Encoded for the Experiencing War web site for the Veterans History Project.
The recording of the interview with Russell Bruce Burkle was digitized.
This transcription was encoded with minimal changes to the original text in an effort to preserve original content and idiosyncrasies of the person interviewed. Period language and terminology are also retained. Encoding is literal with regard to the transcriptionist's capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Spelling errors are indicated with [sic]; however, recurring errors in spelling within a single document have been marked the first time and not subsequently.
Okay. We have Russell Bruce Burkle who will tell his story. The data sheet is complete.
I'm Russ Burkle of 107 East Willow Street here in Deming, New Mexico. I have been here approximately a year and a half. I moved out of Sacramento, California, spent four years there working in Civil Service. Now, to begin the Air Force/Army, I went in the Army January 18, 1940, right out of high school. I enlisted. I had three choices. I had Panama, Hawaii and the Philippines. Of course, 18 years old, I took Hawaii. I got there January -- 18 January. Well, I actually landed, approximately, in Hawaii, the 18th of March, 1940. I was in the infantry, Schofield Barracks, 35th Infantry, Company C, 25th Division. Now, along comes September -- pardon me. Along comes 7 February -- 7 December. I was eating breakfast, 7:55. One breakfast I never finished. The bombs starting dropping approximately, as I say, 7:55. We got up, went upstairs, picked up our rifle. They were locked up. The supply sergeant was downtown Hawaii -- Honolulu. So therefore, we couldn't do anything but watch the Japanese fly over Schofield Barracks.
Nobody in your outfit was able to get their weapons, huh?
Not any.
Okay.
I stayed in the infantry for approximately two years.
Were any of your friends killed during Pearl Harbor?
I saw none.
Schofield?
I sawing nobody. I saw some of the buddies get hurt.
Uh-huh.
Nobody killed.
Okay.
And I was one of the lucky, lucky ones. I wasn't hurt.
But you saw the bombing around you.
I was there for two years. At the end of two years I transferred in the tank corps, 11th Tank Corps of Schofield Barracks.
Uh-huh.
I stayed there until we went to the Marshall Islands in 1944. I was in the LST. What a ride. What a ride. What bothered me most, we never got off the LST. They never called us. We was in the reserve out in the Pacific. They never called us. So again, at the end of the conflict they sent us back to Schofield Barracks. I stayed there through October 1945. I got discharged under the point system, August of 1945, I got discharged. I stayed out of the service until 18 September 1947. The day the Air Force become a separate branch I reenlisted in the Air Force.
So you were in the Army/Air Force at first?
No, I was in the Army.
Just Army. Okay.
Then the US Air Force in 1947. I reenlisted.
Okay.
Now, the rest of that, of course -- I should mention, 1951 I had the honors to go to Korea.
Okay.
I was in KA, Chuncheon. I was far enough south so we never saw any action, but our airplanes did.
Uh-huh.
Our airplanes -- I was a crew chief then.
You were a crew chief?
Yeah.
For a helicopter?
No.
For the Sixth Wing. Okay.
For the Sixth Wing.
Yeah.
I stayed there 12 months. While I was there I made -- I went from crew chief to personnel, made the First Sergeant. Then I rotated back to the states. I can't think just where I went. I can't remember. I don't have all my orders.
Do you remember any specific incident throughout your military career that you -- would be interesting to record?
Well, the main thing, getting back to Pearl Harbor, on the 7th of December, what affected me the most, we wasn't sure if we were going to be invaded or not. We figured any minute the Japanese were coming ashore. That's what we had in our mind.
Uh-huh.
Any minute. And it was that way for about a week to me. We figured what was going to happen, anything could happen, but we were fortunate enough back in midway, they turned the -- that was the turning point, I believe, in the Air Force -- in the war, otherwise it kept the Japaneses from coming into the -- farther east into San Francisco, United States.
Yeah. Yeah.
But, again, I had a great Air Force career, Army/Air Force. I don't regret being in the Air Force/Army for 22 years. I retired.
So you retired when? In 1962?
Yeah, August -- well, July 31st I retired. Highest grade held was a Tank Sergeant, First Sergeant.
Uh-huh. Okay.
But I can't -- about the main thing, as far as -- I didn't have much experience as far as combat. I only had two combat periods; Pearl Harbor and the Marshall Islands _______________. I went there, but that was -- I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, your story -- your story regarding the weapons being locked up, you know, it just shows how unexpected and how unprepared we were.
It's just like you and I talking here and somebody says "I got a heart attack." That's all the warning we had. Nothing. We had nothing.
Yeah.
Not one -- now, I understand, I don't know how true this is, but about 6:30, somebody on the island of Oahu said there's some -- on the blimp, said there's several blimps -- I mean airplanes coming in. Quite true. We had B-17s coming in from the United States. At the same time we had the Japaneses coming in from the west. Now, I can't prove that, but we all assumed that.
Yeah.
Wheeler Field, which is right next to Schofield, and Hickam, they really took a beating. They took a beating. I'm sure if I was there, I wouldn't be here today.
Right.
And I tried to get in the Navy way back in 1940 but the recruiting sergeant says "Hey, Russ, we are full." January 1940. So he said, "I will tell you what I'd do. You want to get in the service?" I said, "Yeah." Eighteen, he said, "Go around the corner and the Army is there. They will take you." So I raised my hand, went to the Army and then they signed me up. So I went in the Army. I went from Binghamton, New York. That's where I reinlisted -- enlisted, Binghamton, New York. Went from there to Fort Slocum, got on board the USS Republic, World War I ship. We went from Fort Slocum through the Panama Canal and we had to wait half a day because President Roosevelt was coming in the other end.
Oh.
He had preference. So then we went on, Panama up to San Francisco. We had to get some supplies and fuel for the USS Republic, then we went on over to Hickam, or I should say Hawaii, Oahu.
Oahu.
And that was about 30 days. From the time I enlisted until the time I got to Hawaii, about 30 days.
So no basic training?
My basic training was over there. I never saw a rifle until I got to Schofield.
Huh.
Then we had about maybe I would say six months of firing on the Schofield range. That was my basic training.
So your basic training was six months?
Approximately.
That's pretty good.
Yeah, over there.
Yeah.
I used the old M-1.
Yeah.
The old M-1, the one that goes like this, you know.
Sure.
And I had several bruises from the recoil.
Uh-huh. Interesting.
I will say one thing, I enjoyed my Air Force career. In the Army, I wasn't married. I got married in between civilian life. When I got discharged from the Army, I couldn't settle down. I didn't know what civilian life was. So at the end of two years I reenlisted in the Air Force and stayed in 22 years.
Okay.
And then I went to work Civil Service out at McClellan for 22 years.
All right. Now you decided to make Deming your home?
Yeah. We have been here a year and a half.
Yeah.
Two years in October, the wife and I. And like I say, we had four years working at McClellan Air Base at Sacramento, California.
Sacramento, yes.
Yeah.
Okay. Well, great, Russell. Thanks.
It all makes sense, I hope.
It is. This is history. Thanks very much.