2:26 | Will Crawford tells the story behing the formation of Foxy 29, an armed medical corps.
The USS Stephen Potter played a pivotal role in defending the American fleet from Japanese aircraft. Bill Minor was below deck helping direct fire, and the development and implementation of a proximity fuse enhanced his ability to counter the threat in the skies.
Ed Harrell describes in detail the sinking of the USS Indianapolis from Japanese torpedoes, which left nearly 900 Sailors and Marines in shark-infested Pacific waters. Part 1 of 4.
The first operation for the 4th Division was the landing on Roi-Namur. Lawrence Snowden remembers that, though it was an easy victory, valuable combat experience and important lessons were imparted on the Marines.
During his time in ROTC before the war, Bill Minor had an exercise that took him up to New York City. Being a small town guy from rural Louisiana, he was blown away by the size and scope of the city, and got to see some musical legends during his brief time there; a highlight of his youth.
Two engines were out, a third smoking, and they were were losing airspeed and altitude, but they were flying level and pointed home. Then time ran out for the B-17 and Don Scott had to slip down the hatch into the slipstream. Part 2 of 3.
It was their third mission over Berlin and they were heading home. Four German fighters pounced on the B-24 and it was engulfed in flame and going down. Clyde Burnette fought for consciousness as the other crew in the back of the plane bailed out. He woke in free fall with no idea how he had made it out, and soon he was in German custody. Everyone made it out of the plane except George "Danny" Daneau, the nose turret gunner, who went down with the aircraft.
After a nerve-wracking mission to bomb Tokyo and a typhoon, B.E. Vaughan and the destroyer O'Brien suffered a second kamikaze attack which killed all three of his hometown pals who served with him on board. Then, began the grim task of collecting the personal belongings of the dead and preparing them for burial at sea.
Navy Seamen during the war would often be at sea for months at a time, and to sustain their presence in the Pacific they would need a steady supply of fuel. During a refueling stop, Bill Minor’s fleet was hit by a devastating typhoon which claimed the lives of hundreds of seamen.
Harper Brame recalls a couple other tales from his time at sea, including seeing a blue whale and a potential close call with the on-board torpedo's.
Bill Minor discusses his assignment to Task Force 58 and their initial days entering the Pacific Theater to fight the Japanese. His destroyer was responsible for defending the fleet’s air craft carriers while they provided air support for Marines landing on the islands.
Harper Brame moved around a lot during High School, but he was still involved in a multitude of sports. After WWII came to an end, Harper found himself in line to enlist in the Navy. He was slated to be a Navy Corpsman, but wound up getting a duty he never expected.
Transferring people across ships at sea was made simple with the implantation of a breeches buoy. Bill Minor recalls when Admiral McCain was on board ship and refused to remove his lifejacket while they were delivering him to his next destination.
War is not all gory details. Artilleryman Bob Polich remembers some other things, like the Stage Door Canteen in New York City, a much anticipated shower in Belgium and a tense encounter on guard duty.
Growing up during WWII as a young man, Harper Brame describes what he could do to support himself and his family. Young men all over the country had left home and that meant there was work to be done. As a teen he got involved in making model planes and became and honorary Ensign before even joining the service.
When depth charges were dropped during his Atlantic crossing, Jim Sharp made a remark that was intended to be funny, but which started a lot of trouble. When he got to Le Havre, he couldn't believe the devastation that he saw there. (Interview conducted in partnership with the Eisenhower Foundation as part of their Ike's Soldiers program. https://eisenhowerfoundation.net & http://ikessoldiers.com)
Captain Crichton told the men to prepare for the worst, and through some miracle Bill Minor didn’t have to suffer through a direct hit from a torpedo. Sadly, the USS Intrepid wasn’t as fortunate.
Col Hubert A. Zemke was the senior Allied officer among the POW's at Stalag Luft I. When the Germans stopped delivering the Red Cross parcels that were keeping bellies full, he negotiated with the camp commandant until they were restored. Clayton Nattier remembers that, after three months with little food, he couldn't eat without getting sick.
Once aboard the USS Besugo they made their way across the Pacific Ocean to visit many places that were once the fields of battle. For a few months, they performed exercises in China where massive changes were underway on the mainland. Harper Brame describes his time aboard ship, some of the submarine’s history, and some of the duties they had at sea as well as the people he saw on land.
The German guards had fled in the night. The next day, a Russian tank was at the gate of the POW camp and, soon, a Russian general to go with it. Downed pilot Clayton Nattier recalls that the Russians wanted to remove the men to Soviet territory, but the senior Allied officer wasn't having it.
Before the war, Bill Minor was seeking a degree in Journalism at Tulane and was a member of one of the few Naval ROTC programs in the country. When the war broke out, things became gravely serious and he and others knew they were on their way to fight as commissioned officers.
Murray Leff joined the ROTC while in college. He was still a student when the attack on Pearl Harbor angered him, but it also baffled him. Surely they must know they can't win a war against us?
Clarence Dodd's first trip with the Merchant Marine was completed when the ship delivered a load of oil from California to Ulithi. They were about to head back to the States when the orders were changed. They were now going to Iran and then who knows where.
Bill Minor recalls the few luxuries that could be afforded at sea, and with the USS Bunker Hill nearby they were sometimes lucky enough to get some ice cream. However, the aircraft carrier would be the target of two kamikazes and the USS Stephen Potter would take as many survivors as they could.
On his first mission, B-24 radio operator Burt Vardeman saw a plane explode after a direct hit from a flak shell. No parachutes. It was a real quick lesson in how deadly this game was.
Conditions were miserable when Jim Murphy was in basic training at Camp Wallace in Texas. He did well, though, so well that he received a rare three day pass to visit home. There was just one problem. Home was in Georgia.
While Bill Minor was operating in the Pacific, they had to worry about not only the threats from above but also the threats down below. Japanese submarines were patrolling all over, and he recalls one instance where they encountered one.
The food aboard the Merchant Marine ship gradually got worse. Clarence Dodd was at sea crisscrossing the Pacific for eight months before he returned to a home port. He crossed the equator eight times and he lost his fear of heights while climbing the mast.
On Guadalcanal, you could tell by the sound of the engine whether it was a Zero or a Betty Bomber. Harry Kone learned to tell the difference while trying to get out of the rain. There was never a mystery about one thing, what was for breakfast.
Not a lot of ships were lucky enough to have a mascot, but the USS Steven Potter had a beloved canine, Potts, to keep morale up.
LCI-500 delivered a company of British commandos to the Normandy beachhead flawlessly. John Mahmarian was sickened, though, when he noticed bodies floating around the ship. As the ship was backing off from the beach, he had to post a man back at the propellers to perform a grim task.
