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--> I HAD JUST GRADUATED FROM NURSES TRAINING, AND I WAS
WORKING IN NORTH FIELD, MINNESOTA, AND I REMEMBER COMING
UP THE STEPS TO GO TO WORK, AND I HEARD ABOUT THIS BOMBING THAT
HAD HAPPENED IN PEARL HARBOR, AND THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO
MY MIND WAS, OH, ARE THEY GOING TO START DRAFTING NURSES?
OF COURSE, THEY DIDN'T. BUT YOU KNOW, THAT WAS IN '41,
AND IT WASN'T UNTIL '44 THAT I DECIDED TO GO INTO THE SERVICE.
I THINK THE LONGEST THAT WE WORKED WAS 34 HOURS IN A ROW,
AND IT WASN'T BAD WHEN THEY KEPT COMING AND COMING AND GOING AND COMING.
BUT THEN AT THE END WHEN IT WAS KIND OF THE MINOR THINGS THAT
CAME AND ALL, WE COULD HARDLY STAY AWAKE, YOU KNOW.
--> WE LANDED ON THE FIRST INVASION OF WORLD WAR II, AND
THAT WAS THE LANDING OF NORTH AFRICA, AND IT WAS VERY SECRET.
WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT PART OF THE WORLD WE WAS EVEN IN.
WE DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER WE WAS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, WHETHER WE
WAS NEAR ENGLAND OR WHAT COUNTRY.
WE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNTIL WE GOT READY TO HIT SHORE.
WE HAD CHURCH SERVICES ON THE SHIP AND AFTER THE SERVICES, WE
WERE TOLD WE WERE GOING TO BE HITTING THE BEACHES.
THERE'S ROPES ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND YOU JUST CLIMB DOWN THE
ROPES AND JUMP INTO THESE LANDING BARGES AND HEAD FOR SHORE.
AND AS SOON AS YOU GET TO SHORE, YOU JUST TAKE OFF AND RUN SO FAR
AND JUST DUCK.
THERE WASN'T MUCH RESISTANCE WHEN WE GOT THERE, SEE.
IT WASN'T LIKE ON D-DAY IN FRANCE HERE.
THIS WAS YOU A SECRET.
NOBODY KNEW WE WERE COMING, OR IF THEY WOULD HAVE, THE GERMANS,
NO DOUBT, WOULD HAVE WIPED US OUT.
THAT'S ONE OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT YOU JUST KIND OF DON'T
FORGET, YOU KNOW.
I MET MY BROTHER IN AFRICA DIGGING A FOXHOLE.
NEITHER OF US KNEW THAT WE WENT OVERSEAS AT ALL.
WE WENT TO SERVICE ALMOST THE SAME TIME.
THERE WAS A LONG CONVOY GOING THROUGH, AND HE WAS ONE OF THEM
IN THE CONVOY, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT.
I KEPT ASKING WHERE IT WAS. I JUST KEPT GOING ASKING, ASKING.
THE NEXT ONE DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL FINALLY ONE OF THEM SAID THEY'RE
UP AHEAD HERE.
JUST TURN RIGHT OFF THE ROAD, AND HE SAID THEY'RE DIGGING IN.
I PULLED OFF THE ROAD, AND HERE HE WAS PITCHING DIRT.
IT WAS IN A REAL BAD SPOT FOR AIRCRAFT AND STUFF, AND HE WAS
DIGGING A FOXHOLE.
THAT WAS THE BEST MEETING I'VE
--> KILL OR BE KILLED. THAT WAS MY MOTTO.
SO WHEN YOU GET THAT IN YOU AND YOU SEE ALL OF THAT KILLING, I
THINK IT STAYED.
AND THAT'S WHAT WAR IS ALL ABOUT, LIVING IN THE FOXHOLE DAY
AFTER DAY.
I SLEPT WITH THE DEAD. I WOULD RUN INTO THE FOXHOLE,
AND THEY'RE SHOOTING AT US, AND THERE WAS A GUY THERE SITTING IN
THE CORNER OF THAT FOXHOLE. HIS RIFLE WAS THERE AND A FEW
OTHER GUYS.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHO ALL THEY WERE. WE DON'T KNOW.
I SAID WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM OVER THERE?
IT WAS OVERNIGHT, SEE. I DIDN'T KNOW.
