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Charles Fallis

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He was seasick the first two weeks, but it went away and he was never bothered by it again. Charles Fallis was on the USS Grimes, a troop transport that ferried troops to Iwo Jima, and then picked up the wounded for evacuation. When a severely wounded Marine died, he witnessed a burial at sea, something he will never forget. (This interview made possible with the support of KENNETH ANTHONY WEST.) (5:17)

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While anchored off Iwo Jima, a typhoon pushed the USS Grimes near the shore, near enough to Mount Suribachi that Charles Fallis had to take cover. After dropping wounded troops off in Hawaii, the ship went back to San Francisco, where he had to take cover from an angry hotel manager. (This interview made possible with the support of KENNETH ANTHONY WEST.) (3:28)

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The Japanese knew that Okinawa was the last step on the Allied move toward the mainland, so they went all out with suicide attacks. Charles Fallis remembers the kamikaze alerts when he was anchored there. His ship was part of the task force that readied to invade Japan, and then after the surrender, part of the occupation. (This interview made possible with the support of KENNETH ANTHONY WEST.) (6:11)

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Some of the men on the USS Grimes went ashore at Nagasaki, after they delivered occupation troops there. Charles Fallis was on duty, so he missed out on that. One thing he did not miss out on was getting reacquainted with the girls back home once he got there. (This interview made possible with the support of KENNETH ANTHONY WEST.) (3:30)

Charles Felner

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Charles Felner recalls a time one of his fellow soldiers was struck by friendly artillery fire. (2:07)

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While on a mission building bridges along the Rhine River, Charles Felner remembers watching Winston Churchill's famous crossing of the river into Germany in 1945. (9:27)

Charles Fitts

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Charles Fitts always wanted a military life. He was afraid he would miss the war but in 1943 he graduated high school and was drafted. When his basic training was almost finished, he was informed he would be going to college in the Army Specialized Training Program. After five months at Texas A&M, the Army decided all those college boys were needed in the infantry. (6:07)

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It was cactus and rattlesnakes in Texas where Charles Fitts was training with the 12th Armored Division. He scored a pass to New York City as the unit was awaiting the Atlantic crossing and he was late getting back. As a consequence, he had KP for the whole voyage. "Finest job I ever had in my life!" (4:32)

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Charles Fitts saw Stonehenge and heard Buzz Bombs over London while waiting his turn to join the war across the Channel. Once his Armored Infantry unit went ashore at Le Havre and moved toward the front, it was bitterly cold. In a holding position on Christmas day, they were close enough to the Germans to watch them walking around. Then two excellent things happened. (5:43)

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Their morale was good when the men of C Company went to clear out a wooded area believed to be defended by old men and boys. No one knew that an entire Panzar Division had crossed the Rhine and was right there. Charles Fitts was pinned down for hours and then the Germans came out to loot the bodies. (5:54)