Oral History Interview with Dana Anderson, May 13, 2004 Page: 6

                                
Mr. Anderson:
Mr. Metzler:
Mr. Anderson:
and

Mr. Metzler:
Mr. Anderson:
Mr. Metzler:
Mr. Anderson;
Mr. Metzler:
Mr. Anderson:
Mr. Metzler:
Mr. Anderson:

Tarawa. Yes. That's what we did. We'd give the Marines their
training on I suppose the Strand, I don't know where we were.
We'd take the Marines in, get them on the beach, get the chance
to fire their shells and do their thing. And they'd practice and
learn to do it.
Had there been any practicing done in San Diego?
Well, we did our Navy training. We did our wind sock training
we did our man to man combat. You're trained for that and Uncle
Sam has a lot of money mixed in there and he doesn't want to
waste it someplace. They say, here's what you do when you get
in a bar fight and here's what you do to stay alive.

What about landing and operating the LCMs?
Yes, we took them in. They had a chance, they were supposed
to go in with their hatches closed and they don't and they get
their heads blown off but those things happen. Anyhow, they're
suppose to go in and do the right thing by their people and their
crew. I don't remember how many men they had in each tank.
Somehow it sits in my mind for six but I don't know that.
So you take that there and they get their training and we get
our training and you can do that when there's not a bunch of
bombs lighting around you. But when the bombs come around
you, it's a different story.
So, these diesel engines, were they your friends or were they
problem children?
They're the best engines. They're just a wonderful two stroke
six cylinder engine.
Two stroke, six cylinder, water cooled?
Yes. Sea water cooled off of two screens that filter out all
the sea weed and everything and when one gets unable to run
it switches over to run another and they are just a fine engine.
So they were pretty reliable?
Yes, a fine engine.

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