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-When people think about war,
they quite often think about
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D-Day as being Normandy and Utah
Beach because those are
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the ones that got the most
play in the media.
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But there were at least 40 in
the Pacific, some of them just
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as bad, if not worse, than the
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00:00:45,846 --> 00:00:48,082
casualties on D-Day in Normandy.
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STEPHEN E. AMBROSE :
At Pearl Harbor,
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on the morning of December
7, it was Sunday morning.
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An awful lot of the men had had
liberty the night before.
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Some of them were up and
having breakfast.
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Some of them were getting ready
to go to church, and
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many of them were
sleeping it off.
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The zeroes coming off of the
Japanese carriers began to
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appear in Hawaii, and they
found us completely
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unprepared.
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-We just couldn't believe
what was happening.
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Everything happened so fast.
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-I was getting madder by the
minute because they were
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knocking not only our ships out,
but they were knocking
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out a major part of
our air power.
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00:02:10,964 --> 00:02:13,934
-We were looking towards
the USS Arizona.
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And there was this tremendous
explosion.
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I'd never seen anything
like it in my life.
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And it was just one
big ball of fire.
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KEN TAYLOR :
was on fire.
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Everything looked like
it was exploding.
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I knew what I was supposed to
do, and it was to knock this
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plane down in front of me
and to get on his tail
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and shoot him down.
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And I managed to do that.
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-You see all of that.
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Then, this hate starts
to come in.
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And dammit, this is war.
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00:03:05,185 --> 00:03:06,487
This is war.
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00:03:25,539 --> 00:03:29,743
-We lost 2,400 people
at Pearl Harbor,
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December the 7th, 1941.
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-Everybody wanted revenge,
total revenge.
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I know I did.
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-I wanted to destroy the
whole nation of Japan.
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I hated them.
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00:03:42,523 --> 00:03:44,091
Everybody hated them.
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-They made the American people
so mad that there was never
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going to be any compromise
in this war.
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We're going for unconditional
surrender.
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00:03:53,367 --> 00:03:58,005
-The American people and their
righteous might will win
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through to an absolute
victory.
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00:04:13,053 --> 00:04:15,823
-We just knew that we
were the enemy.
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00:04:15,823 --> 00:04:19,760
We were considered the enemy
because Japan had
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00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:21,028
bombed Pearl Harbor.
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00:04:21,028 --> 00:04:24,398
I didn't even know where
Pearl Harbor was.
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00:04:24,398 --> 00:04:29,102
My father was born on the 4th
of July, and he made sure we
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00:04:29,102 --> 00:04:31,939
all put the flag out
and everything.
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We were brought up
to be Americans.
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00:04:34,074 --> 00:04:36,944
-There was a feeling in Pearl
Harbor that the Japanese
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Americans living in Hawaii had
been giving information to the
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Japanese forces in Tokyo.
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00:04:43,283 --> 00:04:46,253
So we're afraid they're going to
do this in the West coast.
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-But there had been not
a single incident
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of sabotage or spying.
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00:04:52,626 --> 00:04:54,094
None of that happened.
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-The Japanese Americans from the
west coast were interned
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into 10 internment camps across
the United States.
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00:05:01,101 --> 00:05:03,637
-We were told that we could
only bring what we could
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00:05:03,637 --> 00:05:09,142
carry, and so most of our things
we had to leave behind.
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00:05:09,142 --> 00:05:12,946
-They were rounded up and put
in to camps that they were
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00:05:12,946 --> 00:05:14,415
guarded in.
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00:05:14,415 --> 00:05:19,019
-When we arrived and saw the
buildings, it was very, very
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00:05:19,019 --> 00:05:20,087
depressing.
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00:05:20,087 --> 00:05:21,522
-How would you like
to be taken away
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without your things?
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00:05:22,990 --> 00:05:25,058
How would you like to know that
people are watching you
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all the time?
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00:05:26,427 --> 00:05:27,928
How would you like to know that
your letters are being
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00:05:27,928 --> 00:05:31,732
read, that you can't communicate
with people?
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00:05:31,732 --> 00:05:33,867
My brother used to put
it in this way.
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It's like you've been raped by
somebody you trusted, and so
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you can't talk about it.
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And so it was your country that
did this to you, and you
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couldn't talk about it for years
and years and years.
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NARRATOR : Young
Japanese Americans volunteered
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for the armed services of the
United States even as their
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families were being held
in these camps.
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00:05:54,655 --> 00:05:58,058
-My utmost thought was, they've
stripped me of my
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citizenship, which was
most valuable to me.
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00:06:02,062 --> 00:06:07,067
And therefore, when they gave
me a chance to join the
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military, that was
my liberation.
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That restored my citizenship.
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00:06:12,272 --> 00:06:15,409
It was one of the happiest
moments of my life.
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00:06:20,581 --> 00:06:23,551
-The little town that I
was in, they went en
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00:06:23,551 --> 00:06:25,486
masse to sign up.
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00:06:25,486 --> 00:06:28,522
So a lot of the guys that used
to hang around the filling
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stations weren't hanging
around the
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00:06:30,157 --> 00:06:31,425
filling stations anymore.
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They were in the service.
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00:06:32,726 --> 00:06:35,395
-There was no problem of
getting volunteers.
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00:06:35,395 --> 00:06:36,964
Everybody was willing to go.
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They had recruiting lines
that were two and
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three blocks long.
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-All of the services were
taking in thousands of
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recruits a day.
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00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:49,543
-Most people who volunteered
were-- they could choose Navy,
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00:06:49,543 --> 00:06:51,411
Marines, Army.
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00:06:51,411 --> 00:06:53,013
-Well, I liked the Army.
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00:06:53,013 --> 00:06:56,850
I didn't feel like a sailor,
didn't feel like a flyer.
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00:06:56,850 --> 00:06:59,687
Even Marines, they didn't
appeal to me.
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00:06:59,687 --> 00:07:01,221
Too much PR.
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00:07:01,221 --> 00:07:05,659
-The Marines had great public
relations, and every time
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00:07:05,659 --> 00:07:07,661
somebody said, well, are
you in the Pacific?
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I said, yeah.
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Oh, Marine?
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No.
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00:07:10,931 --> 00:07:12,833
Navy?
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No.
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00:07:13,801 --> 00:07:14,668
Army.
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Oh, were you in the Pacific?
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Yeah, damn right I was
in the Pacific.
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-I went into the United
States Navy.
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It was segregated.
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The Navy was segregated.
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00:07:24,311 --> 00:07:27,515
At that time, blacks could
only be steward's mates.
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You waited on the officers and
cleaned their rooms, things of
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00:07:32,119 --> 00:07:33,487
that nature.
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00:07:33,487 --> 00:07:37,591
-I cannot think of anybody that
did not have just one
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00:07:37,591 --> 00:07:43,330
objective, let's pay them
back for this little job
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00:07:43,330 --> 00:07:44,732
and get it over with.
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00:07:44,732 --> 00:07:46,834
-There wasn't any question
about what we had to do.
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We had seen signs in recent
months anyway saying
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Uncle Sam needs you.
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00:07:51,639 --> 00:07:54,975
-And now, all of a sudden,
America was ranked 16th in the
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00:07:54,975 --> 00:07:59,813
world in the size of its armed
forces, right behind Romania.
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00:07:59,813 --> 00:08:01,414
Now, we were in the war.
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00:08:01,414 --> 00:08:05,352
And within a couple of years,
the American armed forces were
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00:08:05,352 --> 00:08:07,555
number one in the world.
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00:08:07,555 --> 00:08:09,857
-All of the services were
going full tilt.
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00:08:09,857 --> 00:08:13,126
The Coast Guard had expanded
tremendously because they had
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00:08:13,126 --> 00:08:16,196
to guard the whole coast of
the United States, and the
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00:08:16,196 --> 00:08:17,631
rivers as well.
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00:08:17,631 --> 00:08:21,368
The Navy, of course, had to
worry about two wars.
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00:08:21,368 --> 00:08:23,571
-Well, the war in Europe
had been going
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00:08:23,571 --> 00:08:25,072
on for several years.
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00:08:25,072 --> 00:08:27,875
But things were happening in
the Pacific world with the
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Japanese saying that they didn't
have any resources, and
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00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:36,116
they have to enlarge their
empire in order to gain the
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00:08:36,116 --> 00:08:38,752
resources necessary to
support their people.
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00:08:38,752 --> 00:08:41,655
-They were already deeply
involved in a war in China
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that was a big drain on
the Japanese Army.
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00:08:45,626 --> 00:08:47,728
Korea was already a colony.
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They were taking on the whole
of the Pacific world.
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00:09:06,213 --> 00:09:09,116
-Who's going to command the
Pacific was a big question for
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the Americans.
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00:09:10,550 --> 00:09:13,053
They decided to divide it.
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00:09:13,053 --> 00:09:14,788
Douglas MacArthur
would command in
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00:09:14,788 --> 00:09:16,590
the southwest Pacific.
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00:09:16,590 --> 00:09:18,726
Admiral Chester Nimitz
would be in command
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in the central Pacific.
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And the Americans were now
beginning to build.
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We had carriers being built
at the shipyards.
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We had started a draft that
brought millions of young men
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into the armed forces.
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They had to be trained,
of course, and
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they had to be equipped.
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And American was gearing
up for war.
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-Over the training periods, we
developed a lot of camaraderie
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00:09:56,563 --> 00:09:59,399
with the people that we
worked directly with.
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-Well, the training first of all
put tremendous emphasis on
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00:10:02,736 --> 00:10:05,005
your physical conditioning.
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00:10:05,005 --> 00:10:06,807
-Well, it was hard physically.
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00:10:06,807 --> 00:10:09,209
And they just drilled
you constantly.
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00:10:09,209 --> 00:10:12,012
And here's people when you say
rear march, rear march, you've
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00:10:12,012 --> 00:10:16,016
got one going one way and
another one going another way.
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00:10:16,016 --> 00:10:18,485
-They took us to firing
ranges, of course.
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00:10:18,485 --> 00:10:20,120
They took us to tank training.
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00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,090
They even gave us
tank training.
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00:10:23,090 --> 00:10:26,326
-We were taught how to use every
weapon that the infantry
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00:10:26,326 --> 00:10:31,364
has in its force, everything
from machine guns, mortars,
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00:10:31,364 --> 00:10:34,334
rifles, carbines, pistols.
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00:10:34,334 --> 00:10:37,037
-We of course in the hospital
course school learned the
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00:10:37,037 --> 00:10:39,973
basic physiology and anatomy
of the body.
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00:10:39,973 --> 00:10:42,943
We learned the number of bones
and the way they were located
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00:10:42,943 --> 00:10:46,013
in relation to the rest of the
bones, and the knee bone's
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connected to the thigh bone,
and all that type
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of thing, you know.
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-Our forces were adequately
trained.
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There's no question about
that in my mind.
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They were physically
well conditioned.
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They knew how to use their
weapons, team work had been
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00:10:58,859 --> 00:11:01,661
built into them very,
very well.
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00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:04,998
So I think they were very
well trained troops.
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00:11:04,998 --> 00:11:11,071
-That training did prepare me
to do professionally my job.
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00:11:11,071 --> 00:11:17,510
But it didn't train me to
do the biggest job,
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00:11:17,510 --> 00:11:20,513
that is not be afraid.
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00:11:20,513 --> 00:11:23,350
And I was scared to death,
I'll tell you.
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-Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was
the top admiral in the
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00:11:32,325 --> 00:11:37,097
Japanese Navy responsible for
laying out the strategy of how
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00:11:37,097 --> 00:11:38,398
to win the war.
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00:11:38,398 --> 00:11:39,867
STEPHEN E. AMBROSE :
What Yamamoto had
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00:11:39,867 --> 00:11:41,501
thought would happen, the
Americans will be
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00:11:41,501 --> 00:11:44,637
disheartened, and they
will negotiate.
