| Description | His experiences as a combat infantryman in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II. Joining the Illinois National Guard, 1938; federalization of the Illinois National Guard, March, 1941; training at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, 1941-42; shipment to Camp Darwin, Australia, 1942; formation of the Americal Division and landings at New Caledonia, March, 1942; transfer of the division to Guadalcanal, December, 1942; combat around Mount Austen on Guadalcanal; fate of Japanese prisoners-of-war; evacuation to the Fiji Islands, March, 1943, for rest and recuperation; landings on Bougainville, 1943; patrol and reconnaissance activities on Bougainville; rotation back to the States, May, 1944; stateside duty as a drill instructor at Fort McClellan, Alabama, 1944-45; postwar career. |
