Gender

Male

Birth date

1914-5-27

Place of birth

Oxnard CA, U.S.A.

Inducted

1942-3-10, Ft. MacArthur CA

Enlistment type

Draftee

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Combat

Units served

European Middle Eastern Theater

Military specialty

Platoon Sgt.

Stationed

USA: Camp Crowder, MO; Camp Hale, CO; Camp Shelby, MS;
Othere Countries: Italy; France

Separated

Camp Grant IL

Unit responsibility

To protect our headquarter company from the enemy.

Personal responsibility

To direct the three squads under my command. As the war progressed, there was less use for our guns, so my platoon was assigned as litter bearers with the medical unit. It was then that I was assigned as liaison between regiment and battalion.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

I served in the war zone but what I did was not as important as the work of a rifleman with their help from the medics, engineers and the artillery.

Living conditions

There wasn't much in the way of entertainment and the living conditions were rough. We slept in fox holes, sometimes with water from the rains, but when one is sleepy, anywhere is good.
There were times we didn't bathe for weeks but when we dropped back to the rest centers, we felt more like it used to be. The medics were great and the kitchen crew were wonderful as they gave us hot meals under hard conditions.

Most vivid memory of military experience

My military experience was something I never dreamt that I would see in my lifetime. Living with hundreds of fellows day in and day out under pleasant times and rough times, like seeing your friends getting wounded and killed. War is Hell!

Missed most whilst in the military

I missed my family the most; wondering whether they were in good health and spirits, while they were in the relocation center. I missed the Japanese food and got tired of 'Spam'.

Most important thing, personally, to come from military experience?

I have been a loner all my life and to live and eat together with all of my buddies was quite an experience. At first the fellows from Hawaii didn't get along with us mainlanders but as time went on and we understood each other, everything was great! The felows from the 'Island' were willing to give the shirts off their backs!