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00:11:44,637 --> 00:11:48,108
That all came crashing
down as the American
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00:11:48,108 --> 00:11:49,376
people went to work.
201
00:11:57,751 --> 00:12:00,821
-The whole country
went to war.
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00:12:00,821 --> 00:12:04,357
They built red cross bandages,
sorted button.
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00:12:04,357 --> 00:12:08,461
-You wanted to be a part of the
war effort because they
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00:12:08,461 --> 00:12:10,163
had attacked us.
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00:12:10,163 --> 00:12:14,167
-The force at home turned out
ships, planes, and bullets in
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00:12:14,167 --> 00:12:15,702
record numbers.
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00:12:15,702 --> 00:12:18,438
-Women, this is the first time
women wholesalely had come out
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00:12:18,438 --> 00:12:20,240
of their homes and
gone to work.
209
00:12:23,743 --> 00:12:25,913
-My wife was a welder.
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00:12:25,913 --> 00:12:29,416
And she worked in the bottom
of the ship 40 feet down.
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00:12:29,416 --> 00:12:35,488
-We built 741 ships, and we
built once every four days.
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00:12:35,488 --> 00:12:36,957
We sent them out to sea.
213
00:12:36,957 --> 00:12:39,292
We felt like we were building
the ships to bring our
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00:12:39,292 --> 00:12:41,594
husbands home in.
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00:12:41,594 --> 00:12:43,563
We wanted to go to work.
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00:12:43,563 --> 00:12:45,866
We wanted to help
to win the war.
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00:12:52,739 --> 00:12:54,975
-One of the most important
things that happened is the
218
00:12:54,975 --> 00:12:57,510
building of the landing craft.
219
00:12:57,510 --> 00:13:01,849
You could run it right on in to
the beach, drop that ramp.
220
00:13:01,849 --> 00:13:04,818
A platoon of fighting men come
out, and they're right there
221
00:13:04,818 --> 00:13:08,055
on the beach, firing immediately
when they get off
222
00:13:08,055 --> 00:13:10,557
that Higgins boat,
as it was called.
223
00:13:10,557 --> 00:13:12,592
-They made nothing
except war stuff.
224
00:13:12,592 --> 00:13:14,027
Whatever you had, that's it.
225
00:13:14,027 --> 00:13:16,096
And you didn't get any more
until the war was over.
226
00:13:16,096 --> 00:13:17,264
-You can't get butter.
227
00:13:17,264 --> 00:13:19,632
You can't get sugar.
228
00:13:19,632 --> 00:13:22,235
It was very difficult getting
any new shoes.
229
00:13:22,235 --> 00:13:23,803
-The tires were rationed.
230
00:13:23,803 --> 00:13:25,105
Gas was rationed.
231
00:13:25,105 --> 00:13:27,607
You were only allowed
so much gas a month.
232
00:13:27,607 --> 00:13:29,576
And we all worked with it.
233
00:13:29,576 --> 00:13:35,348
-Everybody was sacrificing to
make this military that could
234
00:13:35,348 --> 00:13:39,052
undertake an offensive in both
theaters, and we did.
235
00:13:52,032 --> 00:13:54,868
-The Philippines was a complete
loss to us because
236
00:13:54,868 --> 00:13:59,172
this was one of the chain of
islands that was key to us in
237
00:13:59,172 --> 00:14:00,773
the Pacific.
238
00:14:00,773 --> 00:14:02,309
-We lost the Philippines.
239
00:14:02,309 --> 00:14:05,212
They overran Bataan, and then
they took Corregidor, and then
240
00:14:05,212 --> 00:14:06,613
the Bataan Death March.
241
00:14:06,613 --> 00:14:08,381
We lost Guam.
242
00:14:08,381 --> 00:14:10,817
Everything was lost.
243
00:14:10,817 --> 00:14:15,522
And then came the Dolittle
raid that bombed Tokyo.
244
00:14:15,522 --> 00:14:18,858
-Jimmy Dolittle was appointed
to head the raid, and he was
245
00:14:18,858 --> 00:14:20,760
definitely the man for it.
246
00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:21,962
We took off at about
8 o'clock.
247
00:14:21,962 --> 00:14:25,232
We arrived at the target
about 12:30.
248
00:14:25,232 --> 00:14:28,168
We had stopped in right on top
of the water, and then pulled
249
00:14:28,168 --> 00:14:31,271
up to our bombing altitude
of 1,800 feet.
250
00:14:31,271 --> 00:14:35,042
And if you're dropping bombs at
1,800 feet, you just can't
251
00:14:35,042 --> 00:14:37,277
miss, period.
252
00:14:37,277 --> 00:14:40,680
It was the first raid on Japan,
and it did give the
253
00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,183
United States a shot
in the arm.
254
00:14:43,183 --> 00:14:45,852
-It didn't do much damage
to the Japanese.
255
00:14:45,852 --> 00:14:47,754
It wasn't a big operation.
256
00:14:47,754 --> 00:14:50,757
But it lifted spirits
across America.
257
00:14:53,994 --> 00:14:55,795
-Perhaps the biggest
decision in the
258
00:14:55,795 --> 00:14:58,431
Pacific was island hopping.
259
00:14:58,431 --> 00:15:02,702
-We weren't strong enough yet
to be able to go directly to
260
00:15:02,702 --> 00:15:06,306
Japan and leave all these
islands out in the Pacific.
261
00:15:06,306 --> 00:15:11,644
So the islands in the Pacific,
we island hopped just as you
262
00:15:11,644 --> 00:15:13,446
would cross a stream.
263
00:15:13,446 --> 00:15:14,814
And there's a whole
bunch of rocks.
264
00:15:14,814 --> 00:15:17,484
And you jump from rock to
rock to rock to get
265
00:15:17,484 --> 00:15:19,352
to the other side.
266
00:15:19,352 --> 00:15:23,723
-And eventually, get close
enough to Japan to launch our
267
00:15:23,723 --> 00:15:26,293
aircraft to bomb Japan.
268
00:15:26,293 --> 00:15:30,797
-It was a strategic decision
that guided the whole war in
269
00:15:30,797 --> 00:15:34,767
the Pacific and was one of the
best decisions that were made.
270
00:15:44,811 --> 00:15:47,847
-When we were aboard ship, there
was a lot of hours where
271
00:15:47,847 --> 00:15:49,549
there's not much to do.
272
00:15:49,549 --> 00:15:51,084
-It was a long time
on the ship.
273
00:15:51,084 --> 00:15:53,553
You'd lay out on the deck in the
day time, and we had some
274
00:15:53,553 --> 00:15:55,555
fun and games.
275
00:15:55,555 --> 00:15:57,624
-It mostly was boredom.
276
00:15:57,624 --> 00:16:01,428
You got up, ate, worked,
and went to bed.
277
00:16:01,428 --> 00:16:04,597
-The problems of keeping troops
that are aboard ship
278
00:16:04,597 --> 00:16:07,867
and don't have room to run,
so you run in place.
279
00:16:07,867 --> 00:16:11,138
Then, you give them physical
exercises.
280
00:16:11,138 --> 00:16:16,209
-We didn't know where we were
going until about maybe two
281
00:16:16,209 --> 00:16:17,777
weeks out at sea.
282
00:16:17,777 --> 00:16:21,981
-After we got out, out at sea,
they start to brief us as to
283
00:16:21,981 --> 00:16:24,951
what our mission was and
where we were going.
284
00:16:24,951 --> 00:16:27,487
-People had all kinds of
thoughts about what might
285
00:16:27,487 --> 00:16:29,322
happen, actually.
286
00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:31,824
There was a great
deal of praying.
287
00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:34,461
A lot of people soul
searching, and the
288
00:16:34,461 --> 00:16:39,032
anticipation of battle never
having been in it before and
289
00:16:39,032 --> 00:16:41,201
wondering exactly what they
were getting into.
290
00:16:52,179 --> 00:16:56,816
-In order to make an invasion
work, the Navy's job is to go
291
00:16:56,816 --> 00:17:00,019
in before the invasion and
soften up the beach.
292
00:17:04,057 --> 00:17:07,960
You destroy everything, all of
the enemy on that beach.
293
00:17:11,898 --> 00:17:15,935
And the planes are bombing,
and everybody is doing the
294
00:17:15,935 --> 00:17:19,606
best they can to make sure
there's not a soldier alive of
295
00:17:19,606 --> 00:17:21,241
the enemy when we get there.
296
00:17:30,183 --> 00:17:33,920
-The night before D-Day,
we were very nervous.
297
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:35,622
There was a lot of
bombardment.
298
00:17:35,622 --> 00:17:39,526
And I looked around and I
said, are you scared?
299
00:17:39,526 --> 00:17:41,461
You're damn right I'm scared.
300
00:17:41,461 --> 00:17:43,696
And I said, who the
hell isn't scared?
301
00:17:43,696 --> 00:17:45,732
He said, if you're not scared,
you're not human.
302
00:17:51,704 --> 00:17:54,341
-I remember waking up at
dawn, and all of a
303
00:17:54,341 --> 00:17:57,043
sudden, this is for real.
304
00:17:57,043 --> 00:18:00,313
-About 5 o'clock in the morning
after little sleep if
305
00:18:00,313 --> 00:18:04,817
any, we had charcoal, and
we had steak and eggs.
306
00:18:04,817 --> 00:18:09,689
-That's the only time ever in
all the times I spent overseas
307
00:18:09,689 --> 00:18:12,259
that I got steak and
eggs for breakfast.
308
00:18:12,259 --> 00:18:16,196
-And it was a very eerie
experience of having breakfast
309
00:18:16,196 --> 00:18:19,666
in civilized fashion, then
realizing that day we were
310
00:18:19,666 --> 00:18:20,567
going to shore.
311
00:18:20,567 --> 00:18:23,136
We might all be killed.
312
00:18:23,136 --> 00:18:28,441
-We began at about 6:00 AM
getting ready for the assault.
313
00:18:28,441 --> 00:18:31,911
-Well, we clambered down
these cargo nets.
314
00:18:31,911 --> 00:18:35,882
And I was nervous with
all this gear.
315
00:18:35,882 --> 00:18:38,885
-One thing they did not tell us,
by the way, that boat can
316
00:18:38,885 --> 00:18:40,420
come up under you
very quickly.
317
00:18:40,420 --> 00:18:42,989
-Coming down, you've got to hit
that just right, or you're
318
00:18:42,989 --> 00:18:45,525
going to knock your knees
out, you know?
319
00:18:45,525 --> 00:18:47,460
-In fact, we had one
boy break a leg.
320
00:18:50,197 --> 00:18:53,566
-We started rendevousing out
in the ocean area probably
321
00:18:53,566 --> 00:18:56,169
about four miles off
of the beach.
322
00:18:56,169 --> 00:18:59,306
-The circles broke and formed
parallel lines.
323
00:18:59,306 --> 00:19:00,607
And we were moving in.
324
00:19:00,607 --> 00:19:05,978
And D-Day in the H-hour
was there with us.
325
00:19:05,978 --> 00:19:10,116
-There were over 100 D-Days in
the Pacific, on big islands,
326
00:19:10,116 --> 00:19:12,018
on small islands.
327
00:19:12,018 --> 00:19:16,556
But always, the objective was to
begin the process of taking
328
00:19:16,556 --> 00:19:19,192
that island.
329
00:19:19,192 --> 00:19:24,431
-As we approached the beach, I
could feel a real tenseness in
330
00:19:24,431 --> 00:19:26,533
everyone aboard that craft.
331
00:19:26,533 --> 00:19:28,000
It was complete quiet.
