Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Al Quern | SS Santa Catalina, Merchant Marine - Merchant Marines

14:26 | Al Quern, a steam and diesel engineer in the Merchant Marine, recalls in detail the series of events after his ship was hit by two German torpedoes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1943.

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Keywords : quern merchant marine santa catalina torpedo german atlantic army engineer

Showing : WWII Videos

Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

It was an old tub the Marines boarded for the trip to the Pacific. In New Zealand they unpacked the ship and repacked it for combat though they didn't know yet where it would be. Frank Pomroy recalls that the locals were ready to party. (Second interview)
Harold Barber - Marines +14 Total Videos

7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

He didn't even notice that he'd been hit. A piece of shrapnel from a Japanese artillery shell found Harold Barber's leg but he kept right on fighting because of the adrenaline. The Corpsman bandaged him and he was right back in the battle for Peleliu. The Navy was able to stay and take part in the fight unlike when he was on Guadalcanal.
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.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The Japanese had another battalion on the way but they attacked the Marines at Tenaru River without waiting for them. They should have waited. Frank Pomroy was manning a 37mm gun and that was a big reason that Banzai charge after Banzai charge failed. (Second interview)
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.
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.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy and his fellow Marines were so tired and wracked with malaria that, when they shipped out, they were unable to climb the cargo net. Frank has a novel theory that there were three fronts in the war, the German Front, the Japanese Front and the Douglas MacArthur Front. (Second interview)
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.
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.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

After a stop in New Zealand where the men made their own liberty, the Marines of the 1st Regiment went to the island of Guadalcanal. It had been chosen for the initial confrontation with the Japanese. Frank Pomroy was ordered to stay on the transport to help unload but an enemy torpedo bomber crashed into it and the crew abandoned ship. Part 1 of 2. (First interview)
Carl Beck - Army +12 Total Videos

501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

In the middle of the night, thousands of paratroopers loaded into C-47's for the crossing into Normandy. Carl Beck was just a teenager but he was ready. His plane was hit by flak when it neared the drop zone and the jump was rushed, resulting in scattered men and equipment. Part 1 of 2.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy remained on the transport while his unit made the unopposed landing on Guadalcanal. He was helping unload the weapons and supplies but, before they could get much off the ship, a Japanese air raid bore down on them. Part 1 of 2. (Second interview)
Harold Barber - Marines +14 Total Videos

7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The Italian Marines were a breed of their own. Harold Barber describes how they would receive food from home with a surprise inside. He also recalls that age old soldier's tradition, coming up with some alcohol in a war zone.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Chesty Puller was a legendary Marine leader. Frank Pomroy describes his encounters with the man, from getting caught fermenting Jungle Juice to holding court at reunions. (Second interview)
Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

Nollie Carpenter's platoon was assigned a Filipino guide for their patrols. One day, he took Nollie to his home for a meal and, guess what? He had sisters!
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy had left a man for dead on the Guadalcanal battlefield. Everyone agreed that he was dead and they pressed on. But he wasn't and, after almost being buried alive because he could not speak, the two encountered each other in the rear area. This was only the beginning of his sad story. (First interview)
Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

After a brief stint as a civilian, Nollie Carpenter returned to the Army and was assigned to Germany. While there, a call went out for volunteers to go to Korea as Forward Observers. A Sergeant could get a 2nd Lieutenant's bars.
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy was late for the battle on Guadalcanal so he volunteered for a lot of patrols. He and a pal went on a lot of them, then they decided to take it easy for a day. That day turned out to be anything but easy. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

He was on the 37mm gun and he only had 55 rounds to last the night. Frank Pomroy chose his targets carefully and the grapeshot he was firing was really an anti-tank weapon mowing down the charging enemy. Finally the Banzai attacks ended. This was the first defeat for the Japanese in the Pacific. (First interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The Japanese had given up on the Banzai charges by the time of the Peleliu landing. Instead they would send raiding parties toward the beach and it was during one of these attacks that Frank Pomroy took a bayonet wound to his knee. It only slowed him down a little, he was not out of the fight. Part 2 of 4. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

It went without saying. Frank Pomroy explains why returning World War II veterans quietly went on with their lives and didn't talk much about the war. That would change as the years went by and he now feels that it's important to preserve the memories and the history of it. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

During the battle on Peleliu, Frank Pomroy encountered a group of Marines who asked him if he knew how to operate a flamethrower. Why yes, I do. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

There was a warrant officer in charge of Frank Pomroy's platoon at Cape Gloucester. When Pomroy woke him up to tell him the Japanese were assembling in front of their position, he scoffed but got up anyway. As they stared out into the night he lit a match and held it in front of his face. No Japs out there. See? (First interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

After being adrift on a raft and then witnessing the stunning US Navy defeat at the Battle of Savo Island, Frank Pomroy was at New Caledonia trying to find passage back to his unit on Guadalcanal. Some sailors helped him out and then cleaned him out. Part 2 of 2. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The next landing will be quick and easy. That's what Frank Pomroy was told in the run up to Peleliu. It was anything but easy from the moment he stepped on the beach. At the airfield he found himself staring down a Japanese tank coming straight for him. Part 1 of 4. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy prepared his last stand. He had a bayonet wound and three machine gun bullets in his leg but he was still ready to fight. He lined up his hand grenades on the coral ridge in front of him and waited. At daybreak he heard Japanese voices coming. Part 4 of 4. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

In combat, you have tunnel vision. Frank Pomroy experienced that when he faced waves of Banzai charges on Guadalcanal. They were intended to frighten you enough that you turned and ran but it didn't work on the young Marines. (Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy was on a raft with another Marine after their troop transport was consumed by fire. They were fortunately rescued by a US destroyer just in time to witness the Battle of Savo island, a disastrous defeat for the US Navy. Part 2 of 2. (First interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Frank Pomroy was painting his sister's house when someone drove up and said Pearl Harbor had been attacked. He and another seventeen year old boy hitchhiked to the recruiter who told them they were too young. A ruse was required.(Second interview)
Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

After surviving artillery fire from US ships that had mistaken his group for Japanese, Frank Pomroy fell in with a Lieutenant who was organizing a patrol through a swamp. They were not very far along when they became completely pinned down by Japanese artillery and sniper fire. Part 4 of 5. (First interview)