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John Holeman

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John Holeman caught up with the 44th Division at Luneville in France. They made the new replacement a B.A.R. man. Heavier than a rifle, the Browning Automatic was, essentially, a small machine gun. Their first day moving out, a German artillery barrage sent him into a wet ditch, where he decided on a wardrobe adjustment. That same day, he watched a lone German fighter pilot parachute from the only enemy plane sent against them. (4:00)

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The front was disorganized, so outposts were made around the French farmhouse where John Holeman's unit was situated. After his watch, he noticed some men gathered near the farm's gate. Soon he would have a prized war souvenir. (3:15)

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John Holeman was grateful for the air support as his unit fought across France. "That's the only thing that saved our hides!" The further they went, the more the German army was made up of teenagers and old men. At the Maginot line, he had a heart stopping encounter with a mortar shell. Eventually they were stopped by the worst winter in fifty years. (5:09)

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Holed up in bunkers in the deep snow, John Holeman's unit was on Patton's flank when they were surrounded by Germans on the move. It was December 31st, and for three days, they fought the desperate enemy, who could not hold the position. (3:47)

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He had to leave the front with pneumonia, and when John Holeman had recuperated, he was shuffled through several camps. The war was winding down and no one seemed in a hurry to send anyone anywhere. When the people with high points started going home, he was assigned to a Quartermaster depot because of a highly prized skill, typing. (3:04)

John Huffhines

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He wanted to be a Marine Raider but he was six feet four inches tall and they told him he would get his head shot off. So John Huffhines went to telephone lineman's school where he learned to keep combat units connected. Soon he was camped on a lava field in Hawaii. (3:32)

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When John Huffhines hit the beach at Iwo Jima, it was just about the time the Japanese defenders unleashed their heavy artillery. They had been waiting for the beach to get crowded and, in the hellish barrage, he buried his face in the sand and knew it was the end of the world. Then he shook it off and rose up. (3:38)

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Lineman John Huffhines kept the telephone lines operational on Iwo Jima even as bullets flew all around and shells were landing. He had to remain alert because you never knew when one of the enemy would spring up from a hole. It was a long, dirty month of battle. (5:46)

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Marine John Huffhines had a friend from New York City who had never driven a car, so he suggested he look for one with the keys in it and go for it. He was joking but his friend took it seriously. Back on Hawaii after a nightmarish month on Iwo Jima, the unit began training for the assault on Japan. (3:02)

John Jacobs

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John Jacobs describes his role as a forward artillery observer and how he received two Silver Stars. (3:40)