332
00:19:30,403 --> 00:19:31,938
HAL NUERNBERG : While
you're going towards the
333
00:19:31,938 --> 00:19:35,875
beach, you're doing an
awful lot of praying.
334
00:19:35,875 --> 00:19:39,412
And some of the guys
got a little sick.
335
00:19:39,412 --> 00:19:41,147
I watched the guys around me.
336
00:19:41,147 --> 00:19:42,249
They were scared.
337
00:19:42,249 --> 00:19:43,750
I was scared.
338
00:19:43,750 --> 00:19:46,085
I don't think we had any
reason to be otherwise.
339
00:19:46,085 --> 00:19:48,221
-You don't know what's
waiting for you.
340
00:19:48,221 --> 00:19:50,022
They could wait and hang
out on the beach and
341
00:19:50,022 --> 00:19:51,090
cut loose on you.
342
00:19:51,090 --> 00:19:52,992
They could start firing
right away.
343
00:19:52,992 --> 00:19:54,461
Anything like that,
you don't know.
344
00:19:57,897 --> 00:20:01,801
-When we were getting close to
the beach, then you begin to
345
00:20:01,801 --> 00:20:04,337
feel my god, this is real.
346
00:20:04,337 --> 00:20:08,941
And then, as soon as they
dropped that ramp, and you're
347
00:20:08,941 --> 00:20:11,411
exposed, you feel like
you're the nakedest
348
00:20:11,411 --> 00:20:12,912
person in the world.
349
00:20:12,912 --> 00:20:15,348
And you knew darn well that
they're going to start the
350
00:20:15,348 --> 00:20:18,150
shooting, which they do.
351
00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:20,119
-Very soon after that,
all hell broke
352
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:21,654
loose on the island.
353
00:20:21,654 --> 00:20:24,223
-There was a tremendous volume
of fire coming from all those
354
00:20:24,223 --> 00:20:26,225
defensive positions.
355
00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:28,595
-And I had never seen anything
like this in my
356
00:20:28,595 --> 00:20:30,830
life, absolute hell.
357
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,337
-There were about 600, 800 ships
out here, and I was on
358
00:20:37,337 --> 00:20:38,871
one of them.
359
00:20:38,871 --> 00:20:40,807
We took landing craft and came
into the reef, and on the
360
00:20:40,807 --> 00:20:43,843
other side of the reef, we
changed from the landing craft
361
00:20:43,843 --> 00:20:45,512
to the amphibious tractors.
362
00:20:45,512 --> 00:20:48,848
And the reason for that was in
here, in the lagoon as you can
363
00:20:48,848 --> 00:20:50,750
see, the water is so shallow
we couldn't get
364
00:20:50,750 --> 00:20:52,218
landing craft in here.
365
00:20:52,218 --> 00:20:55,788
-So we went over the side in
about three feet of water.
366
00:20:55,788 --> 00:20:58,024
I had 100 pounds on my back.
367
00:20:58,024 --> 00:21:02,261
A flame thrower, a bed roll,
all of my ammunition, and I
368
00:21:02,261 --> 00:21:06,833
can remember distinctly sinking
into the sand a good
369
00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:09,268
four or five inches as
I crossed the beach.
370
00:21:14,807 --> 00:21:16,809
-It was a bloody mess out on
that beach, people getting
371
00:21:16,809 --> 00:21:18,244
blown all to pieces.
372
00:21:18,244 --> 00:21:21,348
-The beach was full of bodies,
just full of bodies.
373
00:21:21,348 --> 00:21:24,684
-Chaos, and absolutely it
looked like the biggest
374
00:21:24,684 --> 00:21:25,585
junkyard in the world.
375
00:21:25,585 --> 00:21:26,786
-Chaos.
376
00:21:26,786 --> 00:21:28,655
There's bombs being dropped.
377
00:21:28,655 --> 00:21:31,123
There's shells being fired.
378
00:21:31,123 --> 00:21:32,291
-It was chaos.
379
00:21:32,291 --> 00:21:34,193
There were just hundreds
of people moving.
380
00:21:34,193 --> 00:21:36,763
And the people behind us-- and
one reason we had to get off
381
00:21:36,763 --> 00:21:39,198
the beach was because there
were people behind us just
382
00:21:39,198 --> 00:21:42,068
coming, just one right after the
other, group after group.
383
00:21:42,068 --> 00:21:45,104
-Boats from the prior landing
turned upside down.
384
00:21:45,104 --> 00:21:47,940
There were bodies floating
out into the water.
385
00:21:47,940 --> 00:21:50,843
-I had never seen a dead person
even in a funeral.
386
00:21:50,843 --> 00:21:54,246
And as I hit the beach, I saw
bodies and body parts
387
00:21:54,246 --> 00:21:55,415
all over the beach.
388
00:21:55,415 --> 00:21:57,149
-We started to go up
the sand there.
389
00:21:57,149 --> 00:22:00,186
And we'd go up two feet,
and fall back one.
390
00:22:00,186 --> 00:22:01,521
And we were just laying
on the beach.
391
00:22:01,521 --> 00:22:04,557
And there were bodies
all over.
392
00:22:04,557 --> 00:22:05,858
-Guys were dying.
393
00:22:05,858 --> 00:22:07,427
Every way you could see,
somebody was dying.
394
00:22:07,427 --> 00:22:09,896
-We went across the beach as
quickly as we could because
395
00:22:09,896 --> 00:22:13,099
the beach was being raked
with 88s, machine guns.
396
00:22:13,099 --> 00:22:15,668
And of course, there was a lot
of sniper fire as well.
397
00:22:15,668 --> 00:22:17,336
-You've only got one way
to deal with it.
398
00:22:17,336 --> 00:22:19,038
You're looking for a place to
get down and get some cover
399
00:22:19,038 --> 00:22:22,409
for your body by jumping into
a hole or you dig one.
400
00:22:22,409 --> 00:22:24,677
And that's hard because that
sand floats back in as soon as
401
00:22:24,677 --> 00:22:25,712
you shovel it.
402
00:22:25,712 --> 00:22:27,346
It's coming back in.
403
00:22:27,346 --> 00:22:30,917
-About this time, a young
marine, I'd estimate maybe 17
404
00:22:30,917 --> 00:22:35,087
years old, he was running by.
405
00:22:35,087 --> 00:22:41,594
And a sniper shot him in the
head right above his left eye.
406
00:22:41,594 --> 00:22:43,029
He was dead.
407
00:22:43,029 --> 00:22:51,604
And I looked at him, and he
had blood running down.
408
00:22:51,604 --> 00:22:53,072
And--
409
00:22:57,710 --> 00:23:02,248
then, it slipped out.
410
00:23:06,352 --> 00:23:07,554
I didn't know this kid.
411
00:23:07,554 --> 00:23:11,924
And I still remember
him today.
412
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:21,133
-Once we got in combat, I don't
believe any of us had
413
00:23:21,133 --> 00:23:23,603
any difficulty in doing
what we had to do.
414
00:23:23,603 --> 00:23:25,237
I certainly didn't.
415
00:23:25,237 --> 00:23:28,975
-The only thing that we wanted
to see the Japanese was dead.
416
00:23:28,975 --> 00:23:32,011
-Oh, it was nice to see the
first Jap I was going to kill.
417
00:23:32,011 --> 00:23:33,813
That's what I went there for.
418
00:23:33,813 --> 00:23:36,315
-It was very easy to shoot
a Jap, believe me.
419
00:23:36,315 --> 00:23:41,087
-I don't care if it had been
a woman, child, baby.
420
00:23:41,087 --> 00:23:42,321
I could shoot.
421
00:23:42,321 --> 00:23:47,560
-I wanted to destroy the
whole nation of Japan.
422
00:24:36,342 --> 00:24:40,513
-We were immediately up against
these reinforced block
423
00:24:40,513 --> 00:24:45,351
house bunkers that were
reinforced concrete.
424
00:24:45,351 --> 00:24:48,855
They were extremely formidable
defensive positions.
425
00:24:48,855 --> 00:24:55,562
-Now, this was for an anti-tank,
anti-boat 47
426
00:24:55,562 --> 00:24:56,729
millimeter.
427
00:24:56,729 --> 00:24:58,430
It's obviously been
hit quite a bit.
428
00:24:58,430 --> 00:25:01,133
-Against this kind of block
house and other locations,
429
00:25:01,133 --> 00:25:03,703
flame thrower was our most
effective weapon.
430
00:25:03,703 --> 00:25:08,307
The flame thrower not only
burned them up, but if it
431
00:25:08,307 --> 00:25:11,811
didn't, it sucked all the oxygen
out, and they died
432
00:25:11,811 --> 00:25:13,412
instantly of suffocation.
433
00:25:13,412 --> 00:25:14,881
There wasn't any
way to breathe.
434
00:25:17,349 --> 00:25:21,788
-However, it was used directly
on the enemy as well at times
435
00:25:21,788 --> 00:25:25,524
because they would run out of
there, partly on fire, and if
436
00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:27,193
you had any more left,
you certainly
437
00:25:27,193 --> 00:25:29,662
would use the charge.
438
00:25:29,662 --> 00:25:32,131
It was a very brutal way
to go, believe me.
439
00:25:35,167 --> 00:25:38,705
-Well, this looked altogether
different than it is now.
440
00:25:38,705 --> 00:25:42,208
And most everything was
scorched earth.
441
00:25:42,208 --> 00:25:46,779
We used so much napalm and burnt
the grass and the trees.
442
00:25:46,779 --> 00:25:48,380
-Did you volunteer to
be a flame thrower?
443
00:25:48,380 --> 00:25:51,483
-Yes, yes, that's the only way
you could be a flame thrower.
444
00:25:51,483 --> 00:25:52,785
Crazy, but that's
the only way.
445
00:25:54,954 --> 00:25:55,788
22?
446
00:25:55,788 --> 00:25:57,857
-I was 22 years old, yes.
447
00:26:23,883 --> 00:26:27,019
-So it was not a comfortable
position for them, and water
448
00:26:27,019 --> 00:26:30,056
was in great demand, but they
had very little of it.
449
00:26:30,056 --> 00:26:33,793
And a number of the defenders
died of thirst.
450
00:26:46,873 --> 00:26:50,877
-The engineers would come up a
seal a cave, put a big charge
451
00:26:50,877 --> 00:26:55,648
on top, and shoot it down
and cause it to
452
00:26:55,648 --> 00:26:56,816
completely close off.
453
00:26:56,816 --> 00:26:58,184
And if there's anybody
in there, they
454
00:26:58,184 --> 00:26:59,451
were trapped in there.
455
00:27:02,021 --> 00:27:04,556
-The branch of the American
military service I was in is
456
00:27:04,556 --> 00:27:07,927
called MIS, Military
Intelligence Service.
457
00:27:07,927 --> 00:27:11,297
-The main thing was to translate
military orders or
458
00:27:11,297 --> 00:27:15,301
diaries or what have you and
interrogate prisoners.
459
00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:18,771
-They were very careful not to
put us in harm's way because
460
00:27:18,771 --> 00:27:22,208
we could have been shot
by our own men.
461
00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:26,846
Some people have asked me how we
felt fighting the Japanese.
462
00:27:26,846 --> 00:27:30,482
I'm not sure what I would have
done if I had come face to
463
00:27:30,482 --> 00:27:33,986
face with my uncle, whom
I loved dearly.
464
00:27:33,986 --> 00:27:37,757
But to me, I was not fighting
the Japanese people.
465
00:27:37,757 --> 00:27:41,060
I was fighting the Japanese
military government which
466
00:27:41,060 --> 00:27:42,328
started the war.
467
00:27:47,466 --> 00:27:52,038
-During the assault, the tanks
were able to roam at will and
468
00:27:52,038 --> 00:27:55,307
not really be in any danger
unless a Jap got some kind of
469
00:27:55,307 --> 00:27:56,909
a charge on back.