I KNEW HE WAS THERE, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE WAS DEAD.
HE WAS DEAD FROM THE TIME I JUMPED IN THAT FOXHOLE, AND THAT
WAS IN, I'D SAY, MAYBE 8 O'CLOCK IN THE NIGHT, AND THE NEXT
MORNING WHEN IT COME DAYLIGHT,
--> ALL WE WERE TAUGHT WAS OUR DUTIES AND OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.
WHEN I WAS 7 YEARS OLD, I JOINED THE WOLF CUBS.
EVERY WEEK, I HAD TO STAND AROUND AND SAY, I PROMISE TO DO
MY BEST TO DO BY DUTY TO GOD AND THE KING.
7 YEARS OLD, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S -- THAT WAS THE WAY IT WAS.
WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THE FREEDOM TO DO WHATEVER THE HECK WE LIKED.
IN FACT, I SOMETIMES SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT -- ONE OF
MY MAJOR FEELINGS ABOUT THE WAR WAS IT ROBBED ME OF THE FREEDOM
TO BE A TEENAGER, BECAUSE WHENEVER WE STARTED TO DO ANY OF
THOSE TEENAGE THINGS, SOMEBODY WAS THERE, WHAT DO YOU GUYS
THINK YOU'RE DOING?
DON'T YOU KNOW THERE'S A WAR ON? THAT WAS IT.
MY BEST ILLUSTRATION OF THE WAY THINGS WERE ON THE HOME FRONT
WAS, I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS IN THE MED FLEET.
AND WHEN THE WAR ENDED, THEY WERE SHIPPED HOME, AND HE
STOPPED OFF AND A GENTLEMAN PICKED UP A COUPLE OF POUNDS OF
ORANGE JUICE, AND HE GAVE HIS 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AN ORANGE WHEN HE GOT HOME.
AND SHE SAID, WHAT'S THAT? SHE HAD NEVER SEEN ONE.
--> I HAD JUST BEEN MADE THE SCOUTING COMMANDER ABOUT ONE
MONTH WHEN I WAS SHOT DOWN KNOWN AS AIR FORCE HISTORY AS BLACK THURSDAY.
THE SECOND SCHWEINFURT MISSION TO THE BALL BEARING FACTORIES.
AND I WAS IN A INTEARGATION CELL FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS
BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT AT MY AGE AND A MAJOR, I MUST KNOW SOMETHING.
WHEN THEY WOULD ASK ME QUESTIONS, I WOULD JUST SHAKE MY HEAD.
I COULD UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE GERMAN, BUT I JUST MADE MYSELF DUMB.
I REMEMBER, ONE GUY, HE FINALLY GOT SO MAD THAT HE TOOK HIS CAP
OFF, AND HE THREW IT ON THE FLOOR AND STARTED TO STOMP ON
IT, AND HE WALKED OUT.
THEN FROM THERE, I WENT TO STALUG LUFT THREE.
WHILE SHOOTING SO MANY OF US DOWN AND SO MANY POW'S, THAT
THEY OPENED A WEST COMPOUND, AND I WENT THERE AS A BLOCK COMMANDER.
AND BEFORE THE PRISONERS COME IN, I WENT AROUND THE COMPOUND
AND DUG OUT ALL THE GRASS THAT I COULD FIND, AND I PLANTED IT
RIGHT BELOW MY WINDOW, AND I HAD A LITTLE PIECE OF LAWN ABOUT THE
SIZE OF A DOUBLE BED.
ABOUT DECEMBER THE 29th OF ' '44, THE RUSSIANS WERE GETTING
CLOSE, AND WE COULD HEAR THE ARTILLERY, AND IT WAS THE DEAD
OF WINTER, ONE OF THE COLDEST WINTERS THAT THEY HAD, AND WE
MOVED OUT AT NIGHT AND STARTED TO MARCH OUT.
AND DURING THE MARCH, I FROZE MY FEET.
BUT I HAD TO WALK WITH THE COMPOUND, BECAUSE I WAS THE
BLOCK COMMANDER, AND SO I HAD TO KEEP WALKING TO KEEP THE BOYS GOING.
AND WE WALKED AND GOT ON A TRAIN, AND THEY TOOK US TO A
VACATED PRISON OF WAR CAMP THAT THEY HAD.
