Oral History Interview with Lester Meis, January 12, 2001 All Tracks
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Oral History Interview with Lester Meis, January 12, 2001 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lester Meis. Meis joined the Navy in January 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He then received hospital corpsman training and was transferred to the Medical Field Service School at Camp Pendleton. Upon completion, he was assigned to a field sanitation unit attached to the 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Marine Division. At their base in Maui he surveyed latrines, dental clinics, and food preparation areas. He participated in D-Day at Saipan, unsure of what role to perform in combat. In Garapan he was commandeered by the Marines to help open a vault at Yokohama Specie Bank; afterward, soldiers were lighting cigars with 100-yen notes. Meis was sent to Aiea Heights after developing bronchitis and was mistakenly diagnosed with asthma. He was given a medical discharge in December 1944, which extended his benefits under the GI Bill. Meis earned three college degrees before the misdiagnosis was caught.
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