470
00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,389
-The Japanese would do anything
to destroy a tank,
471
00:28:10,389 --> 00:28:14,226
including putting the
demolitions on their body and
472
00:28:14,226 --> 00:28:15,694
crawling under the tank.
473
00:28:17,730 --> 00:28:20,099
-They had a lot of man
and booby traps set
474
00:28:20,099 --> 00:28:22,701
up, Bouncing Bettys.
475
00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:25,104
So you had to watch where
you were stepping.
476
00:28:25,104 --> 00:28:28,174
-The wires on a booby trap, you
can't see it, looks just
477
00:28:28,174 --> 00:28:29,408
like a piece of grass.
478
00:28:29,408 --> 00:28:30,743
And when you kick it,
it pulls a pin.
479
00:28:30,743 --> 00:28:34,113
Boom, you have a casualty
or two.
480
00:28:42,021 --> 00:28:45,091
-The wounds themselves
were horrid.
481
00:28:45,091 --> 00:28:47,827
People blown all to pieces,
arms and legs
482
00:28:47,827 --> 00:28:50,029
all over the place.
483
00:28:50,029 --> 00:28:53,199
-My specialty in the Pacific
was being a corpsman to the
484
00:28:53,199 --> 00:28:55,734
Marines who became wounded.
485
00:28:55,734 --> 00:28:58,270
-The corpsmen were the Navy
individuals who were trained
486
00:28:58,270 --> 00:29:01,507
to apply first aid when
needed to the wounded.
487
00:29:01,507 --> 00:29:03,042
-They were the greatest
bunch of guys you
488
00:29:03,042 --> 00:29:03,976
ever saw in your life.
489
00:29:03,976 --> 00:29:05,912
I mean, you talk
about bravery--
490
00:29:05,912 --> 00:29:08,014
if it hadn't been for those
guys, a lot of us wouldn't
491
00:29:08,014 --> 00:29:09,115
have even come back.
492
00:29:09,115 --> 00:29:11,250
-They were like a priest
or a minister.
493
00:29:11,250 --> 00:29:12,584
They consoled you.
494
00:29:12,584 --> 00:29:14,553
Yeah, I know it hurts,
but oh damn, just
495
00:29:14,553 --> 00:29:16,022
think if it was worse.
496
00:29:20,026 --> 00:29:23,129
-But that's part of our duty,
to try to keep the guys as
497
00:29:23,129 --> 00:29:26,198
alive as possible for as long as
possible and get them back
498
00:29:26,198 --> 00:29:27,433
as quick as possible.
499
00:29:41,647 --> 00:29:44,984
-I was called in by my
lieutenant commander one day.
500
00:29:44,984 --> 00:29:48,921
She said from 20 forward naval
bases in the United States,
501
00:29:48,921 --> 00:29:54,226
they're choosing 24 girls, one
from each base, to form the
502
00:29:54,226 --> 00:29:55,594
Navy flight nurses.
503
00:29:55,594 --> 00:29:58,497
And would you consider if
you would be chosen?
504
00:29:58,497 --> 00:30:02,935
And I said, I have to
call my mother!
505
00:30:02,935 --> 00:30:06,939
-We were to fly on the airplane
and bring back the
506
00:30:06,939 --> 00:30:09,808
badly wounded passengers.
507
00:30:09,808 --> 00:30:13,279
-I had no idea what I was
getting myself into, really.
508
00:30:13,279 --> 00:30:17,216
I had no idea that I was going
to see what I saw.
509
00:30:17,216 --> 00:30:21,888
-It was quite an eye opener
because the ground was shaking
510
00:30:21,888 --> 00:30:24,156
from bombs that were
going off.
511
00:30:24,156 --> 00:30:25,925
-It was just a mess.
512
00:30:25,925 --> 00:30:29,728
All I can say is you saw
blood, and the odor.
513
00:30:29,728 --> 00:30:33,199
There was a smell
of war, really.
514
00:30:33,199 --> 00:30:39,271
-And when I looked over and I
saw the boys on the ground, I
515
00:30:39,271 --> 00:30:42,708
figured, oh, remind all these
side effects here.
516
00:30:42,708 --> 00:30:45,444
Pay attention to these boys.
517
00:30:45,444 --> 00:30:48,080
And I couldn't wait to get them
out of there because I
518
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,217
wanted to get out
of there, too.
519
00:30:51,217 --> 00:30:55,621
-We were always talking to
them, holding their hand.
520
00:30:55,621 --> 00:30:57,756
-Some had their eyes closed
because they did
521
00:30:57,756 --> 00:30:59,291
have a lot of pain.
522
00:30:59,291 --> 00:31:02,294
Some were just keeping eyes
closed and praying they were
523
00:31:02,294 --> 00:31:03,762
going to get out of there.
524
00:31:08,834 --> 00:31:13,072
There was a patient from Iwo
Jima I had on my airplane.
525
00:31:13,072 --> 00:31:16,808
He asked me if I would take
a small bottle of
526
00:31:16,808 --> 00:31:19,745
sand from Iwo Jima.
527
00:31:19,745 --> 00:31:21,713
And I said, oh, you keep them.
528
00:31:21,713 --> 00:31:22,881
He said, no.
529
00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:24,683
He said, I'm not going
to make it.
530
00:31:24,683 --> 00:31:30,722
He said, and I want you to tell
the people never forget
531
00:31:30,722 --> 00:31:34,326
what we did here and what
we went through.
532
00:31:34,326 --> 00:31:35,794
And he didn't make it.
533
00:31:39,365 --> 00:31:41,067
-I was checking this one boy.
534
00:31:41,067 --> 00:31:43,869
And I saw tears coming
down his face.
535
00:31:43,869 --> 00:31:46,105
I said, am I hurting you?
536
00:31:46,105 --> 00:31:47,439
And he said, no.
537
00:31:47,439 --> 00:31:52,444
He said, I'm just thinking about
all the people I killed.
538
00:31:52,444 --> 00:31:55,047
That's what he said to me.
539
00:32:06,158 --> 00:32:09,361
-I wrote my mother a letter
practically every day.
540
00:32:09,361 --> 00:32:12,131
I just tell her the every
day things that I did.
541
00:32:12,131 --> 00:32:13,465
I took a shower today.
542
00:32:13,465 --> 00:32:16,902
We did this, or we did that,
and so forth and so on.
543
00:32:16,902 --> 00:32:19,405
They had to walk a long ways
to get to the mailbox.
544
00:32:19,405 --> 00:32:22,674
And I didn't want them to go
to the mailbox and nothing,
545
00:32:22,674 --> 00:32:25,311
they didn't get anything.
546
00:32:25,311 --> 00:32:27,746
-Everybody was glad for the mail
to arrive, but yet there
547
00:32:27,746 --> 00:32:31,350
was a fear, afraid you would
get the telegram.
548
00:32:31,350 --> 00:32:35,254
My sister received a telegram
that her husband was killed.
549
00:32:35,254 --> 00:32:38,224
And they had a little boy ride
a bicycle and bring the
550
00:32:38,224 --> 00:32:39,958
telegram to her.
551
00:32:39,958 --> 00:32:44,196
And my sister just passed
out from shock.
552
00:32:44,196 --> 00:32:47,366
But when we got a letter that
they were well and they were
553
00:32:47,366 --> 00:32:49,768
still alive, what a great joy.
554
00:32:52,071 --> 00:32:55,107
-Back home you kept up with the
war through the newsreels
555
00:32:55,107 --> 00:32:57,543
that preceded the main feature
at the local theater.
556
00:32:57,543 --> 00:32:59,978
ANNOUNCER : --the
first offensive drive to hurl
557
00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:02,181
the Jap enemy from
conquered lands.
558
00:33:02,181 --> 00:33:05,284
-We would go to the Sunday
movies to see what was going
559
00:33:05,284 --> 00:33:06,685
on overseas.
560
00:33:06,685 --> 00:33:10,056
I'd always look to see if
I could find him on the
561
00:33:10,056 --> 00:33:11,523
battlefield.
562
00:33:11,523 --> 00:33:15,727
-And you saw cartoons, and the
racial hatred against the
563
00:33:15,727 --> 00:33:20,066
Japanese had no bounds to it.
564
00:33:20,066 --> 00:33:21,400
-Ow!
565
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,471
-The big buck teeth and the
slant eyes were a common
566
00:33:25,471 --> 00:33:28,740
feature of all these
propaganda films.
567
00:33:28,740 --> 00:33:32,478
And the American people were
propagandized into hating
568
00:33:32,478 --> 00:33:34,213
everything that was Japanese.
569
00:33:34,213 --> 00:33:38,084
-You were enjoying a crumb.
570
00:33:48,660 --> 00:33:51,663
-The Japanese told the Okinawans
that we would rape
571
00:33:51,663 --> 00:33:54,633
and murder every one of them.
572
00:33:54,633 --> 00:34:00,172
So they committed mass suicide
off the cliffs.
573
00:34:00,172 --> 00:34:02,674
-Just as in Saipan, the Japanese
civilians threw
574
00:34:02,674 --> 00:34:04,210
themselves off of a cliff.
575
00:34:06,878 --> 00:34:09,981
Women took their infants and
threw them into the sea.
576
00:35:54,986 --> 00:35:58,624
-The Okinawans fared a helluva
lot worse from the Japanese,
577
00:35:58,624 --> 00:36:00,058
really, than they did from us.
578
00:36:00,058 --> 00:36:02,027
Because we weren't out
to rape and murder.
579
00:36:02,027 --> 00:36:04,996
All we were out to do was to get
the Japanese soldiers that
580
00:36:04,996 --> 00:36:06,265
were there.
581
00:36:21,112 --> 00:36:29,321
-I think the Japanese soldier
was mean, treacherous, tricky,
582
00:36:29,321 --> 00:36:36,295
and according to American
standards, he wasn't a real
583
00:36:36,295 --> 00:36:38,464
good person.
584
00:36:38,464 --> 00:36:41,933
He might have been a tough
soldiers, but he did things
585
00:36:41,933 --> 00:36:45,304
Americans wouldn't
do at first.
586
00:36:45,304 --> 00:36:47,306
But we learned to.
587
00:36:47,306 --> 00:36:50,876
We learned to be just as tricky
and dirty as he was.
588
00:36:50,876 --> 00:36:55,981
-Many Japanese were shot running
away from us because
589
00:36:55,981 --> 00:36:58,650
we didn't mind shooting them
in the back, either.
590
00:36:58,650 --> 00:37:03,722
At that point in time,
it was dog-eat-dog.
591
00:37:13,832 --> 00:37:18,337
-The Japanese relied, as their
number one weapon, the
592
00:37:18,337 --> 00:37:23,008
willingness of the men in the
armed forces in Japan.
593
00:37:23,008 --> 00:37:25,477
Every one of them was willing
to give up his
594
00:37:25,477 --> 00:37:29,381
life for the emperor.
595
00:39:15,153 --> 00:39:19,190
-A suicide plane hit my gun
turret and exploded, killing
596
00:39:19,190 --> 00:39:22,127
10 of the 20.
597
00:39:22,127 --> 00:39:23,562
We had shot his wing off.
598
00:39:23,562 --> 00:39:25,564
We shot his tail off.
599
00:39:25,564 --> 00:39:27,966
They were just like
a bomb coming.
600
00:39:27,966 --> 00:39:31,403
My buddy was trapped in the
third gun burning to death.
601
00:39:31,403 --> 00:39:33,405
And I tried to get him out.
602
00:39:33,405 --> 00:39:35,774
Then, there was an explosion.
603
00:39:35,774 --> 00:39:38,744
I fell backward and fell over
into the fire, and Dick came
604
00:39:38,744 --> 00:39:41,212
right in and got me.
