THEY REMEMBER WAR

Robert B. Gentry, Jr. Interviewer/ Compiler

Here are true stories from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, Iraq Campaign and Afghanistan Campaign. Veterans give vivid accounts of what they endured in combat. Civilians tell of getting swept up in the trauma and tyranny of war. Veterans of military occupations reveal ruins and rebuilding in the aftermath of war. Some narrators portray what it was like on the "home front" during World War II. Others relate intense military preparations during the Cold War. The narrators are a diverse group. While most now live at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a retirement community in Gainesville, Florida, originally they came from various sections of the U.S. and some were born and raised in other countries.  In 2012, while continuing to interview Oak Hammock veterans and civilians, I began adding narratives by people outside the community, starting with my father whose memories of the First World War I had recorded on paper years ago. For many interviews I used an Olympus mini-recorder purchased from Radio Shack. However, not every piece is strictly oral history. Some wrote their stories; others supplemented their oral accounts with written information. Pictures appear in over half of the stories.

Italicized wording on this page is mine to represent quotations from the narrators. Wording in bold is also mine.

Oral and written histories published by Writecorner Press remain the property of the narrators and may not be used in any way without their permission. Several narrators in this list are deceased. Requests for information on them will be referred to their next of kin.

Contents

• John Amott --World II: Army Code Analyst, Japanese Linguist. We sent flight plans of enemy planes to our carriers and they sent out planes to intercept the Japanese. Cold War: Foreign Service Specialist during Berlin Airlift and other crises in Germany. Russian fighters flew on each side of us. We were on pins and needles, afraid if our plane strayed from the corridor we’d be shot down.... Guest of Japanese Emperor (1952). Each of us bowed to the emperor and then bowed to the empress. The emperor did not speak....
• Hal Bingham--World War II: member of 399th Army Infantry Regiment, 100th Division, called "Sons of Bitche" for taking nearly impregnable Fort de Bitche. Eighty-eight came in with my name on it. I jumped behind a tree when it hit. Thought I was dead—couldn’t see or hear.... Looked over the rise and saw four German officers dead as hell.... Might  have been my grenade that got 'em.... Decorations include Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge; Army of Occupation in Germany: Being a company clerk, I had access to records I shouldn’t have. The Army’s VD rate then was 30%....Cold War: Air Force Flight Surgeon. At Madigan [Army Hospital] I was put in charge of the female ward. A lot of dependants were there. Every third one had gonorrhea....
• Timothy (Tim) Blackford-- Iraq, Afghanistan Campaigns: Marine Infantryman,  Overseas  Service Ribbon with Silver Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Combat Action Ribbon, Humanitarian Medal and other decorations. The enemy fire was coming from a small compound three to 400 meters out. So I walked our guys through where to fire their machine gun. The enemy stopped firing at us... I have nightmares still, think I'm on patrol and just wake up and say, okay!.... .
• Joseph Bradham--Methodist Missionary in Cuba (1959) persecuted by Castro and Batista forces. Castro was not at all pleased that he wasn’t able to break us down so he gave orders to continue the torture.... Vietnam War: Air Force Senior Master Sergeant and Communications Specialist (1967-1968), survived Tet Offensive. A rocket hit the end of the barracks. It blew me out of the bunk....Joint Service Decoration, Defense Communications Agency of Southeast Asia Mainland.
• Rufus Broadaway--World War II: Parachute Infantry Officer, Battle of La Fiere Causeway, Operation Market Garden, Purple Heart; Aide de Camp to General James Gavin, Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. We heard Germans screaming. We stuck our heads up to see what we’d hit. The lieutenant fell back in my arms. He’d been hit right through the crossbar of his helmet. At that point the war got very serious for me....
• Jack and Cynthia Clements--World War II: Jack, Machine Gun Inspector, High Standard Manufacturing Co, New Haven, CT.  The guns were oiled down with Cosmoline. Cosmoline got all over your hands and clothes—almost impossible to clean.... Cynthia: Civil Defense Plane Spotter, Alfred, NY.  I remember Gold Stars on windows. I remember the blackouts. At night we had to pull down black-out shades....
• John R. (Bob) Denny--World War II: Army Engineer in Germany and Austria. The worst thing I saw was a train parked at Dachau full of the dead bodies of prisoners.... I visited Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg.... I found the steel piece that held the strings to his grand piano.... I broke off some of his piano wires and I also got a piece of glass from his big window.... My unit supervised the cutting of wood from the famous Vienna Woods so people could heat their houses in the winter....  
