Paul Fair was one of ten children. He was born in July 1925 in Arkansas. He was the youngest child. He grew up in Okolona, Arkansas. They all went to school. His father was a blacksmith for over 50 years. There were seven boys that helped with the shop as they grew up. His parents were well-respected in the community. They grew up with ambition. They knew conflict was on the horizon as they approached the 1940s. Their mother wanted them to go to college. Fair did not want to go to college, but he went for he summer and spring semesters of college. He got an early assignment. He was drafted in the fall of 1943. He was sent to Camp Robinson in Little Rock [Annotator’s Note: Little Rock, Arkansas] and was assigned to the Army infantry. Then he went to Camp Roberts [Annotator’s Note: Camp Roberts in California] for basic training. He was there for four months. He weighed 147 pounds going into service. After basic training, he weighed 192 pounds and was in the best physical shape of his life. The landing craft he was on was supposed to land on American lines, but they were headed to the Japanese line. Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] happened before he was introduced to the Army. He was a junior in high school and he knew what would happen, but he thought it would be over by the time he got there.

Paul Fair was assigned to the Heavy Weapons Headquarters Company in the 6th Infantry Division. They were supposed to support ground troops with mortars [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles] and machine guns. They went to other islands on special duties. They went on reconnaissance missions in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. [Annotator’s Note: The Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign were a series of battles fought from August 1942 through February 1944, in the Pacific theatre of World War II between the United States and Japan.] He was not in a specific regiment. They left Fort Ord [Annotator’s Note: Fort Ord, California] in 1944. Many service people were being sent over. There were 11,000 soldiers on the ship. They went toward Australia and then on to New Guinea where they were assigned their duties. Some of the duties involved combat. By the time Fair got there, the Japanese onslaught had slowed down. Most of his assignments were behind enemy lines to ambush the enemy. They were trained for combat. On the coast of New Guinea, there were night raids. They were in foxholes. Many in the division came down with scrub typhus [Annotator’s Note: is a disease caused by a bacteria that is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers] and jaundice [Annotator’s Note: occurs when the liver can't efficiently process red blood cells as they break down]. Fair did not get typhus because he put his poncho down on the ground. He did get internal parasites that he hosted for 15 years. On their off time, they could swim in the ocean out to the ships.

Paul Fair remembers it was sandy on the beach of New Guinea, then it turned into a jungle. The weapons he used did not have wheels and could not maneuver through the jungle. Most of them used the carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. Fair thought it was the ideal weapon for the circumstances there. They did not do anything notable. They stayed in foxholes. It was risky at night. They had to be careful not to run into Japanese foxholes. The Japanese had dug into the coral and could not be dug out. They had to be burned out with flamethrowers [Annotator's Note: ranged incendiary device that projects a controllable jet of fire]. Fair saw dead soldiers getting hauled back on trucks. It is the hardest memory. They left New Guinea on 1 January 1945. This was when the Japanese kamikazes [Annotator's Note: Japanese suicide bombers] were starting to ramp up. Fair’s ship did not get hit, but the ship next to them did. They were headed to Luzon [Annotator’s Note: Luzon, the Philippines], landing first at Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, the Philippines]. They did not find the opposition they expected when they reached Luzon. MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] had his headquarters in Luzon. They were on the beach when MacArthur came in. The palm trees were blown over. It was a staged ordeal. MacArthur went with three units down to Manila [Annotator’s Note: Manila, the Philippines]. It was their job to capture or eliminate the Japanese. They prevented the Japanese from eliminating the captured medical staff. They had time to take a few pictures along the way. After Manila, Far [Annotator’s Note: phonetic spelling] was the head scout. He was a PFC [Annotator’s Note: private first class] and leading his squad. He noted there was activity in a ravine. He was awarded a Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] for valor. His squad chased the Japanese out of the ravine. One of the Japanese threw a grenade. It burst and splattered. Fair got hit by it in his right arm. They were able to get him out on a truck. He was brought to a hospital and introduced to penicillin [Annotator’s Note: penicillin came out in 1928, but was not used successfully until 1943]. He was told his arm would be taken off. He took penicillin for 15 days. This was when MacArthur’s honor guard was instated. Fair was invited to be a part of the group. Their responsibility was to guard MacArthur and his family. Fair was promoted from PFC to sergeant. He was the sergeant of the guard there.

Paul Fair moved on to Japan after the Japanese surrendered [Annotator’s Note: announced 15 August 1945, officially signed 2 September 1945] and the atomic bombs were dropped [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. His unit was sent to Yokohama [Annotator’s Note: Yokohama, Japan]. MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] was not there at the time. Fair picked up a Japanese pistol while he was in the Philippines. He was cleaning the gun and it went off. When they were heading to Tokyo, they bought some souvenirs. The Japanese were interested in buying cigarettes. Then they were transferred to Tokyo. Fair was sent to MacArthur’s office for his job. They were close to the Emperor’s palace. They enjoyed the sites. Fair smoked MacArthur’s corncob pipe. Soon after that, they had to count their points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to see if they qualified to go home. Fair was anxious to get back home. He did not want to make military service his career. He returned to the United States in December. Then he went to University. He used the GI 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] to go to college. [Annotator’s Note: Fair’s wife talks.] Fair was 19 years old when he was inducted into MacArthur’s honor guard. Fair tried to get a marriage license and the man in charge told him he was not old enough to get married at 20 years old.

Paul Fair thinks MacArthur’s [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] son enjoyed being around the soldiers. He would spray water on the soldiers standing guard. Mrs. MacArthur [Annotator’s Note: Jean Marie MacArthur, née Faircloth] was a nice lady. Fair’s daughter works for the veterans in a mental health wing. Fair attended college at the University of Arkansas [Annotator’s Note: in Fayetteville, Arkansas] in 1946. He majored in education. He went to the University of Arkansas for two years. He taught for seven months. Then he became an elementary school principal. When their daughter was born, they moved to Little Rock [Annotator’s Note: Little Rock, Arkansas]. He became the principal of another elementary school in 1958. This was during desegregation [Annotator’s Note: the ending of the policy of racial segregation]. Fair was transferred to the superintendent's office. He had to investigate 72 bomb threats on the school. Someone put a dynamite package in Fair’s office. It blew up his office. They had tear gas at the meetings. The challenge was to maintain as much of a quality education program as they could while seeing desegregation through. The students deserved a chance for an education. Next, he worked for a refugee program. He headed the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association.

Paul Fair thinks it is important to teach people about World War Two. Millions of people were killed in the war. It is nothing to celebrate, it is something to avoid. The war resulted in economic benefits in the long run. Each generation faces their own responsibility. When he came out of high school, Fair thought everyone should do their duty. He does not regret his part in the war. He is sorry for some of the things he had to do. He had a lesser combat role. He was fortunate. He has a son who is 66 years old and a daughter who is 60 years old. A high percentage of people were willing to sacrifice for quality education. [Annotator’s Note: Fair taught in Arkansas during desegregation.] Fair was in MacArthur’s [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] honor guard.