Richard F. Penwell was born in February 1923 in Lancaster [Annotator's Note: Lancaster, Pennsylvania]. His father worked at a foundry in Marietta [Annotator's Note: Marietta, Pennsylvania]. He had two brothers and two sisters, all younger than him. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945] his father was out of work, and the family received relief. Penwell also worked at a CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps; 1933 to 1942] camp to help support the family through its financial turmoil. At the CCC he planted trees, among other things, at Shenandoah National Park [Annotator's Note: in Virginia]. Penwell was coming home from seeing a movie when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was shocked that the Japanese pulled off the ambush so well. He knew that he was going to be fighting in the coming war. As soon as he turned 18 he joined the military. Originally, he wanted to go in the Navy, but chose to join the paratroopers instead because it paid 50 dollars more a month. He was inducted in Harrisburg [Annotator's Note: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania], sent to Camp Wheeler in Georgia for basic training, and then assigned to a parachute outfit for an additional month of training. During their week of parachute training, Penwell did a total of five practice jumps. For the sixth practice jump, they were brought to Alabama into the Frying Pan [Annotator's Note: slang term for Fort Benning because of the extreme heat and humidity]. From there, the Army sent Penwell to Fort Ord in California by way of Fort Sill [Annotator's Note: in Lawton, Oklahoma]. Even though the time in training was so short, it was adequate. Drill instructors did what they could to get people to quit, so that they would return to their original outfit leaving only the best and most dedicated soldiers. His unit, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, had a reputation for watching out and taking care of each other. His experience in the CCC readied him for the military, as they did close order drill every morning.

Richard F. Penwell departed California and arrived in Dobodura, New Guinea but soon departed for Leyte [Annotator's Note: Leyte, Philippines], and then to Luzon [Annotator's Note: Luzon, Philippines], and then on to Los Banos Prison Camp [Annotator's Note: Los Baños Internment Camp, Los Baños, Philippines]. Penwell remembers Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944] being the site of his toughest battle, in the Ormoc Valley. The Japanese were well fortified in the Ormoc Valley but were surrounded due to the fact that the Allies had already captured the surrounding islands of Mindoro [Annotator's Note: Mindoro, Philippines] and Mindanao [Annotator's Note: Mindanao, Philippines]. This resulted in their position being wiped out by the Allies. Following the victory at Ormoc, the 511th [Annotator's Note: 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division] performed their first combat jump at Tagaytay Ridge [Annotator's Note: Tagaytay Ridge, Cavite, Luzon, Philippines]. He remembers the Filipinos liking the American paratroopers for the fact that after successful jumps, they left their parachutes behind. In following weeks, they would see the old parachutes repurposed by the Filipinos in many different ways. The first jump for the 511th was an afternoon jump over a jungle area. The Japanese had guns in place able to hit American ships, so they needed to disable those guns. The first jump is the easiest, because from then on anything that deviates from things going correctly take what seems like an eternity. The biggest threat for paratroopers was shrapnel from artillery being fired at them in the air, cutting their parachutes or hitting the soldier. Their C-47s [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo aircraft] held 14 paratroopers to a plane. After disabling the artillery at Tagaytay Ridge, Penwell's unit [Annotator's Note: Company B, 2nd Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division] helped retake Fort McKinley [Annotator's Note: Fort William McKinley, now Fort Andres Bonifacio; Manila, Luzon, Philippines] from the Japanese [Annotator's Note: Battle of Manila, 3 February 1945 to 3 March 1945]. They returned to New Bilibid Prison [Annotator's Note: Old Bilibid and New Bilibid Prisons; Muntinlupa, Philippines] and then received news they were going to be sent on a secret mission. The nature of their mission was kept secret for weeks until their superiors told them that Company B was dropping at the Los Banos Prison Camp to liberate it. They slept under the wings of the planes at Nichols Field [Annotator's Note: Nichols Field in Pasay, Luzon, Philippines] to be ready as soon as possible for the operation that next morning. Prisoners at Los Banos were hit or shot by the Japanese for looking up at the planes as they were parachuting in. The 11th Airborne Division earned the name "the Angels" because of this operation. The Japanese knew the Americans were on the way but did not realize that they were approaching with the paratroopers in addition to the infantry on the ground. The Navy used alligators [Annotator's Note: Landing Vehicle, Tracked or LVT; also referred to as amtrack or alligator] to cross Laguna de Bay [Annotator's Note: a lake on Luzon, Philippines]. The 129 paratroopers departed at seven in the morning that day, jumping out at 400 feet. The Allies received information through Filipino guerrilla intelligence networks that some sort of mass execution was going to happen at the camp that day, so it was the utmost importance that they begin at that time and jump out that close to the ground, in order to land faster. Their operations were successful due to the intelligence given to them by the Filipinos. During the liberation of the camp, the Air Force simultaneously flew to stop Japanese reinforcements from arriving. A portion of the Allied forces were assigned to take the Japanese armory first, stopping half the camp guards from arming themselves. Upon killing the guards and releasing the prisoners, their orders were to take them to Laguna de Bay to transport them across the lake to safety. The Japanese starved the prisoners, some looking like bones with skin stretched over them. Penwell likens their appearance to that of those held in concentration camps in Germany. He still has dreams about the appearance of those prisoners. It is hard to forget.

