Prewar life

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Davis, Jackson Enlistment to Pearl Harbor
Jackson Davis went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to practice law. The Draft Act [Annotator's Note: Selective Training and...
Achee, Lorraine Entertainment, Education and the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Lorraine Achee's father had died when they were very young. Her mother would mention the pending war news once in a...
Goldstein, Rosette Familial Exodus
Rosette Goldstein was born in 1938 in Paris, France. Her parents were from Lodz, Poland. They later move to Berlin [...
Edwards, Charles Family and Early Life
Charles T. Edwards was born in January 1919 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He recalled growing up playing a lot of...
Thompson, Willie Family and Education
Willie Wesley Thompson's grandmother, who had been a slave, remembered when she was seven years old the Emancipation...
Lazarus, Rachel Family Background
Rachel Lazarus was born in May 1939 in Amsterdam, Holland [Annotator's Notes: Amsterdam, Netherlands]. Her father's...
Paret, Peter Family Background
Dr. Peter Paret, military historian and author, was born in Berlin, Germany in 1924, and his youth and life were shaped...
Franzky, Gerhard Family Business
Gerhard Franzky remembers the most important thing after Hitler came to power was that the school schedule changed....
Muelder, Milton E. Family Origins and Education
Milton Muelder, one of seven children, grew up in a Methodist minister's family and was taught the importance of social...
Bowsher, Walter First and Last Arrests
Walter Bowsher made his first arrest while he was in the Army. He was serving as a temporary military policeman when he...
Ganitch, Michael First Attack Wave at Pearl Harbor
Michael Mickey Ganitch enjoyed the sights and sports in Pearl Harbor. He was a bit of a loner because he did not drink...
Strait, Donald Flight Background
In 1940, when Donald Strait joined the Observation Squadron [Annotator's Note: 119th Observation Squadron], it was his...
Trahan, Clifton From an Orphanage to a Troop Ship
Clifton Trahan was born in October 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was put in an orphanage at five years old. His...
Mayes, Davis From Early Life to Attack on Pearl Harbor
Davis Gordon Mayes was born in February 1919 in Pontotoc, Texas. During his service in World War 2, he served on the...
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...
Stein, Murray From New York to German POW Camp
Murray Stein moved to Florida in 1981 after working for the US Postal Service for 37 and a half years. He was 18 when...
Aust, Abner From Picking Cotton to Flying Fighters
Abner Aust was born in Scooba, Mississippi. He took civilian pilot training in college. When he finished he went to...
Faust, Frank From School to the Navy
Frank Faust was born in January 1916 in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. His father worked for...
Peters, Madeleine German Occupation
Madeleine Peters and her family evacuated in front of the advancing Germans [Annotator's Note: the Germans invaded...
Alexander, Samson Getting His Name and Learning to Spell Telemachus
Samson Alexander's grandfather was named Eddie Spencer. During the Great Depression, his grandfather ran off a...
Dahme, Maud Going into Hiding
Maud Dahme was born in January 1936 in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Her mother came from Germany where she met her...
Ellis, Frederick Great Depression to Gunnery Officer
Frederick Ellis was born in Amite, Louisiana in October 1924. His father's business failed in the Great Depression and...
Breaux, Lavenia "Lavenia Hickman" Growing Up in New Orleans
Lavenia Hickman Breaux was born in Slidell, Louisiana in 1917. Breaux did not realize she was living through a...
Mervosh, Michael "Iron Mike" Ho Chi Minh, Jane Fonda and the Sacrifice of American Servicemembers
[Annotator's Note: Michael Mervosh served in the USMC in Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine...
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...
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....
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...
Yusen, Jack Joining the Navy and Boot Camp
Jack Yusen grew up in Queens, New York where he lived with his parents, brother and grandmother and was living there...
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...
Switzer, Ruth Journey to England
Ruth Switzer was born in July 1934 in Vienna, Austria. Her parents were Jews who moved there from Poland so her father...
Barnes, Walter Knowing Judo
Walter Barnes did not see much of a change in New Orleans when he returned after the war. Before the war he and his...
Nossbaum, Anneliese Kristallnacht
Anneliese Nossbaum lived in Bonn, Germany and was proud of the synagogue there where her father was the cantor. As a...

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