I enlisted in the USMC a month after my 18th birthday in November of 1940. I enlisted at Walla Walla, Washington and was sworn in at Portland, Oregon. After boot camp at San Diego, I was sent to the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington. The marine detachment there, under the command of a colonel, was used primarily for guard duty. In October of 1942, I had the opportunity to volunteer for the 4th Marine Raider Battalion, which was being formed under the command of Lt. Col., James Roosevelt, the oldest son of the president. We trained at Camp Pendleton and in February of 1943 we shipped out for Esperito Saneto in the New Hebrides. After several months of training we moved north to Guadalcanal. From there we made raids on Vanqunu and New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. After which we went to Nouvea, New Caledonia and then to Aukland, New Zealand for R&R (rest and relaxation). While in Aukland, I turned myself into the Naval hospital because of malaria and hook worm. During my hospital stay, the battalion moved back to Guadalcanal. When I left Aukland to rejoin it, I was put in a transient outfit on New Caledonia for a few weeks and when I finally made it back to the battalion, they had left for Guam. I rejoined the battalion on Guam after the island had been secured and it was from there that we went to Japan. As the first Marines to land in Japan, we moved into Japanese barracks in Yokosoka Naval Base. That was on August 30, 1945 and in December, I boarded ship for home and my first leave since joining the Corps. I was a regular, not a reserve, and I had extended my four year enlistment by two years on November of 1944 so I had to complete my six years. I opted to finish my enlistment back at Bremerton. While there I met my future wife and we were married in the base chapel and will celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary on May 25, 2006.