WW2 Marine Recalls Okinawa | Memoirs Of WWII #53

Рет қаралды 78,957

Ай бұрын

World War II Veteran Charles Kelley had always wanted to join the Marines. But there was no way he could know the horrors he would experience in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, enduring such battles as Guam and Okinawa - the bloodiest battle in the Pacific.
Memoirs of WWII Website: bit.ly/2w60kGM
Patreon: bit.ly/2HIebIN
Instagram: bit.ly/2FBGBhv
Facebook: bit.ly/2w5Lhgf
Twitter: bit.ly/2jlcp1A
Written and Directed by Joshua Scott
Filmed by Heather Scott
Edited by Joshua Scott
Post Audio by Lane Tarr
Photo Enhancement and Colorization by Hudson Louie
Archive Footage Sources:
www.archives.gov/
Archive Photo Sources:Department of Defense
U.S. Navy
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Naval Institute
Library of Congress
Imperial Japanese Army
Primary Musical Score Source:
artlist.io/
Artlist Songs and Composers:
“Tremors” by Spearfish
“Exploration” by Kyle Preston
“Family” by Josh Leake
“Soon” composed by Artie Shaw, performed by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra
#ww2 #history #wwii #veteran #worldwar2 #worldwarii #okinawa #usmarines #marine #marines #story

Пікірлер: 251

@johnkelley2615 Ай бұрын

This is my grandpa, he’s 98 now. Thank you Memoirs of WWII for recording his story!

@ettajfan5882 Ай бұрын

He is one of the true heroes of our country. Please tell him we thank him for his service!

@gilwhitmore9682 Ай бұрын

We can't say thank you enough for him, and all those that were with him. Glad the angels were with him.

@jayrowe6473 Ай бұрын

I'm glad he's still with us, and I hope he's doing well. Semper Fi.

@dmaextraordinaire8205 Ай бұрын

I offer your grandfather, my sincere gratitude. Please thank him and give him a hug next time you see him. God bless him and America.

@DanielJMathews1 Ай бұрын

god bless your grandpa im a active duty marine and i have mad respect for any and all devil dogs and service members past and present

@dmaextraordinaire8205 Ай бұрын

This is what a real hero looks like.

@shannonobrien9922 Ай бұрын

Unassuming as ever!!!!

@Poetry4Peace Ай бұрын

Chill shanno

@user-qg9fj4yj9g 18 минут бұрын

Amen 👍💪🇺🇸

@tundralou 24 күн бұрын

98 years old and remembers his comrades names so clear-so glad his memories are recorded

@freedfree7933 17 сағат бұрын

He will probably remember them even after he forgets his wife’s name

@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88 Ай бұрын

Two years at war, older in heart, mind and soul than most of us ever will be, but still too young to go to the bar.

@shannonobrien9922 Ай бұрын

Not then......the legal drinking age was 18 then! Plus, overseas they follow local law! I was a US Army brat and went to HS in Germany and I was bar hopping LEGALLY at 16

@roderickstockdale1678 19 күн бұрын

@@shannonobrien9922he said he was 20 when he got back himself and still couldn’t go in a bar…

@mycigaradventures8322 Ай бұрын

“I’ll be here 100 years if that’s what it takes” Soldiers mindset like that is what made us win the war

@wattsnottaken1 25 күн бұрын

I’m not religious but god bless the Marines and Army Dogs who fought in the Pacific and Europe. We owe them everything

@matthewjay660 Ай бұрын

My grandfather is still alive at 97. He fought in the USN at Okinawa. 🇺🇸🦅⚓️

@JEM133 Ай бұрын

My dad was there with you,1st Marines! God bless you all!

@Bjorn_Algiz Ай бұрын

Always remember the fallen and those who served and live today to tell their story 😔🙏

@shannonobrien9922 Ай бұрын

AMEN!!!!!! Freedom IS NOT free

@skimmer8774 Ай бұрын

Mr. Kelley sir I thank you a thousand times for the freedom my family has. We do not take it for granted. Also you sure don't look 98. God bless you.

@Sauerbrew777 Ай бұрын

Amazing story. Thank you for recording it for posterity. Also, 54 magazines = 1080 rounds of 30-06.

@frenchfan3368 Ай бұрын

To add to your worthy comment, he said his BAR never jammed after putting 54 magazines through it. Wow!

@wendielangborders4116 Ай бұрын

Smoking

@mahersalthomas1739 21 күн бұрын

25 rounds in the magazine?

@B2091 8 күн бұрын

@@mahersalthomas1739 20 round magazine for the BAR

@gilwhitmore9682 Ай бұрын

I don't know how these men did it either, but I am thankful every day that they and all those that followed them did. So lucky to be able to hear these accounts from everyday heroes. God bless and keep them all.