605
00:39:41,212 --> 00:39:45,884
-To the Americans, a kamikaze
was unbelievable.
606
00:39:45,884 --> 00:39:47,986
These guys were willing to
give up their lives.
607
00:39:47,986 --> 00:39:51,222
Now, the Americans were,
too, and many did.
608
00:39:51,222 --> 00:39:54,626
The American soldiers would go
out on patrols that were
609
00:39:54,626 --> 00:39:56,695
pretty clearly suicidal.
610
00:39:56,695 --> 00:39:58,697
But they weren't anything
remotely like
611
00:39:58,697 --> 00:40:00,165
those kamikaze attacks.
612
00:40:10,241 --> 00:40:13,612
-The conditions on the islands
varied because the islands
613
00:40:13,612 --> 00:40:15,180
were so varied.
614
00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:18,283
Some of them jungley, and some
of them almost desert like.
615
00:40:18,283 --> 00:40:21,720
With all these mosquitoes coming
down, bringing malaria,
616
00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:23,121
with floods--
617
00:40:23,121 --> 00:40:26,157
I mean, the rain came, and
it came, and it came.
618
00:40:26,157 --> 00:40:28,560
-We didn't get no bath or
anything like that, but the
619
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:30,962
monsoon rains were sometimes
a blessing.
620
00:40:30,962 --> 00:40:34,065
We could do a little bathing
and catch water in the
621
00:40:34,065 --> 00:40:35,400
helmet and so on.
622
00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,869
-Where we were was very
inhospitable because of the
623
00:40:37,869 --> 00:40:40,872
vines, the brush, and
stuff like that.
624
00:40:40,872 --> 00:40:44,676
But all the coconut trees were
planted row on row on row.
625
00:40:44,676 --> 00:40:47,345
That was very, very pretty
to see that.
626
00:41:47,973 --> 00:41:50,709
-Bob Hope and the USO would
come into these islands.
627
00:41:51,610 --> 00:41:52,310
-Fishing.
628
00:41:52,944 --> 00:41:53,845
-Yeah.
629
00:41:54,546 --> 00:41:55,280
.
630
00:41:56,848 --> 00:42:01,219
-What it meant to the men was
they do remember us back in
631
00:42:01,219 --> 00:42:02,487
the states.
632
00:42:04,656 --> 00:42:06,291
They weren't forgotten.
633
00:42:24,743 --> 00:42:26,678
-The Marines had war dogs.
634
00:42:26,678 --> 00:42:29,781
Those war dogs, every one
of them was a hero.
635
00:42:29,781 --> 00:42:32,483
I wouldn't want to go back into
combat again if I didn't
636
00:42:32,483 --> 00:42:33,585
have one of those dogs.
637
00:42:33,585 --> 00:42:34,485
-I had dogs.
638
00:42:34,485 --> 00:42:35,520
They were family dogs.
639
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:36,688
They didn't come from kennels.
640
00:42:36,688 --> 00:42:38,824
They didn't have any
police training.
641
00:42:38,824 --> 00:42:41,259
They were just from the average
family that wanted to
642
00:42:41,259 --> 00:42:45,030
help the war effort by enlisting
their dog into the
643
00:42:45,030 --> 00:42:46,231
Marine Corps.
644
00:42:46,231 --> 00:42:48,133
-They have senses that
we don't possess.
645
00:42:48,133 --> 00:42:50,702
They can hear things,
smell things that
646
00:42:50,702 --> 00:42:53,004
we never knew existed.
647
00:42:53,004 --> 00:42:55,573
-You watched that dog
when he was working.
648
00:42:55,573 --> 00:42:56,742
You could watch his tail.
649
00:42:56,742 --> 00:42:58,309
You could watch his head.
650
00:42:58,309 --> 00:43:00,345
And he'd pick up the scent.
651
00:43:00,345 --> 00:43:03,014
And he'd go after them.
652
00:43:03,014 --> 00:43:06,151
-The dogs and the men were
together all of the time, and
653
00:43:06,151 --> 00:43:07,719
particularly when in
combat, they were
654
00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:09,520
together 24 hours a day.
655
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:10,889
-They ate together.
656
00:43:10,889 --> 00:43:13,058
He would give him a drink
out of his canteen.
657
00:43:13,058 --> 00:43:15,393
They ate out of the
same mess kit.
658
00:43:15,393 --> 00:43:19,197
-I've seen men when their dogs
got killed, they'd take the
659
00:43:19,197 --> 00:43:22,600
bloody body of the dog in their
arms and rock them back
660
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,035
and forth, and tears would
come in their eyes.
661
00:43:24,035 --> 00:43:28,006
They'd just lost not only a
dear friend, but perhaps
662
00:43:28,006 --> 00:43:32,043
somebody they considered
had saved their lives.
663
00:43:59,805 --> 00:44:02,941
-The Japanese were very crafty
about crawling around, and
664
00:44:02,941 --> 00:44:05,944
crawling in the foxholes and
slitting your throat at night.
665
00:44:05,944 --> 00:44:09,047
-Just the idea that somebody's
crawling around out there that
666
00:44:09,047 --> 00:44:12,751
can do this to you, you know,
you don't get much rest.
667
00:44:12,751 --> 00:44:14,352
-You could hear a guy,
oh, I'm hit.
668
00:44:14,352 --> 00:44:16,254
Oh, I'm hit.
669
00:44:16,254 --> 00:44:18,757
And you couldn't do nothing.
670
00:44:18,757 --> 00:44:20,959
-We had a password
on the island.
671
00:44:20,959 --> 00:44:24,362
And it was usually a word that
the Japanese could not
672
00:44:24,362 --> 00:44:25,831
pronounce properly.
673
00:44:25,831 --> 00:44:29,334
-Like "clear weather" or "clear
day." And that would be
674
00:44:29,334 --> 00:44:30,635
the password for the night.
675
00:44:30,635 --> 00:44:32,871
Every night, we had a
different password.
676
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,615
-One of them may try to trick
us because they'd learn a
677
00:44:44,615 --> 00:44:45,817
little English.
678
00:44:45,817 --> 00:44:48,053
And he said, how'd you
make out, Joe?
679
00:44:48,053 --> 00:44:49,888
And of course, our Sergeant knew
that that wasn't one of
680
00:44:49,888 --> 00:44:53,892
us, and so he mowed him
down with a Tommy gun.
681
00:45:00,231 --> 00:45:04,069
-Come daylight, just very
earliest glimmer of daylight,
682
00:45:04,069 --> 00:45:07,105
the island was littered with the
dead from the day before
683
00:45:07,105 --> 00:45:09,707
with a hand sticking up here and
a foot sticking up there,
684
00:45:09,707 --> 00:45:12,778
and one that hit me the most
that I remember was a friend
685
00:45:12,778 --> 00:45:15,280
of mine who was buried.
686
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:18,149
Most of his face was sticking
up, and then his body was
687
00:45:18,149 --> 00:45:20,752
buried, and the shoulder
was sticking up.
688
00:45:20,752 --> 00:45:24,655
And with the waves coming in, he
was right at water's edge,
689
00:45:24,655 --> 00:45:29,895
and an arm moving with
the water like this.
690
00:45:29,895 --> 00:45:33,398
And I remember thinking,
he's beckoning me
691
00:45:33,398 --> 00:45:35,066
to join him in death.
692
00:46:36,895 --> 00:46:39,898
-I found one of my Sergeants
lying there with a leg so
693
00:46:39,898 --> 00:46:42,667
badly wounded I thought
he'd lose it.
694
00:46:42,667 --> 00:46:46,704
And he said to, captain,
please help me.
695
00:46:46,704 --> 00:46:50,375
And I said, Len, I'll give
you a shot of morphine,
696
00:46:50,375 --> 00:46:51,877
then I've got to go.
697
00:46:51,877 --> 00:46:54,245
Because I'd been trained, as
all Marine officers were
698
00:46:54,245 --> 00:46:56,982
trained, that when you have a
single casualty like that, you
699
00:46:56,982 --> 00:47:00,385
give him quick attention and
call for somebody else to
700
00:47:00,385 --> 00:47:01,519
come, and then you go.
701
00:47:01,519 --> 00:47:03,154
Because after all,
I had another 220
702
00:47:03,154 --> 00:47:04,489
Marines to worry about.
703
00:47:04,489 --> 00:47:08,326
-Oh my god, here I am,
I'm facing Japs three
704
00:47:08,326 --> 00:47:09,594
or four feet away.
705
00:47:09,594 --> 00:47:11,429
And I can't fire anymore.
706
00:47:11,429 --> 00:47:14,265
But as I'm looking down in my
rifle and seeing about trying
707
00:47:14,265 --> 00:47:18,336
to unjam this thing, I'm seeing
grenades to my right.
708
00:47:18,336 --> 00:47:22,507
So I dove for them and covered
them with my body, shoving the
709
00:47:22,507 --> 00:47:26,878
grenades into volcanic ash to
try to save the lives of the
710
00:47:26,878 --> 00:47:29,981
three buddies that
are with me.
711
00:47:29,981 --> 00:47:33,251
And it blew me over
on my back.
712
00:47:33,251 --> 00:47:34,252
My guys left me.
713
00:47:34,252 --> 00:47:35,820
They thought I was dead.
714
00:47:35,820 --> 00:47:38,156
Another outfit moving
up was covering me.
715
00:47:38,156 --> 00:47:40,959
They picked me up, and they took
me on back to this place
716
00:47:40,959 --> 00:47:46,364
where a lot of others were lying
down on cots wounded.
717
00:47:46,364 --> 00:47:49,867
Later, I woke up when they were
moving to a big hospital
718
00:47:49,867 --> 00:47:52,637
ship headed back to Honolulu.
719
00:47:52,637 --> 00:47:57,342
-My radio man was a 6'
2" cowboy, Avery.
720
00:47:57,342 --> 00:47:59,210
And we went out on patrol.
721
00:47:59,210 --> 00:48:03,014
A Japanese shell landed
right next to us.
722
00:48:03,014 --> 00:48:05,450
And it cut Avery's leg
off at the groin.
723
00:48:05,450 --> 00:48:07,953
He did not lose consciousness.
724
00:48:07,953 --> 00:48:09,820
There was no way to put
a tourniquet on it.
725
00:48:09,820 --> 00:48:11,856
And cradled his own leg.
726
00:48:11,856 --> 00:48:14,192
And he kept saying to
me, do something.
727
00:48:14,192 --> 00:48:15,793
I sat with him until he died.
728
00:48:44,255 --> 00:48:50,828
-You soon learn that you're
going to lose your buddies.
729
00:48:50,828 --> 00:48:53,531
The question was which ones and
when, and when's it going
730
00:48:53,531 --> 00:48:54,966
to be your turn?
731
00:48:54,966 --> 00:48:59,971
-When it was your buddy, you
would sit down and cry.
732
00:48:59,971 --> 00:49:01,906
It really was tough on you.
733
00:49:01,906 --> 00:49:04,442
You hated to have to go off
and leave his body.
734
00:49:15,020 --> 00:49:18,990
-If your buddy gets killed,
you've got to have a
735
00:49:18,990 --> 00:49:22,460
detachment there and to
say, well, it's just a
736
00:49:22,460 --> 00:49:23,761
thing in the war.
737
00:49:23,761 --> 00:49:26,231
I really had nothing
to do with it.
738
00:49:26,231 --> 00:49:29,900
Because if you let it eat your
guts out, then you're
739
00:49:29,900 --> 00:49:32,070
endangering your own life.
740
00:49:32,070 --> 00:49:35,440
You've got to be practical
about it.
741
00:49:57,195 --> 00:49:59,930
-We went there to kill Japanese,
and that's what we
742
00:49:59,930 --> 00:50:00,998
were doing.