• Son Dinh--Japanese and French Occupations of Indo-China, Civilian. Vietnam War:  Lieutenant, Personnel Manager, Air Traffic Control and Météo Unit, South Vietnamese Air Force, Tan Son Nhut Air Base. The three helicopters I was with just made a turn around, always together in the same formation, to shoot back at the VC on the ground. I was thinking that if the guys on the ground had good anti-aircraft guns, we would all be dead.... There were Army officers who hated Diem and high generals that liked him and other officers in the middle. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was on which side....
• William (Bill) Ebersole--World War II: Army Air Force Fighter Pilot, P-51. Numerous combat missions including Chichi Jima and Tokyo. Decorations: Distinguished Flying Cross , Air Medal with Three Oak Clusters, Distinguished Unit Citation, Asiatic Pacific Campaign, American Campaign medals. On a strafing mission, we'd get fifteen miles from the target and dive in at 400 to 450 miles an hour. Once at tree-top level their radar couldn't pick us up....
• Eva Maráková Eichhorn--Cold War: civilian in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet Occupation and Czech resistance known as Prague Spring. I found out that some people were not permitted to have access to Western languages. I was obviously one of them. So I studied Czech and neglected Russian but graduated with a degree in both....When the presence of Soviet soldiers in Czechoslovakia became permanent, the resistance of the Czech population was expressed in seemingly insignificant actions like refusing services....
• Leonard Emmel--World War II: soldier-medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. Korean War: Officer, U.S. Army Medical Corps, Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. Camp Chaffee was an infantry training base, and we supported the basic training of infantrymen. A number of trainees had severe cases of heat stroke. These cases were my challenge and responsibility....
• Reginald (Reg) Fansler--Retired Colonel. pre-World War II Army service in Philippines. World War II: Military Police Officer in North Africa and in U.S. Houses of prostitution were in full operation [in Oran]. There were long lines of GI’s going into the houses. The men were processed into the houses on one side and they were processed out on the other side....Korean War: 8th Army Chief of Law and Order, South Korea. The North Koreans filled socks with feces. Every once in a while you’d get a sock of feces thrown at you. Never knew what was coming at you.... Vietnam War: Deputy Provost Marshal, 18th MP Brigade, South Vietnam. We were constantly badgered at Headquarters to do something about GI drug problems... We put out bulletins on the dangers of drugs and the need to avoid them....
• Erika Landgraf Gallivan --World War II: Growing up in Germany during and after the war, memories of family privations and the American occupation. A soldier threw open the cellar door and pointed his rifle at us. He shouted, "Beer, wine, schnapps?"....
• Stephen (Steve) Gallivan --Cold War: Army Language School, Monterey, CA;  Voice Interpreter, West Germany, SP-5. P2 proficiency, highest voice interp. rating in Army then. While monitoring Czech military traffic I intercepted a message saying that "the Third World War will start tomorrow."...
• Robert (Bob) Gasche --World War II: Marine Infantryman, Battle of Iwo Jima, Purple Heart. We crawled, we slogged, we used our weapons and anything we could find to get over the three ridges and off the beach [at Iwo] because it was simply a killing field.... Korean War, Marine Corporal, Operation Killer. To me the greatest enemy in Korea was the awful cold. You couldn't dig a foxhole because the ground was frozen. We had to sleep out in the snow in sleeping bags.... Honored for veterans' projects in Alacuha County, FL.
• Robert (Bob) Gentry, Sr.-- World War I: Corporal, decorated Army Artilleryman: Battles of Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne. We figured the armistice was just talk because the Germans were hitting us almost daily. We had to keep at them and deal with mud and cooties....The trench rats were worst at night....Just about everyone I know who saw action in France had shell shock.... I was bothered with it off and on for a long time....
• Robert (Bob) Gentry, Jr.-- Cold War: Army Language School, Monterey, CA; Voice Interpreter, Czech, West Germany, SP-5. I recall picking up information from Domažlice that turned the ashen-stone face of NSA Guy to florid cheeks, raised eyebrows and bright eyes. .... Active Army Reserve, Military Intelligence, SP-6, 1st LT, Letter of Commendation.
• James Gilmore --Army of Occupation, Japan (1946-1947), assigned to General MacArthur’s Headquarters in Tokyo, Headquarters and Service Group.  I was impressed with how industrious the Japanese were. They are physically attractive people, very courteous. They smile and bow a lot out of courtesy. They were very good at taking orders.... Cold War: Naval Reserve Commander,  USS Tweedy and USS Darby, Prospective Commanding Officer, USS Beatty. We’d do figure-8’s over a submerged submarine to train sonar men. We were told there were Soviet submarines off our shores, but we never spotted any....
• Eli Graham, Jr.--World War II: Marine Corporal in all-Black support unit, Battle of Peleliu Island. So many White guys casualties, the 7th Ammunition Co. was ordered into combat. I shot at Japs....

