Walter J. Latiolais, Sr. was born in January 1927. His home was in the Atchafalaya Basin [Annotator's Note: also referred to as the Atchafalaya Swamp; the largest wetland and swamp in the United States; located in south Louisiana] until he was about three when his father moved the family onto a houseboat. He rigged up electricity to the home using batteries. It was the only dwelling with electricity in the vicinity. Latiolais had four sisters but one of them died early in life. Another sister almost perished from typhoid fever but survived. His father made a living from hunting, fishing and selling moss from the swamp. Latiolais helped his father with the tasks. His father knew how to find his way through the Atchafalaya Basin. During the Depression [Annotator’s Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945], the family moved to Loreauville [Annotator's Note: Loreauville, Louisiana] where Latiolais' father constructed outhouses for sale. The family heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] on their radio. At 17 years of age, Latiolais attempted to join the Merchant Marine. He was refused entry because he had no birth certificate. Because of high losses of merchant ships, he may not have survived that service had he been allowed to sign up. He had to register for the draft and ended up in the Army infantry in March 1945.

Walter J. Latiolais, Sr. entered Army basic training at Camp Roberts in the suburbs of Little Rock [Annotator's Note: Little Rock, Arkansas]. The 17 weeks of training was vigorous and included viewing film on actual combat with the Japanese. Latiolais never had a fear during that time. His future wife came to Little Rock to be with him. They married before he was sent overseas after she became pregnant. He was married while in basic after paying a buddy to take his KP [Annotator's Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police] for Latiolais and then obtaining a pass for the weekend. Following boot camp and a brief furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], Latiolais had to report to Fort Sam Houston, Texas [Annotator's Note: now part of Joint Base San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas]. From Texas, he boarded a train for Fort Ord, California. While the rest of Latiolais' group was deployed overseas, only he remained in California for an additional three months. There was more marching and training at the camp. He was sent next to a camp near San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] to prepare to sail overseas. He boarded the USS William [Annotator's Note: inaudible; unable to verify identity of vessel] on its maiden voyage to a destination unknown in the Pacific. There were over 5,000 troops aboard along with the ship's crew. While underway, the ship hit a typhoon. After clearing the storm, an announcement was made to the ship that the war was over.

Walter J. Latiolais, Sr. landed in Yokohama, Japan [Annotator's Note: following the end of the war in September 1945]. The Japanese were happy with the Americans but hated the Russians. Japanese nurses and doctors worked alongside Americans in the 42nd General Hospital where Latiolais was a ward master. The hospital, also known as Saint Luke's, was attached to General MacArthur's [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] 8th Army. Latiolais stayed busy taking care of wounded soldiers. Upon his arrival in Japan, he stayed in crude buildings. There was little food for them for a few weeks until the hospital was occupied. The supplies for the hospital were kept in a warehouse. Latiolais had guard duty watching the warehouse for several weeks. He made friends with a Japanese cruiser captain who helped the American learned to speak Japanese. Latiolais had no fear of the former enemy and trusted him when they went out to his ship. Latiolais trained as a nurse and surgical technician. He was promoted to corporal and put in charge of a ward with Japanese nurses and a doctor reporting to him. The Japanese doctor was tasked to be an orderly under Latiolais in the ward. That caused some friction between the two because of the doctor's demotion in status. Later, they became good friends. Soon, Latiolais was given more training and sent to another ward. A call came for him to prepare to return home. He was given a Japanese rifle and bayonet as souvenirs. Before leaving, Latiolais had been taught to blow the bugle. He blew reveille [Annotator’s Note: a signal sounded to wake personnel] in the morning and taps [Annotator's Note: final call of the evening in the United States military] at night along with another bugler. Before he left for home, the bugle was taken from him. Latiolais was angered so he threw the rifle away but still did not get his bugle back. [Annotator's Note: Latiolais laughs.] He did keep the bayonet. He stayed in Japan for a year.

Walter J. Latiolais, Sr reenlisted in the Army in 1949 for three years. He was given his previous rank and sent to Camp Hood [Annotator’s Note: now Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas] in Texas as a ward master. He and his wife moved there together but lived off the base in Belton, Texas. While he was ward master, he learned more and more about laboratory work. He went to school at Brooke Medical [Annotator's Note: Brooke Army Medical Center] at Fort Sam Houston, Texas [Annotator's Note: now part of Joint Base San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas] to be a lab technician. He returned to Camp Hood and was offered a promotion and assignment as lab technician. The Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] was breaking out, so he refused the opportunity because of having a wife and baby. He did not want to risk the potential for overseas deployment given his circumstances. He returned home and after briefly working at a service station, he went to work at a local hospital in Loreauville [Annotator's Note: Loreauville, Louisiana] as a lab, surgical and X-ray technician. The government was paying part of his salary but when that was discontinued, hospital management refused to make up the difference. Latiolais went to work as a roughneck in the oilfields to earn a better salary. He spent 25 years with Kerr-McGee [Annotator's Note: Kerr-McGee Corporation, American energy company] being promoted along the line. He would ultimately have greater roles of responsibility including retiring following overseeing construction of offshore oil rigs. He went back to work with a relative to develop a successful environmental company. Latiolais and his wife had two girls and two boys.

Walter J. Latiolais, Sr has seen the interest in World War 2 become stronger in the last few years. To him, his career with Kerr-McGee [Annotator's Note: Kerr-McGee Corporation, American energy company] was more representative of what he was known for. The Second World War was important to prevent the country from speaking German and Japanese. Any young man should join the military. The younger generation does not know about life. In the military, do the best you can and do not buck the system. An individual can rise as high as they try to reach. There are good opportunities for an educated individual. Latiolais was proud of his time in the military. He enjoyed the marching and wearing a uniform. His final rank was sergeant. He could have reached master sergeant, but it was not important to him. He has seen the museum in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. It was a good experience, but he needed more time to take it all in. It would take two or three days to see it all. Hopefully, he can return and walk a little bit during his visit.