743
00:50:00,998 --> 00:50:02,533
And they were trying
to kill us.
744
00:50:02,533 --> 00:50:06,604
And people were getting blown to
pieces on the beach, I mean
745
00:50:06,604 --> 00:50:08,273
evaporating some
of the bodies.
746
00:50:08,273 --> 00:50:10,675
They were direct hits.
747
00:50:10,675 --> 00:50:12,210
What are you going
to do about that?
748
00:50:12,210 --> 00:50:14,412
Are you going to lie down on
the beach and cry about it?
749
00:50:14,412 --> 00:50:17,382
Back out, and get out in the
water, swim back to the boat?
750
00:50:17,382 --> 00:50:19,084
You came there to fight.
751
00:50:19,084 --> 00:50:20,718
-It's either kill
or be killed.
752
00:50:20,718 --> 00:50:21,919
And there's no joke about it.
753
00:50:21,919 --> 00:50:24,355
There's no use in trying
to dress it up.
754
00:50:27,192 --> 00:50:31,762
-Didn't worry about who he was
or how many kids he had, who
755
00:50:31,762 --> 00:50:34,031
his grand daddy was.
756
00:50:34,031 --> 00:50:37,034
He was just somebody to blow
somebody and save myself.
757
00:50:41,739 --> 00:50:44,008
-When I pulled the trigger,
it was a target.
758
00:50:44,008 --> 00:50:47,412
It was afterwards that the
impact of what I'd done, taken
759
00:50:47,412 --> 00:50:48,879
a life that--
760
00:50:53,818 --> 00:50:55,120
that things started
coming back to me.
761
00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:56,854
And then, I thought
about them.
762
00:50:56,854 --> 00:51:04,795
-The hate in you begins to
dissipate because you realize
763
00:51:04,795 --> 00:51:07,064
you've taken somebody's life.
764
00:51:07,064 --> 00:51:11,702
And it affects you.
765
00:51:11,702 --> 00:51:12,737
-I had to talk to somebody.
766
00:51:12,737 --> 00:51:15,273
And I talked to our sergeant.
767
00:51:15,273 --> 00:51:17,775
And he said, well, you get
used to it after a while.
768
00:51:24,215 --> 00:51:25,616
That was an answer, I guess.
769
00:51:25,616 --> 00:51:27,485
You get used to it.
770
00:51:27,485 --> 00:51:30,821
I never did, never did
get used to it.
771
00:51:30,821 --> 00:51:33,424
-Fourth of July, we
had killed 350.
772
00:51:33,424 --> 00:51:35,326
I had three men wounded.
773
00:51:35,326 --> 00:51:38,229
And that is 350 dead bodies.
774
00:51:38,229 --> 00:51:42,833
And when the sun comes up, the
gas in the body expands.
775
00:51:42,833 --> 00:51:46,371
And the bodies are covered with
white maggots and black
776
00:51:46,371 --> 00:51:49,340
flies, and then you've got your
cold ration and try to
777
00:51:49,340 --> 00:51:53,178
eat with the flies coming in
and going in your mouth.
778
00:51:53,178 --> 00:51:58,048
And then, as the gas expanded,
it would pass over the dead
779
00:51:58,048 --> 00:51:59,550
vocal cords.
780
00:51:59,550 --> 00:52:02,153
And you'd hear the sounds of
these dead bodies making weird
781
00:52:02,153 --> 00:52:06,291
groans as the gas went
over the cords.
782
00:53:20,164 --> 00:53:23,634
-We used to go to the caves with
one of those bull horns
783
00:53:23,634 --> 00:53:25,936
with a speaker on it.
784
00:53:25,936 --> 00:53:29,874
-We went out there to see
whether we might talk any of
785
00:53:29,874 --> 00:53:32,943
the Japanese into
surrendering.
786
00:53:39,884 --> 00:53:42,553
-I don't think any of us
had any hope we could
787
00:53:42,553 --> 00:53:45,256
get them out alive.
788
00:53:45,256 --> 00:53:46,524
But we thought we'd try.
789
00:53:46,524 --> 00:53:48,326
What've we got to lose?
790
00:53:48,326 --> 00:53:49,794
.
791
00:53:51,829 --> 00:53:53,664
Come on out, don't be afraid.
792
00:53:53,664 --> 00:53:55,232
Take off your uniform.
793
00:53:55,232 --> 00:53:57,902
-And we were saying, you
fought honorably.
794
00:53:57,902 --> 00:54:01,772
We will take good care
of you and your men.
795
00:55:27,358 --> 00:55:30,395
-People that got killed, we
would come back later and pick
796
00:55:30,395 --> 00:55:32,096
up the remains.
797
00:55:32,096 --> 00:55:36,434
And that would be transferred
to the rear area where a
798
00:55:36,434 --> 00:55:38,836
temporary cemetery was set up.
799
00:55:45,175 --> 00:55:47,612
-Before we loaded ship,
they had a big
800
00:55:47,612 --> 00:55:50,415
ceremony at the cemetery.
801
00:55:50,415 --> 00:55:55,886
It was probably the most heart
wrenching time of all.
802
00:55:55,886 --> 00:55:58,756
We all had an opportunity to
go down and to view all the
803
00:55:58,756 --> 00:56:00,525
crosses, pick out our buddies.
804
00:56:03,694 --> 00:56:05,930
Then, a chaplain gave
a service there.
805
00:56:05,930 --> 00:56:08,966
And it was the most solemn scene
of the whole operation.
806
00:56:30,020 --> 00:56:34,525
-We went aboard ship and were
told that it would be a
807
00:56:34,525 --> 00:56:36,727
beautiful meal for all of us.
808
00:56:36,727 --> 00:56:39,830
-The bakers had baked a fresh
loaf of bread the
809
00:56:39,830 --> 00:56:41,398
night we got there.
810
00:56:41,398 --> 00:56:44,001
And another buddy of mine went
over and got this wonderful
811
00:56:44,001 --> 00:56:47,805
loaf of bread, you know,
hot out of the oven.
812
00:56:47,805 --> 00:56:50,775
And I never had anything as
good in my life as just a
813
00:56:50,775 --> 00:56:52,309
plain old loaf of white bread.
814
00:56:52,309 --> 00:56:53,911
But I'll tell you,
it was good.
815
00:56:53,911 --> 00:56:58,315
-That's when we learned that
President Roosevelt had died.
816
00:56:58,315 --> 00:57:03,353
-On April 12, 1945, President
Franklin Roosevelt died.
817
00:57:03,353 --> 00:57:06,457
For most of the fighting men, he
was the only president they
818
00:57:06,457 --> 00:57:07,892
had ever known.
819
00:57:07,892 --> 00:57:10,595
Now, Harry S Truman,
the vice president,
820
00:57:10,595 --> 00:57:11,796
became their leader.
821
00:57:11,796 --> 00:57:15,065
And the ending of this
war fell to him.
822
00:57:18,836 --> 00:57:22,507
-So they took us way back to
our base in Hawaii on the
823
00:57:22,507 --> 00:57:26,010
island of Hawaii, and we
reformed there and were
824
00:57:26,010 --> 00:57:27,945
getting ready for the next
operation, which would have
825
00:57:27,945 --> 00:57:30,014
been landing on Japan
mainland.
826
00:57:30,014 --> 00:57:33,984
-Well, the plan was to land a
large number of Marine and
827
00:57:33,984 --> 00:57:38,288
Army divisions on the west coast
of Kyushu, Japan on 1
828
00:57:38,288 --> 00:57:39,757
November, 1945.
829
00:57:39,757 --> 00:57:43,728
-There were going to be millions
of people involved in
830
00:57:43,728 --> 00:57:47,765
this because we knew the
Japanese, they'd used their
831
00:57:47,765 --> 00:57:52,169
women, the children,
anybody to kill us.
832
00:58:05,215 --> 00:58:08,686
-They were digging out foxholes
all across Japan.
833
00:58:08,686 --> 00:58:11,055
They had brought their best
troops back into Japan to
834
00:58:11,055 --> 00:58:14,491
defend the home island, and it
was going to be just this
835
00:58:14,491 --> 00:58:16,360
horrendous battle.
836
00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:18,462
-It never happened.
837
00:58:18,462 --> 00:58:20,665
And of course the reason it
never happened is because of
838
00:58:20,665 --> 00:58:23,233
the atomic bomb.
839
00:58:23,233 --> 00:58:27,071
-The culmination of the American
production process in
840
00:58:27,071 --> 00:58:30,007
the Second World War was the
atomic bomb, which the
841
00:58:30,007 --> 00:58:33,678
Americans had started working
on in 1942 and had completed
842
00:58:33,678 --> 00:58:36,346
by the summer of 1945.
843
00:58:36,346 --> 00:58:38,215
And President Truman
ordered it used.
844
00:58:41,318 --> 00:58:44,622
-Where we now, of course, is the
bomb pits where the atomic
845
00:58:44,622 --> 00:58:47,357
weapons were loaded
on the B-29s.
846
00:58:47,357 --> 00:58:50,995
-This is where Paul Tibbets took
off in the B-29 that he
847
00:58:50,995 --> 00:58:53,998
named Enola Gay for the
bomb at Hiroshima.
848
00:58:53,998 --> 00:58:58,769
And it came up out of the pit
right here, and then Tibbets
849
00:58:58,769 --> 00:59:00,237
flew that mission.
850
00:59:04,141 --> 00:59:08,278
-I put out of my mind anything
that had to do with morality,
851
00:59:08,278 --> 00:59:10,214
religion, or anything
like that.
852
00:59:10,214 --> 00:59:12,182
War is hell.
853
00:59:12,182 --> 00:59:14,184
And I wanted to get the
killing over with
854
00:59:14,184 --> 00:59:17,487
as fast as I could.
855
00:59:17,487 --> 00:59:19,456
The airplane was quiet.
856
00:59:19,456 --> 00:59:21,058
Normally, you'd fly
with a crew.
857
00:59:21,058 --> 00:59:23,460
They were telling dirty
jokes and all of that.
858
00:59:23,460 --> 00:59:25,062
There was none of
that this time.
859
00:59:25,062 --> 00:59:29,066
There was dead silence because
they were all determined, just
860
00:59:29,066 --> 00:59:34,104
as I was, to get that bomb on
the target for what good we
861
00:59:34,104 --> 00:59:35,472
thought it might do.
862
00:59:35,472 --> 00:59:37,241
And I thought the first day that
I heard there was that
863
00:59:37,241 --> 00:59:41,078
weapon that if we could do, we'd
certainly help the war
864
00:59:41,078 --> 00:59:42,780
effort along.
865
00:59:42,780 --> 00:59:45,482
I could see over the
instrument panel
866
00:59:45,482 --> 00:59:47,317
beyond it was Hiroshima.
867
00:59:57,261 --> 00:59:58,829
I didn't see it.
868
00:59:58,829 --> 01:00:02,499
All I saw was the sky light up
in front of me, a beautiful
869
01:00:02,499 --> 01:00:04,201
pink and red color.
870
01:00:07,237 --> 01:00:09,640
And in the end, there were three
and a half square miles
871
01:00:09,640 --> 01:00:12,476
of Hiroshima devastated
in one blow.
872
01:00:12,476 --> 01:00:14,311
That's how terrific it was.
873
01:00:18,415 --> 01:00:21,418
Rest of the trip going back,
everybody was relaxed.
874
01:00:21,418 --> 01:00:23,020
Tension was over with.
875
01:00:23,020 --> 01:00:27,491
I told Bob Lewis, my co-pilot,
I said, you take it over.
876
01:00:27,491 --> 01:00:28,926
Let autopilot fly it.
877
01:00:28,926 --> 01:00:30,728
I'm going to get a couple hours
of sleep, and that's
878
01:00:30,728 --> 01:00:32,162
what I did.
