| Description | Experiences with the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II; family life and childhood in Ohio; enlistment with Marine Corps following bombing of Pearl Harbor; boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and New River (now Camp Lejeune), North Carolina; deployment to the Pacific Theater aboard the USS John Ericcson and pre-combat preparations in Wellington, New Zealand, prior to Guadalcanal landing on August 7, 1942; physical and geographical descriptions of island, living conditions, combat experience, and enemy engagement; relocation to Australia for maneuvers and training in preparation for invasion of Cape Gloucester (Tuluvu), in Papua, New Guinea, on December 26, 1943; details of island life and interaction with Lt. General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller. Experiences on Pavuva, New Guinea, and invasion of Peleliu on September 15, 1944, and experiences aboard a hospital ship after the battle; return to U.S.; experiences as a drill Instructor at Parris Island; recollections of civilian life and difficulty of post-war stresses. |
