Oral History Interview with Bill Edwards, September 17, 2009 All Tracks
View a full description of this audio recording.
text may contain inaccuracies. Transcripts of longer recordings may not be fully in sync.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current audio recording.
Oral History Interview with Bill Edwards, September 17, 2009 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Edwards. Edwards joined the Navy in August 1942 and received basic training in Illinois. He received amphibious training in Virginia. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 8th Amphibious Force and sent to Italy, where he was coxswain of landing craft at the invasions of Sicily and Salerno. While the landing was unopposed at Sicily, Edwards’s experience at Salerno was much more frightening than what he remembers of Normandy and Okinawa. Edwards was under heavy fire while bringing troops ashore in the first wave of the invasion. He remained there for two weeks, shuttling troops and equipment back and forth. He recalls seeing the bodies of ambushed American soldiers lain across the beach as far as the eye could see. Edwards returned home and was discharged in 1945 as a boatswain’s mate, second class.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.