- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Harry J. Kone
- Creator:
- King, Cary
Mueller, Kurt
VerHoef, Sue Hardy
Kone, Harry J., 1920- - Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
- Date of Original:
- 2018-12-19
- Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Solomon Islands
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--New Guinea
United States. Marine Corps. Marine Division, 1st
United States. Marine Corps. Marine Division, 3rd - Location:
- American Samoa, -14.289304, -170.692511
New Zealand, -40.900557, 174.885971
Papua New Guinea, Bougainville Island, -5.9631994, 154.9998011
Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, -9.59842095, 160.148511701845
United States, California, San Diego County, San Diego, 32.71571, -117.16472
United States, Maryland, City of Baltimore, 39.29038, -76.61219
United States, South Carolina, Beaufort County, Parris Island, 32.3352, -80.69233
United States, Virginia, Prince William County, Quantico, 38.52234, -77.29359 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
- Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, Harry Kone recalls his experiences serving in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. He remembers growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, and riding the streetcars there to buy his father's favorite food. When the war broke out, he wanted to enlist in Navy aviation, but his friends convinced him to join the Marine Corps with them. He describes their training to learn how to climb cargo nets while loaded with combat gear and recalls that all their equipment was leftover from World War I. He describes landing on Guadalcanal and running into the jungle to escape Japanese aircraft. He recalls in detail the huge mosquitos there and placing large grasshopper-like insects inside their mosquito netting so that the insects would eat the mosquitos. They also used cut-up socks to place their hands in to protect them while firing machine guns. He describes in detail the incident in which his legs were seriously mangled when they were unloading cargo from a ship and an attacking Japanese plane strafed the nets, dumping the cargo on the men beneath. He spent time in many different hospitals, undergoing several surgeries, before returning home. He was discharged in 1945 because of his leg injuries and married shortly afterwards. He was later diagnosed with tuberculosis that he contracted while in the Pacific and describes his treatment for the disease. Doctors told his wife he would not survive. He recalls many incidents from his time in the service including his interactions with the people of Samoa; his friendship with a sailor in hospital whose face was badly disfigured; and watching a Japanese submarine surface into a nearby cove while on night patrol. He displays the uniform his family bought for him along with his medals and reflects on his philosophy of life.
Lexington Market (Baltimore); "Tokyo Rose"; cargo nets; mosquitos; Japanese Zeroes; Bangalore torpedoes; Phrenic Crush; tuberculosis; TB; "talking chief"; "siva"; BAR man (Browning Automatic Rifle man);
Harry Kone was in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/858
- Additional Rights Information:
- This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
- Extent:
- 1:19:46
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project oral history recordings
Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
