WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:17.359 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition is 2 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:22.839 Royal Earl Junior, a US Marine Corps veteran of the Pacific Theater in World 3 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:27.320 War Two. He served during the invasion of the Marshall Islands, Saipan, 4 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:33.200 Timmian, and Ewojima. Royal Earl Junior was born one hundred years ago and 5 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:37.920 was the oldest of three children, and as he points out, those children 6 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:41.920 were spaced out quite a bit. I was born in Montclair, New Jersey, 7 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:46.479 and I was raised in a neighboring town of Bloomfield, New Jersey, 8 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:53.159 which is between Newark and Patterson and North Jersey. I had two sisters. 9 00:00:53.960 --> 00:01:03.479 My mother used to hate me because the oldest and I have a sister. 10 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:14.319 I was born in nineteen twenty four. She was born in nineteen thirty one. 11 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.719 And then I had another sister born in nineteen thirty nine, which I 12 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:25.439 think was a mistake, but that's the way it was. And I always 13 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.879 used to tell my mother, now, that's planned pearenthood, and she almost 14 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:36.359 takes my head off. Unlike most World War Two veterans, Earl does not 15 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:40.599 have vivid memories of where he was and how he heard the news of the 16 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:45.799 Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December seventh, nineteen forty one. What he 17 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.799 does remember is heading down to the military recruiting office with a buddy to join 18 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:55.840 the Marine Corps, but their plan to sign up together got derailed. Believe 19 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.799 it or not, I don't remember very much about it. I was shocked, 20 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:07.079 along with the rest of the Americans. I was surprised, and as 21 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:10.840 I began to think about it and think how old I was, and I 22 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:17.479 guess I was going to be in it. That next summer, when I 23 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:23.159 was talking with my friends and so on, we all decided we were going 24 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.879 to be in service, whether we liked it or not, because we'd probably 25 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:35.840 be drafted. And my best friend and I decided we would go and enlist. 26 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:40.280 I did not tell my folks, and we went down. We had 27 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:46.479 to go to Newark to enlist, and we went down there, and we 28 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:51.400 both decided we were going to do the Marines. So I walked down the 29 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.080 hall to the recruiting office, and he was behind me, I thought, 30 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:00.840 and went down and I went into the recruiting office office. I didn't shut 31 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:06.199 the door because I thought he was right behind it behind me, and I 32 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.120 noticed that a sergeant got up and closed the door, but they had my 33 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:16.400 attention in the front door. I talked to them and they enlisted me, 34 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:23.159 and then they told me I would get a postcard that told me what day 35 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:29.719 I was to report right here at the enlistment area. And when I turned 36 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:35.280 around, it congratulate my buddy. He wasn't I said to the sergeant that 37 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:39.039 was saying, didn't a friend come in with me? And he said no. 38 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:43.560 I said, wait a minute, and I went out and went down 39 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:49.800 the hall and he's sitting in the Navy recruiting station. And I opened the 40 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.560 door and went in and I said, hey, what are you doing here? 41 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:54.879 You said you were going to join the Marines, And one of the 42 00:03:54.919 --> 00:04:00.879 sailors said yeah, but we saw him first, so he joined the Navy. 43 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.280 But why did he choose the US Marine Corps earl says it came down 44 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:10.439 to finding the service that was most ready to take the fight to Japan. 45 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:15.319 I know it sounds silly now at my age, I was only eighteen years 46 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:20.240 old. I was so mad at the Japanese that I wanted to get back 47 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:27.160 at them. And from all I read and heard and everything. The only 48 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:31.040 one that did in there the fighting were the Marines, and the Marines were 49 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:38.519 fighting in the Pacific, and they had landed on Guadcanal by that time, 50 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.800 and so I figured, my god, if you want to fight the Japs, 51 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:50.680 because they're the Germans hadn't gotten wet into the Germans jet but we were 52 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:57.120 involved with the Japanese. And I was pretty mad at the Japs for dropping 53 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:02.120 the bombs and so on was found in German. I was going to look 54 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:06.720 back at them. That's why I joined the Marine Corps. As mister Earl 55 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.160 mentioned, he was told that he would be notified about when to report for 56 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:15.720 duty. He would be sworn in on the Marine Corps birthday in a ceremony 57 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.800 that he would not soon forget. I was told to report the tention to 58 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:28.800 November back at the recruiting office. And when we got my dad took me 59 