IT WAS THE FILTHIEST THING THAT I'D EVER BEEN IN, BED BUGS AND EVERYTHING.
AND NO SHELTERS.
I HADN'T SEEN THE GIRL FROM THE TIME I WAS SHOT DOWN BEFORE I
LEFT ENGLAND UNTIL -- YOUNG GIRLS RAN AIRCRAFT BATTERIES
AROUND OUTSIDE OF NURENBURG.
IT WAS NOTHING LIKE HOGAN'S HEROES OVER THERE.
--> WHEN WE GOT TO THE CANAL, WE WERE ALMOST CONSTANTLY HARASSED
BY COMCASSY AIRCRAFT, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I HEARD A FIVE INCH 38
SHELL EXPLODE, AND WHEN I LOCATED IT IN THE CLOUDS, I
NOTICED THERE WAS AN AIRPLANE COMING OUT FROM BEHIND.
WELL, THAT WAS A JAPANESE DIVE BOMBER, AND HE WAS ALMOST
STRAIGHT ABOVE US WHEN I LOCATED HIM.
THE FIRST BLAST FROM OUR SISTER DESTROYER WAS THE ONE THAT
ALERTED US TO THE FACT THAT HE WAS UP THERE, BUT WE NEVER GOT A
SHOT OFF TO HIM.
THINGS HAPPENED SO FAST. OUR GENERAL QUARTERS BILLS WERE
CLANGING AND HANGING WHEN HE CAME DOWN ANDHIT US.
HE CAME DOWN ALMOST STRAIGHT DOWN, KNOCKED OFF THE TOP OF THE
MAIN MAST, AND I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER I SHOULD BE
ON THE PORT SIDE OR STAR BRIDGE SIDE OF THE DECK I WAS ON IN
ORDER FOR BE AS FAR AWAY FROM WHERE HE WAS GOING TO HIT AS I COULD BE.
WE WERE UNDERWAY AND WE'RE TURNING, AND HE'S TRYING TO HIT
US ACCURATELY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHIP, I THINK.
BUT HE HIT THE DECK JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A FIVE INCH GUN
TURRET THAT I WAS STANDING ON.
AND HIS AIRPLANE FLEW APART WHEN IT HIT THE DECK, AND HIS BOMB
DID NOT EXPLODE.
THE WRECKAGE SLID OFF THE SIDE OF OUR DESTROYER, WHICH WAS
MOVING PRETTY RAPIDLY, AND IT SUCKED THE WRECKAGE UNDER THE
SHIP, AND I THINK THE PROPELLER MUST HAVE HIT THE UNEXPLODED
BOMB, BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT'S WHAT EXPLODED AND LIFTED
THE STERN OUT OF THE WATER AND ALMOST TOSSED ME OVERBOARD IN THE PROCESS.
I SUPPOSE I GOT TOSSED IN THE AIR MAYBE -- I DON'T KNOW -- 7 OR 8 OR MORE FEET.
AND WHEN I CAME DOWN, THE DECK WAS WRINKLED, SO I KNEW THAT
SOME EXPLOSION HAD HAPPENED ON THE STERN OF OUR SHIP.
THE REST OF THE CREW HAD DAMAGE CONTROL STATIONS THAT THEY WERE
WORKING AND SLAVING AT, TRYING TO GET AS MUCH WEIGHT OFF THE
SHIP AS POSSIBLE SO THAT IT COULD FLOAT LONG ENOUGH FOR
HOPEFULLY A MILITARY TUG 50 MILES AWAY MIGHT COME OUT AND PULL IT IN.
BUT AFTER THROWING EVERYTHING WE COULD OF ANY WEIGHT, AND I MEAN
I WAS SO SORE FROM LIFTING THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD
LIFT, THAT WHEN NIGHT CAME, I JUST ACHED ALL OVER.
THE HATCHES FLEW OPEN ON THE ENGINE ROOMS, AND THE ENGINE
CREW CAME BOWLING UP OUT OF THE ENGINE ROOM CALL COVERED WITH
BLACK OIL AND STREAKED WITH RED WHERE BLOOD WAS FLOWING THROUGH
IT, AND THAT WAS THE START OF THE SINKING OF THE WILLIAM D.
