David Astor was born September 26, 1919. He served in the USMC during WW2. He enlisted in he early stages of the war, leaving his home in Portland, Maine for Marine training that took him all over the United States before his deployment to the Pacific theatre. David was stationed on both Guam and Guadalcanal, before finding himself transferred to the new Marine 6th Division. A captain in the newly formed division, David was instrumental in the development and early usage of the DUKWs, the amphibious vehicles that the Marines used in the later stages of the island hopping campaign. David’s most intense combat experiences came in Okinawa, the final Pacific battle for the USMC.
David was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Portland, Maine.
Videos
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- 1. The Greatest Generation
- 2. Growing up in Portland; His Parents' Emigration
- 3. Growing up in the Depression
- 4. Religion and Anti-Semitism
- 5. Football and Yom Kippur
- 6. War Approaches; Joining the USMC
- 7. Blood Pressure
- 8. USMC Training; Learning about Pearl Harbour
- 9. Quantico- The Ammo Dump Explosion
- 10. Camp Pendleton
- 11. Guam
- 12. Guadalcanal
- 13. Getting the DUKWs Ready for Okinawa
- 14. Father Murphy
- 15. Commodore Knowles
- 16. Landing in Okinawa
- 17. Japanese Defenses; Tokyo Rose
- 18. Esther at Quantico
- 19. Nambu and Kamikaze; The Generals
- 20. Louis Lane
- 21. Heroism; Going Home
- 22. General MacArthur; The Pacific
- 23. Final Thoughts