• James L. (Jim) Greene--Cold War: Naval service on aircraft carrier S.S. Roosevelt. Denied flight training, assigned to support staff, became undefeated middleweight champion of his naval fleet. This [boxing] was one way I vented from the frustration of being viewed as "second class" or "ineligible" for everything I wanted to do for no other reason than my color....

• Fred and Pat Harden--World War II: Growing up in south Florida. Fred: The Germans...sank tons of good ships. I'll never forget watching three or four ships burn.... Pat: My mother was a Red Cross volunteer at the hospital.... There would often be men who had been badly burned when their ship was torpedoed by the Germans.  My mother would say, “I felt so bad I wanted to cry; they are just young boys and in such pain.”...Cold War,Fred:  Navy Quartermaster 3rd Class on Willard Keith DD775 (spy ship). The Russian submarine and the Willard Keith made practice runs against each other. I hoped all parties knew it was practice, but it could go ugly if something went wrong during these runs....
• Josephine (Josie) Horrell (nee Langer)--World War II: civilian in Czechoslovakia. Another time we got a ride with Germans. They were deserters and S.S. started shooting at them. We almost got killed then, too. I was so scared, didn’t know whether I was coming or going.... Cold War: refugee in West Germany, married American GI, Lawrence (Mike) Horrell. We had to walk to Germany. It was like a death march. We’d stop and ask people for food... They say, “We don’t have food for people like you.” I ask, “What kind of people you think we are. We’re people just like you.”...
• Mary Sue Koeppel --Memories of incidents during World War II and Korean War. German POWs in Wisconsin. POW’s were to be served ONLY baloney sandwiches with water to drink.... Uncle George had to go all the way to his congressman to get permission to serve POW’s good meals while they worked on his farm....
• Oscar Koeppel--World War II: Tech Sergeant, Army Air Force. Turret Gunner and Engineer on a B-17, decorated veteran of 32 combat missions; escapee from Swiss detention camp. I thought, There's  nothing I can do. So I put it all in the hands of God and I wasn't scared anymore....It was like a flower garden out there, like dandelions suddenly growing, all that flak and shrapnel flying.... I was held in Switzerland against my will, and I took a great risk getting out.... We used forged passes and hid from Swiss soldiers hunting for us....
• Fredric (Fred) Kratina -- Childhood in Germany, pre-World War II. Eventually an official document ordering me to appear in the park where the Jungvolk [Hitler Youth] met arrived at the house.... World War II: Intimidated by the Nazis, Fred and his parents emigrated to the U. S. When the U. S. got in the war, we had to register as enemy aliens.... My granduncle [Father Karel Kratina] was executed in Pancraz, the Prague jail the Nazis had taken over....Part of the last letter Father Kratina wrote to his family says, God, I admit my sinfulness, but I certainly do not deserve so much....I forgive my enemy according to the will of Christ....Cold War, Fred: Medical Officer in Army. then in the Air Force. Most of my active military career was in OBGYN....
• George Lewis--Cold War: Petty Officer 2nd Class, Coast Guard. I took trainees into large oil fires and trained them in the use of hand-held devices for putting out small fires.... A lot of the older guys were sure we'd be invaded at some point....During the Cuban Missile Crisis no one was called up from the unit....
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• John M. Lloyd--World War II: Seaman 1st Class on SS Fort Laramie, merchant ship manned by Navy and Merchant Marine personnel. [at Leyte] I saw Jap planes bombing and strafing American positions.... We sent oil ashore via oil hoses. We had many hoses and we could lay a lot of oil in a place.... I saw many fights, merchant seamen slugging it out with other merchant guys and Navy guys pounding on each other. I found the best way to get along was to keep to myself, not argue, not say much.... I got to feeling I was on a ship from hell....
• Jack W. Martin--West Point graduate. Retired Colonel. Cold War: Officer, Army Engineers. Various staff and technical assignments in U. S. and overseas. Greenland was a most unique experience. Initially I was Resident Engineer on a self-elevating steel communication/radar site for the Air Force about 200 miles from base camp at Sondrestrom out on the Icecap.... Vietnam War: CO, 864th Engineer Battalion, Nha Trang. I had to constantly make sure my men were safe and secure. For example, each day as they left the compound for the work site they used mine detectors on the access road. Drugs and prostitution became big problems...Jack Martin's numerous decorations include The Legion of Merit, Army Commendation Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm.
• Richard (Dick) Martin--Army Chaplain, Retired Colonel. Vietnam War: I looked up and there was a soldier lying out there....I just took off and went out there and got him.... I ministered to many wounded soldiers ... but this young man was the only one who died in my arms. I'll never forget him.... Cold War: Command and General Staff College, U.S. Army Europe Command Chaplain. Our forces had different scenarios: the Russians would come through the Fulda Gap and other possible Soviet attacks. We would war-game those things and get down on the ground and train for all that....Dick Martin's numerous decorations include Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart.

