After boot camp, at Parris Island, he attended a 4-month advanced training course and was promoted to Corporal.   He was serving as an assistant drill instructor when most of the NCOs were sent to Nicaragua.   When his Sgt. was transferred to Peking, he became a drill instructor.   During this time the All-Marine football team was being formed at Parris Island.   One of the players, from the team told the coach to watch dad during a pickup game.   As a result dad made the team.   In those days, the various branches of the service would bring their best players together at one base for the season.   That year after the team was formed they were transferred to Philadelphia Naval Yard for the season.   He played on the All Marine Football team until 1936.   At the end of his first year the All-Marine basketball team was being assembled.   Dad had not been transferred yet so he offered to put together a group of football players to scrimmage the basketball players that were present.   As a result he found himself on the All-Marine basketball team.   The team played the next three years at Quantico before being transferred to San Diego.   While he was playing at Quantico, dad would go to Washington, D. C. on Sunday and play for the pro team.   At times he would even take other players with him.   That was until the Marine Corps. discovered what he was doing.   He was informed that he could no longer do this.   During the off-season, he was assigned to give machine gun training.   During this time, he spent several months in Nicaragua.

Dad was on recruit duty from 1937 until 1939 in Texas.   At that time, he was transferred to San Diego.   He was conducting mortar training for all branches of the service until he was transfer to Shanghai in 1941.   On November 28, 1941, along with the rest of the 4th Marines he was transferred to the Philippines.

On January 25th, 1942, he was ordered to take a machine gun and mortar unit to Bataan.   Two Japanese machine guns had several units pinned down.   The Marines used the two 81 mm mortars to take out the Japanese guns.   They were then transferred back to Corregidor.   Dad was in charge of the machine guns and mortars that covered the beach from Camp Point to Monkey Point.

On May 5th, the Japanese were reportedly able to land troops.   Dad was sent to check whether the Japanese had actually overrun Battery Denver.   Taking one Marine with him they crawled up to Battery Denver where they found themselves in the midst of a Japanese unit.   They returned and informed company commander, Captain Noel Castle of this fact.   Captain Castle who was an expert pistol shot, said he would take some men up and, “shoot the Japs eyes out.”   Dad tried to convince Captain Castle that he was needed by the company and should send dad.   Captain Castle told him 'no' that dad was the one that needed to remain with the unit.   Captain Castle and his men were killed at Battery Denver.

Following capture by the Japanese,   dad was subsequently transferred to Cabanatuan with most of the 4th Marines.   Upon his arrival, Commander Beecher sent for him.   He told dad that he needed to have him take over the mess.   He told dad that there was a great deal of corruption taking place and he wanted dad to clean it up.   Dad protested saying he knew nothing about running a mess.  Commander Beecher told him this did not matter he knew that dad could do the job.   In the process, he could learn how to run the mess.   During the time that he was in charge of the mess he developed a program by which starving prisoners were brought into the mess and nursed back to health.  This was done by showing them on the roster as working on the crew in the mess.   This of course was against the Japanese regulation and if they had discovered it dad would undoubtedly have been severely punished if not killed.   As soon as they were healthy enough, they would be returned to the general population.  Then another prisoner would be brought into the mess.   At 4th Marine conventions, several Marines have told me that this program saved their lives.

On December 13, 1944, dad was placed aboard the Oryoku Maru.  When the ship was sunk, dad swam ashore bringing in a prisoner who could not swim.   While on the infamous, “tennis courts,” dad carried W. O. John H. Rice up to one of the American doctors.  The doctor told dad, “Gunner, just lay him down he is dieing and there is nothing we can do for him.”

After he went on board the Enoura Maru, he was assigned to lower barrels down into the hold.   This was because he knew how to tie a barrel hitch.   While they were anchored at Takoa, Formosa, dad was on the deck when American planes appeared.   He called down into the hold not to worry, as there was a loaded tanker anchored about 400 hundred yards away and that would undoubtedly be the target.

