Oral History Interview with John McAllister, April 11, 2007

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John McAllister. McAllister joined the Army Reserve at Texas A&M and was called to active duty in February 1943. He received basic training at Camp Sibert and learned to fire a 4.2-inch mortar. He then studied chemical engineering at MIT under the Army Specialized Training Program. Upon completion, he was assigned to Fort Shelby as an acting sergeant. He then attended OCS in Edgewood and graduated as a second lieutenant. There he processed 643 German prisoners of war that had been flown in from the Battle of the Bulge. He was transferred to the 71st Chemical Mortar Battalion as a platoon leader and sent to Okinawa. After the war ended, he went ashore for guard duty and discovered that the island, though secure, still had tens of thousands of Japanese holdouts. He was assigned to a POW camp, where he found the prisoners to be cooperative and in good spirits. McAllister then returned home and joined the Reserves. He earned a degree in chemical engineering and got a job with DuPont. During the Korean War, he was called to active duty and sent to Edgewood to study atomic, biological, and chemical warfare. McAllister returned to civilian life and retired from DuPont in 1980