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Julius Rainwater

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He'd already been studying radio communications, so the Army sent Julius Rainwater to the Signal Corps. He learned Morse Code and became adept at copying coded messages. Most of the men were from the northeast, but the Georgia boy made fast friends while training. (5:02)

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The destination was unknown when Juius Rainwater boarded the liberty ship and headed out into the Pacific. The first stop was Hawaii, where he had a chance meeting on the street with his brother, who was also in the service. When he shipped out again, he asked the captain if he could start a newspaper on board the ship. Good idea. (4:04)

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En route through the Pacific on a liberty ship, Julius Rainwater heard Tokyo Rose threaten his convoy on her broadcast. It was an empty threat and he made it to Anguar, an island near Peleliu, where he set up a radio communications station. There were still Japanese in the hills, so they had guard duty and, when it was his turn, he was sure he saw something creeping up in the darkness. (4:27)

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Shortly after some much appreciated R&R, Julius Rainwater's Signal Corp unit was told to pack up and get ready to leave. They were on the dock when the order was reversed. Three days later, a very special bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. (5:43)

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Julius Rainwater had a chance to meet his brother after the war ended with the Japanese surrender. It was in Inchon that the two crossed paths. Julius would go on to Okinawa where he waited for the points system to allow him to go home. He made very good use of his time while he was waiting. Finally, the day came. (5:36)

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What went on in the decrypting room and why couldn't Japan break the code? It was the Navajo code talkers, says Julius Rainwater, a radio operator. He was not a big drinker, so when the officers brought out the booze on VE Day, it got a little out of hand. (3:41)

Joe Turner

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Joe Turner wanted to be a pilot, but they didn't need any more pilots when he joined the Army Air Force, so he became part of the ground forces. By the time he got to his assignment in the Philippines, the Japanese had surrendered and the task became one of recovering equipment. (5:59)

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He'd never been up in a plane. Joe Turner was part of the crew at an Air Force base in the Philippines and a sympathetic pilot offered to take him along on a flight to Japan. It went well until the word came from the cockpit. Put on your Mae West and your parachute. (2:51)

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There were two other men in Joe Turner's tent. One was a really nice guy and the other was a guy named Nick who was a little off. One night, Nick decided that he would teach Joe to drink whiskey. (4:05)

Sherman Howard

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Sherman Howard tried to enlist in the Marines, but he was too small, they said, so he went to the Navy in 1943. They had him on US coast patrol in a PBY and then put him to work as a mess cook but he wanted to go to sea. He shipped out for the Pacific in a retrofitted supply ship. (5:05)