Richard Keller grew up in Hahnville, Louisiana. He started first grade in 1924 and graduated in 1935. From there, Keller went to LSU. In those days all male students were assigned to ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] for their first two years. To Keller, LSU was, in many ways, a military school at the time. They wore uniforms, they drilled, and they paraded. If one so desired he could apply for advanced ROTC training for the final two years. Those who chose to do so were the officers and noncommissioned officers of the school. Anyone who stuck it out for four years was offered a commission in the armed forces. Keller did this and served as a reserve officer after leaving college. Keller left college in 1939 and from then on he worked some odd jobs. One day he received a letter ordering him to report to active duty. The first thing he had to do was buy a uniform. There was a uniform shop called Terry and Juden in New Orleans. Keller went there and on 21 February [Annotator's Note: 21 February 1940] Keller boarded a bus in New Orleans. They were assigned to the 37th Division at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Reporting for duty was interesting because the officers were living in communal tents. There were about six officers in each tent and it was in February. The tents had no base, the floor was mud. The tent's stove used coal and soot was a major problem in the tents. The tents were connected by boardwalks. The enlisted men lived in barracks. The 37th Division had been activated in 1940 and they were ordered to stay on active duty for a year. There was an officer's mess and the men who worked there were very experienced. The entire division was from Ohio. Many of the towns and cities formed their own companies. Originally, everyone knew everyone in their local unit. This unit was politically powerful enough to reject anyone not from Ohio. It did not sit well with the unit when Keller and other southern graduates came to take officer positions within the division. Training was not too difficult. They started talking about putting in Louisiana maneuvers and eventually the division started getting inductees from all over the place. The division had expected to be taken off active duty after one year but the situation in Europe delayed it. Men were allowed to request to be sent home if they had good reason. To many of the men, Ohio meant Over the Hill in October. The year expired in October and many of the men wanted to be released from service.

Richard Keller and the rest of the 37th Division took part in the Louisiana Maneuvers. They were bused into the area from Camp Shelby. Many of the men slept on the ground though some bought folding cots. Keller found it to be an interesting experience, especially for the guys from up north. There was a lot of rain and it occasionally flooded there. Many of the most famous generals of the war took part in these maneuvers. The generals were also learning how to train large numbers of people. After the maneuvers they returned to Camp Shelby. They were there when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Keller remembers a guy running in to tell them that Pearl Harbor was being attacked and another guy asking where Pearl Harbor was. Things got serious after the attack. As a result, Keller and the other officers integrated themselves into the division. Keller had a lot to learn as he had never had command of a platoon on active duty before. Keller thinks the first thing a platoon commander must do is to learn the names of every man under his command and what they are good at. He also thinks that it was important that he learned about the NCOs [Annotator's Note: noncommissioned officers]. This was a lot to learn for Keller. He remembers not fitting in particularly well at first but he made friendships that have lasted until today. Keller went to a reunion about 15 years ago. Once, after the war, while living in Fiji, Keller had an assistant who looked out for him and made sure he got anything he needed. Keller did not see this man after leaving Fiji until they ran into each other at the reunion. They got caught up and remained friends until the other man died. Keller appreciates what this man did for him but notes that it was a two way street. This man spent all day looking after the tent and clothes and Keller made sure he did not have to go out and drill all day.

Richard Keller had a good friend from Alabama who was a funny guy. He received different training than Keller had received and they chatted a great deal in the stateroom on the trip across the ocean. Keller and the others were sent from Camp Shelby to Indiantown, Pennsylvania. It was the spring of 1942 and the ice was thawing on the ground. This was an unusual experience for Keller as he was not used to walking on snow and ice. They moved into barracks that had just been vacated. They knew that they were about to be shipped overseas somewhere. While they were there, a passenger liner caught fire in the docks. The ship was unusable because of the fire. After they were there for a month or two they were shipped to San Francisco. They were camped in an area that was to eventually become a reservoir. They lived in tents there and drilled every day. They marched on a city street. People would occasionally bring lemonade to them. The people were pretty accommodating. There was a hole dug into the ground with a wooden box in the hole. They put some insulation in the box and then placed a smaller box into the first box and that became their icebox. Blocks of ice were put in there. People rarely spent the night in camp. When they left the United States, much of the 37th Infantry Division went to Fiji. Part of the 145th Infantry Regiment went to Australia for about six weeks before returning to Fiji. The Fijian natives still lived in villages with thatched roofs. Keller was impressed with the Fijians. They made a simple life work for them. Vegetation grew wild on the island and they were good fishermen. The Army's tents were scattered across the island. Midway took place while the 37th Division was making its journey across the Pacific. Keller was still a second lieutenant and did not get all of the details right away from the reports of Midway.

