For Comrade and Country ― Oral Histories of World War II Veterans

Ray Hill was a cook and machine gunner who survived the sinking of a PT boat by a kamikaze. German forces in the middle of the Siegfried defensive line captured Robert Corbin, a forward artillery observer officer who later escaped after 140 days of captivity. Arthur Ensley, a B-25 pilot, was shot down on his 79th mission into the Brenner Pass. He was helped by Italian partisans. Don Barrett, a Marine, was involved in three Pacific campaigns--Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu, where he was badly wounded. Fellow World War II veteran Robert G. Thobaben gathered their reports and others from men who were young soldiers in the war. This book presents 30 oral histories, 14 from the Pacific Theater and 16 from the European. In addition to describing their individual experiences, these Marine, Army, Navy and Air Forces privates, sergeants and officers also discuss such questions as why men fight, how soldiers cope, why it is important to record their stories, and what they think about the ethics of war.

Robert G. Thobaben is a professor emeritus of Political Science at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He was a PFC in the 111th Infantry Regiment and participated in three campaigns (the Gilbert, Marshall and Palau Islands).