Machine gunner and demolition man.

While in the army in the combat engineers I was trained in the operation of machine guns and the use of explosives.

One assignment I had with the 30 caliber water cooled machine gun was firing it on the obstacle course while soldiers slithered on their backs under the bullets. Kinda fun. There was a mechanism that kept the bullets above the troops.

I was a squad leader for carrying a 50 caliber air cooled machine gun ashore on Okinawa on Easter Sunday 1945. It was heavy. We broke it into three parts. Once on shore we set up on the Okinawa Japanese airfield.

 An anti aircraft unit pulled up beside us with a turret mounted quad 50 caliber machine gun. Boy! did we feel under powered.  While at this place I saw an American airplane shot down by friendly fire. It broke my heart.

I was also trained in the use of explosives and was rated as a demolition man. I was carrying a satchel charge on my back and approaching a enemy pill box when I was shot on Peleliu in 1944.  '