Oral History Interview with James E. Wilson, February 24, 2003
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Oral History Interview with James E. Wilson, February 24, 2003 (Sound)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James E. Wilson. Wilson was born in Walker County, Alabama on 31 December 1920 and enlisted in the Marine Corps on 5 January 1942. He was sent to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. He describes in detail his experiences and the conditions at Parris Island, and later, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he was assigned to a Rifle Platoon in the 2nd Battalion, First Marines, G Company. He then boarded the USS George F. Elliott (AP-105) and sailed to Wellington, New Zealand in June 1942. There they spent a month practicing disembarking into landing craft, before sailing to Guadalcanal and participating in the invasion in August 1942. He recalls defending the airstrip being shelled day and night before his platoon moved to meet Japanese infantry coming to take back the airfield. During the encounter, he describes his helmet being hit by a shell and throwing off shrapnel that lodged into his back, paralyzing him from the waist down. He recalls being evacuated on a stretcher down to the beach and onto a waiting ship, which then sailed to a hospital at Espiritu Santo. He regained feeling in his legs after four days and was evacuated to New Zealand to recover. He returned to his unit on Guadalcanal on 10 November 1942 before his regiment withdrew to Melbourne, Australia. He describes living with an Australian farm family and the First Marines parading before the people in Melbourne. Following further training in New Guinea, the 2nd Battalion landed on Cape Gloucester on Christmas Day, 1943, remaining there until they were moved to Pavuvu to train for the invasion of Peleliu. He recalls landing on Peleliu on 15 September 1944 and describes the following weeks and ferocious fighting. He returned to the States on 17 November 1944 and was assigned as a Drill Instructor at Parris Island, South Carolina. He left the Marine Corps in September 1945.
Oral History Interview with James E. Wilson, February 24, 2003 - ark:/67531/metapth1608083
Oral History Interview with James E. Wilson, February 24, 2003, text, February 24, 2003; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604271/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.