Entrance into Service

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Stoops, Robert Joining the 263rd Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company
Robert Stoops reported to Fort Sam Houston [Annotator's Note: San Antonio, Texas] for one month and then went to Camp...
Colburn, George Joining the 3rd Marine Division on Guam
George Colburn shipped out on the USS Rochambeau (AP-63), which was the same ship that Jack Kennedy [Annotator’s Note:...
Bridger, Harley Joining the 782nd Bombardment Group
Harley Bridger's crew was sent to Mitchell Field on Long Island, New York. They were assigned a new airplane and they...
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...
Kneflin, Charles Joining the Army
[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Charles Kneflin what his personal reaction was to the Japanese attack on Pearl...
Jett, Arley Joining the Army and Landing in Normandy
Arley Jett was born in 1922 in Breathitt County, Kentucky. He grew up in Canoe, Kentucky and near Cincinnati, Ohio....
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...
Jones, Gerry Joining the Marines
Gerry Jones was painting radio towers in California when he heard the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note...
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...
Hirabayashi, Grant Joining the Military
Grant Jiro Hirabayashi attended school in Hotaka, Nagano, Japan for eight years and lived with his extended family....
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...
Grenny, Guy Joining the Navy
Guy Grenny was a cadet in ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps]. He was preparing for going to war....
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...
Reeder, John Joining the Royal Canadian Air Force
Colonel John Acree Reeder was born in January 1921 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended the Boeing School of...
Barnett, Robert Joining the Scouts and Raiders
Robert Barnett was born in November 1926 in Cincinnati [Annotator's Note: Cincinnati, Ohio] and has lived there all of...
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...
Billingsley, James Jump Training to Luzon
James Billingsley was at Fort Benning [Annotator's Note: Fort Benning, Georgia] in an area called The Frying Pan. The...
Armstrong, Henry Landing in Europe
Henry Armstrong expected to go overseas. He thought he was going to the Philippines due having trained with mules. Once...
Burrus, William Last Thoughts
The horror of crossing the Rhine River [Annotator's Note: Germany] is the one thing that stands out the most in the...
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...
Harvey, David Last Thoughts on War
[Annotator's Note: David Harvey was discharged from the Navy in 1946. He then joined the Army for the Korean War on 1...
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...
Varner, Joel Learning to Fly
[Annotator's Note: Joel Varner went on active duty in the Army Air Corps in February 1943.] Varner joined the Army Air...
Martin, William Learning to Fly
[Annotator's Note: The interview starts mid conversation.] William Martin was drafted in January 1943. He was lucky he...
Samuelson, Daniel Leave in Cuba
Daniel Samuelson was a gunner on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber. He loved the plane, but it had nothing for...
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...
Hyland, Everett Life Aboard the USS Pennsyvlania (BB-38)
[Annotator's Note: Everett Hyland served in the Navy as a radio operator. He reported aboard the battleship USS...
Lebow, Cleatus Life and Entrance Into Service
Cleatus Lebow was born in 1924 in Happy, Texas. He grew up as one of 11 children during the Great Depression, but, as a...
Purvis, Frank Life and Race on the USS Snowden (DE-246)
Frank Purvis had never been to sea before. The ship [Annotator's Note: USS Snowden (DE-246)] was commissioned with a...
Jackson, Arthur Life Before Joining the Service
Arthur Jackson was born in Cleveland and grew up in Canton, Ohio. His father was a watch maker and eventually ended up...

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