Interview

I interviewed Fred McLaughlin on 4/22/12

Q: What did you do on Saipan?

A: I was a fuel truck driver and fueled B-17s and B-29s to bomb the mainland islands of Japan.

Q: Did you see any Japanese?

A: Yes, none living, they were piled in heaps from our machine gunners mowing them down. They had bayonets and bolt action rifles.

Q: What did you think of the Japanese solider?

A: The Jap was a fierce warrior willing to take his own life for the greater good of his country. Even on Saipan, civilians jumped off cliffs as they were brainwashed by the japs, saying we would kill, rape, and eat them.

Q: Did you ever see any dead Americans?

A: Luckily, No, but all the men in the Medical tent were in there because of a bayonet stab, close quarters shot, or a sniper. The Japanese hid, got close, and then striked.