- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Walter (Wally) Reustle
- Creator:
- VerHoef, Sue Hardy
Reustle, Wally, 1926-2025 - Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
- Date of Original:
- 2023-12-04
- Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Japan--Okinawa Island
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons
Atomic bomb
Atomic bomb victims--Japan--Hiroshima-shi
Atomic bomb--Japan
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941
Kamikaze airplanes
Destroyers (Warships)
United States. Navy - People:
- Roosevelt, J. Willard, 1918-2008
- Location:
- Japan, Iwo Jima, 24.78516755, 141.324132661137
Japan, Kudaka Island, 26.16278, 127.89472
Japan, Nagasaki-shi, 32.7501611, 129.8781002
Japan, Okinawa, 26.53806, 127.96778
Philippines, Subic Bay, 14.8203471, 120.28152872220117
United States, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia, 39.95233, -75.16379 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
- Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, Walter "Wally" Reustle (1926-2025) recalls his experiences serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He remembers growing up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Three of his siblings, including two sisters, joined the military and served during the war. He describes how and why he enlisted in the Navy; his early training; transiting the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines; and being assigned to the USS Greene (APD-36). He was assigned to the firemen's group on the ship and describes the ship's engines; how they worked; and his later duty as a "loader" for the ship's guns. He remembers Navy "frogmen" that were assigned to the Greene and how they were able to dismantle obstructions the enemy left on the beaches. He experienced three different typhoons while on the Greene, including the last storm in which the ship ran aground. The Greene was tasked with rescuing American POWs used as slave labor in the coal mines around Nagasaki after the atomic bombing of the city and he describes in great detail what he saw and experienced there. He remembers seeing nothing left in Nagasaki but the images of metal-working machinery that were burned into the concrete pads on which they were installed as a result of the atomic blast. He describes in detail finding several groups of American POWs including their physical condition and appearance. He recalls a particularly moving moment when the former prisoners cheered as they were loaded onto LSTs for transport to a hospital ship. He comments on the officers and men with whom he served, including the captain of the USS Greene, Joseph W. Roosevelt, grandson of former President Theodore Roosevelt. He recalls several humorous incidents from his time in service, including making use of debris that washed ashore from sunken ships, such as medical alcohol, K-rations, and cigarettes. He describes his post-military careers and family and reflects on the war and the need for elected officials to understand the dangers of the atomic age. USS Greene (APD-36); Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT); kamikaze; picket line; typhoon; midget submarines; hospital ship; POW; "tent city"; Northeast High School (Philadelphia); lathe; cosmoline; "Old Gold" cigarettes; "talk between ships" (TBS); Reading Railroad; Union Switch and Signal Company; radiation Wally Reustle served in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/923
- Additional Rights Information:
- This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center for more information at images@atlantahistorycenter.com. Licensing and reproduction fees may apply.
- Extent:
- 1:26:48
- 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:
-
