"We lost a lot of men that day…" (Video Interview, 20:31)

Donald M. Carlton

Donald M. Carlton, 2001 War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Unit: 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division Service Location: Camp Fannin, Texas; Fort Ord, California; Fort Lawton, Washington; Honolulu, Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Korea Rank: Technical Sergeant Place of Birth: St. Paul, MN

Though he entered the military relatively late in the war, in July 1944, Army Technical Sergeant Donald M. Carlton arrived in time to participate in the final and most prolonged event of the Pacific Theater, the Battle of Okinawa. He recalls numerous instances of close calls, but by the end of his time on the island, he had suffered only minor injuries and a bout of dengue fever. Many of his comrades were not so lucky: Within two weeks of landing on the island, thirteen of his squad's original fifteen men had been lost to dysentery, severe injury, or death.