WW2 Marine Recalls Okinawa | Memoirs Of WWII #53

World War II Veteran Charles Kelley had always wanted to join the Marines. But there was no way he could know the horrors he would experience in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, enduring such battles as Guam and Okinawa - the bloodiest battle in the Pacific.
Memoirs of WWII Website: bit.ly/2w60kGM
Patreon: bit.ly/2HIebIN
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Written and Directed by Joshua Scott
Filmed by Heather Scott
Edited by Joshua Scott
Post Audio by Lane Tarr
Photo Enhancement and Colorization by Hudson Louie
Archive Footage Sources:
www.archives.gov/
Archive Photo Sources:Department of Defense
U.S. Navy
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Naval Institute
Library of Congress
Imperial Japanese Army
Primary Musical Score Source:
artlist.io/
Artlist Songs and Composers:
“Tremors” by Spearfish
“Exploration” by Kyle Preston
“Family” by Josh Leake
“Soon” composed by Artie Shaw, performed by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra
#ww2 #history #wwii #veteran #worldwar2 #worldwarii #okinawa #usmarines #marine #marines #story

[@johnkelley2615]

This is my grandpa, he’s 98 now. Thank you Memoirs of WWII for recording his story!

[@ettajfan5882]

He is one of the true heroes of our country. Please tell him we thank him for his service!

[@gilwhitmore9682]

We can't say thank you enough for him, and all those that were with him. Glad the angels were with him.

[@jayrowe6473]

I'm glad he's still with us, and I hope he's doing well. Semper Fi.

[@dmaextraordinaire8205]

I offer your grandfather, my sincere gratitude. Please thank him and give him a hug next time you see him. God bless him and America.

[@DanielJMathews1]

god bless your grandpa im a active duty marine and i have mad respect for any and all devil dogs and service members past and present

[@dmaextraordinaire8205]

This is what a real hero looks like.

[@shannonobrien9922]

Unassuming as ever!!!!

[@Poetry4Peace]

Chill shanno

[@user-qg9fj4yj9g]

Amen 👍💪🇺🇸

[@tundralou]

98 years old and remembers his comrades names so clear-so glad his memories are recorded

[@freedfree7933]

He will probably remember them even after he forgets his wife’s name

[@matthewjay660]

My grandfather is still alive at 97. He fought in the USN at Okinawa. 🇺🇸🦅⚓️

[@Dulex321]

Please get him interviewed 🙏

[@mycigaradventures8322]

“I’ll be here 100 years if that’s what it takes” Soldiers mindset like that is what made us win the war

[@wattsnottaken1]

I’m not religious but god bless the Marines and Army Dogs who fought in the Pacific and Europe. We owe them everything

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Two years at war, older in heart, mind and soul than most of us ever will be, but still too young to go to the bar.

[@shannonobrien9922]

Not then......the legal drinking age was 18 then! Plus, overseas they follow local law! I was a US Army brat and went to HS in Germany and I was bar hopping LEGALLY at 16

[@roderickstockdale1678]

@@shannonobrien9922he said he was 20 when he got back himself and still couldn’t go in a bar…

[@thezfunk]

If my information is correct from my dad, beer was 18 but hard liquor was 21. There were places that only served beer you could drink in but if the place was a full bar you couldn't go until 21.

[@shannonobrien9922]

@@thezfunk I was in Germany at 16 from 90-93 ......I bar hopped legally, bought liquor on post too! The "law" for foreign nationals is you follow the host countries law! Legal consumption is 16 in Europe!!!!! Funnily enough, I couldn't buy a drink at the club on post but could cross the street to the PX and buy all I wanted!

[@roderickstockdale1678]

@@thezfunk that’s why I heard 18 before as rightfully it should be because a working man should be allowed to have a beer next.

[@JEM133]

My dad was there with you,1st Marines! God bless you all!

[@katherinegates1559]

🇺🇲♥️🇺🇲 My Dad too....1942 - 46

[@lonnyjaw]

Thank GOD for these REAL MEN that fought for OUR liberty and freedom! GOD Bless you Charles Kelley.

[@skimmer8774]

Mr. Kelley sir I thank you a thousand times for the freedom my family has. We do not take it for granted. Also you sure don't look 98. God bless you.

[@Sauerbrew777]

Amazing story. Thank you for recording it for posterity. Also, 54 magazines = 1080 rounds of 30-06.

