Willis Broussard was born in May 1927 in Lafayette, Louisiana. His family had a small farm which he helped work with his three brothers from an early age. He and his brothers liked to hunt rabbits together. He heard over the radio that Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He remembered not having a good feeling about the event and was concerned about what was going to happen next. Broussard wanted to join the service when he was seventeen, but his father told him to wait until he was drafted. In the meantime, he found a job at the Higgins plant making PT boats [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat]. He was paid 50 cents an hour. When he turned eighteen, he was drafted into the Army Air Force and reported to the induction center in Arkansas for three weeks. [Annotator’s Note: female voice can be heard in the background at 0:06:11.000.] He was assigned to kitchen duty and had to do very little because there were German prisoners who did most of the work. A few of the Germans could speak French. He was fluent in French and developed a relationship with them over a period of a few weeks. He was sent Sheppard Field in Texas for basic training, which was very hard due to the terrain and weather conditions. The place was very dry, dusty, windy, and hot. He hated the place. He was also homesick and missed his family. When he completed basic training, he was sent to Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. While he was at Goodfellow Field, the war ended and he was assigned to the bakery at about that same time. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings in the background at 0:14:07.000.] Broussard had a lot of free time on the weekends.

[Annotator’s Note: People in the background talk throughout the segment.] In August 1945, the Japanese surrendered while Willis Broussard was at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas training to be a baker. He enjoyed his time at Goodfellow Field more than at Shepherd Field in Texas. As a baker, he worked long hours waking up very early in the morning. He was given a chauffeur and truck to deliver baked goods to various areas of the base and to pick up baking supplies. He held the rank of private first class. Soon afterward his father died, and he was given an early discharge so he could go home and work the farm.

Willis Broussard believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He believes that Americans still appreciate his generation for their sacrifice during World War 2. [Annotator’s Note: Video goes black at o:26:17.000 until the end of segment.]