Oral History Interview with Joe Rackley, April 29, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Rackley. Rackley was born in Nueces County, Texas, 26 April 1926. Graduating from high school in 1943, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for basic training. Upon completion of basic he was sent to Camp Stoneman, California and went aboard the USS General John Pope (AP-110) for a 31 day trip to New Guinea. He was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division, 145th Infantry Regiment as a combat radio operator in the headquarters section to serve as radioman for the company commander. He landed at Bougainville and describes the difficulties encountered in landing, the heavy rains that fell and the high number of casualties. During January 1945, the division landed on Luzon unopposed with orders to recapture General MacArthur’s former residence. Rackley remembers being ordered to take Bilibid Prison in Manila and he tells of the condition of some of the former prisoners. After spending two weeks retaking Clark Field they were ordered to conduct mop-up operations. Rackley recalls heavy fighting during the operation and mentions his captain being seriously wounded as he used the radio. He recalls receiving a radio message to cease firing and how the next morning Japanese soldiers began bringing in their weapons and surrendering. Several weeks after the surrender, he was ordered to the 50th Military Police Battalion where he patrolled Manila for over a year. Disliking the duty he asked to be relieved of patrol duty and was reassigned to duty with the USO. He had malaria attacks and was mistakenly placed in the psychiatric ward of a hospital during one attack. In 1946, he returned to the United States and was discharged