Richard Keller was transferred to Company E [Annotator's Note: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division] while in Camp Shelby. Keller was asked to become the headquarters company detachment officer. There was a lieutenant colonel who was in charge. Everyone who came to Camp Shelby wanted a pass to go into New Orleans. The battalion commander's wife and daughter came down from Ohio. The girl started trying to date some of the soldiers. One weekend while Keller was away from the base some of the men talked his sergeant into dating the commander's daughter. The girl insisted on getting married and by the time Keller returned from visiting his parents the word had already spread about the nuptials. The battalion commander called on Keller and asked him if he had given the sergeant permission to wed. Keller said no. The wedding was later annulled. Keller was transferred to Company G and went to Fiji as a member of Company G. From Fiji their next stop was Guadalcanal. By the time they arrived on Guadalcanal the major fighting had largely wrapped up and Keller assumed that they were just there for training. The Japanese would occasionally attack from the air but it was always just a couple of planes. The majority of their work was walking in the jungle. Henderson Field was the most important part of the island. While they were there they knew they were going to be involved in some serious fighting. Eventually they received orders to go to New Georgia, also in the Solomon Islands. The battalion commander came over and said that the company commander for Company E was cowardly and was refusing to go into combat. The battalion CO [Annotator's Note: commanding officer] then asked Keller if he wanted to take over that position. Keller said he would be glad to but he knew that Company E had a first lieutenant who was senior to him and Keller did not want to step on that man's toes. The battalion CO then said that the other lieutenant had turned down the job and offered to be company XO [Annotator's Note: executive officer] instead. Keller took command of Company E just before they shipped out from Guadalcanal. Keller still did not know many of the men under his command when they went into combat on New Georgia. Keller had begun his service in the battalion in Company F. He was then moved to Company G, then finally to Company E.

Richard Keller did not get promoted to captain until after they were in combat. They went straight into the jungle to relieve another National Guard outfit that had been overrun. Their first job after they landed was to protect the HQ [Annotator's Note: headquarters] of, he believes, the 22nd Division. Keller thought that this other outfit looked lost and watched them running around with not much idea what they were doing. From then on for about two months they moved forward trying to engage the enemy. They were fighting along a trail and they got cut off from their lines. The Japanese came through a trail that Keller's company [Annotator's Note: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division] had already passed. The mission on New Georgia was to move from one side of the island to the other and clear it of Japanese. Their PT boats made it difficult for the Japanese to move men across the island by boat. The Japanese kept on landing in the same positions as they had before the invasion and they moved through the jungle at night. This allowed the Japanese to get pretty far behind Keller's unit. They learned from the outfit behind them that the Japanese were between the two. A few men were killed during this attack. A good friend of Keller's had gotten hit in the arm with a grenade. A doctor amputated his arm at the elbow. They got penicillin during the war. Keller's outfit never went back. They just hunkered down and protected both sides. The other outfit managed to fight off the Japanese. They stayed put and watched their front. In the jungle one only knows where he is, not where anyone else is. Because of that they had to remain vigilant. When they finally reached the other end of the island Keller saw Japanese soldiers swimming away from the island and some of the men opened fire on them. Keller saw a bulldozer trying to clear a road by knocking down trees. The Japanese kept picking off the operators. Some general guaranteed a promotion to anyone who could clear a path. Even with the trees pulled down, New Georgia still would not have been fit for automobiles. It rained almost every night. Keller once came across a soldier digging a foxhole right in front of a fallen tree. Keller had to sit the guy down and explain to him why that tree could be the death of him. Keller's outfit was cut off for a while but they were not in danger of running out of ammo. There were not that many big engagements on the island because the Japanese were being pushed off the island. Many of them were trying to take barges to another island which the PT boats would then attack. There was nothing of value on New Georgia.

