Philip Mayer was born in June 1925 in Hollister, California where his family had a ranch. In 1930, his family moved to Oakland, California. They lost their ranch during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. He began working in construction. He lived in an old house with his two brothers. He learned about the Marine Corp while in school and wanted to join. He and his friends learned the Marine Corps Hymn [Annotator's Note: Marines' Hymn, adopted in 1929, is the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces] and enjoyed watching the Marines march in parades in their dress uniforms. His two brothers joined the Navy and Army, but Mayer wanted to join the Marines. His neighbor was from Germany and he believed that he was a Nazi. The neighbor was very private, and he did not allow his boys to play with any of the neighborhood kids. Mayer was at a family reunion when he heard that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] from the photographer. Mayer joined the Marines in November 1942 in Fresno [Annotator's Note: Fresno, California]. The Marines sent him to Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California] for three days and then to the San Diego depot [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California] by way of a bus. He attended boot camp and learned very quickly that your rank in the Marines was very important. He did a lot of physical activity, shot weapons, and marched. After boot camp, he spent one month at Camp Elliott in San Diego. In March 1943 he was sent overseas on a solo ship with 13,000 other Marines. He was given a colored card that determined the time he could eat. It was so crowded he had to stand up and eat. The voyage lasted about 30 days. They stopped in New Zealand, and then docked in Melbourne, Australia.

As soon Philip Mayer got off the boat [Annotator's Note: in Melbourne, Australia], he was ordered to help extinguish a grain fire nearby. While in Australia, he continued to train and march. He was a replacement [Annotator's Note: for Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] and he was treated badly. He had heard the Japanese were tough, but most of the veteran Marines did not like to talk about combat very much. He was able to openly talk to his superiors during combat but had to abide them while they were in Australia. In June 1943, he his unit was sent to Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Solomon Islands] to build a base camp for the 1st Marine Division. His first campaign was in New Guinea where he was on a patrol operation for two weeks. Mayer did not enjoy New Guinea. It was a nasty place with snakes everywhere, and he feared the natives. His unit was then sent to New Britain [Annotator's Note: New Britain, Papua New Guinea]. Mayer spent only four days in New Britain. He was evacuated to a hospital in Sydney, Australia because he wounded his arm while trying to build a bridge. He stayed in the hospital for three months until he was finally released and cleared for duty. He was sent to Brisbane, Australia. He was able to have liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] every day until he was ordered on a riverboat to New Britain to join a company. All he had was his own rations to eat while on this voyage. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses to adjust Mayer's microphone at 0:22:40.000.] He was then sent to Pavuvu for more training and continued to build the island by making roads.

Philip Mayer and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] were sent to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau] and it was nasty. He was in the reserves but was called on the first day of landing. He knew that things were not going well. He rode on a Higgins boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] for the invasion. There were lots of mortars and other types of enemy fire, and smoke everywhere. He dumped some of the equipment he had on him including his gas mask. He saw a lot of bodies on the beach. You could not dig foxholes on Peleliu because the island was made of coral. Marines slept on coral and on rocks. Land crabs were everywhere, and his unit was under fire all night which kept him a awake. Mayer used satchel charges [Annotator's Note: demolition device usually carried in a bag or satchel] to get the Japanese out of the caves. He had a close call one time when a Japanese soldier threw a hand grenade at him. Mayer turned around and ran. He bumped into an American with a BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle], took it from him and then headed back to the Japanese soldier and killed him. Another close call was when they were settled in one night. It was so dark; Mayer could not see a thing until a flare went up to light the area. He got up because he heard some fighting, peeked out from his hole and saw a Japanese soldier right in front of him. Mayer shot him with a Tommy gun [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun]. He searched him after he killed him and found a box full of money.

