Entrance into Service

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Hecht, Lester From Boot Camp to MAG-32 in Zamboanga
Lester Hecht went to boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina. He got in shape. It did not bother him. He was older...
Gagel, Helen "Cosgrove" From Brisbane to Manila
Helen Gagel arrived in Australia and thought the people there were very friendly but she did not think too much about...
DeSalvo, Vincent From Gulfport to Kanchipuram
Vincent DeSalvo was drafted into the US Army Air Force. He was at Gulfport Field in Gulfport, Mississippi for a while...
Chaisson, Roland From Louisiana to Sicily to England
Roland Chaisson was born in 1924 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He went to high school there and played football until he...
Bucksell, Norris From New Orleans to Italy
Norris Bucksell was born in August 1921 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Valena C. Jones Elementary School. He...
Landwehr, Carl From New Orleans to Southampton, England
Carl Landwehr was born in 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His family never had a lot of money, but they never really...
Darphin, Irma "Irma Boulet" From Orange, Texas to Liverpool, England
Irma Darphin was born in Orange, Texas in August 1922. Her family moved to Crowley, Louisiana when she was one year old...
Dyer, Jimmie From the United States to China
Jimmie Dyer went overseas on a ship that was designed as a tanker. It was a sorry piece of machinery. It was a tough...
Fitzmorris, James Generals and Presidents
James Fitzmorris was pulled out of the combat engineers and placed into transportation at Camp Beauregard [Annotator's...
Morrow, John German Buzz Bombs
John Morrow was very angry about the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor so he joined the Army. It was a done deal...
Alexander, Samson German Prisoners Dancing
Heavyweight champion Joe Louis [Annotator's Note: Joseph Louis Barrow, professional boxer] joined the Army. Samson...
Bussel, Norman Good Luck Charm
Norman Bussel’s pilot wanted him and the engineer, [Annotator’s Note: Staff Sergeant William Peters, top turret gunner...
Hardy, George Graduation and Commission
[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks about Dr. Rothacker Smith, a medic in the Medical Section, 2nd Battalion, 366th...
Hardy, George Gunnery Meet in Texas
George Hardy always considered himself a fighter pilot. The bigger guys were being trained to be bomber pilots. He only...
Bussel, Norman Gunnery School, Mexico, Death of Pilots
After leaving Scott Field [Annotator’s Note: now Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, Illinois], Norman Bussel was...
Pendleton, Arthur Heavy Weapons and Landing on Guadalcanal
Arthur Pendleton was friends with Johnny Rivers. Pendelton was in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, which was machine guns....
Bussel, Norman Home on Furlough
After gunnery school Norman Bussel went back home on furlough. It was strange for him as he felt he would go and enjoy...
Gorman, Ted Idaho to Saipan
[Annotator's Note: The video cuts in and out and is hard to hear at times. Questions and answers are often...
Dyer, Jimmie Infantry Training and Overseas Deployment
Jimmie Dyer went through infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California. When he landed at Guadalcanal, where the 6th...
Hughes, Lowell Invasion of Sicily
Lowell Hughes crossed the Atlantic from Norfolk, Virginia to Oran, Africa. The weather was great for the trip. They...
Fitzmorris, James Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
James Fitzmorris grew up in Depression-era New Orleans, Louisiana in the Irish Channel neighborhood. They did not know...
Breaux, Lavenia "Lavenia Hickman" Joining the Army
Lavenia Breaux wanted to go in the service after Pearl Harbor. She always had a dream of traveling and realized the...
Inoshita, Masaji Joining the Army, Language Training and Overseas Deployment
[Annotator's Note: Masaji Insohita served in the Army as a Japanese translator and interrogator in the China-Burma-...
Chaisson, Roland Joining the Army, Learning of Pearl Harbor and the Sicilian Campaign
Roland Chaisson volunteered for the Army when he was 17. He didn't like the Navy and the Marine Corps sounded too tough...
Meyer, Lois Joining the Marine Corps and Being a Marine Officer
Lois Meyer was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1920. She went to the Ursuline Academy there. She was listening to the...
Goodrich, James Joining the Marines and Boot Camp
James Goodrich wanted to join the Marine Corps as soon as he saw his first Marine Corps poster. He also enjoyed the...
Stewart, Frank Joining the National Guard, the CCC and the US Marine Corps
When the Battle of the Tenaru River ended, Lieutenant Port recommended Frank Stewart for the Navy Cross but the captain...
Shannahan, Claude Joining the Raiders and Trip to New Zealand
Claude Shannahan joined the Raiders because he wasn't tall enough to be a paratrooper and because he liked the name. He...
Campbell, John Joining the US Merchant Marine
John Campbell was mostly selling newspapers while in high school. He was making as much as a lot of men who were...
Langrehr, Henry Jump School to England
Henry Langrehr had heard about the paratroopers. When he went to join, he told them that is what he wanted. At that...
Dillon, Gerard Jump School to Normandy
Everybody was scared the first time, and every time they jumped out of an airplane. Gerard Dillon says that if you were...
Muller, Henry Jump School to the Pacific
Henry Muller did a great deal of physical training to become a paratrooper. He says the US Army has been jogging ever...
Honea, Chafer Last Thoughts on the War
Chafer Honea was discharged at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was late at night and there was a soldier at Fort Bragg...
Ciotta, Angelo Learning of Pearl Harbor and Joining the Marine Corps
Angelo Ciotta wanted to be a Marine because he knew their history and he had seen the movie "Wake Island" twice. He saw...
Hughes, Lowell Learning of Pearl Harbor to Arriving in Oran
Lowell Hughes was stationed at Camp Barkeley near Abilene, Texas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A supply...
Campbell, John Liberty Ships and New Kids
John Campbell was on nine different Liberty ships [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] over 13...

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