COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

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Showing : WWII Videos

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  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.

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  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.)

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  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.)

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.)

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  Roy Scribner - Navy +11 Total Videos

  USS Dorsey (DD-117/DMS-1)

  As the USS Dorsey approached Pearl Harbor for repairs, the pet dog smuggled on board got very excited. He was about tired of Navy life. Almost as soon as the minesweeper returned to action, the war ended. Roy Scribner tells the story of the typhoon that nearly put them under off the coast of Japan.

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  Dan Magill - Marines +8 Total Videos

  1st Marine Division

  The training at Parris Island boot camp was the best he had at any time in his service, says Dan Magill. He describes the steely toughness of the drill instructors as they pushed the men to their limits. He also learned how lethal the weapons were when a hand grenade exercise claimed the life of the instructor. (This interview made possible with the support of ANITA E. MANUEL.)

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  Juergen Tibcken - Army +4 Total Videos

  N/A

  Juergen Tibcken remembers the war ending and the way that the environment of their town changed after the liberation of Jewish prisoners. Learning English and trading different good in this little town taught him how to be resourceful and eventually set him up to come to America.

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  P.G. Caudell - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Adair (APA-91)

  You were not supposed to have a camera aboard ship, but P.G. Caudell had a miniature novelty camera that he broke down and brought with him anyway. He was wondering if the little thing would work, so he and a buddy gave it a try. (This interview made possible with the support of Vietnam Veteran, Capt. GRAHAM G. KYLE, JR.)

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  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.)

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  Jack Litchfield - Merchant Marine +7 Total Videos

  Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)

  His father was a captain in the British Merchant Navy and Jack Litchfield was determined to follow in his footsteps. He left behind the air raids in Liverpool and went to sea as a radioman, but his third voyage turned to disaster when a German torpedo slammed into the freighter.

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  P.G. Caudell - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Adair (APA-91)

  P.G. Caudell chose Navy because his two brothers chose Army and he wanted to be contrary. There was only one problem, he weighed less than a hundred pounds and they wanted at least ten more on a recruit. (This interview made possible with the support of Vietnam Veteran, Capt. GRAHAM G. KYLE, JR.)

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  Richard Delle Rose - Army +3 Total Videos

  C Company, 67th Armored Infantry Battalion, 13th Armored Division

  Richard Delle Rose recalls how the actions of a platoon sergeant made the men in the company uneasy. He was advancing across Germany and into Austria when the war ended. The men in his unit became responsible for a camp full of displaced persons and they made good friends among them. (This interview made possible with the support of DOUGLAS & PHYLLIS SEIBERT In Memory of Victor L. Seibert, 8th Air Force, KIA December 29, 1945.)

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  Charles York - Army +10 Total Videos

  Battery B, 375th Field Artillery Battalion, 100th Infantry Division, 7th Army

  Charles York had just been reassigned as a forward observer when he pushed toward the Maginot Line, where the Germans had turned the big guns around to face the advancing American troops. He was close when they fired over his head and glad the shells were directed elsewhere. He was in charge of communications for the team which usually meant laying phone wire because the radios were unreliable. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)

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  Roy Scribner - Navy +11 Total Videos

  USS Dorsey (DD-117/DMS-1)

  Roy Scribner sailed under the Golden Gate bridge in September of 1944 on his way to join the fray. The radioman was also a loader on one of the ship's 20mm guns. The USS Dorsey, a minesweeper, was also armed with depth charges to engage with submarines.

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  Juergen Tibcken - Army +4 Total Videos

  N/A

  Volunteering in the officer's quarters in his town allowed Juergen Tibcken to become much more resourceful and learn valuable skills. Building relationships with these German soldiers was also essential for him and would open opportunities for him down the road.

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  Nathan Radin - Army +7 Total Videos

  929th Quartermaster Petroleum Products Laboratory

  Nathan Radin felt badly for the natives in New Guinea, who were malnourished and poorly treated by their supposed allies. He succumbed to the environment himself when he contracted Dengue Fever. As he was traveling homeward, the atomic bomb ended the war. With his academic background, he understood immediately when he heard about it. (This interview made possible with the support of KETURAH THUNDER-HAAB.)

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  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.)

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  Juergen Tibcken - Army +4 Total Videos

  N/A

  During the reconstruction of Germany, things were very hard for Juergen Tibcken. He quickly got a lot of responsibilities at a young age and finished his schooling. He applied for an American visa and left to the United States as a visitor and then never left.

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  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.)

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  Bill Vaughan - Army +4 Total Videos

  43rd Infantry Division

  He wanted the Navy but there were a couple of tough looking MP's there so he accepted it when they told him he was in the Army. Before long, Bill Vaughan was going ashore at Luzon as a machine gunner. He was only in the battle a few days when he was hit and had to be evacuated. (This interview made possible with the support of MARILYN M. WOODHOUSE.)

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  Dan Magill - Marines +8 Total Videos

  1st Marine Division

  Every member of Dan Magill's fraternity joined the military services the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was allowed to finish college and then he reported to Parris Island. Alongside him was a great friend, Howard "Smiley" Johnson, who was quite a character. (This interview made possible with the support of ANITA E. MANUEL.)

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  Bill Galvan - Army Air Corps/Air Force +4 Total Videos

  Air Defense Command

  Growing up with Filipino & Ecuadorian descent, Bill Galvan remembers the role his heritage played in his upbringing. He considers himself first and foremost to be an American.

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  Ray Remerowski - Army +2 Total Videos

  13th Armored Division

  While stationed in Europe, Ray Remerowski learned how to interact with German civilians and had to deal with German soldiers. Working as a radio operator, he fortunately didn't get a lot of time in combat. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)

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  P.G. Caudell - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Adair (APA-91)

  The amphibious training would go on all night long. Troops would climb down cargo nets into landing craft, then climb back up. P.G. Caudell was a gunner on one of the 26 boats carried by the USS Adair, an attack transport. After passage through the Panama Canal, the Adair began ferrying troops and cargo throughout the Pacific theater. (This interview made possible with the support of Vietnam Veteran, Capt. GRAHAM G. KYLE, JR.)

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  Frank Fancher - Army +10 Total Videos

  106th Cavalry Regiment

  His one year enlistment in the Army ended Dec. 6, 1941. Frank Fancher was working on an old car, preparing for the drive home from camp when the word came over the radio, get back immediately. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Looks like he was going to stay in for a while longer. He guarded docks in New Orleans and Panama, then was given a covert assignment. The Germans had radio towers in Columbia and the team needed a demolitions man. (This interview made possible with the support of RICHARD & BARBARA ROSENBERG.)

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  John Black - Army Air Corps/Air Force +5 Total Videos

  9th Air Force

  For John Black and his squadron, dealing with equipment difficulties was a regular part of the job. One of the perks of flying for the Allied forces was the privilege of meeting high-profile leaders like Eisenhower and Churchill.