• Kirk McDonald -- Korean War: Naval Officer. I was assigned to the Damage Control Division aboard the [USS] Bataan....My duties on the Bataan were in the engine room. I didn't see the light of day for several weeks....Cold War: Naval Aviator. We conducted airborne early warning for Russian planes flying off the east coast of the U.S.  I alternated flying the plane or navigating with the other five pilot-navigators.... 

• Roman Menting--World War II, Army of Occupation: Served in 2nd and 71st Infantry Divisions. Acting Tech Sergeant. I remember standing on this big hill near Pilsen. It was very cold. We had rifles but no ammunition in them. I guess the Army felt the Krauts were no longer a threat. We just stood there on the hill, holding our rifles, watching them....
• Margaret Menting --World War II: On her brother, Army Sgt. Robert Menting, 314th Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, killed in the vicinity of Embermenil, France. I did a pilgrimage to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Epinol, France. I found Robert's grave.... All war is tragic and sad. It is even sadder when a loved one is killed by so-called "friendly fire."...
• Albert (Bert) Miller--World War II: Lieutenant Junior Grade, Executive Officer of Landing Ship Medium (LSM) 109. Carried over 50 Marines into Okinawa. One time we were throwing up fire like crazy at these Zeros and one went down. I don’t know whether we got that plane or another LSM brought it down....Cold War: U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Greece in aftermath of war between the Greek government and communist insurgents. We had to be careful of communist saboteurs. I never went north without a military escort. If we sensed any communist activity, we’d report it immediately to the CIA...General Eisenhower stayed a brief time with us....He was a very nice man. We had a bourbon together.... Letters of Commendation for his service as Public Affairs Officer in Greece.
• Richard (Dick) Newberg--World War II: Tech Sergeant, Army Tanker, Battle of the Bulge; further combat in Germany (Sommerda, Muhlhausen, Klestadt); Silver Star, Purple Heart. Through the periscope I saw the German gun get hit. Next thing I know we’re stopped dead still. Black smoke all over me! I couldn’t see anything or hear anything.... My face and hair were burnt.... All those romantic songs then: I’ll Be Seeing You, Sentimental Journey, When the Lights Go Out All Over the World, As Time Goes By! I hear them now and I still love them....

