Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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William Walker

WWII | Third Air Force

William Walker crash lands a cargo plane in the desert between Oran and Nigeria, then has to deal with the affections of the locals. (10:28)
William Weston

WWII | YMS 184

Growing up on a farm in Alabama, William Weston remembers living a simple life. When the Depression came along, his family was affected by it but luckily received help from Weston's grandfather. (6:26)
William Weston remembers his time at boot camp in Norfolk, Virginia. After his training, he went off to the east coast of the United States to start minesweeping enemy mines. (7:42)
William Weston remembers joining the Navy and getting sent off to basic training in Norfolk, Virginia. After finishing there, he spent 6 years serving in the military. (1:17)
William Weston remembers minesweeping and how they would assist American ships navigate through minefields. There were many instances where ships would be hit by a mine and get sunk. He was also in charge of manning the large machine guns during a deployment in the Philippines. (6:50)
William Weston remembers the invasion of Tarawa and some of the chaos that he and his ship had to deal with. Here, the conflict with the Japanese was brought to a head with both parties bringing a lot of firepower. (4:34)
Being on the 20mm gun crew of a minesweeper, Mr. Weston had to think quickly after a nearby battleship was hit by a Japanese bomb during an inconvenient time for Mr. Weston. He received a Purple Heart for his injury, but not before heading off to fight at Saipan and Tinian. (8:21)
After the war, William Weston got hired on by the New York State electric company due to his knowledge from working on the battleship. (3:46)
William Wilkerson

WWII | HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

Unlike nearly every other recruit, William Wilkerson says he enjoyed boot camp. "Healthy enough to take the abuse and smart enough to take the orders." He was among the first trained at brand new Camp Pendleton. (5:09)
Besides getting shot, there were serious hazards in the jungles of the South Pacific. William Wilkerson tells of elephantiasis and malaria that struck troops and of the curious lack of snakes. (4:36)