[Annotator's Note: Richard Keller served in the Army as the company commander of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division and took part in combat operations on New Georgia and Bougainville.] After leaving the island [Annotator's Note: New Georgia] they returned to Guadalcanal. In an infantry company there were three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon. Keller's company took heavy casualties on New Georgia and he only had two officers left. Keller's XO [Annotator's Note: executive officer] was killed on New Georgia. Another officer was injured when they were marching out. When they got to Guadalcanal he was given five new officers. On Guadalcanal, Keller was promoted to captain. They got replacements to fill out the company. Keller thinks it is more a matter of the soldiers knowing that their commander knows what he is doing than them taking it on faith. Keller admits that everyone is going to make their own mistakes. He remembers one guy who dove into a foxhole while holding a machete and he accidentally cut his throat when he landed. Someone put their thumb in the hole and held the wound shut until a doctor came. A doctor stitched him up and the soldier later rejoined the company on Bougainville. The first man who was killed in Keller's outfit died on Fiji. They were doing security around an airfield. Every evening they manned machine gun posts around the field. In the morning when it was time for relief the gunners picked up the gun and pulled out the belt. One time the gunner forgot to clear the chamber and when he grabbed the gun by the handle his finger touched the trigger and the bullet went right through the guy holding the barrel. As company commander, Keller had to report the death to the Army and also had to write condolence letters to the family. While at Indiantown Gap, a good friend of Keller's and his wife had come to visit for a holiday. While he was backing out onto a road, a truck carrying coal slammed into their car killing him and injuring her. Keller was made a summary courts officer and was ordered to go through his dead friend's possessions to see if there was anything of value on his person to save for his wife. Keller had to make sure that the man did not have any debts before he turned over his effects.

[Annotator's Note: Richard Keller served in the Army as the company commander of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division and took part in combat operations on New Georgia and Bougainville.] After returning to Guadalcanal they rebuilt the company with replacements and new weapons. While there, they received a shipment of trainees from the United States. One trainee asked Keller if he knew where the trainee had been eight weeks prior. Keller said no and the recruit said that he had been on the stage graduating from high school. This took Keller aback because he trained for years and this kid got six weeks. They got people like that from all over the country. Keller remembers that this guy made it out alive but a lot of others near him died from sniper fire. While on Bougainville, Keller's company was ordered to climb a hill. Just before they reached the crest of the hill another replacement was shot by a sniper. When they arrived on Bougainville, the responsibility of the 37th Division was to join another division and set up security around the airfield. The assault's goal was to establish a beachhead from which to build an airfield. The Army's job was to defend the beachhead. The Japanese had about 30,000 men on the island. The Marines led the assault that took the beachhead then the Army came in slightly after. The field had to be level and long enough to support runways. The beachhead and the roads connecting it to the airfield essentially trapped the Japanese on the island. They still controlled a large portion of the island but they lost their beach and could not leave. Right after they landed, the colonel called Keller into the CP [Annotator's Note: command post] and told him that he was being sent ahead of the front lines. Keller was told that there was a river up ahead of the lines. The colonel wanted listening posts along the river in case of a Japanese attack. Keller was told to relieve the Marines that were already there. Keller's company traveled there in boats and the Marines were pleased to see their relief as they started climbing into the boat before Keller's men could get out of them. Keller told his officers to interview the Marines to find out what they had learned but his men came back saying that they did not believe what they had heard. They went up and found the river and set up a listening post as far as they could go. They were given rations from the base but Keller was told that if they were under attack to try and retreat. The company spent close to a month at this post. The next outfit brought a kitchen and a chef with them. Keller's company returned to camp. Once they returned they had some time to relax and set up their camp. When they arrived at the river they found some dead Marines. Keller and his men buried them and marked their graves so graves registration would find them. They spent several weeks in camp before they were ordered to return to the listening post. They were told that the Japanese were getting restless. The Japanese eventually attacked the airfield. They lived on C rations from the camp while out at the listening posts. The food was cold but they could heat it up. The Japanese never probed their position. They wanted the airfield. Keller's position was quiet. They went on patrols occasionally.

