World War Two - Combat Training

"Training for combat, according to veterans in Italy, should be a hell of a lot more realistic and a hell of a lot more thorough."

"'They oughta learn them guys' is that favorite beef you hear from combat veterans when they talk about replacements who have just joined their outfits...the average replacement doesn't know enough about the weapons an infantryman uses. 'He usually knows enough about one or two weapons...but he should know them all. He may know how to use and take care of the M1 or carbine, but if you need a BARman or machine-gunner quick, you're up a creek.'"

Statistical data concerning the U.S. Army casualties in June and July of 1944 can be read in this article.

Weird Combat Training at Fort Knox (Yank Magazine, 1943)

Erroneously believing that their new recruits were lacking in a sufficient amounts of anti-Teutonic zeal, the brass-hats in charge of the U.S. Army training gulag at Fort Knox, Kentucky decided to employ roving bands of faux-Nazis to frustrate and bedevil the men in training. The hard-charging editors of YANK belittled the scheme.

Which Hollywood actors received draft deferments?

 

Aerial Gunnery School (Click Magazine, 1943)

World War II terms such as tail gunner, waist gunner and belly gunner are no longer a part of our vocabulary; they are uttered, if at all, about as often as the word blacksmith. However, since you found this website, there is a good chance that you use these terms more often than most - which means you'll appreciate the attached color photo-essay from 1943 illustrating how vital W.W. II Allied aerial gunners were in winning the air war over Germany and Japan.

 

Training Marines in San Diego (Leatherneck Magazine, 1943)

Originally published in the Stars & Stripes of the U.S. Marine Corps, The Leatherneck, this is an interesting eight page article illustrated with fifteen photographs regarding the dramatic growth in that institution that took place in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Click here to read a CLICK MAGAZINE article about the Marines of W.W. II.

Articles about the W.W. I Marines can be read HERE...

Read what the U.S. Army psychologists had to say about courage in war. Read what the editors of YANK MAGAZINE thought about the Marine Corps Magazine, LEATHERNECK...

Read about the Women Marines of W.W. II HERE.