Oral History Interview with Ralph C. Simoneau, October 15, 2007
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Oral History Interview with Ralph C. Simoneau, October 15, 2007 (Sound)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Simoneau. Simoneau went into the Marines in November 1943 and went to boot camp in San Diego. After some home leave and time in the brig (he was AWOL, coming back late from leave), he was sent to Camp Pendleton where he trained with the Raiders for a while until they were disbanded and became part of the 5th Marine Division. Simoneau was put in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines. He volunteered for a 60mm mortar section and they were attached to D Company. They were sent to Camp Tarawa (Hawaii) and continued training there. They boarded ships and after a stop in Eniwetok, they were transferred to LST's which sailed for Iwo Jima. After they were onboard the LSTs, they finally found out where they were going; they studied relief maps and models, found out what their objectives were, etc. After being loaded in amtraks, circling and waiting until all the vessels that were going to make the attack were in position, they headed for shore as part of the first wave. The ramp on their amtrak didn't come down so they had to climb over the side, no easy chore but they all made it. Simoneau carried ammunition for the mortar. After making it almost completely across the island the first day, they fired their mortar that night, shooting off flares. He states that the 60mm mortar was almost useless (other than sending up flares at night) because of the terrain and caves. He also talks about being so well trained, knowing his job, and so focused on doing his job that there wasn't room for anything else. The second day they completed cutting the island in two, started turning north and pretty much turned into a rifle platoon. Simoneau also discusses not seeing the enemy; he was shooting at shadows or noise. He states that he didn't seem more than a dozen live Japanese in the 35 or 36 days he was on the island and that he doesn't carry any scars from his experience there. He does describe one night where he and his buddy started shooting at noise and the next morning they found five dead Japanese around their foxhole. After reaching the end of the island, his unit was loaded aboard transports, sent back to Camp Tarawa and started training again. They were there when the atomic bombs were dropped. Then word came out that they were going to Japan for occupation duty. He states that they disbanded the 5th Marine Division and put them in either the 2nd or 3rd Marine Divisions. Simoneau joined an MP unit and worked with the local police; the Japanese were very cooperative. He ended up spending eleven months in Japan, on the island on Kyushu. Simoneau came home and was discharged at Great Lakes Illinois in July 1946. A copy of Simoneau's Honorable Discharge is in the folder along with some newspaper articles and an entertainment program.
Oral History Interview with Ralph C. Simoneau, October 15, 2007 - ark:/67531/metapth1609104
Oral History Interview with Ralph C. Simoneau, October 15, 2007, text, October 15, 2007; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1605294/: accessed June 18, 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.