[@frenchfan3368]

To add to your worthy comment, he said his BAR never jammed after putting 54 magazines through it. Wow!

[@wendielangborders4116]

Smoking

[@mahersalthomas1739]

25 rounds in the magazine?

[@B2091]

@@mahersalthomas1739 20 round magazine for the BAR

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

Always remember the fallen and those who served and live today to tell their story 😔🙏

[@shannonobrien9922]

AMEN!!!!!! Freedom IS NOT free

[@gilwhitmore9682]

I don't know how these men did it either, but I am thankful every day that they and all those that followed them did. So lucky to be able to hear these accounts from everyday heroes. God bless and keep them all.

[@jgonzalez101]

So thankful for these brave and courageous men who served our Country with honor and dedication!❤️🇺🇸

[@airgunfun4248]

My Grandad was 7th infantry Okinawa was his landing. He went from there on a hospital ship to Guam I believe. He was sick for a long time. He got down to 97 pounds. He told his family dysentery when my mom was a kid. When I was a teen he said to me the doctor told him it was nerves. He told me a lot of things that he didn't tell them

[@jeffreyknight3884]

It's sad, all the world war 2 veterans are dying off everyday. Damn, I'll miss the stories, including my dad who lived to be 100 years old.

[@roderickstockdale1678]

Did you get any of his?

[@thomasmerrill2287]

Did all this before he turned 21 they don’t make them like this MUCH anymore thank you sir for your service 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🇺🇸

[@hsaccount_]

Well thats because luckily we dont have to. If it were to repeat, they will rise up once again. But yeah, i think back then there were more real men as well.

[@minuteman-RN]

Truly and different breed and definitely the greatest generation. Thank you for your service, sir! You and your fallen comrades will not be forgotten.

[@user-tl3uf2fd5k]

Read a book called I think it was 40 days in Okinawa. It was very descriptive. I don't know how they came back without having been affected I don't think anybody came back unaffected. Just reading the book affected me. My uncle died in that battle. Killed by a sniper at the very end of the battle. Rip Omer Lemay

[@jessicakcarvalho]

RIP Omer Lemay!

[@hsaccount_]

Rest in peace Omer Lemay

[@brianhornsby4627]

This is the generation of folks that were around me when I was growing up. The conversations and lessons I learned from these old timers should have been cast in iron and taught in schools in perpetuity. Great men they were and forever will be. Courage and humility are almost non existent today. Hard times forge strong men. You know the rest. God be with us all. Bless you and no amount of gratitude could be afforded to your generation that would suffice. Thank you, sir.

[@SergiuM42]

Agreed!

[@DaystromDataConcepts]

They really were the greatest generation. I salute all of them, they're bravery and endurance in the face of appalling conditions just boggles the mind. I dread to think how many nineteen year olds today would fare in those circumstances. I fear not very well at all, assuming they even volunteered. Okinawa has to be one of the most brutal and appauling battles of attrition in history. May I recommend to those interested the superb book entitled "with the old Breed" a memoir by Eugene Sledge. In it, he graphically describes the most horrific scenes imaginable. Those descriptions of his time on Okinawa and Pelilu will never leave me.

[@ettajfan5882]

Thank you for your continued dedication to our WWII veterans. As a proud daughter of a WWII veteran, I wish my father was still alive to recount his own story. He served in five countries in the European theatre as a 19 year old. God bless every veteran and God bless the United States of America.

[@gmagee5184]

I love this Marines story! How vividly he remembers and recalls it (like it happened yesterday). The emotion… you can hear it in his voice. His 1000 yard stare. Thank you sir for your service and your generation’s sacrifice! <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="556">9:16</a>

[@jeremyronald]

If you ever read this Mr. Kelley, hello from a fellow Michigander and thank you so much for your service ❤

[@kennethcaine3402]

Great video, Great Man, I can't believe he is 98 years old, he has been blessed. My Father was on Okinawa, 1st Marine Division his mother's birthday was April 1st the day of the invasion.

[@BoldLion]

It's been awhile! I know it's hard to find them and then get to them as quickly as possible!! Love Yaw

[@ChairmanLebron]

Lest we forget.

[@JLAvey]

Too bad something like this channel wasn't around twenty-five years or thirty years ago. Could have recorded the testimonies of the last surviving Great War vets. If you're old enough, it gives you something to think about, knowing the last WWII vet will soon die. If Grandpa was still alive, he'd be a bit over a hundred.