Richard Keller did not see too much of Hill 700 but he had a friend named Sid Goodkin, the commander of Company G [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division], who was there and Goodkin wrote a letter for a program on Hill 700. Companies G and E made the attack on Hill 700. [Annotator's Note: Keller reads an excerpt from Goodkin's letter detailing the terrain of Hill 700.] Keller was on the listening post when they heard that the Japanese were attacking the airfield. The colonel called them and told them that the Japanese had broken through the 145th [Annotator's Note: 145th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division]. They were sent straight to the line. As they were climbing the hill to find out what was happening, snipers were picking them off left and right. The Japanese made a large attack across a narrow front. As they continued up the hill they started getting shot at. Some troops went over the top of the hill and fell into an abandoned pillbox but were unable to leave because of the guns. Keller was told that there were snipers up in the banyan trees that were firing down on them. He was also told that these snipers had a clear line of sight to the airfield and they were slowing the movement on the airfield because of their intermittent fire on the airfield. The Japanese had broken through behind the line but it was only a small number of troops. The Japanese came over the hill and dug themselves in. The Japanese attack had been launched on 8 March [Annotator's Note: 8 March 1944]. Company E went up the hill on 11 March. Sniper fire stopped their movement so Company G was called in for reinforcement that night. The Japanese troops were massed. Keller later heard that 700 Japanese bodies were found in a trench. They spent that night waiting. Keller did not speak with Goodkin during the attack. Goodkin helped to plan the coordination for the attack. They had white phosphorous grenades, hand grenades and smoke to cover the attack. They were told over the radio when to attack. No one knew how much resistance they would face. Eventually they made their way up the hill. Keller had to keep the men from getting overexcited. They made good progress because there was not that much resistance. The 145th Infantry was not driven all the way out. There was just a hole in the line. Once Companies E and G patched the line they were able to move up and overpower the Japanese. Shortly after the attack started, Keller was told that the colonel wanted to talk to him. As Keller was making his way back to the radio he was shot by a sniper. The same sniper shot many of the men in Keller's outfit. Keller's XO [Annotator's Note: executive officer] took command without interruption and Keller was evacuated by jeep to a hospital.

[Annotator's Note: Richard Keller served in the Army as the company commander of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division and took part in combat operations on New Georgia and Bougainville.] The first thing an army does to a position is place barbed wire. If a position is taken, the original army frequently has to blast through its own barbed wire to continue the assault. There were not that many men involved in the battle [Annotator's Note: the battle for Hill 700 on Bougainville in March 1944]. It was only a couple companies on either side. The goal was to defend the airfield but also to move the line forward. Once they moved up, the airfield became less useful. They could build another airfield in a better position. They also had to go and recapture some places like Guam. Keller realized years later that a lot of men were lost for very small things. Keller's brother-in-law joined the Marines and landed on Guadalcanal. The Japanese launched a counterattack and drove off the American support ships in the Battle of Savo Island. The men were without supplies for awhile. He later went through Tarawa without being wounded and was later wounded on Saipan. This man and Keller's brother served on Tarawa together. Keller's brother wanted to be a naval aviator but always got airsick whenever he got in a plane. It was hard for Keller to remember everyone under his command because the company was about half replacements during Bougainville.