@jgonzalez101 Ай бұрын

So thankful for these brave and courageous men who served our Country with honor and dedication!❤️🇺🇸

@lonnyjaw Ай бұрын

Thank GOD for these REAL MEN that fought for OUR liberty and freedom! GOD Bless you Charles Kelley.

@user-tl3uf2fd5k Ай бұрын

Read a book called I think it was 40 days in Okinawa. It was very descriptive. I don't know how they came back without having been affected I don't think anybody came back unaffected. Just reading the book affected me. My uncle died in that battle. Killed by a sniper at the very end of the battle. Rip Omer Lemay

@jessicakcarvalho Ай бұрын

RIP Omer Lemay!

@hsaccount_ 11 күн бұрын

Rest in peace Omer Lemay

@thomasmerrill2287 Ай бұрын

Did all this before he turned 21 they don’t make them like this MUCH anymore thank you sir for your service 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🇺🇸

@hsaccount_ 11 күн бұрын

Well thats because luckily we dont have to. If it were to repeat, they will rise up once again. But yeah, i think back then there were more real men as well.

@jeffreyknight3884 Ай бұрын

It's sad, all the world war 2 veterans are dying off everyday. Damn, I'll miss the stories, including my dad who lived to be 100 years old.

@roderickstockdale1678 Ай бұрын

Did you get any of his?

@airgunfun4248 Ай бұрын

My Grandad was 7th infantry Okinawa was his landing. He went from there on a hospital ship to Guam I believe. He was sick for a long time. He got down to 97 pounds. He told his family dysentery when my mom was a kid. When I was a teen he said to me the doctor told him it was nerves. He told me a lot of things that he didn't tell them

@DaystromDataConcepts Ай бұрын

They really were the greatest generation. I salute all of them, they're bravery and endurance in the face of appalling conditions just boggles the mind. I dread to think how many nineteen year olds today would fare in those circumstances. I fear not very well at all, assuming they even volunteered. Okinawa has to be one of the most brutal and appauling battles of attrition in history. May I recommend to those interested the superb book entitled "with the old Breed" a memoir by Eugene Sledge. In it, he graphically describes the most horrific scenes imaginable. Those descriptions of his time on Okinawa and Pelilu will never leave me.

@BoldLion Ай бұрын

It's been awhile! I know it's hard to find them and then get to them as quickly as possible!! Love Yaw

@minuteman-RN Ай бұрын

Truly and different breed and definitely the greatest generation. Thank you for your service, sir! You and your fallen comrades will not be forgotten.

@ettajfan5882 Ай бұрын

Thank you for your continued dedication to our WWII veterans. As a proud daughter of a WWII veteran, I wish my father was still alive to recount his own story. He served in five countries in the European theatre as a 19 year old. God bless every veteran and God bless the United States of America.

@adriannogales7676 Ай бұрын

Mr. Kelley is a national treasure. He and Joe Pinio and Jimmy Malleson, Goertz, Bobby Monroe and the rest of those gents are legends, Oklowitz and all the corpsmen too

@brianhornsby4627 Ай бұрын

This is the generation of folks that were around me when I was growing up. The conversations and lessons I learned from these old timers should have been cast in iron and taught in schools in perpetuity. Great men they were and forever will be. Courage and humility are almost non existent today. Hard times forge strong men. You know the rest. God be with us all. Bless you and no amount of gratitude could be afforded to your generation that would suffice. Thank you, sir.

@SergiuM42 2 күн бұрын

Agreed!

@Hevynly1 Ай бұрын

How does he look that fabulous at 98?! I don't know what I am struck by more- his story or how youthful he looks and sounds! I love that he mentioned the fallen soldiers he knew. It's nice to learn a bit about them as well.

@JLAvey Ай бұрын

Too bad something like this channel wasn't around twenty-five years or thirty years ago. Could have recorded the testimonies of the last surviving Great War vets. If you're old enough, it gives you something to think about, knowing the last WWII vet will soon die. If Grandpa was still alive, he'd be a bit over a hundred.

@DamWalsh 12 күн бұрын

I have listened to a few stories about how these brave men fought in ww2 my heart is heavy with emotion god bless your soldiers

@macmccollum6064 Ай бұрын

Great video. Great hero.

