Guadalcanal | Oral History

Guadalcanal

OH 1736

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 tra

OH 1070

His experiences as an officer aboard the destroyers USS Nicholas, Lavallette, and Benner in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Battle of Kula Gulf, June, 1943; Battle of Kolombangara, July, 1943; rescue of cruiser USS Helena survivors; various naval skirmishes off Guadalcanal; invasion of Tarawa and Makin Islands, November, 1943; invasions of Roi, Kwajalein, and Eniwetok; invasion of Hollandia; battle off Biak Island; radar picket duty off northern Japan, 1945.

OH 0998

His experiences in the Pacific Theater as a combat pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II. Fall of Singapore; Guadalcanal operations; air combat against Japanese Zeros; release from duty, December 1943.

OH 1397

Dairyman. His experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Enlistment and boot camp, San Diego, California, 1942-43; tank training, El Cajon, California, 1943; tank mechanics school, Fort Knox, Kentucky, 1943; assignment as a replacement to the 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion at Guadalcanal, 1944; invasion of Guam, July-August, 1944; reminiscences of coming under Japanese mortar fire on Guam; invasion of Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945; his role in hauling supplies ashore to the infantry on Iwo Jima; his return to the States for training in the V-12 Program, June, 1945.

OH 1232

His experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. First assignment to the battleship USS West Virginia and his experiences during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to the antiaircraft cruiser USS San Juan, 1942; naval battles around Guadalcanal; Battle of Savo Island; assignment to the destroyer USS Wedderburn, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944; Pacific typhoons; Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations, 1945.

OH 1291

His experiences with the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his experiences with the 2nd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, at Guadalcanal, 1942; his experiences with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at Tarawa, 1943; his experiences with the 4th Marine Division at Saipan and Tinian, 1944, and Iwo Jima, 1945.

OH 0996

His experiences in the Battle of Midway and his role as a fighter pilot; Guadalcanal operations, August-November, 1942; shot down over water, November, 1942; assignment to Vella Lavella and fighter sweeps over Rabaul; postwar activities as a test pilot; photographic missions over the People’s Republic of China; air operations in Vietnam.

OH 0936

His experiences aboard LST-446 during the Solomon Islands Campaign, 1942-43; participation in the landings on Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Vella Lavella, and Bougainville; Marianas campaign and landings at Saipan and Guam, 1944.