After training in Fort Lewis, Washington, Peter Dipol was sent to the Mojave Desert [Annotator’s Note: in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States]. He took a train, not knowing where he was going. After a day and a half, he found himself in the desert training in the heat for three months until he was shipped to San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California]. He then boarded a boat and sailed for one month, arriving in New Guinea. There were 6,000 troops on the troop ship. Dipol was born in Italy in 1921 and moved with his family to the Bronx, New York in 1922. His father was a craftsman who specialized in terrazzo floors, the same business Dipol would go into after the war. He grew up 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], but he thought he had a great childhood. He always had something to eat, and he went to high school. He tried to find a job in the shipyards in California, but no one would hire him because he was not a citizen of the United States. He did not receive his citizenship until he was discharged from service. In 1943, Dipol was drafted into the service. He had two brothers and a cousin that were also drafted into service. He did his basic training and was then sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for engineer training. Dipol recalled learning a lot about demolition. Upon completion, he was assigned to a combat engineer battalion [Annotator’s Note: the 108th Engineer Combat Battalion, 33rd Infantry Division]. In May 1944, when the ship landed in at Finschhafen, New Guinea, Dipol and the troops disembarked from the ship by going down the rope ladders and into smaller landing crafts. They did not have any opposition when they came onto the beaches. In New Guinea, Dipol’s primary job was to construct and repair roads and bridges leading to and from the beaches. When he was not working in an engineering capacity, he took part in numerous patrols. The patrols were mostly conducted at night. Dipol, along with six to fourteen additional GIs and a handful of native scouts, would head out into the mountains for several days in an attempt to locate Japanese forces. They did so on numerous occasions, in one instance losing a lieutenant who was leading the patrol. The weather conditions were always hot and rainy, and at times it was difficult to move through the terrain. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee looks at a paper for dates.] He stayed in New Guinea until January 1945 and then shipped out to Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, the Philippines].

After leaving New Guinea, Peter Dipol was sent to Leyte, the Philippines with his unit [Annotator’s Note: the 108th Engineer Combat Battalion, 33rd Infantry Division]. Dipol spent more time building and repairing bridges there than when he was in New Guinea. He used several different kinds of equipment depending on the terrain. Japanese airplanes came through strafing every now and then. Again, he took part in several patrols. The military gave the combat engineers anything they asked for. Dipol’s last island stop during the war was the island of Luzon, where he arriving on 10 February 1945. His job there was the same as elsewhere. His unit was responsible for constructing and repairing roads and bridges and conducting night patrols. Dipol’s unit took the Philippine city of Baguio, and raided the town. The MPs [Annotator’s Note: Military Police] had to come in and stop the troops from taking everything. Dipol did not interact with the local civilians very often in New Guinea, but did interact with the Filipinos in Leyte. In June 1945, his unit was pulled from the front lines to prepare for the invasion of Japan. When the United States dropped the atomic bombs, the Japanese surrendered, and he did not have to go to Japan. Dipol found out that the war ended by word of mouth, and he was anxious to get home. After a month, he boarded a ship that set sail for California. Dipol returned to America and was discharged from service in December 1945. He followed his father into the terrazzo business in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana].

Peter Dipol recalled that most of the patrols [Annotator's Note: which he went on while serving with the 108th Engineer Combat Battalion, 33rd Infantry Division] were frightening because he was several miles from camp at night. He would have to lay in a foxhole and listen to all the noises nearby, worrying that a Japanese soldier was going to jump on top of him. During his time in the war, he grew into a man. He did not have a lot of experience before the war, and he learned how to live with different kinds of people. This helped him with his business. He used 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] to purchase a house for himself and his wife. He enjoyed his service because he made a lot of friends. Dipol believes that 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 because there needs to be some recognition of the people that served in the war. Dipol reunited with his two brothers in the Philippines. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee shows interviewer a picture of him and his brothers in the Philippines.] He spent a few days with his brothers before they separated again.