[@krisshepherd740]

These men are sp special and must be respected and revered. Love them all!!❤❤😊

[@adriannogales7676]

Mr. Kelley is a national treasure. He and Joe Pinio and Jimmy Malleson, Goertz, Bobby Monroe and the rest of those gents are legends, Oklowitz and all the corpsmen too

[@markcmann]

What an incredible Gentleman, he is an excellent example of the Greatest Generation. 🇺🇸👍🏻

[@DamWalsh]

I have listened to a few stories about how these brave men fought in ww2 my heart is heavy with emotion god bless your soldiers

[@SmoothBalla1]

Growing up, I’ve always learned that the relationship between a Corpsman his Marines is something special. I’m so glad I joined the fold and became one myself! Thank you all who served, and paved the path for future Docs🤙🏾

[@RDMash]

As I say in all my WW2 memoirs, these fighting Men were absolutely the GREATEST Generation!! Thank You All 🙏

[@kaykay8551]

My great grandfather died in Okinawa, he was 28 years old.

[@Dulex321]

May he rest easy 🙏❤️

[@robertweingartner2055]

Another great video, Josh! Thanks for keeping their stories alive. I dread the day our WWII vets are no longer with us.

[@Hevynly1]

How does he look that fabulous at 98?! I don't know what I am struck by more- his story or how youthful he looks and sounds! I love that he mentioned the fallen soldiers he knew. It's nice to learn a bit about them as well.

[@xvsj5833]

Thank you for your service Charlie 🇺🇸💕

[@macmccollum6064]

Great video. Great hero.

[@alexandermartincausey7333]

Absolutely incredible. Comes home from war, and can't get in a bar. "Wasn't old enough."

[@tommyellis3521]

Without a doubt. THE GREATEST GENERATION!!!!!

[@bitterellaselectricgroove8544]

Bless him!! Can fight a war but can't go have a beer. Thank you sir for your incredible story and service. 🇺🇸

[@davewelsh4505]

God bless you and thank you for your service!!!

[@henrywinchester9372]

Couldn’t even go in a bar when he got back from fighting in Okinawa… war is awful

[@nick3d155]

I was so excited to see there was a new video today

[@williamcarroll8601]

Very brave man and thank you for your service.

[@Wil_Liam1]

The greatest generation of all time.. The greatest war machine ever... There will never be another generation that even comes close to them... Thank you sir for your service,HOOOAH !.

[@scottlehman9738]

SEMPER FI brother. Thank you for your service.

[@PoupstainKilla]

I'm in Flint RIGHT NOW watching this

[@leonmeekel5486]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="137">2:17</a> you know, these stories are always so incredible that its hard to relate sometimes. People today can only kinda do it when they have a modern day equivalent like those marines essentially saying: "we are doing our part but we don't know how you guys ever did it when you didn't have flak jackets". But this little moment is something that i, probably along with most people here, can relate to. Just your mom wanting to say goodbye to you right before you are being send to fight far away for a long time. I can't imagine what it must have been like for those mothers and fathers who's children never returned.

[@dashreasinger1430]

My great grandfather was one the cruiser carrier CVL-26 USS Monterey during the battle of Okinawa. I remember when he told me what it was like seeing the landings, and hearing the explosions. He told me how helpless it felt and how hard it was knowing that good men were dying there and there wasnt much he could do from onboard ship, besides keep making sure the plains were flying

[@jonathanmanzano3902]

Thank you for these memoirs

[@kranjcalan]

Thank for all the videos. keep up the good work.

[@youknownada2326]

I salute that man. A legend.

[@dave3156]

Very moving account--so glad you got his story! Thx

[@user-zq4zi3dy3c]

Thank you for your service!

[@masudaharris6435]

Only 20 years later, in 1965, Okinawa was a quiet, sleepy place where trash collectors came in horse-drawn carts. Yet, every time it rained, vestiges of the war would wash out of the soil...bullets, parts of equipment, and bits of uniforms. I was told where I lived was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the battle. But in 1965, we lived in a palatial home, across from a huge sugar cane plantation.

[@markpayson395]

Thanks to all Marines who braved so much in WWII!

[@drew9195]

Everyyyy timeeee i watch these it makes me cry Jesus Christ. So many brave lives lost. Children. Some not even recognized as adults in most governments (17). And most not old enough to drink. But old enough to watch their friends, new and old blow up by mortar strikes & get left in the dirt under the hot sun for days until the day they’re able to retrieve the bodies. God bless these men.

