Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Joe Wyche | U.S. Army - Army

1:35 | Joe Wyche recalls how the poor economic times of the Great Depression led him to join the Army in the late 1930s.

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WWII

Joe Wyche | WWII | U.S. Army | 1:35

Joe Wyche recalls how the poor economic times of the Great Depression led him to join the Army in the late 1930s.

Showing : WWII Videos

Jack Houston - Marines +10 Total Videos

G Company, 22nd Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division

Jack Houston had just helped his buddy dress a wound when he volunteered to return to the Okinawa hilltop where they were getting the enemy cleared out. When he got the jump on three of them, his muzzle flash gave him away and he had to leave in a hurry. He flung himself off the hill where he came face to face with a rifle. Part 5 of 6. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.)
Jack Lemonds - Army Air Corps/Air Force +9 Total Videos

567th Bomb Squadron, 389th Bomb Group

The Russians were close enough that the American POW's could hear the fire in the distance. Their guards roused them all and put them on the road in a forced march, leaving their camp in Poland and heading for Germany. It was seventy nine days of freezing cold out in the open, with very little food. (This interview made possible with the support of PHILIP J. O'NEILL.)
Ed Harrell - Marines +12 Total Videos

USS Indianapolis

Ed Harrell describes in detail the sinking of the USS Indianapolis from Japanese torpedoes, which left nearly 900 Sailors and Marines in shark-infested Pacific waters. Part 1 of 4.
LtGen Lawrence Snowden - Marines +16 Total Videos

23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division

The first operation for the 4th Division was the landing on Roi-Namur. Lawrence Snowden remembers that, though it was an easy victory, valuable combat experience and important lessons were imparted on the Marines.
Don Scott - Army Air Corps/Air Force +8 Total Videos

560th Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Two engines were out, a third smoking, and they were were losing airspeed and altitude, but they were flying level and pointed home. Then time ran out for the B-17 and Don Scott had to slip down the hatch into the slipstream. Part 2 of 3.
Clyde Burnette - Army Air Corps/Air Force +13 Total Videos

713th Squadron, 448th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

It was their third mission over Berlin and they were heading home. Four German fighters pounced on the B-24 and it was engulfed in flame and going down. Clyde Burnette fought for consciousness as the other crew in the back of the plane bailed out. He woke in free fall with no idea how he had made it out, and soon he was in German custody. Everyone made it out of the plane except George "Danny" Daneau, the nose turret gunner, who went down with the aircraft.
B.E. Vaughan - Navy +9 Total Videos

USS O'Brien (DD-725)

After a nerve-wracking mission to bomb Tokyo and a typhoon, B.E. Vaughan and the destroyer O'Brien suffered a second kamikaze attack which killed all three of his hometown pals who served with him on board. Then, began the grim task of collecting the personal belongings of the dead and preparing them for burial at sea.
Hal Puett - Navy +4 Total Videos

US Navy Communication Station, Kwajalein

It was the end of the war, but Navy Radioman Hal Puett was finally being deployed to the Pacific. After a queasy week of seasickness aboard an LCI, he was put in charge of radio operations on Kwajalein. (This interview made possible with the support of T. RICHARD BARBER, JR.)
Charles York - Army +10 Total Videos

1st Allied Airborne Army

He had to serve in the post-war occupation of Berlin and that was an experience in itself. Charles York describes the chaotic times and the hustles of the victorious Allied soldiers as they tried to make a buck. For a while, the currency standard was a pack of American cigarettes. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
Jack Litchfield - Merchant Marine +7 Total Videos

Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)

The British prisoners were well treated on board the German cruiser that sank their cargo ship. This came to an end when they were sent to Japan to be imprisoned there. Jack Litchfield watched as the first group of men went down the gangplank and promptly received a beating. When they arrived at the prison camp, the Japanese commander had some sobering words for them.
Hal Puett - Navy +4 Total Videos

US Navy Pre-Flight School

The classrooms and the headquarters were on different parts of the sprawling University of Georgia campus, so the instructors at the Navy's Pre-Flight School were issued a motorcycle and sidecar to get around. Hal Puett recalls a couple of times that this arrangement went a little sideways. (This interview made possible with the support of T. RICHARD BARBER, JR.)
Nathan Radin - Army +7 Total Videos

929th Quartermaster Petroleum Products Laboratory

He's not sure, but Nathan Radin thinks he saw some sumo wrestling going on in the Japanese POW camp across the way. He was in New Guinea and his job was to test the loads of fuel tankers for quality and contamination. The men in the unit had to scrounge for the lumber and build the lab themselves, but at least the Japanese never bothered them. (This interview made possible with the support of KETURAH THUNDER-HAAB.)
Albert Sturgess, Jr. - Navy +12 Total Videos

USS Radford (DD-446)

During one battle, the destroyer USS Radford was guarding some small carriers when a Japanese submarine got in close and sank one. Soon, Hank Sturgess picked up a blip on SONAR and the fast ship closed in to seek revenge. On another occasion, a well known pilot was missing and the men of the Radford joined the search. (This interview made possible with the support of ALBERT SMALL.)
Walter Marshall - Marines +7 Total Videos

G Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division

He was ready for the Marines after a disciplined, patriotic upbringing, a stern principal at his school and training in the National Guard. Walter Marshall was also influenced by movies about the Marines, especially the uniforms. When war broke out, he was already aware of conditions in Europe, as told to him by Jewish friends.
Nathan Radin - Army +7 Total Videos