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.759 down and dropped me off, and there was a bunch of guys I think 60 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:38.199 there was around thirty of us. Finally got it and they took us over 61 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:44.680 to New York City and there was a picture of this in the New York 62 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:51.160 Daily News in the middle spread, and we all stood on the steps of 63 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:58.040 the US Treasury Building in New York City, and that's where we were sworn 64 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:02.360 in. And who do you think took part in the swearing in? Fiorella 65 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:08.120 La Guardia. Soon it was off to Marine Corps boot camp at Paris Island, 66 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:13.240 South Carolina. Mister Earle says he was already physically fit before entering the 67 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:17.360 Corps, so most of the physical demands were not too challenging, except for 68 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:21.720 one obstacle on the course that was just too tall for him, so he 69 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:27.279 relied on the brotherhood of his fellow Marines to get the job done. During 70 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:32.480 the training, the only thing that I had trouble with was we had to 71 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.399 run all the time. That was no problem. And I went down the 72 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:42.000 hill and here was a ten foot board and you ran down this little slope 73 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.519 and you had to run down and run up there, grab the top, 74 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:51.319 pull yourself up over in the town. I'm only five or six. I 75 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:56.120 run down there and top it's up here. In my him would go pump, 76 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.680 and I'd have to go back up there, and I'd run down there, 77 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:08.839 boom, And I finally went around and the sergeant folded his arms. 78 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:12.600 Get back there, get back there, now, get over the top. 79 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.480 I couldn't get home. But the guys that were with me saw what's happening. 80 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:19.839 He said, come on, we'll give you a toe hold. And 81 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:26.839 they made a thing with my with their hands and I put my foot in 82 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:30.120 their and nation one, two three, and they put me up. I 83 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.959 don't think I touched the top of that board. I went sailing up over 84 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:41.560 and everything, and the sergeant is standing looking at me and on the board. 85 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:45.720 He said, how did you do that? I said, I made 86 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:48.360 it. I got up. After Paris Island Royal, Earl was off to 87 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:54.279 the West Coast for more training at Camp Pendleton. He was trained in communications 88 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:00.000 as a switchboard operator and wireman. But what he remembers most at Camp Pendleton 89 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:05.759 is a mystery involving personnel who vanished while on guard duty, and finding out 90 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.680 what happened to them was just as shocking as their disappearances in the first place. 91 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:16.600 We ended up in Pendleton and they put us an area of fourteen and 92 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:18.639 we were there for a while, and then they moved us out the area 93 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:30.319 seventeen and that's right on the edge of the canyon Aslido. They had a 94 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:37.639 guard every night walked around. It was at barracks, two floors. We 95 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:43.799 were on the first floor. Now along about this time. All of a 96 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:50.279 sudden, one night, while it was still dark anyhow, the corporal of 97 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:54.759 the guard came to check him out. It was no guard. Oh. 98 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.519 He went in and they told him back to that hit. The sack didn't 99 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.559 went to the head, Nope, looked all around. I'll see if he 100 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:07.279 were sitting down in any place. He wasn't. He wasn't there. He 101 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.919 said, well, he'll show up in the morning. He didn't. Then 102 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:16.240 they said, ah, he probably went over the hill area seventeen is fifteen 103 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:22.120 miles from the main gate. We didn't see him. He didn't show up. 104 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:28.320 So maybe two days three days later and they've got another guard's missing. 105 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:35.000 Wow. The corporal guard called the sergeant guard again. The sergeant guard called 106 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:39.840 the od, well, we're gonna have to do something about that. The 107 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:43.679 od says, I got an idea. We're gonna send one this way, 108 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:48.320 and we're gonna send one this way, and they're gonna pass each other twice, 109 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.720 and we're not gonna have any more. Two days later, they're both 110 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:58.240 missing. Boy, you should have seen that outfit. Some of the guys 111 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:03.960 didn't wanna go the guard duty. They didn't know what was happening. What 112 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:09.639 was happening. The raiders were in the canyon carl We found out it was 113 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:16.159 Carlson's raiders and they were practicing their craft. And what do they do. 114 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:20.519 They go on these islands and they capture the jabs, They crapture the guards 115 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.480 and so on, and they were practicing and they were picking off our guards. 