Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Will Crawford | Foxy 29 Armed Medical Corps - Navy

2:26 | Will Crawford tells the story behing the formation of Foxy 29, an armed medical corps.

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WWII

Will Crawford | WWII | Foxy 29 Armed Medical Corps | 2:26

Will Crawford tells the story behing the formation of Foxy 29, an armed medical corps.

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.
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.)
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.
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.
Rock Merritt - Army +12 Total Videos

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Rock Merritt had no idea where the rest of his unit was. The paratrooper had dropped into Normandy and soon became part of a group of 37 men from many outfits. A chaplain among them did a great job of keeping up morale as they tried to get a foothold and move on the Germans. When his unit finally assembled, his platoon was issued weapons with which he was totally unfamiliar. Part 2 of 4. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.)
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.)
Chan Rogers - Army +13 Total Videos

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 (HMM 364)

What is it like for a Florida native, seeing snow for the first time, while simultaneously making first contact with the enemy? When Chan Rogers jumps into a freezing creek, he comes to regret it. (This interview made possible with the support of TIMOTHY R. COLLINS.)
Hank Sawicki - Navy +5 Total Videos

U.S.S. Kalinin

Hank Sawicki remembers some of the troubles they had on deck, a lot of which included how fortunate he and his crewmates were to make it out of their time on the Kalinin alive.
Walter Marshall - Marines +7 Total Videos

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

The men headed to Saipan were already on edge, especially the Marines who had participated in the previous invasion of Tarawa. Then, as they waited on board ship in the dark, someone dropped a grenade. Having survived that, they next faced a very difficult task, going over the side and down a rope net to board bobbing and heaving Higgins boats.
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.)
Hank Sawicki - Navy +5 Total Videos

U.S.S. Kalinin

Hank Sawicki remembers one of the most memorable experiences of his time in service; when the U.S.S. Kalinin started to take on heavy shelling. Fortunately for him, he was able to avoid a lot of the shrapnel that was flying all around him on deck.
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.)
Dave Vogel - Army +4 Total Videos

771st Anti-Aircraft Gun Battalion

After returning home to New York, Dave Vogel tried to return to a normal life in the city. One of his favorite memories after returning home was getting invited to Yankee Stadium on a special invite.
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.)
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.)
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.
Roy Scribner - Navy +11 Total Videos

USS Dorsey (DD-117/DMS-1)

At Okinawa, the USS Dorsey received it's only kamikaze hit after a long streak of near misses. Roy Scribner describes the attack from his vantage point as a gun loader. Fortunately, the damage was not severe and they steamed to Pearl Harbor for repairs. On their way there, they received some bad news from back home.
Walter Marshall - Marines +7 Total Videos

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

Tarawa was an atoll that had a fishing and coconut oil operation before the war. After 76 hours of US Marines versus entrenched Japanese, there was not much standing. Walter Marshall was lucky enough to come in on an amphibious tractor. Most had to wade through hundreds of yards of coral reef. Once ashore the enemy had to be removed from fortified pillboxes and spider traps.
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.)
Roy Scribner - Navy +11 Total Videos

USS Dorsey (DD-117/DMS-1)

Before Roy Scribner headed home from the Pacific, he had to watch his ship, the USS Dorsey demolished and scuttled after being slammed by a typhoon. Back home, he was sent to Camp Shoemaker, a place he knew very well.
Malhon Shoemake - Army +5 Total Videos

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

The Okinawa beachhead was not much different than the others, but after a couple of weeks there, Malhon Shoemake was on his way back to Hawaii for three months to recover from a wound. Once he returned to his unit, it was not long before the war ended and he was sent to Tokyo as a victor. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
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.)
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.
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.)