Koch, Owen R.

Title

Koch, Owen R.

Performer

Owen R. Koch

Interviewer

William Vollano

Description

Owen enlisted in the Marine Corps, in January 1943, because he did not want to be drafted into the army. Joining him were three friends, who all wanted to serve together. The Marines could not guarantee this, and as it turned out, each one went into a different service (Army, Navy, Army Air Force, and Marines). After enlisting, Owen took the train to San Diego for boot camp, in May 1943. He was shipped out in February, 1944, to the Marshall Islands with the 2nd battalion, 4th marine division. His company was a “joint assault signal company” that was responsible for ship-to-shore communications. He was a telephone man, who carried the wire and switchboard to set up these points, mainly for the command posts. Though radio was more widely used, the telephone was also a way in which personnel communicated between posts or ship-to-shore. One problem that service members encountered often was that their own tanks would run over and damage previously laid wire. Owen was generally on the front lines in the command post. He often laid line and operated the switchboard during combat, including combat that involved machine gun fire. One thing that he remembers the most was when he landed on the beach in 1944 next to a marine, and as he turned to ask if he was ok, he noticed the man had been decapitated. That experience drove home the reality of war. Just after that, one of the American block houses blew up, and Owen was hit by burning shrapnel, so he was taken to the medical tent. There, he was bandaged, but he refused a purple heart because the man next to him had lost a leg, and Owen didn’t think it was fair to receive an award for his own small injury, in comparison to the other soldier. He landed at night on the island of Tinian, to set up a command post. He was on switchboard duty one night until 2:00, when he was relieved. He and two others dug a foxhole to sleep in. Within five minutes of the foxhole’s completion, an artillery shell hit the tree near them. The other two men were hit, and one was killed. The man that had taken Owen’s place at the switchboard had been killed as well. The tarp was only free of scarring where the man had been laying. Owen received a Presidential Unit Citation when the 4th division took Saipan. This unit would also later take Iwo Jima, but by that time he was in the hospital. In August 1944, he became ill, and went to army hospital. Owen had Ludwig’s Angina; an inflammation of the right mandible joint. He had to have a tracheotomy, and was in the hospital from October through March, during which time he had 144 shots of penicillin. Owen then went back to the rest camp on Maui. When he came back, he and others began training for the intended invasion of Japan. The plan was to land on the first Japanese island in March 1946. The plan was cancelled after the Japanese surrender. He returned in October and was discharged on November 19th 1945. After his discharge, Owen stayed with his mother. He met a girl in 1942, prior to his service, who worked in a restaurant on State Street in Ann Arbor. They wrote to each other during the war, and she was proud that he went. They got married in 1947, had 11 children together, and are still married today. Owen worked at an optical business after the war. He started as a messenger boy delivering glasses. Owen would later open his own business, called Quarry Optical, which later became Richardson’s optical. He sold the business in 1990, and retired. Owen believes that “once a marine, always a marine”, and is a member of the Marine Corps League of Washtenaw County.

Date Span

1943-1946

Dates of Service

Subject

Enlisted; United States Marine Corps; 4th Marine Division; World War, 1939-1945; Second World War - European Theater

Publisher

Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Collection Location

3/2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MTVzkfJrBw&list=PL05gqqIuA4HK1S_labZh5qO9iutjJf_gO&index=24

Spatial Coverage

Second World War - European Theater

Item