Pat W. Almond Interview (2008)
World War II Oral Histories
Details
Collection:LPB
Genre: Interview
Place Covered: Guam, Okinawa-jima, Japan, Solomon Islands
Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority
Date Issued: 2008-02-21
Duration: 00:41:46
Subjects: World War II | Military | Veterans | United States. Marine Corps. | Military education | Almond, Pat W. | Roosevelt, James, 1907-1991 | World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean | World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Solomon Islands | Guam | Okinawa Island (Japan) | Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 | World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives
Contributors:
- Lefebvre, Marian Interviewer
- Almond, Pat W. Interviewee
Description
An oral history interview conducted on February 21, 2008, with Pat W. Almond, a rifleman in the 4th Marine Raider Battalion during World War II. He discusses: his military training; being chosen for the Marine Raider unit led by Colonel James Roosevelt, the son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; his voyage to the South Pacific; his participation in the New Georgia Campaign on the Solomon Islands; his service on Guam and Okinawa; searching for John F. Kennedy’s PT boat; his impression of the Japanese soldiers; his life-long bond with the men in his unit; the wound that sent him home from the war; the men’s connection to their weapons; and his opinion that the military seniority system does not always produce the best leaders.