--> BACK IN THOSE DAYS, WE WERE ALL GUNG HOE AGAIN TO DO OUR PARTS AND ALL.
ALMOST EVERY YOUNG MAN WAS EAGER TO GO.
AND AS SOON AS I TURNED 18, WHY, I WAS READY TOEN ENLIST.
MY BROTHER WENT INTO THE NAVY IN 1941 BEFORE THE WAR STARTED, AND
HE WAS ALREADY A MAN ON AN AIRPLANE AND KILLED IN AN
AIRPLANE CRASH IN CALIFORNIA ON JANUARY 2nd, 1943.
I ENLISTED JANUARY 28th, 1943.
AND ACTUALLY LOOKING BACK ON IT, I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE
IN THAT SOON, BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY PRETTY TOUGH ON MY
PARENTS, BECAUSE IT TO LOSE ONE SON AND 26 DAYS LATER HAVE ANOTHER ONE LEAVE.
BUT AT THAT AGE, YOU DON'T THINK
--> EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT THAN IT IS TODAY.
WE HAD AN OBLIGATION TO PROTECT OUR COUNTRY, AND WE NEVER
THOUGHT AT ALL ABOUT JOINING UP.
EVERYBODY AROUND ME WAS JOINING UP.
IT WAS JUST A NATURAL THING TO DO.
THE ORDINARY CITIZEN, THEY DON'T REALIZE JUST WHAT THE SITUATION
IS WHEN YOU'RE OVER THERE AND UNDER THIS STRESS CONTINUALLY,
AND THEN COME HOME.
THEY FIGURE, WELL, MAYBE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND YOU'RE BACK
TO NORMAL, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
42,000 CANADIANS LOST THEIR LIVES OVERSEAS DURING THAT WAR,
AND WE LOST THE CREAM OF CANADA
--> I HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR THE DECK CREW ON A CARRIER THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE WAR.
THAT'S THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB THERE IS IN THE WAR, BECAUSE
PLANES ARE TURNING UP ALL OVER, AND THE SHIP IS PITCHING, AND
WHEN YOU COME OUT OF THE READY ROOM, YOU GO UP, AND YOU'VE GOT TO FIND YOUR PLANES.
THEY'RE ALL PUSHED TOGETHER, A LOT OF ROUGH GOING.
THEY'VE GOT TO MOVE YOU AROUND.
WE DON'T DO FLYOFFS, BUT WE DID MORE CAT CAT A POALTS THAN
FLYOFFS, BECAUSE IT WAS SAFER.
THOSE ARE ALL THRILLING.
NOTHING BEATS A CARRIER NIGHT LANDING.
THAT'S THE MOST THRILLING OF ALL, BECAUSE IT'S DARK.
IT'S SURPRISINGLY GOOD, AND WE WERE TRAINED TO DO IT.
IT'S ALWAYS A THRILL.
IT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN'T MAKE A MISTAKE ON OR YOU'RE NOT GOING
--> HERE WE ARE, 14 MEN, TWO JEEPS AND A MOTORCYCLE, AND THEY
SEND US A TURKEY FOR THANKSGIVING.
HOW IN THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIX A TURKEY?
SO AT THIS TIME, WE RAN INTO THIS VILLAGE.
WE HAD ONE KID WHO CAME FROM ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, LUVERNE
CEPPERS, HIS NAME WAS.
HE COULD SPEAK GERMAN. AND WE FINALLY TALKED TO THESE PEOPLE THERE.
IT WAS A HOUSEWIFE, AND SHE HAD TWO DAUGHTERS.
I SAID, YOU CAN TALK GERMAN.
WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO THAT LADY THERE AND SEE IF SHE'LL FIX THE
TURKEY FOR US AND SHE CAN SIT DOWN AND EAT RIGHT WITH US. SO SHE DID.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, WE HAD BUTTER FOR OUR TOAST, AND WHERE
DID THE BUTTER COME FROM?
THEY MADE THEIR OWN BUTTER.
THAT'S WHERE THEY -- GUESS WHERE THEY STORED IT?
A COW DUNG HEAP.
THEY DUG IT IN, HAD IT COVERED UP GOOD, PUT IT IN THERE SO THE
GERMAN ARMY COULDN'T GET IT.
SO WE HAD THAT TURKEY.