After being wounded, Richard Keller was evacuated to a field hospital [Annotator's Note: Keller was shot by a sniper during the Battle for Hill 700 on Bougainville in mid-March 1944]. The doctors at first thought that he had been hit with some shrapnel but eventually just discovered that the bullet had gone clear through. One of Keller's lungs collapsed. He was evacuated to Guadalcanal and then to another island with an overcrowded hospital. He spent two weeks there before being sent to a general hospital further back. He saw a lot of men from his outfit there. He wanted to spend some time in Australia before rejoining his unit because he knew that they were in training for the invasion of the Philippines. Keller was told that they were sending him back to the United States. He was sent back on a ship with a lot of Marines aboard. It was a strange experience. Bread had been shipped out from San Francisco and they were fed canned stew. They were essentially C rations but larger and warmed up. They got back around the Fourth of July [Annotator's Note: 4 July 1944]. Keller was given a 30 day pass to go home. After that he went to a hospital in Tennessee and then he was given two weeks' R&R [Annotator's Note: rest and relaxation or recuperation] in Miami. Keller ran across some of his old compatriots from New Georgia in Miami. While there, recruiters came by looking for volunteers for a secret mission. A few of Keller's friends signed up for it and they ended up in the China-Burma-India Theater. They had to march a thousand miles looking for the Japanese.

While Richard Keller was in Miami he got a phone call from a major asking if Keller wanted to go to the Command and General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Keller questioned why he would be sent there because he never even went to infantry school. The major asked Keller if he had asked to be sent to command school or if he even knew what it was all about. Keller responded with no on both counts and the major told him that the command school wanted him and that he had nothing to lose by checking it out. It was a ten week program. Keller agreed and went to Leavenworth, Kansas. During the ninth week, the assistant commandant called Keller into his office and told him that they were considering making him an instructor. Keller protested that he knew nothing about instruction but they said that they would train him. Keller put in his training and got an assignment. Keller does not think he was too good of an instructor. He had no experience at the battalion level but he was training people to work at that level. During this time, the war in Europe was coming to a close. Throughout World War 2 the Air Corps was a part of the Army. The officer corps of the air forces was quite powerful in relation to the air force's size so they began pushing hard for an independent air force after the war ended. The Air Force was going to be moved to Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. They gained their own logos and decorations. While Keller was at Fort Leavenworth there was an Air Corps officer who was in charge of library research. When the Air Force became independent this officer was removed and Keller was asked if he wanted to take over that job. Keller agreed. Keller stayed in Leavenworth for another couple years. Keller had to decide if he wanted to get out of the military now or if he wanted to stay in and serve another tour overseas. The commandant at the time was a major general named William F. Dean. Keller knew the general well and knew that if he wanted to stay in the Army he could ask to be part of the general's staff. Keller learned that he had been asked to be part of Command and General Staff College because he had experience in combat in the South Pacific. They were looking for people with combat experience to come and teach. Keller thinks that if he had stayed with General Dean he would likely be dead because General Dean was captured during the Korean War. If Keller had been part of his staff at the time he does not think he would have survived it.

Richard Keller received a Distinguished Service Cross but he does not think he deserved it. While recovering in the hospital Keller passed the time playing cards. One day they were told that there would be a formation for the patients. The patients that were capable of going outside were sent out and they were told that there would be medals given. There were about 30 or 40 of them standing out there. Keller assumed that he was going to be given a Purple Heart. As they listed off the awards to be given, Keller heard them mention a Distinguished Service Cross and was quizzical about who was getting that one. When he heard his name called out he was stunned. Keller does not think he did anything worthy to receive the honor and so he assumes that someone did a good job writing it up. Keller thinks that it should have been given to someone who paid a higher price or took a greater chance. He just thinks that he was doing his job. Keller thinks that it was his job to keep his cool. He did not get a lot of information before the attack. The first day on Hill 700 they pushed up as far as they could. When Goodkin's company got there they were much more organized and better equipped for the assault. Keller saw some firefights but he never took part in any pitched battles. Every day was devoted to survival. Keller learned to not eat too much while in the field because he never had enough time to sit down and eat. Keller thinks that officers have to be able to see more of the picture than the men below them. Officers always need to know the objective and the goal at all times. There were no luxuries in the field. They did not bathe for six weeks and they wore the same clothes for weeks at a time.