Philip Mayer was a sergeant [Annotator's Note: in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] and was sent to Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau]. He did not care too much for many of the officers and all the entitlements they received that the regular Marines did not get. Mayer threatened to shoot an officer after Mayer was caught with phosphorus [Annotator's Note: highly reactive chemical agent used as an explosive]. Peleliu had a lot of caves that they had to blow up, but some days they were able to take a rest. While on Peleliu he lost several of his men. The role of a sergeant was a significant one because it carried a lot of responsibility. When they went to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] he thought the efficiency of the soldier went way down. Many of the men were draftees and in their 30s. Mayer did his best to not allow officers to take advantage of his Marines. He demanded that the officers respect his Marines. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview at 0:52:21.000.] When Mayer and his unit finally boarded a ship to leave Peleliu, he was craving chocolate cake. He asked the ship's cook to make him one and offered to pay him 150 dollars, but the cook would not take his money. Mayer played a lot of cards and won a lot of money. The sailors treated the Marines well. Mayer also looked forward to taking a shower on the ship. They docked at Pavuvu [Annotator's Note: Pavuvu, Solomon Islands] where they rested and then began training for the invasion of Okinawa. While they were on the island of Pavuvu, they started to receive replacements who were not well trained. They caused some trouble because they did not want to follow orders from a young sergeant like him.

Philip Mayer had been in the Pacific for 30 months and was in the assault wave on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. His mission was to push 600 yards inland. The first day they [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] marched four miles inland and did not see a Japanese soldier. He was cold at night. He used a sailor's raincoat with an army blanket sewn in to keep warm. By the third day, Mayer and his unit crossed the island with hardly any resistance. Okinawa was a better mission because they had more Marines than they did on Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau]. He ran into many Okinawan natives. After capturing villages, they would load women and children in the trucks to send them to the south of the island. Some of the women had bombs strapped to them to blow up the trucks. They killed several civilians. They did not eat the produce grown on the island but ate C-rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food]. After they had secured the island, they boarded a ship only to debark because of a typhoon in the area. They were told to take refuge in burial vaults while the storm passed. They boarded the ship again and headed to China because the war had ended. They were greeted by the Chinese with a celebration and parade. He stayed in China for 30 days and then received orders to return to the United States.

Philip Mayer was a sergeant [Annotator's Note: in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] when he celebrated VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. The beaches were filled with military vehicles and equipment preparing for the invasion of Japan, which never happened. He was relieved when he heard the United States dropped atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] on Japan which ended the war. Mayer and his unit reported to China for occupation duty after World War 2 concluded. The Chinese were happy to see the Americans arrive and he was treated very well. He often went to town to drink and socialize. Mayer's responsibility was to disarm the Japanese in China. He returned home after staying 30 days in China. He had a terrible experience on his passage back to America. He was required to wear a life preserver. His ship stopped in Hawaii before docking in San Diego Harbor [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. The Marines on the ship were told that the Navy would disembark first. Mayer and his fellow Marines were not happy about this, so when the ship was tied up to the dock, many of them jumped overboard. They were greeted by women at the docks that gave them coffee and donuts. He decided not to stay in the Marine Corps because he not care for the discipline in the military. He hit an officer because he did not like what he said to him. He was discharged in December 1945 and went home by taxi and hitchhiking. He made it home on the late evening of Christmas night. He took a trip with other veterans and it was one of the best experiences he ever had. Everyone treated him so well.

Soon after returning home, Philip Mayer went to work and did not use the G.I. Bill for school. He became a truck driver. He married a year after he was discharged from the military to a girl that lived in his neighborhood. At first, he did not care for her at all, but eventually she grew on him and they were married for 67 years before she died. They had four children. Mayer had no nightmares after he returned from the war but has them now. Mayer's most memorable experience of World War 2 was when he saw a Japanese soldier through a hole while hiding in the dark. He decided to serve because he had brothers in the military. The Marine Corps taught him to have pride and he matured. He is very proud to have served. Mayer's son was drafted into the Army for Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975], but Mayer figured a way to transfer his draft to the Marine Corps. He went to Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: in San Diego, California] to visit his son before he was shipped out. He believes that only half of Americans are real patriots today and are grateful for the men who served in World War 2. He believes it is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to continue to teach future generations.