COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

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Showing : WWII Videos

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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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  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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  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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  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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  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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  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.

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  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.)

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  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.

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  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.)

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  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.)

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.)

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  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.

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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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  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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  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.

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  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.)

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  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.

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  Walter Marshall - Marines +7 Total Videos

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

  As he readied for the next operation on Tinian, Walter Marshall received the word that he had enough points to go home. He was carrying a bullet in his leg and had a fractured vertebra and the latter condition was destined to plague him for a long time. Determined to make a better life for his children, he ignored the pain and worked on.

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  Roy Scribner - Navy +11 Total Videos

  USS Dorsey (DD-117/DMS-1)

  It was cold and raining as huge ships pounded the tiny island of Iwo Jima ahead of the landing. Roy Scribner was on the USS Dorsey, a minesweeper. In his diary, he sketched the raising of the flag as well as noting the staggering casualty figures. When the ship broke away from the battle for refueling, the crew nearly met with disaster during the routine task.

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  Charles York - Army +10 Total Videos

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

  In the waning days of the war, Charles York came across many slave labor camps, but he was spared the terrible sight of extermination camps. The stories he heard were gruesome enough. (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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  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.

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  George McLaughlin - Army

  Multiple Units

  In 1938, twenty one dollars a month made a real difference. That's what George McLaughlin received when he joined the National Guard. His unit was activated in early 1941 and he rapidly became a very young Master Sergeant. When he was sent to Alaska, it was decided that the tents they were assigned were not adequate, so they milled the lumber to build barracks.

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  Malhon Shoemake - Army +5 Total Videos

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

  Malhon Shoemake's first beachhead was Guam and after a long wade into shore, he saw the terrible devastation of war. The deaths of women and children were difficult to bear. He soon learned the tricks of the enemy, who liked to fight at night and sneak into your foxhole. (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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  James Tabb - Army Air Corps/Air Force +3 Total Videos

  Army Air Corps

  He was finally on his way to flying, but aviation cadet James Tabb kept playing a waiting game at each level of training. First some college, then some flight training. All the while, the Allies were progressing in the fight and the need for new aviators was lessened. There was this new plane, however, the B-29. (This interview made possible with the support of KETURAH THUNDER-HAAB.)

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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.)