WEBVTT

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 Mhm.

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Serving in combat with the 43rd Wing
Victory Division PFC John H. Ledford

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of Phoenix. Arizona, he's at our
microphone now to talk to you folks back

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home johnny, Just where do you live?
Back there in phoenix? Well, I live

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in south phoenix. That route five
bucks, 1 38 K. With my mother, father

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and two sisters. All right. You've had
some pretty close calls and some

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experiences out here. You might want
to relate for them. Tell us about

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your job and some of the action you've
seen? Well, my job is radio

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operator and lineman. I maintain
communication between the 81 mortar

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platoon and the Command Post. I'm now
an observer for the 81 mortars. Have

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you met any opposition from the Japs?
Well, yes, we have. Since we've been

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on luzon, we've met quite a bit a lot
of sniper fire. Well, one instance

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roadblock which happened up north at
Barrio Ka Blang. We had quite a bit

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of sniper fire after a 22 hour March,
we fought all night Until 2:00 The

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next day I'm finding after setting
some shacks that we were, had dug in

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behind the rifleman, set those on
fire, which drove the Japs back and that

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way when we got out of there. Well,
you must have done all right, because

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she looks well today. Sitting
alongside of me here at this little canteen

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set up this improvised tent located
somewhere in the field here in luzon

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island, john, I'd like to know where
you went to school back in phoenix.

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Well, I went to uh Roosevelt Grammar
School and to Phoenix Union High

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School. I graduated in 43. Have you
met any of your classmates overseas or

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anyone you knew back home? Yes. Uhh
two of my classmates I went to high

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school with or now At 170 seconds. I
see. Well, it's nice to have some of

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your own boys right out here with you
and we know that a lot of the fellas

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from Arizona overseas and many of them
are here with the 43rd wing victory

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division, john, do you have any plans
for after the war? Well, I plan on

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going back to school and taking up pre
engineering course. That sounds

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like a nice career you've mapped out
for yourself. And that gi bill of

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rights is going to come in handy to
the best of luck to PFC john h Ledford

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of phoenix Arizona, we return you now
from luzon island in the Philippines

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to the UnitedStates