@SmoothBalla1 Ай бұрын

Growing up, I’ve always learned that the relationship between a Corpsman his Marines is something special. I’m so glad I joined the fold and became one myself! Thank you all who served, and paved the path for future Docs🤙🏾

@nick3d155 Ай бұрын

I was so excited to see there was a new video today

@krisshepherd740 4 күн бұрын

These men are sp special and must be respected and revered. Love them all!!❤❤😊

@RDMash Ай бұрын

As I say in all my WW2 memoirs, these fighting Men were absolutely the GREATEST Generation!! Thank You All 🙏

@PoupstainKilla Ай бұрын

I'm in Flint RIGHT NOW watching this

@kennethcaine3402 Ай бұрын

Great video, Great Man, I can't believe he is 98 years old, he has been blessed. My Father was on Okinawa, 1st Marine Division his mother's birthday was April 1st the day of the invasion.

@robertweingartner2055 Ай бұрын

Another great video, Josh! Thanks for keeping their stories alive. I dread the day our WWII vets are no longer with us.

@henrywinchester9372 Ай бұрын

Couldn’t even go in a bar when he got back from fighting in Okinawa… war is awful

@nunyabisness4300 2 күн бұрын

Thank you for your service Mr. Kelley

@scottlehman9738 Ай бұрын

SEMPER FI brother. Thank you for your service.

@bitterellaselectricgroove8544 Ай бұрын

Bless him!! Can fight a war but can't go have a beer. Thank you sir for your incredible story and service. 🇺🇸

@markcmann Ай бұрын

What an incredible Gentleman, he is an excellent example of the Greatest Generation. 🇺🇸👍🏻

@dave3156 Ай бұрын

Very moving account--so glad you got his story! Thx

@gmagee5184 18 күн бұрын

I love this Marines story! How vividly he remembers and recalls it (like it happened yesterday). The emotion… you can hear it in his voice. His 1000 yard stare. Thank you sir for your service and your generation’s sacrifice! 9:16

@leonmeekel5486 28 күн бұрын

2:17 you know, these stories are always so incredible that its hard to relate sometimes. People today can only kinda do it when they have a modern day equivalent like those marines essentially saying: "we are doing our part but we don't know how you guys ever did it when you didn't have flak jackets". But this little moment is something that i, probably along with most people here, can relate to. Just your mom wanting to say goodbye to you right before you are being send to fight far away for a long time. I can't imagine what it must have been like for those mothers and fathers who's children never returned.

@jonathanmanzano3902 Ай бұрын

Thank you for these memoirs

@kranjcalan Ай бұрын

Thank for all the videos. keep up the good work.

@magnumx70 Ай бұрын

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

@williamcampbell6794 Ай бұрын

The work you guys do is incredible, thank you so much for documenting these stories, it’s incredibly important, thank you.

@longtyler182 Ай бұрын

My favorite channel on KZfaq. Thank you for finding these vets and recording their stories so they may live on forever now

@debrakleid5752 Ай бұрын

I really like this channel and appreciate all you do keeping their memories alive because in the next few years there won’t be any WW2 vets alive.

@Wil_Liam1 Ай бұрын

The greatest generation of all time.. The greatest war machine ever... There will never be another generation that even comes close to them... Thank you sir for your service,HOOOAH !.

@fufu889 Ай бұрын

Thank you sir! You are incredible & your soldier friends too. You are the best! ❤

@xvsj5833 Ай бұрын

Thank you for your service Charlie 🇺🇸💕

@Sleeperdude Ай бұрын

Incredible

@davewelsh4505 Ай бұрын

God bless you and thank you for your service!!!

@richardthornhill4630 16 күн бұрын

Thanks to all our Veterans who served. Semper Fi. Stationed on Okinawa 20 years later. They paid the price for us.

@wademccormick4371 17 күн бұрын

Thanks for your service and thanks for helping preserve our history. I feel like a lot of the younger generation have lost touch with our past. These stories should never be forgotten ❤

@williamcarroll8601 Ай бұрын

Very brave man and thank you for your service.

@Simbadalion Ай бұрын

Thank you for your service

@TRockett55IRISH Ай бұрын

Memoirs of WW2 thank you for another amazing episode Mr. Kelley was one of your best interviews yet and that is saying something keep up the phenomenal work in seeking out the Men and women of the GREATEST GENERATION to get these stories told for all to see just thank you for all this.

@tommyellis3521 2 күн бұрын

Without a doubt. THE GREATEST GENERATION!!!!!

@mikeschillinger4427 Ай бұрын

❤ what else is there to say? A very moving story to listen to.Thank-you for recording it and to the Marine who so generously shared it. God bless our Veterans.

@ChairmanLebron Ай бұрын

Lest we forget.

@2DSTORMS Ай бұрын

Been waiting for a new episode....finally, another great one!!

@zackbratton5485 Ай бұрын

Thank you

@masudaharris6435 Ай бұрын

Only 20 years later, in 1965, Okinawa was a quiet, sleepy place where trash collectors came in horse-drawn carts. Yet, every time it rained, vestiges of the war would wash out of the soil...bullets, parts of equipment, and bits of uniforms. I was told where I lived was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the battle. But in 1965, we lived in a palatial home, across from a huge sugar cane plantation.