879
01:00:32,162 --> 01:00:35,232
-All of a sudden, the
report came in about
880
01:00:35,232 --> 01:00:38,002
the bomb over Hiroshima.
881
01:00:38,002 --> 01:00:41,205
And we just sat there
in stunned silence.
882
01:00:41,205 --> 01:00:43,273
-And of course, we cheered
and had our
883
01:00:43,273 --> 01:00:45,009
little, you know, rejoicing.
884
01:00:45,009 --> 01:00:46,977
-But the next day, we were right
training just like we
885
01:00:46,977 --> 01:00:50,314
were going to keep going because
nobody had said it's
886
01:00:50,314 --> 01:00:51,348
over.
887
01:00:51,348 --> 01:00:52,883
-There was a feeling in Japan.
888
01:00:52,883 --> 01:00:54,685
Well, the Americans dropped this
atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
889
01:00:54,685 --> 01:00:55,986
But we're going to continue.
890
01:00:55,986 --> 01:00:57,988
Hiroshima is not a
military target.
891
01:00:57,988 --> 01:01:01,158
The Americans did not weaken our
military strength with the
892
01:01:01,158 --> 01:01:02,559
bomb on Hiroshima.
893
01:01:02,559 --> 01:01:05,129
We're going to continue
to fight on.
894
01:01:05,129 --> 01:01:07,131
And Truman decided, we're
going to go ahead with a
895
01:01:07,131 --> 01:01:09,734
second bomb.
896
01:02:34,952 --> 01:02:40,858
-And at that point, the
Japanese military
897
01:02:40,858 --> 01:02:43,293
just had to give up.
898
01:02:43,293 --> 01:02:45,562
We can't do anything against
atomic bombs.
899
01:02:45,562 --> 01:02:47,965
We can meet Marines
at the beaches.
900
01:02:47,965 --> 01:02:50,835
We've got an air force left that
can go out there with the
901
01:02:50,835 --> 01:02:53,337
kamikazes and sink a lot
of American ships.
902
01:02:53,337 --> 01:02:56,173
We can force them to pay a
terribly high price if they
903
01:02:56,173 --> 01:02:57,741
want to invade Japan.
904
01:02:57,741 --> 01:02:59,476
But what the hell were
they going to do
905
01:02:59,476 --> 01:03:00,945
about an atomic bomb?
906
01:03:00,945 --> 01:03:02,813
-And many people have debated
the use of that
907
01:03:02,813 --> 01:03:04,348
bomb over the years.
908
01:03:04,348 --> 01:03:07,084
But I would say that probably it
was the best decision ever
909
01:03:07,084 --> 01:03:10,787
made because we would have lost
many, many, many men,
910
01:03:10,787 --> 01:03:13,523
over a million probably would
have been lost, in trying to
911
01:03:13,523 --> 01:03:15,125
invade Japan.
912
01:03:23,033 --> 01:03:28,005
-The treachery that Japan had
thrown upon us, I had no pity
913
01:03:28,005 --> 01:03:30,440
and still don't have no
pity for the Japanese.
914
01:03:52,229 --> 01:03:55,165
-Tell them if they had never
been at Pearl Harbor, there
915
01:03:55,165 --> 01:03:58,835
had never been a Hiroshima
and a Nagasaki.
916
01:03:58,835 --> 01:04:04,374
So we did that to save lives,
not only of Americans, but of
917
01:04:04,374 --> 01:04:06,276
millions of Japanese.
918
01:04:06,276 --> 01:04:08,245
-I think it was a mistake.
919
01:04:08,245 --> 01:04:15,385
I think it could have been
demonstrated elsewhere without
920
01:04:15,385 --> 01:04:16,954
harming people.
921
01:04:16,954 --> 01:04:21,125
-A demonstration bombing with
the atomic bomb would have
922
01:04:21,125 --> 01:04:25,195
been rather futile because I
don't believe the nature of
923
01:04:25,195 --> 01:04:29,533
the Japanese would have yielded
to anything less than
924
01:04:29,533 --> 01:04:34,004
a holocaust that we
put on Japan.
925
01:04:46,250 --> 01:04:49,853
-I've been asked time and again,
don't you feel terrible
926
01:04:49,853 --> 01:04:52,689
about killing all
those people?
927
01:04:52,689 --> 01:04:54,158
No, I don't feel terrible.
928
01:04:54,158 --> 01:04:56,493
I'm sorry that they were there
and had to be killed.
929
01:04:56,493 --> 01:04:59,029
But what had to be done was
bigger than those people,
930
01:04:59,029 --> 01:05:02,066
bigger than me.
931
01:05:02,066 --> 01:05:07,437
-It ended the war, and
it brought us home--
932
01:05:07,437 --> 01:05:10,407
what was left of us, yeah.
933
01:05:15,012 --> 01:05:17,681
-The surrender took place
in Tokyo Harbor on
934
01:05:17,681 --> 01:05:19,383
the battleship Missouri.
935
01:05:19,383 --> 01:05:28,825
-Let us pray that peace be now
restored to the world and that
936
01:05:28,825 --> 01:05:33,097
god will preserve it always.
937
01:05:35,299 --> 01:05:40,104
-The end of the war was like a
load taken off your chest that
938
01:05:40,104 --> 01:05:42,639
everything was going
to be OK now.
939
01:05:42,639 --> 01:05:47,044
Won the war, everything's
going to be OK.
940
01:05:54,351 --> 01:05:57,887
-VJ Day, as it was called,
Victory over Japan Day, when
941
01:05:57,887 --> 01:06:03,293
they surrendered, led to the
biggest celebration America
942
01:06:03,293 --> 01:06:05,662
has every known.
943
01:06:05,662 --> 01:06:09,199
Crowds were just filling
the skyscrapers and
944
01:06:09,199 --> 01:06:10,467
throwing out confetti.
945
01:06:41,831 --> 01:06:43,767
-And I was trusting that my
husband would be one of them
946
01:06:43,767 --> 01:06:45,835
that would get to come home.
947
01:06:45,835 --> 01:06:49,439
And what a great day when
he did come in.
948
01:06:49,439 --> 01:06:52,709
-We pulled into San
Diego Harbor.
949
01:06:52,709 --> 01:06:57,281
There was a huge, huge sign that
said "Welcome Home," and
950
01:06:57,281 --> 01:07:00,850
for the next seven days,
they fed us like kings.
951
01:07:00,850 --> 01:07:02,352
-I had been injured.
952
01:07:02,352 --> 01:07:04,454
And when I came home, my mom,
you know, she grabbed me and
953
01:07:04,454 --> 01:07:08,525
was feeling me all over to see
if I had any missing parts.
954
01:07:08,525 --> 01:07:11,728
And she was so happy that
I was in one piece.
955
01:07:11,728 --> 01:07:13,563
-My dad met me at the
train station.
956
01:07:13,563 --> 01:07:17,067
And I was as brown as
a brown paper sack.
957
01:07:17,067 --> 01:07:18,702
And I saw my dad there.
958
01:07:18,702 --> 01:07:22,172
And he was looking around trying
to find me amongst all
959
01:07:22,172 --> 01:07:23,573
the other passengers.
960
01:07:23,573 --> 01:07:27,111
And I walked up to him and
looked him in the eye.
961
01:07:27,111 --> 01:07:30,447
And he looked around
me, you know?
962
01:07:30,447 --> 01:07:32,316
I said, he don't know me.
963
01:07:32,316 --> 01:07:34,151
He just doesn't know me.
964
01:07:34,151 --> 01:07:36,386
So I walked around him and
walked up to him behind him
965
01:07:36,386 --> 01:07:39,423
and tapped him on
the shoulder.
966
01:07:39,423 --> 01:07:40,890
I said, it's me.
967
01:07:45,895 --> 01:07:47,030
He--
968
01:07:47,030 --> 01:07:50,100
he grabbed me and gave
me a big hug.
969
01:07:50,100 --> 01:07:53,537
-My brother came back
from the service.
970
01:07:53,537 --> 01:07:56,573
He wanted to see his
parents, of course.
971
01:07:56,573 --> 01:07:59,509
So he came to the
internment camp.
972
01:07:59,509 --> 01:08:04,681
And it was after hours, and he
could only touch my mother
973
01:08:04,681 --> 01:08:06,850
through the barbed wire fence.
974
01:08:06,850 --> 01:08:09,786
-My father and mother remained
in camp until
975
01:08:09,786 --> 01:08:11,054
the end of the war.
976
01:08:11,054 --> 01:08:15,492
They didn't know where
to go, what to do.
977
01:08:15,492 --> 01:08:18,728
They heard that a few who
tried to get back
978
01:08:18,728 --> 01:08:21,865
had very bad reception.
979
01:08:21,865 --> 01:08:27,137
Their homes were burned down,
or they were chased out.
980
01:08:27,137 --> 01:08:32,942
-I received the Navy Cross in
San Francisco, California.
981
01:08:32,942 --> 01:08:37,847
That night, they came
and took the--
982
01:08:37,847 --> 01:08:42,118
took the document from me
because I was black.
983
01:08:42,118 --> 01:08:44,788
And black steward's
mates weren't
984
01:08:44,788 --> 01:08:46,390
supposed to get Navy Crosses.
985
01:08:49,826 --> 01:08:52,796
-The Medal of Honor is the
highest decoration awarded by
986
01:08:52,796 --> 01:08:54,898
the United States government.
987
01:08:54,898 --> 01:08:56,733
The President of the United
States is the one that
988
01:08:56,733 --> 01:08:58,968
decorated me at the
White House.
989
01:08:58,968 --> 01:09:02,606
I stepped forward
to, Jack Lucas.
990
01:09:02,606 --> 01:09:05,108
I had Truman hang that
medal around my neck.
991
01:09:07,411 --> 01:09:10,814
And he says, I'd rather have
this medal than be President
992
01:09:10,814 --> 01:09:12,182
of the United States.
993
01:09:12,182 --> 01:09:14,251
I said, sir, I'll swap you.
994
01:09:14,251 --> 01:09:15,885
He just laughed.
995
01:09:15,885 --> 01:09:20,757
-So it was great to be in the
United States of America and
996
01:09:20,757 --> 01:09:29,999
to be welcomed and for them
to tell us job well done.
997
01:10:00,029 --> 01:10:03,267
-Japan immediately became
a part of the American
998
01:10:03,267 --> 01:10:05,101
anti-communist alliance.
999
01:10:05,101 --> 01:10:08,238
And the Americans went into
Japan with Douglas MacArthur
1000
01:10:08,238 --> 01:10:12,409
as the head of the occupation to
bring about a democracy in
1001
01:10:12,409 --> 01:10:15,078
Japan, to re-shape Japan.
1002
01:11:10,900 --> 01:11:13,470
-Some of these hills you're
looking at here haven't
1003
01:11:13,470 --> 01:11:14,804
changed, have they?
1004
01:11:14,804 --> 01:11:16,706
-The hills didn't change,
but there was no--
1005
01:11:16,706 --> 01:11:17,674
-No trees or--
1006
01:11:17,674 --> 01:11:18,642
-There was no property.
1007
01:11:18,642 --> 01:11:20,176
There was nothing.
1008
01:11:20,877 --> 01:11:22,346
-Nothing left, no.
1009
01:11:22,346 --> 01:11:25,214
-The importance of going back to
Okinawa with my family was
1010
01:11:25,214 --> 01:11:29,719
to show them where their uncle
was killed and to show them
1011
01:11:29,719 --> 01:11:30,987
where I fought.
1012
01:11:30,987 --> 01:11:32,989
-This is Kunishi Ridge
off to the right.
1013
01:11:32,989 --> 01:11:36,826
-Well, there's a road that goes
across the valley there.
