Oral History Interview with Thomas Earp, October 1, 2007 Page: 2

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with Thomas Earp. Earp was born in Baltimore 15 November 1923. He joined the Marines and went to Camp Pendleton where he had boot training. He then went to Camp Goettge on New Caledonia and was assigned to the 1st Raider Regiment. In January 1944 he went to Guadalcanal where he had additional combat training before transferring into the 4th Marine Regiment. He was then assigned to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. Earp’s unit served as a reserve force during the invasion of Saipan. On 21 July 1944 he participated in the invasion of Guam. He recalls waiting on deck for a Higgins boat and seeing piles of body parts taken on board. His landing craft hung up on a coral reef and the troops had to wade ashore in high water under fire. On his first night on the island, they endured a banzai charge. As the battle moved inland he was assigned to the 53rd Construction Battalion and they began building bridges and roads. They also constructed landing strips for B-29s as well as a headquarters building for Admiral Chester Nimitz. Earp departed Guam November 1945 and was discharged 2 March 1946. Earp indicates that while he served with the Seabees during World War II, his father served in the Army, his sister served in the Women’s Army Corps and his mother participated in the Civil Defense Program as well as in the Red Cross.