice of a professor at Louisiana Tech. His older brothers also served in the military. For boot camp, Pearce was sent to Camp McCain, Mississippi. In 1943, Milton was drafted into the Army, but passed the air cadet test for the Air Corps. He was sent to Miami Beach and took more tests. He was then sent to Nashville, Tennessee, and while he was waiting for his next orders, he received word that he was going back to the infantry because the Air Corps did not need anymore men at that time. After nearly completing the processing for the Air Corps, Milton was re-assigned to the 20th Armored Division due to over-enrollment in the air cadet program. After completing training in Tennessee, Pearce deployed to England in late 1943 as a gunner on a halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks].

[Annotator’s Note: It is very difficult to hear the interviewer speak throughout this segment.] In late 1943, Milton Pearce was assigned to the 20th Armored Division and sent overseas to Europe. His job was as a gunner on a halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks]. His unit landed in Le Havre, France and moved in a convoy to Germany. One of the jeeps in front of him drove over a land mine and the jeep flew in the air. His unit made it to Munich, Germany, fighting off snipers in various areas. He slept outside in a tent. His feet were wet a lot. For food, he ate a lot of rations. He did not take a shower until the war in Europe was over. In May 1945, his unit was in Austria when the war in Europe ended. His unit returned to the United States and reported to Camp Cook, California to train for combat in Japan. He was discharged from the Army in February 1946 as a corporal. He attended the University of Texas [Annotator’s Note: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas] on the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He graduated from college in the spring of 1948. He worked in the oil industry after he finished school, and retired in 1992.

[Annotator’s Note: It is very difficult to hear the interviewer speak throughout this segment.] Milton Pearce’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was that he did not like being in the service. He did not like standing in line all the time or using a coal-burning stove. He is glad that he took part in the service like his brother and friends. Three of his friends were killed in the service. He does not think the war changed him, except that he would not have gone to University of Texas [Annotator’s Note: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas]. He is proud that he served his country. He is very thankful for all of the different veteran groups that gave him trips around the country. Pearce believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.