COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

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Showing : WWII Videos

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  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!

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  Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

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

  It was tough but boot camp would turn out to be easiest part of Frank Pomroy's time in the Marine Corps. After that, there was six weeks of training at New River and then straight to the Pacific. He and a buddy had volunteered to crew the 37mm anti-tank gun but it didn't work out the way they wanted. (Second interview)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  One day while Nollie Carpenter was in the Philippines, a loud cheering could be heard and it swelled as it moved closer. Then came the word. We had detonated an atomic bomb at Hiroshima. Soon he was on occupation duty in Tokyo.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  Nollie Carpenter sailed out into the Pacific with a small group of replacements for the 1st Cavalry Division. First stop was New Guinea, where he unloaded ships and worked in the post office. Through that job he located a cousin who was on the same island. Finally he got transport to join the division in the Admiralty Islands.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  When Nollie Carpenter joined his Cavalry unit in the Admiralty Islands, he heard how he had just missed the Banzai attacks. His regiment was camped on a small island that was lined from shore to shore with tents. They were preparing to invade the Philippines but first, how about a nice USO show?

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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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  Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

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

  After recuperating for a while in Australia, Frank Pomroy's next engagement was at Cape Gloucester. There was a new platoon leader who was a mean Warrant Officer with little respect from the men. The battle kicked off when Frank woke him up because he heard the Japanese setting up in front of his position. Part 1 of 2. (Second interview)

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  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.

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  His brother was already up at Fort Knox so Nollie Carpenter told them during classification that he wanted to drive a tank. It worked and he joined his brother there. He even got to drive a tank during training but he was destined to be a radio operator.

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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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  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)

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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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  Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

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

  In an artillery barrage, if you're out in the open, you have to lay flat. Frank Pomroy tried to tell his friend that but the man was on his knees and got hit with shrapnel. This battle on Peleliu was the end of the line for a lot of Marines but not Frank. He joined in a patrol hastily organized by a lieutenant he encountered and they set out through a swamp. Part 3 of 4. (Second interview)

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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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  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.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  Two days after he got to the Philippines, Nollie Carpenter was mustered on the beach when he saw a mob of people. Douglas MacArthur was wading ashore. He declined to reenlist but later had second thoughts about that. He did come back to the Army after a year of logging.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  While in combat on Leyte, Nollie Carpenter was awarded a Bronze Star, although he's not sure what he did to deserve it. He did a lot more a little later during the fighting on Luzon. Oh well, not giving it back!

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  Frank Pomroy - Marines +35 Total Videos

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

  It was called the Battle of Coffin Corner because of all the Japanese dead left in the aftermath. Frank Pomroy recalls how a friend of his died after the battle and how he actually made friends with a couple of Japanese prisoners. Part 2 of 2. (Second interview)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  Malaria was almost impossible to avoid. Nollie Carpenter sure had it and it affected him even after he returned home. At least, if you were lucky, you were in a place where the tasty mangoes covered the ground.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  There was one sergeant who had enough points to go home. For some reason, he wanted to go out on one last patrol even though he was excused and waiting on transport. Nollie Carpenter remembers that everyone told him not to do it but he was determined.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  The Philippines is where Nollie Carpenter first saw combat. He landed on Leyte near Samar and started tromping through rice paddies. From a rise overlooking the ocean, he watched Japanese planes attacking ships until the shrapnel got close.

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  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)

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  Nollie Carpenter - Army +11 Total Videos

  8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  At the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Japanese had been holding thousands of prisoners. Nollie Carpenter describes how the 18th Cavalry Regiment liberated them with little opposition. On the way into the city, they passed a gruesome scene where locals were torturing a Japanese collaborator.