116 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:30.759 About a day or two later, up comes the first guy. He 117 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:33.960 had a little stick with a white handkerchief. I don't know where he got 118 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.840 it, because all of ours were Kaki got it. We was gonna come 119 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:39.919 up. We ran over, Hey, what are you doing? Where were 120 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.759 you? He says, I'll be right back. I have to go see 121 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:48.720 the captain. So he went then see the captain. What he had was 122 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:54.080 a uh thing of if you want your men back, They said what we 123 00:10:54.279 --> 00:11:01.240 want? It was all food and they had a whole big list of food. 124 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:07.879 And so this was fine. And the next day they laid their food 125 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:13.519 out there at night. So we got it going and we had the guard 126 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.120 going and everything. Then notice said we went to food, and if we 127 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:22.559 don't get the food, we got four new raiders. So that they got 128 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:26.159 the food and we got the raiders back. And you should hear the stories 129 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:33.080 they tell of their raiders training. That's the US Marine Corps veteran Royal Earl 130 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:37.440 Junior. He served at the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. 131 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.039 When we come back, it's off to the Pacific and service in the 132 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:50.879 Marshall Islands and Saipan. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles sixty Seconds 133 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.279 of Service. This sixty Seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. T 134 00:11:54.480 --> 00:12:00.440 Mobile offers exclusive discounts for veteran and military families and are proud supporters the National 135 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:03.480 Defense Network. Visit tmobile dot com to learn more about how they support our 136 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.399 military community. At have Felt, Alabama, a new nonprofit in the Shoals 137 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:11.159 is hoping to make a big change and impact a lot of people by providing 138 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:16.399 veterans with a warm place to stay and other services. Many different members of 139 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:18.799 the community have been looking to start a nonprofit for displaced veterans for a few 140 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:24.600 years now. The nonprofit Community Unity three sixty is near the area and ready 141 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:26.879 to make an impact in the Shoals, starting with this house. One of 142 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:30.559 the members. Wendy Snitzer said, there's been a big need for this. 143 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:33.039 For several years. It was a lot of porch pickups operating out of the 144 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.879 truck of your car off the front porch, just putting things together. She 145 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.360 explained. Until we got organized, there was just a collective of good neighbors 146 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.600 and good businesses trying to change the footprint and the blueprint that we leave in 147 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:50.759 our community. For more great Veterans stories, just go to nationaldefensenetwork dot com. 148 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.519 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbas. Our guest in this edition 149 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:01.320 is Royal Earl Junior, a Marine Corps veteran of World War Two and operations 150 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:07.480 in the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. After nearly a 151 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:11.159 year of training at Paris Island and Camp Pendleton, Earl and his Marine Corps 152 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:16.000 unit were sent to the Pacific. He says they were a rarity in that 153 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:20.519 they were shipped straight from the US to service. In his case, the 154 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:26.159 Marshall Islands it was about as gentle of an introduction to warfare as he could 155 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:31.840 possibly want. And the Marshalls the two big islands were roy and the Moor 156 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:35.919 Roy was with the airstrips, and the moor was where they stored all the 157 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.039 stuff in the living quarters, et cetera. And then there were a bunch 158 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:45.320 of islands that were smaller than those islands, but they still had jabs on 159 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:50.039 them. So they broke up. The twenty fifth in the first battalion addition, 160 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:54.559 the second battalion addition and a third battalion AD one and I was in 161 00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:01.679 the third battalion. And we were right off the shore of Numu. We 162 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.879 hit that island, A boy, we were ready. We covered that island. 163 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:11.799 Or wasn't a Jap on the island living or dead? The boy were 164 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:18.600 We surprised and that led to a lot of laughing and stuff, and we 165 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:24.360 watched them. We were day ahead, so we watched land. The twenty 166 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:30.720 fourth landed on the moor and we watched the whole battle. After securing the 167 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.879 Marshall Islands, Earl and his fellow marines next saw action at the Battle for 168 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:41.200 Saipan in June nineteen forty four. Earl explains what that invasion was like for 169 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:46.200 him and what his duties included. I was in an outfit called JASCO Joint 170 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:56.279 Assault Signal Company. I was a wireman and switchboard operator, and so I 171 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.840 was designated in the next few battles as a switchboard operator. Wasn't my buddy, 172 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:11.799 And so we landed