JOHNNIE RALPH WILLIAMS, JR.

WORLD WAR II INTERVIEW


BY: Kimsey M. "Mac" Fowler

Typed By: Jimmie B. Fowler

October 10, 2000



Johnnie Ralph Williams, Jr.

109 East Mary Street

Dublin, GA 31021





On December 7, 1941, I was working on the farm and going to school. I was drafted into the Army on December 27, 1944.



I left Dublin and went to Atlanta and from there to Camp Shelby, Mississippi by bus. I was there about a month and from there to Fort Hood, Texas for seventeen weeks of Infantry Training. They were real tough on us! It was real hot, we did a lot of firing on the firing range, a lot of marching, we learned to throw hand grenades, and did a lot of obstacle course training.



We left Fort Hood and went to Fort Ord, California to be processed to be sent overseas. We boarded ship and sailed to the Hawaii area. We did not go ashore. We were anchored out waiting for other orders. We stayed there about three days and then sailed to the Philippines. We worked guard while on the Philippines. Some of the guys guarded Japanese Prisoners, but I did not. We guarded between the river and where we were living. The War ended while we were there.



American Prisoners of War began coming in from various Japanese Prisons. Most of them were just skin and bones and most of them were sick. Some of them told us that they had to bury the dead every morning before they got anything to eat.



We left the Philippines and went to some little island that had nothing but coconuts and monkeys on it. I have no idea what the name of it was but there was no fighting on it. We lived in pup tents.



We went to Japan to Tachakawa Air Force Base, which was located between Yokohama and Tokyo. We did mostly guard duty in Japan on blueprint and ammunition storage sites. The site that I guarded was Japanese. Anything that was important was guarded to keep the Japanese from getting to it.



Everything was pretty quite in Japan when we got there. We lived in barracks that could have been a Japanese hotel. When we were on guard duty we would walk in opposite directions so that all angles could be covered for intruders.



I also was assigned to an Amphibian Squadron and we would go out to the ships and bring in food supplies to shore. New troops were also coming in.



I went about twenty-five miles from where the Atomic Bomb was dropped and man it was just torn all down! It looked like tornadoes had gone through it.



When we first got to Japan, we could not go to the towns and shop but before I left, we could.



The Japanese people suffered during the War, too. They would come and stand in line hoping to get our leftover scrap food. If our scraps were put in the garbage can, they would get them out and eat them.



When I left Japan, I came back to the States and was discharged in Fort Sam Houston, Texas on November 11, 1946. I wanted to go back into the active service and go to Germany but my Mother begged me so hard not to go so I changed my mind. I then joined the Reserves for three years and was discharged on September 30, 1949.





The medals that I earned were:



ASIATIC Pacific Campaign Ribbon

Philippine Liberation Ribbon

Good Conduct Medal

Army Occupation Medal

Japan Victory Ribbon

Two Overseas Service Bars.



I continued farming after returning home.



My father was Johnnie Ralph Williams, Sr. and my Mother was Rosie Upshaw Williams. There were five children, Ray, Royce, Betty Jo, Willa Jean and myself.



I am married to Ernestine Evans, from Laurens County. Her father is Elijah Evans and Edna Walker.