Oral History Interview with Don Fox, July 27, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Fox. He was born July 3, 1926 in Pulaski, Indiana. He was drafted into the Army on January 9, 1945. Upon completion of basic training he shipped out to Leyte Island in the Philippines where he joined the 24th Division, 34th Regiment. During the transit the war with Japan ended. He recalls in September 1945 taking part in an unopposed amphibious landing on Matsuyama, Japan, where there was a Japanese Army base. He recalls marching through the town where there were starving Japanese children lined up waving American flags, and giving them chocolate. He describes how his unit paid the local Japanese to enter tunnels stocked with munitions, remove them and detonate them safely. He describes his battalion being trucked to Hiroshima five or six weeks after the atomic bomb was dropped. He recalls the desolation of the area. Upon returning to the city of Hiro, he recalls being sent out on patrols into cities where they would interview officials and check on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. He recalls frequent encounters with starving Japanese seeking employment. He recounts an instance when he volunteered for honor guard duty for the arrival of General Eisenhower who was visiting General MacArthur. He recalls waiting at the station for almost an hour after the train had arrived. A month later he performed the same duties for Secretary of War Stimson. After six months in Hiro, he describes being transferred to Sasebo and making a day trip to Nagasaki. He recalls how Nagasaki was in much better condition than Hiroshima, which he attributes to the passage of time and to Seabees and Army Engineers efforts. In September 1946 he shipped out of Yokohama and back to the States, where he was discharged