• Robert (Bob) Petzold--Korean War: Corporal, Army Machine Gun Squad Leader, 17th Regimental Combat Team in action near the 38th Parallel. Combat Infantryman  Badge, Purple Heart.  I played the most “possum” I’d ever played in my life; put my 45 to my head and waited. They came within about three feet, then left. They thought we were dead. If they’d come any closer, I would have pulled the trigger.... Officer for Disabled American Veterans, counseled many Vietnam vets. I thought they [Vietnam Vets] deserved the Purple Heart, but you had to draw blood for that. Of course, mental hurt can be worse than physical hurt....
• Frank Pierce--World War II: Student in Navy V-12 Program, Denison University and Harvard College. We studied how propaganda praises things and manipulates opinions.... We read Goebbels’ speeches in English and wrote papers on how to combat his tactics....Cold War: Naval Officer in occupied Japan. Navigation Officer, USS Mattaponi. We learned later that this medical school building [in Nagasaki] had employed approximately 300 people before it was destroyed in the blast and the fire which followed....They and much of the building’s contents had simply disintegrated.... The [Geisha] girls knelt down beside us in their flowery kimonos and drank cokes and ate the stuff as though they relished it. They also saw to it that our glasses were never empty of coke....
• Robert (Bob) Reese--Cold War: Airman Second Class, Engine and Prop Mechanic, KC-47, Strategic Air Command. In 1956 shortly before Thanksgiving the Russians were saber-rattling again, louder than usual.... If the war drums got louder, we were set to fly to North Africa. We were not allowed to let anyone know where we were at any given day or time....Goose [Bay] was somewhat of a "Pit Stop" from the North American continent to Europe....We maneuvered aircraft from as far away as Hawaii, California, and all points in the U.S. as well as many aircraft from Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia....
• Carson G. Reynolds--World War I: Corporal, Marine Corps. His 5th Marine Regiment was twice awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. We was a-pushin’ the Germans back at Belleau Wood and they shot me clean through the leg. I laid there on the battlefield from 4:30 in the afternoon till 8 the next mornin’.... Bob, this leg’s troubled me ever since then.... Had four doctors tell me I wouldn’t live another year with it. Well, that’s forty year ago since they told me that and I’m still here....
• Mira Rinzler: World War II: Young girl in Romania during fascist and communist oppressions of Jews and others. My father’s family who was from Bucovina was deported to Transnistria where his mother and older sister with her family perished....In 1944 the Red Army entered Romania. They started plundering. They liked to grab wrist watches. They raped women....Cold War: Mira and her husband Gaby became doctors in Romania. We could not trust the people in our building, and the super was a communist. He reported everything, all comings and goings....When the landlady [in Vienna] finally let us in, she said, "You are dirty Jews."... In less than 24 hours she threw us out.... In 1962 we came to the United States and were able to establish a good medical practice in New York State after six years of training and exams.
• Leslie and Joanne Sanders--Cold War: Les, PFC, Army Nerve Gas Technician, 537th Field Artillery, Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. If we'd have made a mistake with that nerve gas shell, all those shells would've blown up. There was enough nerve gas in those shells to probably kill everybody that was not under the water.... Les: Chief (civilian), Combat Support Missile Division, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL. I had people coming to Redstone from all over the world. We trained people from 27 different nations. We had translators in the classroom....My missiles were available and the closest ones to Florida so they were sent down there to offset what Khrushchev was sending to Castro....Joanne: Von Braun lived about two miles from where we lived. Our next door neighbor was Werner Rosinski. His widow, Erika, still lives next door. Rosinski was one of von Braun's team brought over from Germany....The Germans who came to Huntsville created the city's symphony....They take their responsibilities as citizens seriously.
• Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen--World War II: Civilian during German occupation of Denmark. The British air raid destroyed a number of incriminating papers, including those against my brother Erik. The Germans didn’t have anything to prove my brother was guilty, so they let him go.... On May 5, 1945, our trusted maid came rushing into the house and said, “I saw something horrible this morning. The Germans were taking naked bodies off a ship and loading them into a railroad car.”... Postwar: In my work as a physiologist, I met a number of German scientists.... I was most impressed with the work of Karl J. Ullrich and invited him to work with me....
• Henry A. Sheldon--Vietnam War: Executive Officer, 45th Engineer Group, 82n Airborne Division, Da Nang, Vietnam. Letter of Commendation. I was in charge of the Motor Pool, Finance (Pay Officer), Mess Hall (Food), Armor (Weapons), and Supplies (Expendables). I was also Provost Officer in charge of retrieving AWOL soldiers in the slums of DaNang. I assisted in shutting down Army bases as the U.S. began pulling out of Vietnam.... Probably the most dangerous situation I faced was on the almost daily jeep runs through the refugee villages along QL1, the main coast highway of Vietnam.... We should never have been in Vietnam or sided with the Saigon regime....
