Experiencing combat

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Hill, James Loss of Pappy Boyington
James J. Hill lived through one tough experience. It was the mission that Pappy was shot down [Annotator’s Note: later...
Kaslow, Solis "Sol" Loss of PT-509
It was while operating out of Cherbourg in August [Annotator’s Note: Cherbourg, France in August 1944] that Solis “Sol...
Schneider, Richard Loss of Schneider's Crewmates
In July 1944, Richard "Dick" Schneider found himself with an extremely painful wisdom tooth. The dentist had a terrible...
Alair, Gene Loss of the USS Astoria (CA-34)
Gene Alair was in the South Pacific for many months. He was on a Transport Division Commander's Staff, CTD8. They had...
Davis, Charles Loss of the USS Juneau (CL-52)
Charles Davis was a witness to everything that happened during the night of 13 November [Annotator's Note: 13 November...
Sterrie, Norman Loss of the USS Lexington (CV-2)
Norman Sterrie was spotted over the forward elevator just as an explosion below lifted the elevator and him in his TBD...
Godbold, Bryghte Loss of Wake Island
Bryghte Davis Godbold and the men defending Wake Island could see enemy ships across the atoll from Peale Island. The...
Roy, William Loss of Yorktown and Aftermath
William Roy [Annotator's Note: as a member of the salvage crew on the USS Yorktown (CV-5) on 6 June 1942] witnessed the...
Urban, Raymond Losses on Bougainville
[Annotator's Note: Raymond Urban was at Bougainville, Papua New Guinea with Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-12).] It...
Garcia, Ray Louis Fraser
Ray Garcia's worst experience happened in January 1945 when he could not fly because he had a cold. His best buddy,...
Werner, Jack Luck
Jack Werner often wonders if the younger generation could have done what his generation did. His story should be titled...
Ward, Johnnie Luckiest Man
[Annotator's Note: John K. Ward jumped into France with the 2nd Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd...
Schrader, Ernst Luftwaffe Service on the Eastern Front
Ernst Schrader had signed up for the air force at age 19. He was allowed to select the air force as his branch of...
Groth, Walter Luzon
Walter Groth remembers that military intelligence had underestimated the number of Japanese on the island [Annotator’s...
Simon, Albert Luzon
Albert Simon was at Woodpecker Ridge in Luzon [Annotator’s Note: Luzon, the Philippines]. They landed on Leyte Island [...
Cassady, William Luzon
William Cassady’s ship [Annotator’s Note: the USS Frederick Funston (APA-89)] did not have a lot of contact with the...
Ernest, Malcolm MacArthur Knew
[Annotator's Note: Malcolm Ernest was stationed at Nichols Field near Manila, Philippines with the 27th Bombardment...
Crews, Lorenzo Maginot Line
Lorenzo Dow Crews and his unit, 397th Infantry Regiment [Annotator's Note: Crews was a squad leader in Company I, 3rd...
Poliseno, Dominick Mainland Italy
Dominick Frank Poliseno compares his first amphibious landing in Sicily [Annotator's Note: Sicily, Italy] to the second...
Borne, Edwin Major James Devereux
Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. saw that he [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major; later Brigadier General, James...
Cart, William "Bill" Majuro Atoll
William Cart and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 141 (VMSB-141)] were going to get on an...
Reluga, Matthew Malmedy Massacre
Matthew A. Reluga did not take a shower after Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy,...
Purvis, Frank Man Overboard
Frank Purvis says there a lot of things that stick in your mind. One of the destroyer escorts lost a man overboard. The...
Larson, William Manchester to Munich
In early 1944, William Larson got orders overseas. He had gotten married just a few weeks before. He landed in England...
Dietrick, Alfred Maneuvering in Salerno
After making it to relative safety [Annotator's Note: during the fighting around Salerno, Italy], Alfred Dietrick...
Marich, Robert Manila and Raid on Los Baños
Robert Marich's unit [Annotator's Note: Company B, 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne...
Abadie, Melvin Manila Bay and Kamikazes
Life aboard ship [Annotator's Note: USS Appalachian (AGC-1)] was mostly hot for Melvin Abadie. The South Pacific was...
Hughes, Lowell Many Close Calls
Lowell Hughes first encountered Germans in Sicily, Italy. He never had any face to face contact with them but he dealt...
Angst, Lawrence Many Promotions
Lawrence Angst was promoted from PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class] through to Sergeant. Each level bringing a...
Larson, William Map-Making and Surveying
[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks William Larson to talk about the precision involved in map making.] There were...
Haffner, Robert Marching into Germany
While marching through the Ardennes, Robert Haffner recalls a German jet flying overhead and firing on the 82nd...
Johnson, Kaare Marching Through Southern France
After Kaare Allan Johnson's unit [Annotator's Note: 596th Parachute Combat Engineer Company, 517th Parachute Infantry...
Taddeo, Al Marianas Turkey Shoot
Alfred Taddeo was involved in combat over Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Mariana Islands] and Saipan [Annotator's...
McWilliams, Donald Marine Training to New Britain
Donald G. "Mac" McWilliams joined the Marine Corps on 17 March 1943. He trained at San Diego [Annotator's Note: US...
Beard, Oral Mariveles
[Annotator's Note: Throughout this clip, a person off-camera answers a lot of the interviewer's questions or gives...
Kolesa, Thomas Mark 20 Radar
[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Thomas Kolesa to talk about the radar he worked with.] Antiaircraft artillery...

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