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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b2ca37aeff7318c62a4b7476ef1061a.mp4
693b2c4b5ec5659b6a764719622d94fe
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/02d0ae76f1a9c16796287a52a572e0c2.pdf
5d655c31f182e92c98e7d723e5cd229d
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Grand Valley State University
Veteran’s History Project
World War II
James Abrams Interview
Total Time: 1:20:33
Background
(00:12) Born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1923
(00:27) His father worked on a railroad
o Two siblings; mother died in 1928
(1:00) After his mother died, they headed west to California
o They eventually moved to Montana, which is where Mr. Abrams spent most of
his time growing up
(1:55) In Montana, his family raised sheep
o Mentions that his father was a very good mechanic
(2:35) Mr. Abrams said he didn’t suffer during the Great Depression; his family always
had food
(2:41) Went to school up until the 8th grade in Montana, then moved back to Michigan
o Joined Civilian Conservation Corps camp
o Moved to Grand Haven, met a friend
o Got a job at Clark Piano Factory
o Soon met his future wife
(4:20) Mr. Abrams joined the Marines
o His friend joined two months before he did; ended up going to the 101 st airborne
(5:14)Enlisted in the Marines in 1942 after Pearl Harbor
o Said the Pearl Harbor incident was why he went
�Training
(6:38) For basic training, Mr. Abrams went to San Diego
o They got him to San Diego by train
o Remembers the train going through the edge of Mexico
(7:26) The first day of boot camp was rough
o The drill sergeant told him as he goes down the landing ramp, the only person he
can depend on is himself
(8:13) They worked all the time in boot camp; recalls when they were in formation one
day the drill sergeant asked for volunteers to drive a truck somewhere
o Said the truck had one wheel and two places to steer
o Mr. Abrams said this is the first time he learned “never to volunteer for anything
in the Marine Corps”
(10:30) Mr. Abrams said it was easy for him to adjust to life in the Marines, although
sometimes he would get mad
o Learned his serial number – still remembers it today
(12:04) Says he “got even” with the drill sergeant
(13:44) Said he was in good physical shape during training
(13:54) He learned to use weapons in training and mentions that he eventually became
a squad leader
(14:07) Trained on a 30 caliber, 50 caliber machine gun, 37mm anti-tank gun, he also
shot a 75mm a few times
o Talked about halftracks
(15:30) Basic training was 60 days
o Said that the first few days in the Marine Corps, new recruits are like prisoners
o There were instructors telling them what they could and couldn’t buy
o Mr. Abrams said there is something he bought because it was the only thing he
could buy at that time
(16:38) After the first 60 days, Mr. Abrams said they went into their regular outfits
o Went on liberty, etc.
�
(16:57) After boot camp, he shipped out right away
Overseas
(17:16) Shipped overseas in a ship that was bigger than a LST, but not an ocean liner
(18:11) Remembers crossing the Equator
(18:40) Landed in the Solomon Islands
o Went to Melbourne a few months later
o After that, went to New Guinea
(20:39) Talked about Ernie Pyle being killed at Iwo Jima (Ie Shima, off Okinawa)
(21:14) Guadalcanal – there was still a bit of fighting when Mr. Abrams arrived here
(22:15) When he arrived, Mr. Abrams went into the 1st Marine Division, 1st Regiment,
Weapons Company
(23:38) Base camp on Pavuvu Island
(24:06) In Melbourne, he says there were “15 women per man,” all the Australian men
were in the Islands during this time
(25:02) Melbourne was mostly for R&R, but also “in case something happened”
(25:24) Remembers sleeping in a football field in Melbourne
o Military beds on the bleachers
(25:55) When Mr. Abrams first joined the 1st Division, he said there were never any
problems with the soldiers who had been there a while
o Only one guy they had a problem with
(26:22) After Melbourne, they went to Cape Gloucester, New Britain
o (27:08) Here was the 2nd battle he participated in
(27:22) Mentions that in Guadalcanal, he was shot at
o Mr. Abrams shot back
o At this point they were in the jungles, no base camps were built here
o (28:12) Mentions that he went to sniper school; at this point he was a sniper
(28:32) The first time he shot someone: says he will remember it the rest of his life
(29:35) Mr. Abrams learned how to shoot as a kid; this was helpful
�
(29:56) “Always shoot the guy with the most stripes on.”