• Gordon Streib--World War II: Conscientious Objector (CO) under the direction of the Quaker Peace Church. Did CO work in a CCC camp and hospitals. As conscientious objectors we were not trying to keep from dying.... I did not want to bayonet someone or machine gun people who had not done me any harm.... One time a Forestry Service bureaucrat tried to order us into a truck. We refused. We told him we took our orders from the Quakers....Post-War, 1946: Volunteer for United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Association, worked in war-torn Poland. I’ll never forget the devastation in Gdansk. Piles of rubble just about everywhere! There were few people around. Some peered through basement windows at us....
• William (Bill) Tango--World War II: Navy Radioman, 5 Bronze Service Stars: invasions of Saipan, Guam, Leyte Gulf, Luzon; sea battles of the Marianas and Leyte Gulf; [W]hen our 20 and 40 millimeter guns opened up, you knew a Jap plane was diving toward you.... and they’re either gonna shoot him down or he’ll crash into us.... Just held my breath! This kind of thing’d go on all afternoon.... A Navy guy found he could sleep with a girl if he gave her a sheet.  The word got around. Sheets got very valuable. It was an economic thing....
• Buford Dale Thompson--World War II: Army Officer, 69th Infantry Division. Our division was in combat 86 days. Our action took place from the Bulge to the Elbe River. We went some 400 miles, mostly on foot; that must be what is wrong with my legs today.... Many [Soviet soldiers] hadn’t seen wrist watches. They thought flush toilets were weird.... We also heard they used bidets for toilets....Thompson's decorations include Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star for Valor, Occupation Medal (Germany). Cold War, Vietnam War: During my time in the reserves, I changed branches again to military intelligence and commanded a strategic intelligence unit performing special missions for active Army and Department of Defense agencies....Army Reserve Components Achievements Meda, Vietnam Service Medal. Retired Colonel, Army Reserve.
• Reginald (Reg) Touchton--Korean War: Army Sergeant, 187th Regimental Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division. Every jump I made was as scary as the first one.... Combat Infantry Badge, Korean Service Medal with Arrowhead and 4 Bronze Service Stars, UN Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Letter of Commendation citing his unit for heroism in the area of the Koyang River, late May 1951.
• Alvin Warnick--World War II: Worker in a Utah Detention Camp for Japanese. The Japanese were able to circulate in the area and go shopping in Delta. The local people didn’t seem to be worried about them. The camp helped the local economy....Tech Sergeant, Radar Mechanic, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, European Theater of Operations Medal. The worst thing I saw was a plane with a hole three or four feet in diameter. All that was left of the radio operator was blood and body parts.... I never saw any buzz bombs, but I sure heard them. They made a hideous noise. As long as you could hear them, you knew the bombs were on their way to someplace else....
• Wilse (Bernie) Webb--World War II: 1st LT, Army Aviation Classification Center, U.S and Okinawa. Our job was to test prospective pilots, navigators and bombardiers to see if they were trainable or not trainable.... I got involved in evaluating how accurate fighter pilots were in shooting at tow targets....  The nearest thing we came to danger on Ie Shima [near Okinawa] was from Japanese planes. They interrupted many of our evenings trying to bomb our air strip....Bernie Webb's decorations include Okinawa Campaign Ribbon, Pacific Theatre Medal. Cold War: GS-12 Psychologist (civilian), Pensacola Naval Station Laboratory. Our lWab was involved in early astronaut training. Men were being trained to operate complex machines. There was a completely new perspective on space....He [John Glenn] was a stellar gentleman....
• Brandon Mayhew Wight (Brandy)--World War II: Sergeant, Army Engineers, Saipan and Okinawa Campaigns. They [Jap Zeroes] hit a B-29 and it caught fire. I got the fire truck out and we drove over there as fast as we could. .... I  don't know why they [Zeroes] didn't hit us; we were just lucky.... Our ship joined the mob of ships in the harbor [at Okinawa].... Kamikaze planes plunged into ships causing terrible explosions. Many of our men were killed.... It was a horrible thing to see....Special Citation for his heroism on Saipan.
• Martha Wroe--World War II: Army Nurse, mostly at Vaughn General Hospital, west Chicago.... I worked with many kinds of disabilities: brain injuries, amputees, spinal cord injuries. The great majority of men I worked with had compound fractures they got from shrapnel, foxhole falls, or gunshots.... Sometimes you had to motivate them [GI's]. I think that's why they called me "Commando Annie."... We had to stand up when a male doctor came in the room. I never liked that, but I did it.... I went to Stanford under the GI Bill. The GI Bill was wonderful and helped the whole country....