on Saipan on the fifteenth June, and actually it 173 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:20.679 really wasn't much because they shall I was in the second wave and the fourth 174 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:28.159 wave on Saipan, and it's five minutes between waves. So they the first 175 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:33.960 wave landed at nine and I landed nine fifteen. But we went right in 176 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:39.639 and everything and we set up. Our job was to set up a switchboard 177 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.759 and attach all the units to it so that they all had command of their 178 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:52.759 area. And the the guys had handled the dump. I can't think of 179 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:58.720 his name right of him, uh like the medival supplies food mo et cetera, 180 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.240 was given a wire so that he could call if he needed any And 181 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:08.639 then there was a short party commander. He was Navy. He knew what 182 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:14.200 was in all the cargo ships out there. He evidently had a book or 183 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:22.720 something. And if the uh, the beachmaster needed supplies, he would call 184 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.240 the short party commander and say, we're running out of Mortner ammunition. You 185 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:32.840 better get them in. The more you get short party Commander knew what cargo 186 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.039 ship it was on. He'd call him tell them, Hey, we need 187 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:44.240 forty millimeter or sixty millimeters or whatever it was. Uh m, Mortal Ramo, 188 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:47.879 better send it in. And then he told him what beach to bring 189 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:53.000 it into. And that's what we did for the first few days. And 190 00:16:53.240 --> 00:17:00.559 after that, oh, i'd say maybe three days, four days, all 191 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.960 the companies took over their own communications. We were just set up to get 192 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:10.640 them started, and so we went in with these soul waves in each one. 193 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:15.759 Sipan would also provide mister Earl's most terrifying moments of the entire war. 194 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:22.480 He experienced the serious threat posed by the Japanese and the ferocious firepower of his 195 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.720 fellow marines. Well, we were up a ways and all of a sudden 196 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:32.680 we ran into some fields where they were growing stuff, and there were railroad 197 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:37.359 tracks and it was a little small railroad, I don't know what you call 198 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:41.200 them, like the miniature railroad, but there were tracks there. It went 199 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:47.279 lan over here and there was a big cave there, and we went up 200 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:53.319 the tracks. That night when we stopped, Fourth Division always stopped at four 201 00:17:53.359 --> 00:18:00.240 o'clock. Four o'clock. It didn't get dark until nine I gave it was 202 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:03.599 five hours to set up our defenses. And boy did we set them up. 203 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:08.279 And do you know that, at no time in any battle that I 204 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:14.680 was in right through a regima. As many times as we were attacked singlely, 205 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:22.200 doubly or bonzai attacked, they never broke or broke through. And we 206 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:27.480 had fifties on the side, thirty machine guns and thirties in the middle, 207 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:38.400 and bars along the sides here and then in between were riflemen, and right 208 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:44.759 and back of them we your sixty millimium mortars. And boy, I'll tell 209 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:48.079 you, when the DAPs hit, we let him have it. Oh we 210 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:52.920 put barboys out there, and when we had them, we hooked plates, 211 00:18:53.680 --> 00:19:00.640 tin plates or anything to make noise on the wires. And when in the 212 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:07.000 night when Japs hit the wires, we call out to the destroyer and they 213 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:11.519 started putting the flares out, and boy, that was just like daylight up 214 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:18.880 there. And of course the Japs wide open there and our machine guns just 215 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.440 opened up. That's Royal Earl Junior. He's a US Marine Corps veteran of 216 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:30.440 World War Two and the battles of the Marshall Islands, Saipan Tinian and Ewojima. 217 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.000 When we come back, mister Earl takes us with him to and through 218 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:41.319 the Battle of Ewojima. I'm Greg Corumbus, and this is Veterans Chronicles. 219 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:47.839 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest today is Royal Earl 220 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:52.400 Junior, a veteran of World War Two and the battles for the Marshall Islands 221 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:59.319 Saipan, Tinian and Ewogima. In February nineteen forty five, it was time 222 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:03.759 for the Marines to invade Ewojima, a critical location in the Allied island hopping 223 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:10.720 campaign. The island also contained an airfield that would provide the US a significant 224 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:15.960 strategic position to attack mainland Japan. As we mentioned earlier, mister Earle served 225 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:22.720 as a switchboard operator and wireman to facilitate communications during combat. So when it 226 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:27.359 was time to come ashore at Ewojima, mister Earle had some very important cargo 227 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:33.960 that turned into a makeshift shield. Oh lordy day. That was something that 228 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:42.160 just proved why I was a private first class right. I had the switchboard 