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Jack Martin

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As part of an effort to integrate education in the services, Army engineer Jack Martin was sent to Quantico for the Marine equivalent of the Army Command and General Staff College. Then came the plum assignment, Hawaii, where he could learn to do something he'd always wanted to do. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (5:40)

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Army engineer Jack Martin was offered his choice of assignments. It could be Korea or Vietnam but he hated cold weather so much, he chose Vietnam. His first assignment was at a desk in Long Binh, but his career got a boost when he was offered command of a battalion. He jumped at the chance and faced a host of challenging situations. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (6:26)

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As a battalion commander, Army engineer Jack Martin had a host of problems. From whether there were enough personnel to get the job done to keeping wayward enlisted men from abusing the Vietnamese civilians. Then there was the grim task of writing condolence letters. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (4:17)

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Jack Martin had no close personal relationships with Vietnamese civilians during his tour, but the children who gathered whenever he stopped his jeep were friendly and curious. They were interested in a physical trait that Americans had that none of them shared. He also hosted the occasional USO visitor, including Tarzan, who refused a helmet. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (3:23)

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After his Vietnam tour, Army engineer Jack Martin served with an agency testing technical equipment developed for the unusual circumstances of an insurgency war. His next assignment was at Fort Hood where he fought a different enemy, the barren environs where the Army wanted a golf course. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (4:10)

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Jack Martin finished out a long career as an Army engineer at Fort Belvoir where the engineering school is located. Once again, he participated in high level planning for war contingencies, as well as dealing with lower level problems like officers who wouldn't mow their grass. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.) (3:32)

Jack McBrayer

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Jack McBrayer dreamed his whole life of being a sailor. The sight of big battleships plowing through the waves in the movies had him hooked at a young age. He got his chance in the middle of a world war. (5:10)

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Everyone in the convoy was worried about German submarines, but they made it all the way across the Atlantic without running into one. Jack McBrayer describes how it was another menace, torpedo bombers, that wreaked havoc on the ships. (6:08)

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After escorting a convoy to North Africa, Jack McBrayer and the rest of the crew of the USS Chase turned right around and took another convoy to the Caribbean. This time, it was oil tankers and that was good because they had sufficient speed to evade the German submarines. (3:50)

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Late in 1944, the USS Chase docked in Boston Navy Yard and was converted from a destroyer escort to a high speed transport, known as an APD. This type of vessel was intended to carry a company sized unit and take part in Pacific invasions. Jack McBrayer has vivid memories of what transpired when they got to Okinawa. (5:22)