- I went to basic training in a replacement training school in Arkansas, and it was supposed to be 16 weeks, and it was shortened to 13 because of the losses, so many losses, at that time.

I enlisted on my 18th birthday, August 4, 1944.

And in September of 1944, I was sent to Fort Snelling for my physical and to be taken into the army.

I went to Luzon in the Philippines.

I had two practice landings, one in the Marshalls and one in the Carolines.

We went by convoy and changed directions every 15 minutes after we left Hawaii, and I guess it was supposed to be so the submarines wouldn't have that much time to zero in on the ships.

It took me 30 days to get there.

My most memorable day in the service?

When I came home (laughter).

- [Interviewer] It was over?

- Yeah.

I was young.

So after the rest of my division went home, we went home by points, and the best friend I ever had was over there for three years, and he kind of adopted me, and so I always felt that it was a reason that I was able to come home because replacements were a dime a dozen.

And if you could make it through the first week or two so people would respect you a little more and protect you, you had a chance.

But this friend of mine, Joe Engleton, was six years older than me, and he came out of the jungle.

I was dropped off in a little pathway in the jungle and alone about five in the evening.

And he came and asked me if I had a place for the night, and I said, "No, I'm just sort of lost, you know?"

And he took me into his squad and introduced me to them all.

And because they respected him so much, they kind of took care of me until I could understand what I had to do, so.

- [Interviewer] Are there any planes in particular you're looking forward to seeing here today?

- Oh, I love the P-51s.

- P-51s?

- They were great airplanes, P-51, P-38s, and even Piper Cubs because we had Piper Cubs that did scouting for the infantry and they could pick out the range, our artillery range, and pick out groups of Japanese, and they would fly real low and risk their lives just for us, so.

- [Interviewer] So how does it feel to be back at this event today and kind of surrounded by World War II enthusiasts and the planes and some of the memorabilia?

- I think it's wonderful.

I've been wanting to come here, and my granddaughter and her husband had been trying to get it arranged for me, and my oldest son and I were wanting to come up to it but we just never were able to make it, and I lost him in a motorcycle accident a year ago now, so, but he and I went back to the Philippines in the 1900s, and I was very close to him.

- [Interviewer] What was that return trip to the Philippines like?

- It was very reassuring and very nice.

I felt so sorry for the Filipino people.

The war, I had Uncle Sam looking out for me, and the Japanese had their people looking out for them, but the Filipinos had no one.

And the example of it was Manila, the capital of the Philippines with over a million people, and it was called the Pearl of the Orient.

It was a beautiful city, I guess.

When I went in there, it took a month to clear Manila itself and it was hand-to-hand and mortars and cannons, what have you, and everything was destroyed.

I understand from the books I've read, 100,000 Filipinos died in that month of taking Manila, innocent people.

And as we went into Manila I saw all of these poor people coming out carrying what little bit they had and little orphan kids.

And when we went back, now it's rebuilt.

It's a beautiful city.

The people are smiling and it's a normal life again.

But my memories, especially of the little kids, I write poetry, and the main thing that I have is I had a terrible time because the little kids would follow us, and we weren't supposed to encourage them to follow us, but they were starving and they'd line up, and we weren't supposed to feed them or anything because it would encourage them to follow us.

So they'd stand out there at a distance with a pail and call out "Joe, Joe."

One of them was a little Filipino girl.

They're short people anyhow, and she was just a little tyke, and she had on a dirty white dress, no one to take care of her, scraggly hair, and I've thought about her all my life because I'd save a little of my food and I'd put it in her pail and she'd be calling,"Joe, Joe," and when I put it in there, she'd say, "Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, Joe."

And after a while they disappeared.

And my whole life I've spent wondering did she have a happy life?

Did she live through it?

And, anyhow, I wrote a poem about her and it was published, but at night I would get these things working in my mind about her and about things and then I'd get up at midnight and write 'em, and in the morning my wife would type 'em up.

When I came home, I had a terrible, terrible time.

I don't know why.

I had a good home life.

But for two years I hitchhiked around America all over.

I was a bum.

I picked peaches in Colorado and I (inaudible).

I just did everything you could imagine but I could not settle down.

And finally I met my wife and I knew right away, just right away.

I knew this is what I've been looking for.

And I talked her into going with me and... - [Interviewer] And you settled down.

- ...and settled down, We've been married 73 years now.

I wish we would have a draft so that everyone would serve a little bit.

I think it would give them more patriotism and more love.

I have a history teacher that has me come in and talk to the kids in the junior class every year, and I've been doing it for 25 years.

And then he has them write me a letter of what they get out of it.

And I've got every one of the letters that they've always written and I know it's part of their class, but it's good to read.

At that junior class stage, they're still yet interested in what I have to say.

And I don't talk about, tell them about all of the crazy things we had to go through, but more about how it affected our country and how-- I've read Tom Brokaw's book, The Greatest Generation, and I'm prejudiced, I know, but I've known so many wonderful, wonderful World War II veterans that when they came home they wanted to find a job, find a girl that would love them for the rest of their lives and not judge him for what he has had to do because some of that is really bad.

And he wasn't interested in competition with his neighbor.

He would help his neighbor anytime.

I think Tom Brokaw was right.

They were the greatest people because they had seen such terrible things that just-- all they wanted to do was lead a normal, normal life, and they were just great people.

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