Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Joe Wyche | U.S. Army - Army

1:35 | Joe Wyche recalls how the poor economic times of the Great Depression led him to join the Army in the late 1930s.

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WWII

Joe Wyche | WWII | U.S. Army | 1:35

Joe Wyche recalls how the poor economic times of the Great Depression led him to join the Army in the late 1930s.

Showing : WWII Videos

Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Veronica Lake's films about aviators had a lot to do with it, that and the draft. Bill Couch thought his survival chances would be better in the air so he went for the Air Corps but, once he was in training, he realized there were a lot of ways to die up there.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

It happened right in front of him. On his very first mission, B-24 radio operator Burt Vardeman saw a plane up ahead in the formation explode from a direct hit by a flak shell. I'm never going to get home, he thought.
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.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

The weather had to be clear for the mass bombing technique used by the Allies. B-17 bombardier Bill Couch recalls several missions that had to be scrubbed because the target wasn't visible. If you were lucky, you had an alternate target you could hit. If German fighters came at you, you had to man a .50 cal machine gun.
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.
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.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

The mission to Bremerhaven was rough. From his seat up in the nose, bombardier Bill Couch saw other B-17's going down with parachutes streaming out, some on fire. When German fighters were attacking, the leading edge of their wings seemed to have sparklers and he came to dread that sight.
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.
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.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

The first mission was a milk run, no flak and no enemy fighters. B-17 bombardier Bill Couch was glad for that, but the mission failed to achieve the objective. The German sub pens on the French coast had something that protected them from aerial bombing.
Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Besugo (SS-321)

Harper Brame had some cousins who served during the second World War, but the rest of his family was involved in the war effort back home. He describes his family’s military history that goes all the way back to the Revolutionary War.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

As the advancing Russians were getting closer, the POW's at Stalag Luft III were forced to travel from occupied Poland into Germany. Before that, there had been an ill fated mass escape that was immortalized in the movie, The Great Escape. Bill Couch was one of those POW's and he gives his perspective on all that as the war was winding down. Part 3 of 3.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

After VE Day, Burt Vardeman returned stateside and was told he would be training for the Pacific after some leave. He got his leave, as well as a stay at a plush Miami hotel to recuperate. When it finally was all over, he and the entire nation returned to their own private lives. They had done it and they had done it all together.
Harper Brame - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Besugo (SS-321)

Growing up in rural Virginia, Harper Brame was a member of a hardworking family. He recalls some of the people he grew up with and a doctor who treated his broken femur.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Bill Couch was heading into Germany but this time it wasn't on a bombing run. The newly captured B-17 bombardier was going to Dulag Luft, a collection and interrogation camp for POW's. His interrogator knew as much as he did about his unit and their operations. Well, not much point in questioning me, is there?
Jack Wall - Navy +6 Total Videos

Multiple Units

The men were packed in like sardines on the troop ship and Jack Wall was glad when it got to New Caledonia. He was a Navy Corpsman and Pharmacist's Mate and served in the hospital there before he went aboard ship to participate in the upcoming invasions.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

For you, the war is over. That's what Bill Couch heard from the first German to speak when he and the rest of the B-17 crew were taken into custody. First they were held at a naval base where the piano playing radio operator entertained their captors. Then they were taken to Naples where an Italian mob posed an unexpected menace.
Jack Wall - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Pinkney (APH-2)

The USS Pinkney had a dual role. The ship delivered troops to an invasion and then waited to evacuate wounded. At Okinawa, the troops were already ashore when a kamikaze plane struck it amidships. Pharmacist's Mate Jack Wall describes the incident and how he was almost a victim of it.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

It was a drab place but at least Bill Couch was among his own. Stalag Luft III was in occupied Poland and life at the huge camp proved to be bearable. There was athletic equipment, a library, and an orchestra. He even developed a taste for the infamous German black bread.
Jack Wall - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Pinkney (APH-2)

His ship was in dry dock in New Zealand when Jack Wall missed the last boat that would get him back in time from his liberty. Would he be able to sneak on board? Several guys were already busted that night.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

B-24 radio operator Burt Vardeman fondly remembers the Italian locals who lived in the village near his air base. They were kind and helpful and, after the war, his squadron returned the favor.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

After they had to ditch their B-17 in the ocean between Naples and Sicily, it was the Germans who got to them first. Bill Couch and the rest of the crew were now POW's. They were sent to Stalag Luft III, a huge camp in occupied Poland. It was no country club but at least they weren't abused by the guards. The SS and the Gestapo, though, you wanted to steer clear when they were around. Part 2 of 3.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

On his first mission, B-24 radio operator Burt Vardeman saw a plane explode after a direct hit from a flak shell. No parachutes. It was a real quick lesson in how deadly this game was.
Jack Wall - Navy +6 Total Videos

USS Pinkney (APH-2)

The USS Pinkney was an evacuation transport. It was designed to deliver troops to an invasion site and then evacuate the wounded. The ship participated in three memorable landings, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Pharmacist's Mate Jack Wall recalls an episode that unfolded in the psych ward regarding a suicidal sailor.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Wake up time was 3:30 AM. This tended to make bombardier Bill Couch rather grouchy. No time for that. There was a briefing, there was breakfast and the gear had to be loaded onto the plane, including the bombsight.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

Burt Vardeman was at his waist gun when one of the fighter escorts flew close enough to see the pilot's face. Was that a black pilot? He really got an eye opening experience when his plane developed engine trouble and had to crash land at what turned out to be the base of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

There were many escape attempts at Stalag Luft III. In fact, one ill fated mass escape was immortalized in the movie, The Great Escape. Bill Couch recalls his experiences as a prisoner at that camp and relates what happened in the aftermath of that incident.
Burt Vardeman - Army Air Corps +17 Total Videos

824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force

The B-24 air base was near Foggia in Italy but the base for their fighter escorts was much closer to the front. Radio operator Burt Vardeman describes how they would rendezvous and proceed to the target. It was late in the war and the threat from German fighters was diminishing.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

The target was a Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg. That made it a labor of love for the B-17 crews. Bill Couch recalls that, once their fighter escort had to turn back, it was a running gun battle all the way to the target. There was heavy flak, too, and their engines took some damage. They lost one, then another. How long could they stay up? Part 1 of 3.
Bill Couch - Army Air Corps +15 Total Videos

349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

It was Christmas in 1944 and the prisoners at Stalag Luft III wondered if they would see the next Christmas at home. A lot of uncertainty was added when the Germans forced them out on the road in a march southward into Germany. Bill Couch describes that trip and their short stay at the next Stalag.