Peter "Pete" Behr was born in Fresno, California in 1925. His father lost his job during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] and moved his family to the Northwest, so Behr grew up mostly in Oregon and Washington. He was one of three children. Behr had a happy childhood. When his family moved from Fresno, his mother homeschooled him which helped him advance when he attended a school later. When he was a senior in high school, his family moved to Meridian, Mississippi. He soon joined the Army. He was aware of the European conflict in the late 1930s but could not imagine the trauma being faced by the citizens of the affected countries. While living along the Oregon coast, civilian watch groups scanned the coastal skies for Japanese planes even before the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. After the attack, Behr began to think of his future and was interested in joining the ASTP [Annotator's Note: Army Specialized Training Program]. After two quarters of being in the ASTP, the military ended the program. Life was pretty normal during World War 2, except for those men who were being drafted in the military. The greatest impact for him, prior to entering service later, was the rationing. He also participated in the war bonds [Annotator's Note: debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war] efforts. Behr kept updated on the war by newspapers and newsreels. One of his jobs as a kid was delivering newspapers on his bike. After his high school graduation, Behr was drafted into the Army in July 1943 and sent to basic training in Gulfport, Mississippi. There was a lot of physical exercise, hiking, and firearm training using the M1 Carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. He was in good physical shape. Upon completing his basic training, he was sent to Oxford, Mississippi to the University of Mississippi. He took a couple of classes and was then sent to Lake Forest, Illinois where he enrolled in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for six months. In Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] he saw many pop music concerts in the city's night clubs. The other Army personnel stationed in Chicago referred to Behr and the ASTP guys as being "All Safe 'til Peace." When the program was cancelled, Behr was sent to Camp White [Annotator's Note: Near Medford, Oregon] for advanced infantry training before being sent to Camp Callan, north of San Diego, California, for further training and to join Company B, 1st Battalion, 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division.

Peter "Pete" Behr [Annotator's Note: with Company B, 1st Battalion, 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division] boarded a troopship and headed to Hawaii. There were a lot of diversions in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii] including prostitution. Behr spent most of his free time at Waikiki Beach surfing and hanging out at the YMCA [Annotator's Note: Young Men's Christian Association] eating ice cream and milkshakes. Throughout the summer of 1944, he trained for combat in Hawaii and practiced amphibious landings. Behr gained endurance and learned how the Army operated in combat, which helped him in combat. During their training they used LCVPs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat]and LSTs [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. Behr was assigned as the radioman. After 30 days at sea, Behr made his first combat landing at Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944, Leyte, Philippines] in October 1944. Behr felt equipped, ready, and did not have any fear the invasion. When they made the initial invasion, they ended up chest deep in a swamp, however they were able to find higher ground without running into any Japanese. They received some friendly fire from the Navy. It was not until a plane spotted them that the firing ceased. Luckily no one was killed. Behr's combat was over within the first ten days of being on the island. Being in combat is a scary experience, but they held their own. They faced heavy combat at Catman Hill [Annotator's Note: in Leyte]. The 383rd had a harder time combating disease than combating the enemy while in the Philippines. Most men would get respiratory illnesses and dysentery [Annotator's Note: infection of the intestines]. Behr had a 104.6 [Annotator's Note: degree] fever at one point and was sent to the hospital near the coast. When his fever subsided, he was told to go to a replacement depot. He ignored those orders and hitchhiked back to his company's location. He made one stop during the night for rest with an Army Corps bivouac [Annotator's Note: a bivouac is a temporary campsite]. The airmen offered him a shower and gave him a feast for dinner. The next day he found his company. Everyone in his outfit was constantly fighting sickness and exhaustion. Camaraderie built among the men through their mutual suffering. The weather was hot and muggy, and the terrain was wet and muddy during his whole time in the Philippines. He does not recall getting mail from his family and pen pals