229 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:48.200 and they had a candle on eachside and weighed seventy five pounds. I'm a 230 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:52.359 little guy. All right, I put that down to start to run up 231 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:57.799 the beach. You don't run walking rapidly, and my knees kept hitting it. 232 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:03.279 Er, that's crazy. What do you think I did? I took 233 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:07.920 it and put it up on top of my helmet because it would ride very 234 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.599 easy on my head, and I ran up to me. Can you imagine 235 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:18.559 me landing on the beach with the switchboard on my head and the Japs looking 236 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:22.319 and saying, what's that? That looks important? Boom, They're going to 237 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:27.880 shoot me. Never got a thing. I never got shot, I never 238 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:34.160 got even missed. Nothing came close. And so we went right in, 239 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:37.720 found a spot, set up the switchboard, and we were all set to 240 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:44.079 go. The American sacrifices on the beaches of Iwo Jima were immense for those 241 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:48.240 who survived. The black Sands were yet another challenge to navigate while under withering 242 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:53.359 fire from the Japanese. Mister Earle says he did not personally get slowed down 243 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:57.799 by the black sands as he ran with the switchboard on his head, but 244 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:02.880 he saw plenty of others who did have trouble, including men in his own 245 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:10.079 unit. We didn't, but everything else coming into us did and all vehicles 246 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:17.680 did. My lord, yes, they ran into trouble and he we had 247 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:22.160 a jeep with us. We couldn't get it. They got off the ramp 248 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.759 and sk right into the hub cap and then he couldn't go and we left 249 00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:33.319 the jeep down on the beach because we couldn't get it out and we couldn't 250 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:37.319 spend time with it, so we had to go and do it otherwise. 251 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:42.160 From the beach, Royal Earl and the other members of the switchboard crews moved 252 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:48.119 out to set up their communications and get the different units connected. For the 253 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:52.200 most part, he was able to advance unscathed, but as he soon learned, 254 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.599 many others on the wire team were not so fortunate. Well, I 255 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:00.400 had to switch for as I say, and so my buddy and I the 256 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:07.079 other guy that was the operator, we went up. There were five levels 257 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.839 of the beach, and we went up the first one, and so we 258 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:14.640 went up the second one and there's a big shell holder. It must have 259 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:18.559 been from a battleship or something, and we said, this is it. 260 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:23.319 And we went right down to the bottom and we set up our switchboard and 261 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:29.799 said to the guys, okay, send us the wires, and that's what 262 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:34.160 they did, and we eventually hooked up all the wires, and we had 263 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:40.240 to hook with our left flank, which was the twenty sixth Marines because we 264 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:45.640 were the end unit. And then at the end of the day and everything, 265 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:52.759 we got a report that we were the third battalion next to us, 266 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:56.960 we were Yellow Beach one, Yellow Beach two of the second battalion, and 267 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:03.480 they hadn't heard from him. And so my buddy now is the switchboard operator. 268 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:08.480 And it sounds like I was some hotshot or I wasn't. But I 269 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:14.000 wasn't scared because I had no clothes, course or anything. And so I 270 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:18.640 said I'll go, and I did, and I just walked down to where 271 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:26.319 they're supposed to be and I got into this opening a field area, and 272 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:33.000 his body's all over the place. And I see a guy in the foxhole 273 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:37.160 very close by, and I said, hey, where's a wire team. 274 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:44.079 He says, you're looking at them. They had cap come off the LCBB 275 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:51.039 and the shell in it right in the killed them all, so they lost 276 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:56.519 their whole wire team. So I said, well, where did the switchboard 277 00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:57.559 go? And he says, I don't know. I have to look around. 278 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:00.880 He said, probably over now, Sectioneer, and I did look around. 