Oral History Interview with William Sloman Page: 3
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up with you. Well sure enough, he caught up. (Laughs) We
got to San Diego and spent quite a long time, I don't know
just how long, but a long time in the receiving barracks,
waiting for them to get 63 men to make a platoon.
MC: Yeah, yeah. Well they would turn down a guy for just about
anything back then. They were very picky weren't they?
WS: Yeah, apparently. I've always thought that since Raymond
and I made it out of Houston and we both made it out of
Dallas with just four of us going, that I believe my
Reserve time probably had an influence. There was nothing
else that was special about me, you know?
MC: When was the earliest time that you ever thought about
joining the Marines? Had you thought about it back when
you were in school? What attracted you to the Marines as
opposed to the Army?
WS: Well, I thought I would do well in the Marine Corps
Reserves a way long time before I was old enough to get in.
MC: When did you get in the Reserves, how old were you?
WS: I had to be about 15.MC: Now was this an ROTC type program or just the Reserves?
WS: No, this was Reserves, something to do with the battalion
headquarters out in Dallas. The company clerk was my
English professor and he knew I was too young.
MC: So you had to lie about your age to get in?3
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Oral History Interview with William Sloman (Sound)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Sloman. Sloman joined the Marine Corps in October of 1939. Beginning early in 1940, he served in the 1st Defense Battalion, D Battery. In February of 1941, he deployed to Hawaii. In December, Sloman participated in the Battle of Wake Island. He was captured by the Japanese, survived transport aboard the hell ship Asama Maru and imprisonment in Zentsuji POW Camp in Japan. He was liberated in 1945, and discharged in early 1946.
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Sloman, William. Oral History Interview with William Sloman, text, Date Unknown; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1606153/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.