Peter "Pete" Behr [Annotator's Note: with Company B, 1st Battalion, 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division] was on the Philippines until it was secured. Once held, the focus of the division became staying healthy and training replacements for the upcoming invasion of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. While on the Philippines, he was told not to interact with the Filipinos, so he followed orders. The ones that he did interact with were primitive and always offered to get coconuts out of the trees. He felt no particular sense of fear or foreboding before invading Okinawa. When they made their landing, they were not met with any resistance. His unit headed towards the south of the island [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945, Okinawa, Japan], while the Marines worked their way north, they had a few skirmishes along the way, including some artillery fire on the fourth day. On the seventh or eighth day is when Behr's unit came across heavy resistance. Behr and his unit experienced heavy combat at Kakazu Ridge [Annotator's Note: part of the Shuri Line of defensive positions in southern Okinawa, Japan]. The Japanese were not only well equipped with artillery and machine guns but were protected by caves which sheltered them from artillery and small arm fire. As Behr's unit advanced, they came under immediate fire and were forced to withdraw. Over 10 days, his battalion advanced and retreated until they were able to secure the position. Behr thinks the enemy ran out of ammunition and that's why the Japanese retreated. There were several men that were traumatized during this combat and began screaming and crying while in their foxholes. Behr served as the company clerk while on Okinawa, and, thus, was somewhat removed from the front lines. However, he killed Japanese suicide attackers at close range who had managed to break through the lines. Because of the exhaustion of combat, Behr had no time to reflect on the philosophy of what he was doing. By becoming weary and cautious, he became a wiser and better soldier. The Japanese did not want to be prisoners and were trained to kill themselves before being captured. When Marines joined the Army in combat a month later, they were very cocky and did a lot of trash talking as they moved up to the front. It was not long until the Marines experienced the same problems and confronted the same vulnerabilities as he had faced. Though they did not become friendly, a mutual respect was born. On one occasion, Behr's unit had several casualties and they had lined up the fallen soldiers behind their lines. He then witnessed a Marine come over to a dead Marine and take his boots. Behr was annoyed by this action and thought that the Marines had little respect for their dead. Later, he realized that it was okay because the dead Marine did not need them anymore. Near the end of 80 days on the front lines, Behr's CO [Annotator's Note: commanding officer] sent him to the division HQ [Annotator's Note: Headquarters] to deliver a message. While returning to his company, Behr spent the night in a vacant six by six tent he found along the way. When he awoke in the morning, he realized it was surrounded by dozens of dead Japanese. A man with a bulldozer came along and began pushing the Japanese bodies into a watery trench nearby. Behr assumed there was a big battle there the day before. Upon his return, he discovered that his CO and some of his comrades had been killed the day before. The death of his CO as traumatic. From that point on, Behr felt numb until the end of the war. After the atomic bombing [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] and surrender of Japan, Behr was transported to Mindoro [Annotator's Note: Mindoro, Philippines] where he was promoted to 1st Sergeant while waiting to go home. He had limited exposure to the citizens of Okinawa as they worked to herd them from their homes and hiding places into newly constructed camps.

Peter "Pete" Behr [Annotator's Note: with Company B, 1st Battalion, 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division] was still on Okinawa [Annotator's Okinawa, Japan] when the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] were dropped by the United States. He thought, at first, that this was an Air Force trick, but soon learned the reality and became delighted when the Japanese surrendered. Behr was transported to Mindoro [Annotator's Note: Mindoro, Philippines] where he was promoted to 1st Sergeant while waiting to go home. The Army found ways to keep soldiers occupied while they waited for orders to return home. Behr read books, watched movies, participated in sports events, such as a softball. Behr's team went to the division championships; however, their best pitcher was drugged by some medics due to a bet and it affected the way he pitched in the game. In January 1946, Behr received orders to return to the United States. It was a long trip home. There were guards everywhere on the troopship keeping men out of certain quarters. There was one guard, who was responsible to watch the ship's captain's car. He fell asleep one night on duty, and some soldier ciphered gas out of the car. Behr was interrogated for the incident because the officers thought he had some something to do with it. He was discharged in February 1946 with the rank of sergeant. Behr was relieved to be a civilian and figured out fast that it was not worth sharing his story because everyone thought they had suffered from the war. He only wore his uniform once in public and had a disappointing experience. He decided to never wear his uniform again. Playing sports and goofing off helped him return to civilian life. His parents began to be concerned because he did not want to get a job. He attended Stanford University [Annotator's Note: Leland Stanford Junior University in Stanford, California] on 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] and graduated in 1950.

Peter "Pete" Behr's most memorable experience of World War 2 was the landing at Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944, Leyte, Philippines] because it was his first combat encounter after training for months. Although it was not a heavy combat experience, it was a signifying moment to him that he was fighting the enemy now. He fought because it was his job. He was given an order and he followed it. His war experience matured him although he did not realize it at the time. Going through combat gave him a sense of confidence. Behr is annoyed by service men that brag about their war stories, especially the ones who did not face combat. Behr is proud of his service and likes to share his stories with his children and grandchildren. He attends veteran's groups as well. World War 2 is part of history but will eventually become ancient history. He hopes that the younger generation will come to appreciate the sacrifice of his generation. There should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. The G.I. Bill was a terrific boost to the country because the servicemen were able to educate themselves and better their future opportunities.