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Willard Womack

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Willard Womack was a pilot in the Army but everyone in the Army has other duties and his was supply. As supply officer, he had a first row seat to the spectacle of Army bureaucracy and reveals how the last scene of Indiana Jones just might be true, that there are stacks of things around the world lost in paperwork. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.) (4:09)

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Army pilot Willard Womack explains how his Air Medals are no big deal because they were automatic with the number of combat missions flown. And in a guerrilla war like Vietnam, every flight was a combat mission. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.) (1:50)

William "Bill" L. Bates

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The Army and the Navy offered him commissions in support units but there was a war on and Bill Bates was not going to let the adventure pass him by. It was the Marines for him. (2:58)

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New Marine officer Bill Bates was first assigned to the Marine detachment aboard a troop ship, then aboard the carrier Lexington. He sailed both oceans in the last year of the war, ferried missionaries and guarded German prisoners. He went ashore in Japan for occupation duty. (8:03)

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There were plenty of crashes aboard the USS Lexington says Bill Bates, who commanded the Marine detachment aboard ship. He describes the hazardous landings that were routine for Navy pilots and tells how the crew managed to shoot down a kamikaze before he could finish his work. (2:15)

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At the end of the Big War, Bill Bates served as commander at two Marine barracks including Lakehurst, New Jersey, where airships were stationed and where a famous zeppelin had crashed. Then it was back to Quantico for amphibious warfare school, where he learned the complex and difficult aspects of landing troops on an unfriendly beach. (4:26)

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The Marine Corps was fortunate. When the Korean War broke out their numbers were greatly reduced, but back at Camp Lejeune, Bill Bates had been training reserves and they were ready to fight. He details the armament of a Marine heavy weapons company and praises his mortar platoon commander, Eugene Paradis, who devised a targeting method that was adopted by the entire Corps. (6:49)

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After long preparation, the complex Inchon landing was finally underway. Going ashore with his heavy weapons company, Marine Bill Bates joined the fighting in and around Seoul. The men were urged on by the most decorated Marine in history, Chesty Puller. (6:21)

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The North Koreans had retreated northward and Bill Bates and his Marines were finally able to take hot showers under the curious watch of a local crowd. They returned to the fight, pushing toward the Yalu River when reports of Chinese units started coming in. (7:11)

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He charmed his way onto a helicopter to do his reconnaissance so often, Bill Bates wound up with an air medal. The steep Korean mountains and frigid weather were difficult to deal with. The cold was responsible for the overnight ordeal of waking and massaging feet, ears, and noses. (4:37)