@johngrogan7585 Ай бұрын

Thank you Sir

@kirkmanning6232 Ай бұрын

Great presentation! The film clips were well done and placed.

@drew9195 Ай бұрын

Everyyyy timeeee i watch these it makes me cry Jesus Christ. So many brave lives lost. Children. Some not even recognized as adults in most governments (17). And most not old enough to drink. But old enough to watch their friends, new and old blow up by mortar strikes & get left in the dirt under the hot sun for days until the day they’re able to retrieve the bodies. God bless these men.

@rusty_shackleford Ай бұрын

I wish I was half as hard as as this man.. We live so great right now due to people like you, sir

@dianehansen2263 Ай бұрын

Well, here is another 'thank u for serving' and putting your life on the line in hellish conditions. U are indeed one of the greatest generation! 🤟🙂

@JG-sm9wm 4 күн бұрын

God Bless you sir, America is forever indebted and all those men and women who fought and serviced alongside you, God bless you

@youknownada2326 2 күн бұрын

I salute that man. A legend.

@jeremyronald Ай бұрын

If you ever read this Mr. Kelley, hello from a fellow Michigander and thank you so much for your service ❤

@user-fc7ug4sl9p 12 күн бұрын

Thank you Sir, God bless you All 🙏🏼

@AndrewGrey22 Ай бұрын

Nice job on this one about this great man.

@876r876rf Ай бұрын

Beautifully edited video

@user-xu9hy1hj8c 18 күн бұрын

this video is very emotional

@asherweck Ай бұрын

What a living legend. I wish I had half the bravery these guys had..

@jeffreylucas2027 17 күн бұрын

What a brave man at that age another great story and looks great for his age

@Mattman2500 Ай бұрын

I served in the Marines Corps from 2004-2011. Did some time in Iraq early on in GWOT. I'm glad to have worn the same uniform. Has men like this. Marines are a different breed for sure.

@ChevyBoyCallofDuty Ай бұрын

Thank you WWII Vets! ✝️🙏🏻🇺🇸

@johnstevens9673 Ай бұрын

Memoris of WWII have the absolute dream job. Getting paid amazing money to travel the country/world with your entire family interviewing the remaining WWII survivors. Wow, I'd do anything to have their job and make the money they do.

@Texicankush Ай бұрын

“Jimmy mallison now there was an artist” loved how he says artist bcuz he knew him and what he was passionate about not just some soldier named Jimmy but an artist named Jimmy who had to be a soldier

@garymckee63 Ай бұрын

This individual still has a great memory and is very articulate. SEMPER FIDELIS

@waldirleandro4997 Ай бұрын

Parabéns pelo relato herói

@ralphbranham8663 16 күн бұрын

My Grandpa was in the Navy at Okinawa

@lovetolift82 Ай бұрын

I think I can speak for us all... im going to miss these guys when they are all gone.

@asherweck Ай бұрын

Can’t imagine having conversations with friends again a common enemy and then surviving the war and knowing/ seeing they perished in the battle. Must hurt like hell

@Psalms144_1_2 Ай бұрын

Amen brother, God bless all who served, God Love you.

@user-ur7bf1in4h 20 күн бұрын

Great man God bless him 🙏

@EliteFuller Ай бұрын

respect

@thevet2009 19 күн бұрын

Salute

@BornAJarhead 26 күн бұрын

Respect Semper Fi

@user-qg9fj4yj9g 12 минут бұрын

These are Great Men , they make me very proud to be an American, God Bless them all 👍💪🇺🇸

@elliottrau9845 28 күн бұрын

True American Hero! Thank you. 🫡🇺🇸🙏

@shoktroop Ай бұрын

These are our national treasures. The Greatest Generation and my family was a part of that! Semper Fi

@Aaron-ik8iq Ай бұрын

A few years ago I donated money to your channel. I really like your videos. Unfortunately I cannot find the link to donate through PayPal. I don’t do Patreon and I don’t do monthly memberships. I spent more than five minutes trying to figure out how to contribute. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@marcusdelk7708 21 күн бұрын

I truly thank God for this generation. It’s the men like Mr.Kelley who inspire me join the Marine Corps, and answer the call to service when summoned.

@DolloJones 23 күн бұрын

54 Magazines through a BAR non-stop with no jam damn

@kubikariYOU Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@PrayerfullyBlessedMama Ай бұрын

My grandfather, my dad’s dad, served in Okinawa during WW2. He was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart 💜. He died before I was born. My dad served in Okinawa at the end of the Vietnam war. Supposedly fulfilling a promise to his dad, to pee on the hill his father had been shot on.