Video Log
Name: James Bradshaw
War: WWII
Incidents: Berlin Blockade / Cuban Missile Crisis
Branch: Marine Corps / Navy
Born: May 20, 1926
Interview Date: May 17, 2012
Interviewed By: George Huffman
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introduction, present are George Huffman interviewer and James Bradshaw
subject
James joins the Marine Corps on March 17th 1943 in his words “as much for the
uniform as for any patriotic reason”; James is 17 at the time.
On May 21st he is called to active duty and reports for 8 weeks of recruit training.
is tested and sent to communications school after which it was Camp Pendleton
for infantry training; he is assigned to a replacement battalion staged in Honolulu.
James is assigned to the 22nd Infantry Regiment, January of 1944; they are held
back as a reserve force during the invasion of Kwajalein.
The 22nd Infantry participates in the invasion of the In Ewotok atoll in the
Marshall Islands. James is directly involved in the invasion landing in an
amphibious tractor.
Following the liberation of the Marshall Islands, Mr. Bradshaw and the 22nd
Infantry are sent to Guadalcanal where they spend April to June waiting for
assignment.
James is part of the floating reserve during the invasion of Saipan and Tinian.
he participates in the invasion of Guam. His unit lands in the wrong location.
While attempting to correct the situation and taking cover in a bomb crater his
lieutenant is killed while he is between James and another soldier.
April 1, 1945 becomes part of the 4th Marine Battalion named in honor of one of
the units captured on Bataan.
James is involved in the invasion of Okinawa; he is there for the entire 80 days of
the battle, is there when the war ended.
The bomb is dropped, the war is over; Mr. Bradshaw is glad the atom bomb was
used; after being a part of four invasions he felt his luck was bound to run out
sometime.
James and his unit are off to Sing Tau in China to accept the surrender of
Japanese troops there.
He is discharged from the Marine Corps in late 1945 and goes back to Clement
Falls Oregon. His family worked for generations in the lumber camps there and
he is expected to follow. James soon discovers this is not for him.
This new science of electronics is the wave of the future. James sees an
advertisement in the newspaper that the Navy will be testing individuals. James
takes the test, passes, and in early 1947 once again enters the service of his
country, this time with the Navy. Given a choice of surface or aviation James
chooses aviation. After having been a grunt for a number of years he states that
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watching the planes fly over he knew while dangerous they went back to a bed
and hot meals every night.
Mr. Bradshaw is sent for electronics technician training at Corpus Christie, Texas.
The base soon closes and James is then off to Memphis Tennessee and completes
his training in San Diego.
James is assigned to a transfer squadron in Honolulu but much to his chagrin is
soon assigned for 18 months to Guam.
While having been grateful to participate in its liberation James was more than
happy to leave Guam when the Navy asked for volunteers to help in the flyovers
taking place in Germany due to the Russian blockade of Berlin.
As an electronics technician James was in Germany from November of 1948 to
August of 1949 working on C-54 transports.
In 1949 it was back to Pawtuxet River in Maryland not sure for how long or
where he would be reassigned.
The next stop would be Westover in Massachusetts where he was finally given
the designation of air crewman.
From there it was to Ana Costa, Maryland to learn about the use of radar. It is
here James became a radar navigator. From 1952 till 1955 James would be an
instructor at the Navy School at Ana Costa.
For his first flying assignment as an airman James ends up on blimps. Flying out
of Elizabeth City in North Carolina his assignment is searching for Russian
nuclear subs.
The Russians are coming was not just paranoia according to James, the Russians
were here including the spotting of one of their subs at the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay, as James said doing to us what we were doing to them.
James’ next stop was the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey for more
blimps and patrolling for Russian subs.
James is promoted to Master Chief in 1959.
The next assignment for Mr. Bradshaw is Bermuda. The Navy has traded in the
blimp for the Martin P-5 seaplane; he is still assigned to look for subs.
The crisis with the Russians deepens the flights have now become interdiction of
Russian ships.
The seaplanes have now given way to jets, it is 1963 and flights are being made in
P3A Lockheed Electra for intelligence.
With 20 years of service and three children looking for stability James Bradshaw
retires from the U S Navy. He retires on Friday August 14th 1964, the following
Wednesday he goes to work for Sikorsky aircraft.
James relates when he and another Marine were stringing telephone wire to the
front when they came under fire from a Japanese machine gun, they belly crawled
through a field but never discovered or were able to find their attacker.
Telephone wire was found to be more reliable than the radios.
James showed the medals he received including good conduct (as he said given to
those who did not get caught), unit citations, combat among others.
James said he just kind of wandered into a military career, originally just looking
to get an education and get out of the lumber camps.
When his enlistment in the Navy was up they were not going to let him out, he
figured that when they did with the time he had in the Marines he would be half
done anyway so why not.
no regrets
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As part of a combat unit he was not allowed to reveal where he was, however
while on Guam a letter from his brother who was not in a combat unit was also on
Guam, they quickly got together.
During the war he was not allowed to own a camera, however during the Berlin
Air Lift there were no such restrictions.
talked about landing on a hostile beach head; never knew what might happen; the
Japanese were very skilled at going underground during the pre-bombardment.
During the Berlin air lift coal was dropped from planes in duffel bags.
story of over loaded plane where load master somehow discarded 5 tons of coal
through an escape hatch
military gave him a skill that eventually paid off with a 25 year career at Sikorsky