279 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:07.160 I found it and again put it up on my head and walked back, 280 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.039 and I said, look, when somebody comes down to find out what's 281 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:15.039 happened in communication, tell them that the third battalion had her switchboard. And 282 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:18.960 we began to give it back. But in the meantime, bring your wires 283 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:25.000 in them we'll set up your program. And they did, and then pretty 284 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:29.240 soon they came and got it. As Earl explained earlier, the most harrowing 285 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:33.680 moments of the war for him came on Sipan, but there is one brief 286 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.720 moment of sheer terror that he remembers vividly on Ewojima. It all started with 287 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:42.000 the need for a wire repair, continued with one of the biggest shocks of 288 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:48.440 his life, and ended quite unexpectedly. I went out, I finally found 289 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:53.519 it and I spliced. This is mid night. This is why we practiced 290 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:57.799 in the dark. But I had to make this splice. So I had 291 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:02.960 a pair of splicing and I took the extra wire with me when I went, 292 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:07.559 and I spliced it in and I got the wire and he didn't bring 293 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:14.640 enough. And so I got there and I saw where he was, and 294 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:17.839 but I had quite a bit of wire I was missing. And I went 295 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:22.079 over and I said, you know, you didn't bring enough wires, and 296 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:26.359 he just looked at me and he said, okay, okay, I'll go 297 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:30.400 get it, and he did and came back. Well, now I'm there 298 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:36.000 on my haunches right. All of a sudden, it was just the light 299 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:42.319 and boom, and it was practically took me off the ground. And boy, 300 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.799 I went down real quickly. Didn't near me and nothing hit me. 301 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:51.599 But I went down there and my years were ringing, I'll tell you, 302 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:56.680 and uh, I don't what the heck is going on. I laid there 303 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.359 a minute. Nothing else happened. I went through the bit of your tryed 304 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:06.759 toes, your ankles, your feet, your knees, your fingers, et 305 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:14.000 cetera. Okay, I was fine. I get back up on my hunches 306 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:19.319 to start trying to find where I was, and I could hear laughing, 307 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:26.839 and I thought, oh boy, this really must gunt me laughing out in 308 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:33.920 the middle of a battlefield, and about ten feet away or so, I 309 00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:40.960 through the night, I could see this wall and then I just stared at 310 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:45.279 it for a while, and all I could see it's at the top of 311 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:49.319 the wall, these arms. There's a whole bunch of guys there watching me, 312 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:56.599 and they're laughing. I was sitting right under the muzzle of a one 313 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:04.680 oh five or three repeats and we fired. It was outgoing, not incoming. 314 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:10.880 Royal Earl knows he is fortunate to have survived multiple invasions in the Pacific 315 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:15.279 theater during World War II. He is proud to have served in the Marine 316 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:19.400 Corps and extremely honored to serve his country in uniform. It's a devotion to 317 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:23.880 duty that he remembers rushing back to his mind and heart as he attended the 318 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:29.079 opening of the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia, back in two thousand 319 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:33.680 and six. It's an emotional event that he says is impossible to forget. 320 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:40.720 When I was here for dedication of the museum, and without going through the 321 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:44.079 whole story of why we were there, it was a dozen of us there, 322 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:51.400 and the dedication night we were there before, but the dedication night we 323 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:57.920 were lined up against the wall and a commandant was speaking, and while he 324 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:03.200 was speaking, but they opened all the doors and anything, And don't forget 325 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:08.759 in those days there was nothing in the whole area there, And when he 326 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:15.359 finished, it was just like his last word was bumped and the drum and 327 00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:25.319 bugle chorus started playing the Marines hymn and came right inside the museum. Oh 328 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:30.240 my god, imagine all that brass inside. It just shook you. And 329 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:33.599 that the twelve of us. Honestly, God, we just snapped to attention 330 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:40.400 cause they were playing the Marines him right, and we watched and I just 331 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:48.759 looked down. Would you believe everyone that I could see tears were running right 332 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:55.319 down his cheeks. Mine too. We were just so damn proud to be 333 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.759 Marines. Oh, I'll tell you I never forgot the That's US Marine Corps 334 00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:07.000 Veteran Royal Earl Junior, a veteran of World War Two who served in the 335 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:14.240 Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian and Ewojima. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is 336 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:27.200 Veterans Chronicles. Hi, this is Greg Corumbus, and thanks for listening to 337 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:33.519 Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the American Veterans Center. For more information, 338 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:38.759 please visit American Veteranscenter dot org. You can also follow the American Veterans Center 339 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:45.599 on Facebook and on Twitter. We're at AVC update. Subscribe to the American 340 00:30:45.640 --> 00:30:51.279 Veterans Center YouTube channel for full oral histories and special features, and of course 341 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:56.079 please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get your podcast. Thanks again 342 00:30:56.119 --> 00:31:00.799 for listening, and please join us next time for Veterans Chronicles