COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

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Showing : WWII Videos

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Don Scott - Army Air Corps +8 Total Videos

  560th Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

  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.

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  Clyde Burnette - Army Air Corps +13 Total Videos

  713th Squadron, 448th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

  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.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  B.E. Vaughan - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS O'Brien (DD-725)

  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.

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  LtGen Lawrence Snowden - Marines +16 Total Videos

  23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division

  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.

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  Ed Harrell - Marines +12 Total Videos

  USS Indianapolis

  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.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Besugo (SS-321)

  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.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Besugo (SS-321)

  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.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Bob Polich - Army +8 Total Videos

  327th Field Artillery Battalion, 84th Infantry Division

  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.

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  Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Besugo (SS-321)

  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.

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  Bill Cruickshank - Army +8 Total Videos

  86th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  At the train station where Bill Cruickshank was about to depart for training, he met a family of celebrities who were seeing two sons off to the same outfit. He didn't recognize the name but he would meet one of them later in Italy. The mountain training was arduous for the newly formed 10th Mountain Division, who used a lot of highly specialized gear.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Murray Leff - Army +6 Total Videos

  137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division

  It was against the rules but he did it anyway. Murray Leff had traded some cigarettes for a camera and he began to document his unit's action as they pushed into Germany.

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  Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

  USS Besugo (SS-321)

  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.

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  Roy Rowland - Army +8 Total Videos

  16th Armored Infantry Battalion, 13th Armored Division

  It was a great feeling of relief. No one wanted to be the last one to die in this war and Roy Rowland remembers those days when potential death was no longer a threat. While waiting to be sent home, he was able to tour Hitler's Eagle Nest retreat.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Fred King - Army +7 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  After recovering from what the snow and ice did to his feet, Fred King was assigned to Fort Belvoir, where he worked with the payroll until the atomic bomb ended the war. He went back to college and wound up in a career he had never considered.

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  Jesse Oxendine - Army +15 Total Videos

  325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

  Everybody wanted a Luger. The Germans were surrendering in droves and throwing their weapons in a big pile. Since the MP's were keeping the GI's away from the pile, Jesse Oxendine and some pals came up with a way to get some pistols.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Dick Whitaker - Marines +9 Total Videos

  29th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division

  The casualties were astounding on Okinawa for the 29th Marine Regiment. More than once, Dick Whitaker saw men killed just after arriving as replacements. He had already been wounded once and narrowly missed serious injury again when a stray artillery shell hit near him.

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  Russell Vaudrey - Army Air Corps +9 Total Videos

  400th Bomb Squadron, 90th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force

  After the war ended, B-24 mechanic Russell Vaudrey was prepping the planes to fly home when a monstrous typhoon hit. It lasted three days and, as they were repairing planes, a second typhoon swept in. Finally, the crews began flying what was left of their aircraft home.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Clayton Nattier - Army Air Corps +20 Total Videos

  369th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

  The 306th Bomb Group flew in very tight formations. This greatly lessened the losses from German fighters, which faced withering fire from multiple aircraft if they got close enough to attack. B-17 pilot Clayton Nattier also had the luxury of his own fighter escorts, which were not available earlier in the war.

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  Dick Whitaker - Marines +9 Total Videos

  29th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division

  The Okinawa campaign had ended the day before, so when Dick Whitaker and a few others set out on patrol, they had let their guard down. Sure enough, as they walked by a cornfield, there was the scream of a die hard Japanese soldier.

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  Bill Minor - Navy +9 Total Videos

  USS Stephen Potter (DD-538)

  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.

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  Clayton Nattier - Army Air Corps +20 Total Videos

  369th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

  It was his sixteenth mission and, once again, it was Merseburg, site of a synthetic fuel plant. Clayton Nattier's plane had a mechanical failure so a substitute B-17 was brought to the flight line. Everything was fine until, as the flight neared the target, an engine went out. This was only the beginning of a disaster. Part 1 of 3.