THEY FIXED IT FOR US, AND SAT DOWN AND ATE WITH US AND WERE DAMN HAPPY TO HAVE IT.
--> WHEN THEY CALLED US OVER, THAT WAS IN MAINE.
WE DID A MONTH OF SPECIAL TRAINING.
WE WERE TOLD AT FIRST, NO WRITING LETTERS, ALL BEARDS SHAVED OFF.
WHEN WE START TO MOVE, NO STOPPING FOR ANYBODY.
THEY FIGURE WE'D LOSE 50%, BUT WE DIDN'T.
OF ALL THE 19 CORVETTES, WHEN IT WAS OVER, WE LOST 99 MEN AND 30 CASUALTIES.
I THINK MOST FELLOWS AS YOUNG MEN, THEY DON'T WORRY ABOUT DEATH.
THINGS HAPPEN.
LIKE, WHEN YOU'RE ABOARD SHIP, YOU'RE SLEEPING IN YOUR HAMMOCKS DOWN BELOW.
YOU CAN HEAR SOMETHING ELSE LETTING DEPTH CHARGES GO.
IT NEVER SEEMS TO BOTHER YOU.
BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHEN A SHIP IS HIT AND THAT
WATER COMES IN AND YOU NEVER GET OUT OF THERE, WHAT A WAY TO END.
--> THE TIME THAT I SPENT OVER THERE WITH THE SERVICE BOYS AND
THEN GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE AREA AND THE JAPANESE PEOPLE
THEMSELVES, I ENDED UP GETTING A MAMA-SAN AND A PAPA-SAN TO DO MY LAUNDRY.
THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL YOU OVER THERE.
I WAS CALLED KUEHL-SAN.
THEY CALLED ME KUEHL-SAN, SEE.
THEY WERE A NICE ELDERLY COUPLE AND MAMA-SAN, SHE DID ALL MY WASHING FOR ME.
SO THEY KIND OF ACCEPTED YOU.
WE JUST FELT THAT WE WERE JUST PART OF THE FAMILY AFTER YOU'RE THERE FOR A WHILE.
WE'D SEE THEM ALL THE TIME, SEE. AND THEY WERE ALWAYS SO GLAD TO
SEE YOU WHENEVER YOU'D COME OVER
--> WELL, I WAS IN AN INFANTRY SQUAD AND WE WERE ON A RECONNAISSANCE PATROL.
WE GOT HALFWAY DOWN A HILL, AND I GUESS YOU'D SAY ALL HELL BROKE
LOSE, MACHINE GUNS AND RIFLE FIRE.
THERE WAS 8 OF US. WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE.
WE FIRED BACK AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
IN A MATTER OF 3 MINUTES, THE OTHER FELLOWS WERE DEAD, AND I
WAS SHOT THROUGH THE BACK AND BOTH HIPS, AND I WAS GOING TO
MOVE INTO A SMALL DIP IN THE ROAD RIGHT THERE, AND WHEN I'D
MOVE, I GOT ANOTHER BULLET THAT JUST WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE EDGE
OF MY FIELD JACKET AND HIT MY ARM.
THEN I LAID VERY STILL. I PLAYED DEAD.
AND THAT'S WHERE I WAS FOR THREE DAYS.
GOT VERY COLD THE FIRST NIGHT.
OF COURSE, I COULDN'T FEEL ANYTHING.
MY WAIST DOWN, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH CLOTHES.
WE WOULD CUT A HOLE IN A GI BLANKET APPROXIMATE PUT IT OVER
MY -- AND PUT IT OVER OUR HEAD AND USE IT FOR A BLINK HE ET.
I WRAPPED THAT AROUND MY HEAD. THE NIGHT LASTED FOREVER.
I DIDN'T THINK I'D LIVE TILL MORNING, BUT I DID.
THE SECOND DAY WAS THE SAME THING, AND THE SECOND NIGHT, I
PRAYED A LOT, I GUESS.
I WAS BROUGHT UP IN A RELIGIOUS FAMILY.
AND SOMETIMES I GUESS I'D PRAY THAT I'D DIE, BECAUSE I KNEW I
WASN'T GOING TO MAKE IT. I WAS GETTING COLDER. IT WAS JUST FREEZING.