o This is why the Marines never wore stripes in combat
o Shoot the highest ranking soldier in line before anyone else
(30:31) He was in an ambush position
(30:50) On Cape Gloucester, all of the Japanese big guns were out
o US landed here on Christmas day (1943)
o The Japanese were waiting for them when they got off the landing craft on the
beach
o (33:44) Japanese also used Molotov Cocktails
o After they captured the point, they were there about a week
o (35:05) While they were here, Mr. Abrams said the enemy tried to bomb them
(36:17) After Cape Gloucester, they went back to Pavuvu
o Red Cross had a tent here; served coffee
o Ran into medics that told him of an instance where a man had been decapitated
on another island by the enemy
(39:12) The next battle Mr. Abrams was in took place at Pelelieu
o May have had one meeting about it to prepare them for the mission
(39:54) Says the people at Melbourne knew where his group was going to land before
they did
o Information leaked; this is why the man who was in charge would change plans
at the last minute
(40:34) In Peleliuu, he said they “blew the hell out of everything”
o Fire coming from both directions
o Lost a lot of guys here
o Believes this was the worst battle they experienced in the Pacific
o Japanese had a lot of tanks
(41:08) They had 3 squads of 37mm antitank guns
o Japanese had 105’s
(41:41) Remembers something like a big shotgun (canister round)
�
(42:40) Supported the weapons company
(43:07) They had 50 caliber machine guns, and tank destroyers
o Each tank destroyer was open on the top
(44:17) M-7 (self-propelled howitzer) fired up as well as straight (used indirect fire)
(44:44) Mr. Abrams said he tried to stay as far away from the Japanese as he could
o Says he was safer over in Japan, and mentions some injuries when he came back
to civilian life
(46:18) Stayed in Peleliu even after the fighting was over
o Doesn’t remember shots being fired after Japanese surrendered
(46:45) Didn’t see any prisoners; says he didn’t pay much attention to them
(47:30) Recalls a time when a fellow soldier was ordered to shoot a Japanese prisoner
(48:40) Remembers the first person he shot; something Mr. Abrams will never forget
o Had to pull the trigger because he knew the enemy spotted him; the guy reached
for his gun and Mr. Abrams shot him
(51:20)After Pelelieu, Mr. Abrams went to smaller islands nearby
(52:03) After Pelelieu, they started moving up the Pacific
o Eventually went to Okinawa
(52:25) In Okinawa, Mr. Abrams was put in a Reserve Squad to go home
o In a group of 5 or 6 men
o Captain Thomasma; shot in the chest
o Remembers a friend who was killed who had a girlfriend in Boston
(53:34) When they first landed in Okinawa, they fought
o Didn’t run into the Japanese until they were on the other side of town (the
capital, Naha)
(56:00) Talks about seeing the old capital city of Okinawa in a magazine years later,
looking much better than what they had seen
o “Had nicer buildings than we did in Grand Rapids”
o American contractors were sent over there
(57:05) Mr. Abrams was involved in some of the key fights in Okinawa
�o Remembers that it rained a lot
(58:05) Still used tank destroyers and large weapons on Okinawa
(58:23) Mostly offensive fighting on Okinawa
(1:00:41) After Japanese surrendered, Mr. Abrams went to the Casual Platoon
o In a group of about 4 men
o Waiting for a boat to take them home
o New captain says they were going to China because Mr. Abrams volunteered
(1:01:54) Went on a ship to China
o
(1:03 :35) Was to stay there for 6 months
o Mr. Abrams didn’t enjoy it
o His job was to protect the Japanese here
(1:05:40) Recalls stopping riots in China
(1:08:09) Recalls seeing Japanese comfort women
o Traveled with them
Going Home
(1:09:50) Mr. Abrams got back to the U.S. on a slow boat from China
o Took a train once he got to San Diego
o Train to Chicago
o Great Lakes Naval Station
(1:11:24) Got discharged March 17th, says he had malaria
o This was the first time he had it
o Had bouts of malaria later in life also after being married
(1:12:55) After getting home, Mr. Abrams got a job in Muskegon at a cement block plant
o Injured his leg on the job
(1:13:40) Eventually went to work in Grand Rapids
o Retired from here
(1:18:11) Mr. Abrams said being in the Marines helped him grow up fast
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Veterans History Project
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. History Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1914-
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James
Boring, Frank
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-27
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Abrams, James (Interview outline and video), 2011
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Abrams, James
Description
An account of the resource
James Abrams was born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1923, and eventually grew up in Montana. After moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, he joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor. After boot camp in San Diego, he was shipped to the Solomon Islands and joined the Weapons Company of the 1st Marine Regiment on Guadalcanal toward the end of the campaign there. The regiment refitted in Melbourne, Australia, and then went to New Guinea prior to landing on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. After that battle, they went on to the hard fight at Pelelieu, and went on from there to Okinawa. After the Japanese surrender, he spent several months in China escorting Japanese soldiers and civilians who were being sent home.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James (Interviewer)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Marine Corps
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011-06-14
Identifier
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AbramsJ1116V
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Format
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application/pdf
video/mp4