[@williamcampbell6794]

The work you guys do is incredible, thank you so much for documenting these stories, it’s incredibly important, thank you.

[@ChevyBoyCallofDuty]

Thank you WWII Vets! ✝️🙏🏻🇺🇸

[@jeffreylucas2027]

What a brave man at that age another great story and looks great for his age

[@magnumx70]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

[@Sleeperdude]

Incredible

[@debrakleid5752]

I really like this channel and appreciate all you do keeping their memories alive because in the next few years there won’t be any WW2 vets alive.

[@wademccormick4371]

Thanks for your service and thanks for helping preserve our history. I feel like a lot of the younger generation have lost touch with our past. These stories should never be forgotten ❤

[@fufu889]

Thank you sir! You are incredible & your soldier friends too. You are the best! ❤

[@JG-sm9wm]

God Bless you sir, America is forever indebted and all those men and women who fought and serviced alongside you, God bless you

[@longtyler182]

My favorite channel on KZbin. Thank you for finding these vets and recording their stories so they may live on forever now

[@dianehansen2263]

Well, here is another 'thank u for serving' and putting your life on the line in hellish conditions. U are indeed one of the greatest generation! 🤟🙂

[@Simbadalion]

Thank you for your service

[@zackbratton5485]

Thank you

[@ralphbranham8663]

My Grandpa was in the Navy at Okinawa

[@johngrogan7585]

Thank you Sir

[@mikeschillinger4427]

❤ what else is there to say? A very moving story to listen to.Thank-you for recording it and to the Marine who so generously shared it. God bless our Veterans.

[@Airbornedroneworks]

I wish I was half as hard as as this man.. We live so great right now due to people like you, sir

[@TRockett55IRISH]

Memoirs of WW2 thank you for another amazing episode Mr. Kelley was one of your best interviews yet and that is saying something keep up the phenomenal work in seeking out the Men and women of the GREATEST GENERATION to get these stories told for all to see just thank you for all this.

[@johnstevens9673]

Memoris of WWII have the absolute dream job. Getting paid amazing money to travel the country/world with your entire family interviewing the remaining WWII survivors. Wow, I'd do anything to have their job and make the money they do.

[@2DSTORMS]

Been waiting for a new episode....finally, another great one!!

[@user-xu9hy1hj8c]

this video is very emotional

[@elliottrau9845]

True American Hero! Thank you. 🫡🇺🇸🙏

[@user-fc7ug4sl9p]

Thank you Sir, God bless you All 🙏🏼

[@kirkmanning6232]

Great presentation! The film clips were well done and placed.

[@katherinegates1559]

🇺🇲♥️🇺🇲 My Dad was at Guadalcanal and also Okinawa .....miss you my brave Dad.....1st Marine division.....1942 - 46

[@richardthornhill4630]

Thanks to all our Veterans who served. Semper Fi. Stationed on Okinawa 20 years later. They paid the price for us.

[@AndrewGrey22]

Nice job on this one about this great man.

[@876r876rf]

Beautifully edited video

[@Psalms144_1_2]

Amen brother, God bless all who served, God Love you.

[@asherweck]

What a living legend. I wish I had half the bravery these guys had..

[@garymckee63]

This individual still has a great memory and is very articulate. SEMPER FIDELIS

[@asherweck]

Can’t imagine having conversations with friends again a common enemy and then surviving the war and knowing/ seeing they perished in the battle. Must hurt like hell

[@andyharris17able]

Good good man , I always choke up when I listen to there tails, just can't imagine doing what they did . Hope you live well past hundred sir .

[@waldirleandro4997]

Parabéns pelo relato herói

[@Mattman2500]

I served in the Marines Corps from 2004-2011. Did some time in Iraq early on in GWOT. I'm glad to have worn the same uniform. Has men like this. Marines are a different breed for sure.

[@ronjenkins795]

God bless you sir 🙏.

[@lovetolift82]

I think I can speak for us all... im going to miss these guys when they are all gone.

[@Texicankush]

“Jimmy mallison now there was an artist” loved how he says artist bcuz he knew him and what he was passionate about not just some soldier named Jimmy but an artist named Jimmy who had to be a soldier

[@shoktroop]

These are our national treasures. The Greatest Generation and my family was a part of that! Semper Fi

[@EliteFuller]

respect

[@nunyabisness4300]

Thank you for your service Mr. Kelley

[@thevet2009]

Salute