THE NEXT MORNING, TWO GERMANS WERE COMING ACROSS THE FIELD
DOWN THE ROAD WHERE THE MACHINE GUNS WERE FIRING, AND IT DIDN'T
APPEAR LIKE THEY HAD ME WEAPONS, BUT I HAD A HAND GRENADE LEFT.
I FIGURED, IF THEY'RE COMING AFTER ME, I'M GOING TO GET THEM.
BUT THEY STOPPED ABOUT 50 FEET OUT AND TALKED, AND I COULDN'T
UNDERSTAND THEM, OF COURSE, BUT THEY CAME AND TOOK ME OUT OF
THAT LITTLE DIP I WAS IN AND DRAGGED ME OVER TO A ROADSIDE
AND THEN TOOK OFF BACK TOWARDS OUR LINES.
SO IT WAS PRETTY DEFINITE THEY WERE GOING BACK TO SURRENDER,
AND I'M SURE WHEN THEY GOT BACK THEY TOLD MY COMPANY THAT I WAS
UP THERE, BECAUSE ABOUT TWO HOURS LATER, I DON'T KNOW HOW
LONG LATER, BUT LATER HERE COME A JEEP DOWN, AND THEY PICKED ME
UP, AND THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS ABOUT.
BUT I'M SURE THOSE TWO GERMANS
--> THERE'S ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO SAY.
YOU DON'T READ THIS IN THE HISTORY BOOK OR IN THE NEWS, BUT
NOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE IT. THE ISLAND OF PELELIU WAS 12 SQUARE MILES.
IT WAS 2 BY 6.
THERE WAS A FIRST DIVISION THAT WENT IN DOWN THERE, AND I'D SAY
25,000 MEN, AND THERE WERE PROBABLY 40,000 CAMPS ON THERE. AND NO SANITATION.
AND AFTER ABOUT 10 DAYS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT SMELLED SO BAD YOU COULDN'T HARDLY STAND IT.
THE FLYERS THAT COME THERE, THEY SAID YOU COULD SMELL IT FROM 1500 FEET UP.
THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT.
AND THE JAPANESE NEVER BURIED THEIR DEAD.
WE TRIED.
WE TRIED TO BURY THEIRS, TOO.
I GOT DISCHARGED THE 21st OF DECEMBER.
I COME HOME ON CHRISTMAS EVE OF 1945.
THEY SENT EVERYBODY HOME BY TRAIN IN THOSE DAYS.
AND I TOOK THE TRAIN FROM MAYORAL ISLAND, CALIFORNIA TO
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND THERE THERE I HAD TO RIDE A BUS
FROM ABERDEEN, AND THE BUS DRIVER ASKED ME HOW COME I WAS
GETTING OUT AT OAKS, AND I SAID, THIS IS WHERE I'M FROM.
THIS IS THE BEST TOWN IN THE
--> I NOTICE THAT TOM BROKAW CALLED THE MILITARY OUR GREATEST
GENERATION, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE UP TO A POINT, BUT
THE WHOLE GENERATION WAS THE GREATEST.
I MEAN, THE PEOPLE BACK HOME WERE THE GREATEST.
THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE COLLECTING THE ALUMINUM POTS AND
PANS SO THAT THEY CAN BE TURNED IN TO AIRPLANE WINGS.
THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE GOING INTO THE DITCH AND BACK
AND THE SHELTERS OF THE SHELTER BELT AND DIGGING UP THE OLD
RUSTED FARM MACHINERY AND HAULING IT IN SO THAT IT COULD BE MELTED AND MADE INTO GUNS.
THEY WERE THE ONES THAT DROVE FIVE TO A CAR INSTEAD OF ONE TO
A CAR IN ORDER TO SAVE RUBBER AND GAS.
THEY WERE THE ONES THAT LEARNED HOW TO PATCH A TIRE TUBE FIVE OR
SIX TIMES WHEN ONCE WOULD BE PLENTY IN PEACE TIME.
THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE GIVEN SO MANY COUPONS FOR SUGAR, SO MUCH FOR FLOUR.
THE WHOLE JEP GENERATION, WHETHER THEY WERE IN THE
MILITARY OR NOT, KNEW WE WERE IN A WAR AND WERE DOING EVERYTHING
THEY COULD IN THEIR SITUATION TO WIN THAT WAR.
AND IT'S SO DIFFERENT FROM THE WARS THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE THE