Multiple Units

It took a while for the Army to decide how to best use Nathan Radin's chemistry degree. He was assigned to a petroleum products unit which was formed to test tanker loads of fuel for quality and possible reuse. He just missed his deployment when he was delayed by a storm and the man who replaced him probably was headed to a much better place than he was. (This interview made possible with the support of KETURAH THUNDER-HAAB.)
Dr. C.B. Skelton - Army +6 Total Videos

538th Quartermaster Group, 3rd Field Command, Graves Registration Service

In post-war Europe, C.B. Skelton was a 19 year old 2nd Lieutenant working to identify and recover the missing remains of American servicemen. He was the Special Investigations Officer, which meant he got the difficult and unusual cases, like the possible spy and the gruesome casket with multiple bodies. (This interview made possible with the support of DONALD FAWCETT (Capt.) R)
Malhon Shoemake - Army +5 Total Videos

Company H, 306th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division

Iejima was a little island off Okinawa that saw some fierce fighting when Malhon Shoemake was there. He was shot twice and earned a Bronze Star for shooting the enemy right off the back of his sergeant, as well as carrying many wounded to safety. He received a third gunshot wound on Okinawa. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
Jack Litchfield - Merchant Marine +7 Total Videos

Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)

If you were sick, you either got better or you died. There was no medicine for the prisoners, and Jack Litchfield had an infected leg injury which could have killed him. Men were dying all around the camp from illness and malnutrition.
P.G. Caudell - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Adair (APA-91)

There was a lot of gunfire during an amphibious landing, recalls Navy gunner P.G. Caudell. One night, they were stuck on a beach and were under the sights of a hidden Japanese artillery piece that was targeting them. (This interview made possible with the support of Vietnam Veteran, Capt. GRAHAM G. KYLE, JR.)
Bill Vaughan - Army +4 Total Videos

43rd Infantry Division

When Bill Vaughan's unit started out to secure Ipo Dam in the Philippines, they had 180 men. At the end, there were 34 left. Soon he was serving occupation duty in Japan, courtesy of President Truman's fateful decision to use the atomic bomb. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.)
Rock Merritt - Army +12 Total Videos

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

You will never forget the first combat order you are issued. Paratrooper Rock Merritt was a corporal when he was given his first real task during the invasion of Normandy. Part 3 of 4. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.)
Hal Puett - Navy +4 Total Videos

US Navy Communication Station, Kwajalein

On Kwajalein, a tiny atoll in the Pacific, the Naval personnel manning the communications station were very resourceful, says Hal Puett who was in charge there in 1945 at the end of the war. They had some appropriated steaks and some blowtorches, so you can guess how they worked that out. (This interview made possible with the support of T. RICHARD BARBER, JR.)
Nathan Radin - Army +7 Total Videos

929th Quartermaster Petroleum Products Laboratory

The men at the Army petroleum testing lab hated the food in their own mess hall. Nathan Radin explains that, since they had to board the tankers at anchor to get samples of their cargo, it made since to visit at lunchtime. Back at the lab, there was a mysterious project going on for some unknown VIP. (This interview made possible with the support of KETURAH THUNDER-HAAB.)
Mario Patruno - Army +8 Total Videos

F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

There were 40,000 paratroopers deployed in Operation Market Garden, an assault into the Netherlands and Germany. Paratrooper Mario Patruno approached his target bridge, only to see the Germans blow it up. Before taking Eindhoven, he captured a frightened young enemy soldier and, immediately, several more showed up.
Rock Merritt - Army +12 Total Videos

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Rock Merritt was dug in listening to a German propaganda speaker when a machine gun started up. The paratrooper grabbed some Gammon grenades and crawled 500 yards under constant fire. He was able to walk back and the push into France continued. Part 4 of 4. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.)
Chan Rogers - Army +13 Total Videos

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 (HMM 364)

Chan Rogers experiences a couple of close calls on the Siegfried Line. His unit stumbles upon a nest of sleeping Nazis, suddenly finding themselves in a harrowing firefight. Later, when facing off against a group of German pillboxes, they are showered with deadly shrapnel from tree bursts. (This interview made possible with the support of TIMOTHY R. COLLINS.)
Dan Magill - Marines +8 Total Videos

1st Marine Division

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point was Dan Magill's first post out of Officer Candidate school. There was some excitement, most notably the riot when he took the basketball team to Parris Island to play their team. Then there was his buddy's date at functions, who was soon to be famous. (This interview made possible with the support of ANITA E. MANUEL.)
Mario Patruno - Army +8 Total Videos

F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

In the Dutch town of Eindhoven, Paratrooper Mario Patruno made a foolhardy charge on an enemy barricade. As he disarmed the German officer there, he had a surprise related to his own weapon. When the battle was over, joyous civilians thronged the streets and brought out food and drink. Then it was on toward Germany, riding on British tanks.
Frank Fancher - Army +10 Total Videos

Troop A, 32nd Cavalry Squadron, 14th Cavalry Group

His battlefield commission from Stromberg Hill finally caught up with Frank "Lindy" Fancher and he received his Lieutenant bars. By this time, the Battle of the Bulge was on and he was in several firefights in Belgium where the Germans had superior numbers. It was during this time that he spotted an idle tank and took off in it to help a pinned down unit. (This interview made possible with the support of RICHARD & BARBARA ROSENBERG.)
Rock Merritt - Army +12 Total Videos

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Former paratrooper Rock Merritt discusses the origin of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment's logo, the Red Devil. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.)