It was about this time that the first bomb hit the Enoura Maru.   When the American planes had appeared, the Japanese placed machine guns on the deck and began firing.   The American planes then strafed the deck.   Some sick POWs had been allowed to lie on deck.   All of these men were killed including: SgtMaj Ed Curry, 1stSgt Edward Brown, 1stSgt Richard “Bozo” Duncan, and 1stSgt John White.   When this happened, dad climbed back down into the hold.   He subsequently was hit by shrapnel.   As a result, he lost his right eye and a portion of his nose.   He still has a piece of that shrapnel in his cheek.

When the prisoners arrived at the hospital at Moji, Japan, a Japanese Marine Warrant Officer approached dad.  He told dad that he remembered him from Shanghai.   He asked if there was anything he could do for dad.   Dad told him that all the men were filthy and he would like to be able to wash them up as well as their clothing.   Dad was supplied with large kettles to boil water and soap.   Dad and one other prisoner proceeded to wash all of the prisoners and then their clothes.

Several months later, the Japanese transferred the American officers and senior enlisted men to Manchuria.   After the war the Japanese told them this was done to keep them from leading the prisoners in rioting.   When they were leaving the hospital, Captain Smothers who was sick said to dad, “Gunner help me.   These guys are going to kill me.   They treat me too rough.”   Dad carried Captain Smothers until they were on board the ship.   The officer died during this voyage.

After disembarking from the ship, the POWs were placed on a train and all the shades were drawn.   Apparently, the Japanese did not want them to know where they were being taken.   One of the guards was a TSgt who had seen carrying the officer on to the ship.   He was apparently impressed by this and told dad so.   During the train trip, at one point he saw that something was troubling dad.   He asked what was wrong and if he could help.   Dad said he had to take a leak.   At this time, the guard stopped the train and told dad to go under it and relieve himself.   When passengers on the train complained, the guard told them to hush.

In 2002, Howard Haase told me that he was at Hoten Camp when dad arrived.   He said when the prisoners arrived, “marching out in front was the dirtiest, meanest looking Marine with a patch over his eye.”   It was dad.

An American doctor at the hospital insisted that dad stay there.   He stated that with his wound dad could not survive working in the coal mines.   His basic job at the hospital was to wash the walls and floors.

Not knowing that the war was over the prisoners became very excited when American bombers appeared.   When only a small group parachuted out and the planes flew on, there was much less excitement.  It turned out that the parachutists were medics.   When they arrived at the camp the guards turned their weapons over to them.   The Japanese doctor in charge of the hospital presented dad with his sword at this time.   I still have that sword.

After his release, dad was flown back to Washington, D.C. via India and Europe.   He was kept in Washington about 30 days going over a diary he had kept.   The diary basically kept track of 4th Marines who died in prison camp.   It listed where and when as well as why they died.

After nearly a year at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, dad was discharged.   This was something he protested vigorously.   He spent the next two years as the manager of the officer’s club at the San Diego Marine Recruit Depot.

In 1950, he bought a farm near Los Molinos, California.  For the next 6 years, he happily raised chickens, almonds and watched his family grow.   It was then that he realized he was the only member of the family who really enjoyed farming.   He sold the farm and moved to Red Bluff where he went to work as an appraiser for Tehama County.   In 1960, he took an appraisers job with the State of California and moved the family to Sacramento.   At the age of 70, he was again forced to retire over his protests.   He worked the next 3 years doing contract work for the State.

Some years ago dad told me that he has always had a belief that got him through hard times.  He believes that every morning when he wakes up God has a purpose for his life that day and it is his job to find it out and live into it.

He now lives in an apartment at a retirement facility in Auburn, California.   He enjoys time with his children, grandchildren, and friends.   He is still upset that at the age of 90 he gave up doing 50 push-ups and 50 sit-ups every morning.