1014
01:11:36,826 --> 01:11:39,363
You can drive up on the
edge of the ridge.
1015
01:11:47,103 --> 01:11:50,674
-My brother was fighting
on Kunishi Ridge.
1016
01:11:50,674 --> 01:11:56,112
He was only 200 yards from
me where he was killed.
1017
01:11:56,112 --> 01:11:59,182
-Standing at Kunishi Ridge, I
can envision in my mind the
1018
01:11:59,182 --> 01:12:01,385
battles because I saw
the newsreels.
1019
01:12:01,385 --> 01:12:05,555
And I can see my husband, a
young man, fighting through
1020
01:12:05,555 --> 01:12:09,559
the war and knowing that
at any moment, he
1021
01:12:09,559 --> 01:12:11,027
could have been killed.
1022
01:12:12,596 --> 01:12:17,567
What courageous young men
we had to fight and
1023
01:12:17,567 --> 01:12:19,903
risk their own life.
1024
01:12:19,903 --> 01:12:23,407
-We went to the memorial gardens
with the granite
1025
01:12:23,407 --> 01:12:27,377
stones that have everyone's name
written there that died
1026
01:12:27,377 --> 01:12:29,045
on Okinawa, or off Okinawa.
1027
01:12:33,917 --> 01:12:38,354
And my children took a rubbing
on the stones of the name of
1028
01:12:38,354 --> 01:12:40,557
my brother.
1029
01:12:40,557 --> 01:12:44,894
To be able to have my children
there and for us as a family
1030
01:12:44,894 --> 01:12:48,364
to experience that was the most
rewarding part of the
1031
01:12:48,364 --> 01:12:51,701
whole trip to Okinawa.
1032
01:12:51,701 --> 01:12:56,372
-A dead soldier is a basic
hero, I think.
1033
01:13:00,243 --> 01:13:04,147
A man that died for his
country, he's the one
1034
01:13:04,147 --> 01:13:06,483
who's a real hero.
1035
01:13:22,365 --> 01:13:26,102
-It's a great sacrifice to
personally give his life.
1036
01:13:26,102 --> 01:13:29,873
And for those young men and
women who had so much to look
1037
01:13:29,873 --> 01:13:33,610
forward to, and now are gone.
1038
01:13:33,610 --> 01:13:36,412
I just hope that people
never forget what
1039
01:13:36,412 --> 01:13:38,081
they did for freedom.
1040
01:13:40,216 --> 01:13:43,753
-That's the part that really
hurts me is the young guys
1041
01:13:43,753 --> 01:13:45,388
that never had a
chance at life.
1042
01:14:56,092 --> 01:15:02,198
-On December 7 of 1991, a group
of the Japanese pilots
1043
01:15:02,198 --> 01:15:06,369
from various different ships,
and I think there was about 24
1044
01:15:06,369 --> 01:15:07,403
of them, came.
1045
01:15:07,403 --> 01:15:08,738
And then, I met Mr. Abi.
1046
01:15:08,738 --> 01:15:11,207
And we were kind of drawn
to one another for
1047
01:15:11,207 --> 01:15:13,076
some unknown reason.
1048
01:15:19,048 --> 01:15:21,484
-He was a bomber pilot
off of the
1049
01:15:21,484 --> 01:15:23,219
aircraft carrier the Akaki.
1050
01:15:23,219 --> 01:15:26,823
And he bombed our ship.
1051
01:15:26,823 --> 01:15:29,458
So we were saying our last
goodbyes at the hotel.
1052
01:15:29,458 --> 01:15:31,728
And he says, Richard-san,
please do me
1053
01:15:31,728 --> 01:15:33,329
this special favor.
1054
01:15:33,329 --> 01:15:37,166
He said, would you please buy
two roses, one rose for me and
1055
01:15:37,166 --> 01:15:38,568
one for you?
1056
01:15:38,568 --> 01:15:40,604
Would you please go out
to the Arizona and
1057
01:15:40,604 --> 01:15:42,071
play "Taps" for me?
1058
01:15:44,540 --> 01:15:49,512
And I've been doing that
every month since 1991.
1059
01:15:49,512 --> 01:15:53,983
And he keeps replenishing
me with money.
1060
01:16:40,830 --> 01:16:45,601
-What you'll find if you talk
to old veterans, they don't
1061
01:16:45,601 --> 01:16:51,174
talk about their war experiences
to their families.
1062
01:16:51,174 --> 01:16:54,177
When these fellows get together
on reunions of this
1063
01:16:54,177 --> 01:16:57,947
kind, they exchange war stories
with each other
1064
01:16:57,947 --> 01:17:00,516
confident that both parties
understand what they're
1065
01:17:00,516 --> 01:17:01,918
talking about.
1066
01:17:03,352 --> 01:17:05,722
-Oh, my goodness!
1067
01:17:05,722 --> 01:17:08,291
I finally kissed a nurse.
1068
01:17:08,291 --> 01:17:10,727
I kissed a nurse, first time!
1069
01:17:10,727 --> 01:17:13,730
-I go to the Marine conventions
every few years to
1070
01:17:13,730 --> 01:17:16,099
stay in touch with
old friends.
1071
01:17:16,099 --> 01:17:19,035
And we like to keep those
friendships going because we
1072
01:17:19,035 --> 01:17:22,605
did have three years at least
together under very dire
1073
01:17:22,605 --> 01:17:24,073
circumstances.
1074
01:17:31,214 --> 01:17:35,218
-Well, the ones who returned to
Iwo Jima will experience a
1075
01:17:35,218 --> 01:17:39,088
great emotional when they get
down to an area that they
1076
01:17:39,088 --> 01:17:40,456
recognize on the island.
1077
01:17:43,459 --> 01:17:46,730
It really is an emotional
experience to stand there and
1078
01:17:46,730 --> 01:17:49,866
think about what you were doing
when you were there.
1079
01:17:49,866 --> 01:17:53,036
And it immediately brings on
thoughts about your friends
1080
01:17:53,036 --> 01:17:54,570
that you lost.
1081
01:17:54,570 --> 01:18:01,044
So it's a matter of revisiting
a difficult period in my life
1082
01:18:01,044 --> 01:18:03,713
and expressing appreciation
for the fact that he
1083
01:18:03,713 --> 01:18:05,514
had to do it again.
1084
01:18:05,514 --> 01:18:07,817
-Hoorah!
1085
01:18:07,817 --> 01:18:10,019
That's the way you do it.
1086
01:18:10,019 --> 01:18:12,722
-I am a walking advertisement
for the Corps, aren't I?
1087
01:18:12,722 --> 01:18:16,960
-Oh, you are the Marine Corps
poster child here.
1088
01:18:16,960 --> 01:18:18,661
-I've been wanting to go
back to Iwo Jima for
1089
01:18:18,661 --> 01:18:20,063
an awful long time.
1090
01:18:20,063 --> 01:18:24,333
I decided that I had to go
now if I was ever going.
1091
01:18:24,333 --> 01:18:27,570
I'm looking forward to it sort
of like looking forward to
1092
01:18:27,570 --> 01:18:29,072
going to the dentist.
1093
01:18:29,072 --> 01:18:33,109
I know it's something I must
do, but I'm not really all
1094
01:18:33,109 --> 01:18:36,312
that eager to have that
tooth pulled.
1095
01:18:36,312 --> 01:18:38,481
I know it's going
to be painful.
1096
01:18:39,682 --> 01:18:41,885
One, two, three.
1097
01:18:41,885 --> 01:18:44,620
-Even three or four years from
now, you'll be proud that you
1098
01:18:44,620 --> 01:18:46,555
were a Marine.
1099
01:18:46,555 --> 01:18:49,425
You will be proud if
you're not already.
1100
01:18:49,425 --> 01:18:50,994
-Yes, sir.
1101
01:18:50,994 --> 01:18:54,030
-In particular, one of the
things I want to see is the
1102
01:18:54,030 --> 01:18:56,732
top of Suribachi, where
the flag was raised.
1103
01:19:01,670 --> 01:19:04,273
Down in there is where I spent
most of my first day, just
1104
01:19:04,273 --> 01:19:09,979
right down there within 20 to 30
yards of the beach, of the
1105
01:19:09,979 --> 01:19:11,547
water's edge.
1106
01:19:11,547 --> 01:19:13,149
I wanted to see the beach.
1107
01:19:13,149 --> 01:19:15,184
And I understand that the
beaches haven't changed.
1108
01:19:31,968 --> 01:19:35,371
-For over 50 years, I've
had nightmares that
1109
01:19:35,371 --> 01:19:36,873
I just can't describe.
1110
01:19:39,475 --> 01:19:43,179
And I'm hoping to put these
ghosts to rest.
1111
01:20:22,551 --> 01:20:23,519
Hoorah!
1112
01:20:23,519 --> 01:20:24,287
-Hoorah!
1113
01:20:24,287 --> 01:20:25,855
-There they go.
1114
01:20:25,855 --> 01:20:29,158
-Well, one of things I'm going
back to Iwo Jima for is to
1115
01:20:29,158 --> 01:20:33,229
take my wife back there and let
her see where I fought as
1116
01:20:33,229 --> 01:20:36,265
a very young man for the freedom
of this country.
1117
01:20:36,265 --> 01:20:38,868
-Come on, Louis, let's get the
picture of this over here.
1118
01:20:38,868 --> 01:20:40,436
Does anybody want to
get in the picture?
1119
01:20:40,436 --> 01:20:41,704
Come on over here.
1120
01:20:41,704 --> 01:20:43,039
I want to have my picture
made with you.
1121
01:20:43,039 --> 01:20:46,509
You already look gung ho
and ready to go to war.
1122
01:20:46,509 --> 01:20:47,576
-Yes, sir.
1123
01:21:20,409 --> 01:21:27,850
-Now, I think maybe I'll be able
to spend a year or two,
1124
01:21:27,850 --> 01:21:31,520
all of that sleep, without
these nightmares.
1125
01:21:34,490 --> 01:21:37,927
Before I die, I can die
a rested old man.
1126
01:21:41,397 --> 01:21:46,869
-I kiss you on the beach where
I landed 56 years ago.
1127
01:22:23,572 --> 01:22:24,340
-17.
1128
01:22:24,340 --> 01:22:25,341
-I was 17, too.
1129
01:22:25,341 --> 01:22:26,575
-Mm-hm.
1130
01:22:26,575 --> 01:22:29,345
-Yeah.
1131
01:22:45,461 --> 01:22:48,564
-The loss that comes from those
things, you can be sure
1132
01:22:48,564 --> 01:22:52,468
changes your attitude about
things forever.
1133
01:22:52,468 --> 01:22:56,839
And those of us who are lucky
enough to be here today know
1134
01:22:56,839 --> 01:22:58,441
that we're the luckiest
of the lucky.
1135
01:23:07,816 --> 01:23:12,855
-Those of us who stood on this
island in 1945 find it almost
1136
01:23:12,855 --> 01:23:17,926
unbelievable that we stand here
together once again to
1137
01:23:17,926 --> 01:23:21,697
honor our fallen comrades.
1138
01:23:21,697 --> 01:23:24,300
We continue to ask for the
comfort of their souls.
1139
01:23:24,300 --> 01:23:27,870
We seek relief for the sadness
of their families.
1140
01:23:27,870 --> 01:23:31,340
May they now and forever
more rest in peace.
1141
01:23:33,976 --> 01:23:35,244
-Right, face.
1142
01:23:38,314 --> 01:23:40,216
Right flank ammunition, load.
1143
01:23:45,154 --> 01:23:49,092
Ready, aim, fire.
1144
01:23:52,428 --> 01:23:57,500
Ready, aim, fire.
1145
01:24:01,337 --> 01:24:05,007
Ready, aim, fire.
91281
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