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Robert Hegel

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Following the invasion of Lae, LCI-27 would make two more landings. The last of these would be to deliver U.S. Marines to the Battle of Cape Gloucester, where Robert Hegel recalls keeping the Captain up to date as best he could so they could get out safely. (4:50)

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Robert Hegel had been in enough combat to warrant thirty days of leave which would let him spend some time back home in Brooklyn with his family. When his time was up, he was lucky enough to get a position as an instructor, otherwise he might have found himself upon the beaches of Normandy. (4:25)

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The war in the Pacific was coming to a close, but Robert Hegel would board LCI-72 en route for Okinawa, where they'd have their first experience of a Kamikaze pilot. Before long, the bombs were dropped and they'd begin the occupation of Japan. (4:24)

Robert James

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Robert James and his brother both had to drop out of school to support their single mother. The coming of war meant that they would be drafted and Robert was determined to get in the Navy. He had to convince his mother to sign for him at seventeen. Both brothers went to war and both sent money home. (6:09)

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The weather wasn't too bad when the train full of Navy recruits pulled out of Richmond and headed for Great Lakes Naval Station for boot camp. Robert James, along with the rest, didn't bring heavy clothing and, when he stepped off the train near Chicago, it was into snow up to his knees. (5:29)

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He had joined the Navy, but he still had to drill like the Army recruits. Robert James was at boot camp learning to be a sailor in the dead of winter outside Chicago. He attended classes where he was exposed to the naval weaponry he might use, as well as the planes and ships of the Japanese enemy. (4:47)

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Boot camp was over and it was time to learn your assignment. Robert James was put on a train for California, though he wasn't yet told where he was going. He was housed at Treasure Island for a while, where he got some of that great San Francisco liberty. Finally, he boarded his ship, the USS Keokuk. (6:10)

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The first stop was Pearl Harbor, where the ship was loaded with supplies. Next was a small island where Robert James remembers softball games and beers. When they put out to sea again, his duty was topside and, still, no word on where the ship was bound. (5:49)

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When the crew of the USS Keokuk arrived at their first invasion, they had no idea where they were. The ship was a net layer, spooling out huge submarine nets to protect the battleships and carriers. Robert James watched the action at the beach through his field glasses, where the water turned red with the blood of Marines. Finally, he learned the name of the island. It was Iwo Jima. (7:15)

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The invasion of Saipan and Tinian was easy for Robert James aboard ship. After the crew put in place its submarine nets, its part was done. He did not see the carnage he had witnessed at Iwo Jima. He did hear about some horrific suicidal acts by the Japanese civilians on Saipan. (4:27)