Some of the things Richard F. Penwell [Annotator's Note: and the rest of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division] saw and experienced in the Pacific are beyond belief. He saw body parts strewn about on the roads, and thought about mistreating captured enemies, the same as they would have him. The only option for soldiers in the field is to do what they can to protect themselves. Penwell questioned religion as he listened to the chaplain preach in the jungle, wearing all his combat gear, readying himself for the next time he had to fight the enemy. The Japanese were well versed in camouflage and stayed hidden extremely well, but still chose to commit to banzai attacks [Annotator's Note: Banzai charge; Japanese human wave attacks] when the time came. Japanese troops would utilize loud noise makers during these attacks, in the hopes of gaining a psychological edge on the enemy. This is reminiscent of the Stuka [Annotator's Note: German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber] used by the Germans. The Japanese used a 25 caliber rifle [Annotator's Note: the Japanese Type 38 Rifle] that had flashless and smokeless powder, allowing them to fire at night but still remain hidden. When the Allies fired their M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] the muzzle flash was huge in comparison, giving away their position at night. He also encountered booby traps set up by the Japanese in the jungles of the Pacific. The Japanese also utilized concussion bombs at Fort McKinley [Annotator's Note: Fort William McKinley; now Fort Andres Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines], taking 55 gallon petroleum drums and filling them with glass and metal nuts for shrapnel. The company commander told his soldiers to unfasten the chin straps of their helmets, because the blast from the makeshift bombs was so strong that it would lift people off of the ground. At the Raid on Los Banos [Annotator's Note: liberation of Los Baños Internment Camp, 23 February 1945, Los Baños, Luzon, Philippines], Japanese snipers in the prison camp were firing on the civilians being evacuated onto the boats. It was the best operation that Penwell took part in, his company did not lose a man despite the attack happening in broad daylight. He received a letter from MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] on a job well done. The Raid on Los Baños is overlooked due to the fact that the Battle of Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945] happened at the same time, where the iconic picture of the flag raising was taken [Annotator's Note: United States flag raised on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan, 23 February 1943]. Penwell carried a bazooka [Annotator's Note: man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon] and a flamethrower [Annotator's Note: ranged incendiary device that projects a controllable jet of fire] for a time traveling through New Guinea, where he first experienced combat. His company experienced the most casualties retaking Fort McKinley [Annotator's Note: February 1945]. Only one casualty happened as a result of a bad jump, his chute did not open properly as the suspension lines were tied, stopping the chute from blossoming out correctly. This was in due in part to the paratroopers not packing their own chutes, relying on pre-packed chutes that they were not allowed to open and personally check.

