Washington, D.C.
WWII Memorial
Interviews with WWII Veterans
WWII Memorial
• Dedicated to Washington, D.C. in 2004
• Honors the 16 million who served in
the armed forces, and the 400,000
who died, and all who supported the
War effort
William Jones: Italy
 Landed in North Africa and took boat to North of
Naples, relieved division before them
 105th Field Artillery Division
 Worked 12 hours, break 12 hours
 Traveled the whole span of Italy in two years
 Traveled up to the Alps: Germans were in the
mountains, they were below
“What was the scariest thing that
happened to you during the war?”
(Ahjanae)
 “I was sleeping in the back of a truck that was traveling
along the road in Italy. All of a sudden I heard a terribly
loud noise. I looked up and saw a German fighter
plane coming at my truck. The plane started shooting
at me. I jumped out of the truck into a ditch and
messed up my knee. Later, I had to get knee
replacement surgery.”
“If you could go back and be a soldier
again, would you do it?” (Brian)
“Yes. I liked being a soldier. I was a ranking officer. I
spent 10 years in the army. I was also in Korea for 7
years.”
Grandpa Harry: Pacific Realm
 Served on ship APA 173 USS Hyde that started in
Virginia, went through the Panama Canal and docked
in the South Pacific, near Guam.
 Was the first ship in a convoy. His captain was a very
high ranking officer. Everyone was terrified of him.
When he asked a question to an officer he would start
to stutter in fear.
 Manned the guns on the ships.
 After the nuclear bomb dropped, his ship took the
American and Chinese prisoners of war home
“How did you feel when you heard that
the Allies had won the war?” (Imani)
“It meant I was going to live.”
“Did you think the Americans were
right to drop the bomb on Hiroshima?”
“Dropping the bomb was bad but it was the best way to
go. Truman had guts to drop the bomb”
“What was the most frightening thing
you saw during the war?” (Ms. Ritter)
“We were in Guam, going through the mountains on
patrol. I heard from another soldier that there were
Japanese soldiers around the area, and that they had
killed Americans the week before. I was terrified…”
“What was your favorite meal on
the ship?” (Ms. Levitt)
“My favorite meal was chipped beef with white gravy over
bread. It was delicious.”
Howard Oaf: Normandy and the
Battle of the Bulge
 First landed in England, in Doddington Park
 Was extremely sick, foot was severely swollen
 Doctors gave him two choices: Go back to Indiana, or
go with his outfit to France. Chose to fight.
 Landed in Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day.
Drove a jeep off the boat onto the beach. Still German
snipers in the cliffs above.
Howard Oaf (cont’d)
 Fought his way through Normandy into Germany for
seven months straight
 Battle of the Bulge: 24 American soldiers surrounded in
the woods. Ran out of ammunition. Surrendered or
were killed by Germans
 Spent 5 months as a POW in labor camp in Germany.
Almost died several times. Malnourished. When
liberated was 80 lbs.
 Right before liberation, took them on a death march,
but really set them free
“How did it feel to ride on the boat to
the beach?” (Trevor)
“I remember feeling very ill as I rode on the boat to the
beach. I was in the cavalry division, so I drove a jeep off
the boat onto the beach. It was very heavy. There were
still German snipers in the cliffs above. I was very
scared.”
Howard and Johnny
Howard Oaf
“How did it feel to witness so
many deaths while you
survived?”(Demaris)
 “ I am the luckiest man in the whole world! I survived
Normandy and a German labor camp and lived to be
91 years old! My buddy Johnny died from the
ramifications of malnutrition from the camp at 47. And
here I still am. The luckiest man in the world.”