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VETERAN: M. T. HEBEL HIGHEST RANK/GRADE: PHARMACIST'S MATE 1ST CLAsS INTERVIEWED By: MONiCA BOUDREAUX Q: Company or battery you served in? A: U.S. Navy; later assigned to Marine Corps. Q: Enlistment date? A: January 13;1942, at 22 years of age, in Houston, Texas. Q: What was your previous occupation? Was it useful to you? A: I was enrolled in college, taking medical classes, and yes it was useful to me. Q: How and why did you join the service? A: I joined the service because the Japanese attacked us and war broke out. Q: Please describe the local enlistment or draft process with which you were involved. A: The recruiting officer in Houston signed me up. Q: At the time, did you feel that the 1940 draft was necessary and fair? A: Yes, I felt it was very fair. Q: Describe the circumstances in which yoiu first heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor? A: December 7 is my birthday. My friends were all down from Baylor. I went to Baylor. They were down for my birthday party on Sunday. We were all just sitting around waiting to go back to Waco, and we heard the news on the radio. Q: Where did you train as a recruit? A: San Diego. Q: In what specialties were you trained? A: Medical. Q: What further training, if any, did you receive overseas? A: I learned to be a combat soldier. Q: At what posts were you stationed during your stateside service? A: San Diego's naval hospital; recruit depot, USMC. Q: Why did you fight? A: Why did I fight? Because I was mad at the Japanese! Q: What was your opinion of the weapons you saw or used in the service? A: I felt they were the best. Q: What were your opinions of the equipment, clothing, and rations you were issued? A: The equipment and the clothing were great. But the rations--most of the time all we had to eat were dehydrated eggs, dehydrated potatoes, vienna sausage, and beets. The rations were sorry, sorry. The food rations at the first of the war were terrible. I went from 155 pounds down to 135 pounds.