Richard F. Penwell participated in the famous Raid on Los Banos [Annotator's Note: liberation of Los Baños Internment Camp, 23 February 1945, Los Baños, Philippines]. He now hears very little from his unit who also took part in the mission [Annotator's Note: Company B, 2nd Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division]. Colonel Blackledge [Annotator's Note: US Army Colonel David W. Blackledge] was rescued from Los Baños as a teenager and helps organize reunions for those who participated in the rescue mission. Blackledge was extremely grateful to those in the 11th Airborne who rescued him. The Raid on Los Baños is Penwell's most proud moment in the service. He vividly remembers a woman hugging him and crying, saying that God sent angels to save them. The mission lasted most of the day. Getting the civilians to the lake [Annotator's Note: Laguna de Bay, a lake on Luzon, Philippines] took very long due to enemy sniper fire. The civilians were afraid that the metal boats would not float in the water. Upon evacuation to New Bilibid Prison [Annotator's Note: Old Bilibid and New Bilibid Prisons, Muntinlupa, Philippines], they separated the liberated based on their needs for medicine and food. One of the battles on the way to Los Baños was at The Walled City [Annotator's Note: Intramuros, a walled district within the city of Manila, Philippines]. The Japanese took a defensive position inside the walls, and the Allies made use of their Long Toms [Annotator's Note: M1 155mm howitzer, nicknamed Long Tom] to blow up the walls and enter the district. Penwell is extremely thankful for the artillery. The artillery made use of shrapnel shells that would explode overhead, raining shrapnel down on enemy troops. Flamethrowers [Annotator's Note: ranged incendiary device that projects a controllable jet of fire] and white phosphorus [Annotator's Note: waxy solid which burns easily] grenades were used in Mindanao [Annotator's Note: Mindanao, Philippines] to combat enemies hidden in foxholes by using the weapon on the vents enemies created for ventilation. The day after the Raid on Los Baños the Japanese slaughtered Filipino civilians. After seeing the way Japanese treated civilians, the Allies stopped trying to capture prisoners. Penwell still has some resentment towards the Japanese for what they did in the war. The use of the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] saved a lot of lives from the potential land invasion. He holds little regret for the things he had to do but is thankful that he made it home from the war safely.

Richard F. Penwell was supposed to be going back to New Bilibid Prison [Annotator's Note: Old Bilibid and New Bilibid Prisons, Muntinlupa, Philippines], but was shot in the knee one day while on patrol [Annotator's Note: while serving as a member of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division]. The Japanese hid snipers in coconut trees, and the Allies were wary to walk under them as the Japanese would also blow themselves up if enemies came too close. After being hit, Penwell was evacuated to a MASH [Annotator's Note: mobile army surgical hospital] unit and then a hospital ship which brought him to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] and then to Atlantic City [Annotator's Note: Atlantic City, New Jersey]. He was lucky to have received a relatively benign injury. During his time in the Pacific, Penwell saw soldiers place their hands [Annotator's Note: Penwell pantomimes placing his hand at the end of a gun barrel] over the barrel of their M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] and fire it, sufficiently injuring themselves enough to be discharged. He says that due to battle fatigue, this was not an uncommon occurrence. He was in combat for about 50 days in the Pacific. Penwell remembers constantly being asked to carry heavy equipment like the flamethrower [Annotator's Note: ranged incendiary device that projects a controllable jet of fire], 81mm mortar base [Annotator's Note: American M1 mortar], or the squad's BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR]. He did not mind this role, because everyone worked together and had their own important responsibilities. Several friends and acquaintances he met in the Pacific did not survive the war. One Filipino family he met in Parañaque [Annotator's Note: located in southern Metro Manila, Luzon, Philippines], had him for dinner once and they did not sit down to eat until Penwell sat down and began eating first. He refused until they all sat and ate together. Filipinos gave the Americans water, but towards the end of the war they had to stop accepting it because some Filipinos were helping the Japanese by poisoning American troops. Sake [Annotator's Note: also spelled sake, alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice] began being poisoned as well. The Japanese were piercing the corks of the bottles with hypodermic needles and putting poison into them. Japanese troops would feign surrender, fall to their knees, and their allies behind them armed with machine guns would open fire. It is impossible to trust enemies who see dying in battle as such a great honor. Several of the 11th Airborne did not make it through the war, one of which was a Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor] recipient. The majority of his unit agreed that it was better to be a live coward than be a dead hero. Penwell left the war with a greater appreciation of life and how not to hastily judge people. People who he started off with a dislike for ended up being some of his greatest friends. He experienced new cultures in New Guinea and the Philippines. They were told not touch the piglets that were kept in New Guinea, as they were an important part of marriage ceremonies. Another interesting piece of culture he encountered was the Filipino love of music. They knew all the songs from America. The only phrase he learned from the Filipinos was how to say, "I love you very much."