Stanley Fagerstrom was born in June 1923 in Schaffer, North Dakota. He had a sister who was eight years older than him. His father wanted to be a farmer. His father had to leave school in the fourth grade. His mother worked with his father in the fields. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s], they lost everything they had. Then they headed west to Washington state. Fagerstrom went from a one-room schoolhouse with 12 students to a school that had close to 1,000 students. The draught was bad. He saw the sky blackened by locusts and dust. He fell in love with fishing. Fagerstrom was writing for a local newspaper when he heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He went in to work that Sunday morning and the whole newsroom was full because the news of Pearl Harbor had hit. There were blackouts on the West Coast, especially in San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California]. Fagerstrom hoped the war would last long enough that he would be able to get in and fight the Japanese. He enlisted in the Army on 7 December 1942. His father cried when he left to go overseas. He wanted to be in the Marines, but he did not pass the eye exam because he was nearsighted. He was good with a typewriter, but he wanted to go into the infantry. He went to boot camp in Camp Roberts, California.

Stanley Fagerstrom did not find boot camp to be bad. He made a lot of friendships. He felt they were being well-trained. At the completion of boot camp, he was made a corporal. Then he was sent up to Fort Ord, California and he was a non-commissioned officer as an instructor in hand grenades. They had a lot of people go through that were scared to handle the hand grenades. They had to collect all the duds and blow them up with other grenades. They counted the time as one dead Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese], two dead Japs, three dead Japs, and four dead Japs. This equaled four point eight seconds. They worked with fragmentation grenades [Annotator’s Note: a bomb designed to break into small fragments as it explodes]. Fagerstrom was there for about four or five months. He wanted to get married. His high school sweetheart came down and married him. Three months later, he was shipped off to join the 31st Infantry Division in combat in New Guinea.

Stanley Fagerstrom was a corporal going into an outfit that was already established in combat. He was attached to second platoon [Annotator’s Note: within the 31st Infantry Division]. One guy set the ammunition tent on fire. They had driven the Japanese off the beach. Six days later, he was sent on a combat patrol in the jungle. As they went into the jungle, they would take a break every hour or so. On the third day, the terrain changed and they came up to a creek with open terrain. He picked up a discarded Japanese ammunition belt. Two guys went up over the ridge and Fagerstrom heard shots fired. He went 40 feet and saw his first dead Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese]. He did not want to look at the body, but the sergeant told him he better take a good look because he would be seeing it a lot. Half of the man’s face was blown away. They went a little further and found a village that the Japanese had built. Fagerstrom went into one of the shacks and found a box full of watches. Japanese started firing at him and he had to make a run for it. There was a bridge made out of Japanese rifles. They did not stay in the village. That night they went up to the high ground and called back. The area was covered with artillery fire.

Stanley Fagerstrom left New Guinea on 15 November 1944. The Japanese came across the Pacific in the beginning. They were headed to the island of Morotai [Annotator’s Note: Morotai Island, Maluku Islands, Indonesia] after they bombed the islands. They were lightly defended. They did not lose more than 100 men during the landing. The Japanese immediately tried to get across. Next came the SeaBees [Annotator's Note: Members of US naval construction battalions] and the B-24s [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber]. This was the same day that the Marines hit Peleliu [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II; 15 September to 27 November 1944; Peleliu, Palau]. Halsey [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey] tried to convince the higher-ups to help with the Philippines. They were told the Japanese were near-sighted because they wanted to do everything to perfection. The Japanese would hide in the caves. In the Philippines, they had to go in a single file line down a trail and the Japanese ambushed them. Fagerstrom was pinned down by a Japanese while he was manning the phone. The Philippines was the worst part of the war. Occasionally, they worked with the Filipinos. Fagerstrom acquired three Japanese battle flags. He got the first one in New Guinea, the second one at Mapia Atoll, and the third one in combat on Morotai.

Stanley Fagerstrom got sick in the Philippines. He hurt his back on the island of Morotai [Annotator’s Note: Morotai Island, Maluku Islands, Indonesia]. They had to get on shore quickly because the Japanese were bombing them. He slipped and fell with an arm full of boxes. He damaged his back and had to wear a brace for 15 years. In the Philippines, he had dysentery [Annotator’s Note: dysentery is an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhea containing blood or mucus] and yellow jaundice [Annotator's Note: occurs if the liver can't efficiently process red blood cells as they break down]. He was put in a field hospital a short distance behind where his company was fighting. When he got to battalion headquarters, he was told he had to be sent to a hospital. They had some Filipinos with them as they traveled to the hospital. Then he was sent to a field hospital because his fever was worse. The rainy season hit and the wheels got stuck in the mud. This was Fagerstrom’s worst experience of the whole war. When he got to the hospital, he was put to bed right away. He was in the hospital when the war ended. Now the points system [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] was in place and men were going home. He did not have enough points to go home with the 31st Infantry Division. He was transferred to the 96th Infantry Division. He was put in a hospital and he was worse than before. He was discharged and sent to a major hospital in Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, the Philippines]. He was too sick to take a boat, so he had to fly home. He got better during the trip. When he got to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], his morale lifted. It was the greatest adventure of his life. When he got back he wanted to get a degree in journalism. He went to work full-time as a reporter. He loved to fish. He started writing a fishing column for the daily news. He did well with his columns. He started to freelance write. He was a casting instructor for fishing. He gave casting seminars all over the world.

Stanley Fagerstrom still writes for half a day, every day. He had both of his knees replaced, and one of his hips replaced. He always thinks about World War Two. He has some pleasant memories of his service, and he is proud of it. He was not a hero, but he did what he needed to do. He thinks people need to know about the war. He is among some of the last veterans. He thinks it is important to learn and know our history. He thinks people should do something they love to do. Do not go after the buck, find something to put your heart and soul into.