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Curtis Brann

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He had been helping out on the family farm and in his father's saw mill when he got the call to arms. Curtis Brann and two of his brothers were drafted into the army in 1944. One of the brothers was destined for tragedy in the Pacific, while he was sent to the European theater.(This interview made possible with the support of LOIS WALTON in memory of JOHN H. FINK.) (4:20)

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His Atlantic crossing was fine, but when Curtis Brann was crossing the English Channel to join the push across France, his transport, the SS Leopoldville, was torpedoed and it sank. He made it to an escort vessel and became one of the lucky survivors. Once the unit was reassembled, they were sent to contain German forces around submarine pens on the French coast. (This interview made possible with the support of LOIS WALTON in memory of JOHN H. FINK.) (4:40)

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From Christmas of 1944 to May of 1945, Curtis Brann slept in the open and he found out how cold it could actually get. You couldn't build a fire because the German 88's would zero in on the smoke. (This interview made possible with the support of LOIS WALTON in memory of JOHN H. FINK.) (2:45)

Curtis James

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He wanted to choose his service instead of getting drafted, so Curtis James went for the Marine Corps in 1943. As part of the V-12 program, he attended college for a year, then had his training and got his commission. Assigned to the occupation forces in Japan, the friendliness of the Japanese was a big surprise to him. (3:52)

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Stationed in Japan after the war, Curtis James had the opportunity to see the devastation at both atomic bomb sites. It was hard to believe. Marines went into occupation duty with a lot of animosity for the Japanese people, but were surprised to find out how friendly they were. (4:29)

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He was working as a staff officer at Camp Lejeune when he got a surprise assignment. Curtis James was to be one of two officers on a shipboard Marine detachment. The ship was the USS Princeton, an aircraft carrier supporting troops in the Korean War. (5:02)

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Working as a Marine staff officer at Quantico, Curtis James was in attendance at some pretty high level meetings. During one of these, he was the lunch guest of the most powerful man in the world. (2:19)

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Curtis James was the first officer in charge of a Pentagon effort to manage crises during the Cold War. It was a brand new office inside the giant headquarters and, after running that for a while, he served in Vietnam at MACV in Saigon, managing the logistics of the war effort. (4:32)

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Curtis James returned from Vietnam to an assignment as director of personnel at Parris Island. This was the last post for the Marine Corps staff officer. His favorite was the Pentagon, where he initiated a brand new office to coordinate military crisis response. (4:40)

Curtis Mackey

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Just before D-Day, Curtis Mackey and members of his platoon were asked to participate in a parade to celebrate the arrival of American forces. He recalls several important figures in attendance. (:34)