On Sunday, December 7, 1941 Joe was at home in Oklahoma City. No doubt he and his family heard the first reports of the attack around noon or so that day. People were scared. Where was Pearl Harbor? How did the Japanese surprise us like that? Questions like this lingered for weeks, months, even today.
He joined the Marines and was inducted on October 20, 1942 at the age of 18.
Joe participated in some of the most horrendous battles in the South Pacific. He was in the famous 2nd Marine Division;”C” Company, 1st Medium Tank Battalion at Tarawa.
Later he was a member of “A” Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division at Saipan-Tinian and again at Okinawa.
Joe states that two of his most memorable experiences during the war were the invasion of Tarawa, and the terrible first night on the island of Saipan. Both times he experienced fanatical Japanese suicide attacks, and since they favored night assaults, little sleep was had for days.
He says that during the war he matured fast. The horrible things that happen in war makes him realize that we should avoid it at all costs. Unless we are thrust into a war like the US was in WWII.
Joe received the Purple Heart on Tarawa, and the Presidential Unit Citation with one star.
He was discharged as a Corporal on January 6, 1946 after participating in the initial occupation of Japan.
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