d8844024-7715-400d-b60c-5a4057f17aef

Brown, Frank_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4

Frank D. Brown was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on April 8th 1923, where he grew up. Frank was the 7th of 17 children. He joined the Marine Corps on July 11th 1942. Frank went through boot camp in San Diego at the Marine Corps base. He went through radio school at San Diego and chose tanks as his specialty. From there, he went to Camp Elliot and was in Company D 3rd tanks and then went to Pendleton and got ready to load and then went to New Zealand, north of Auckland, and stationed there and trained there. They then headed north to Guadalcanal, and stayed there until they got ready to go to Bougainville. The tanks that were assigned to D Company at the time were light tanks. They were 37 millimeter cannon and a 30 caliber machine gun, alongside the 37 and the 30 caliber belly gun which Frank, as the radio man operated. They also had a flame-thrower. In the tank, Frank sat on the right hand side, down below. The driver was on the left hand side. They arrived in Bougainville about the 3rd or 4th day and were called upon to move up to the Peava Forks. The tank itself arrived on an LST – landing ship tank. About November the 19th, they had a little battle at Peava Forks and got hit, shells went through the side of the tank and came through the wall behind Frank. Frank was torn up in the back and left arm and the driver got shrapnel in his lungs. Frank was sent to the hospital in New Caledonia. When he was healed enough, he came back to the outfit and was reconnaissance. He had to stick to light duty for a while since his arm wasn’t strong enough yet. Frank was reassigned to A Company 3rd tanks. Frank was was given a hand-held radio, a walkie-talkie, in order to contact the tank company, to get information to the tanks. That is what his primary function was. On the way to Guam, they were on board ship, a transport, for 52 days with a short break at Quadraline to stretch their legs. On the ship, Frank played lots of hearts and pinochle. They shared the transport with the 9th Marines, who they basically stayed with during their whole time on Guam. On the morning of arriving at Guam, they headed down the nets into the alligators. Frank had a med pack and a couple of day’s supply of food, plus a change of clothes and his poncho and a blanket, wrapped together. He also carried the radio and a carbine, ammunition and a couple grenades. They hit the shore on the fifth wave. They rolled up across the reef near Asan Point. The regimental headquarters was back closer to the beach in a nice flat area. While still on the beach, the Japs had an artillery piece that they ran out on a track and they would pull it out, fire a shot on the end of the landing craft, stuff coming in, and then back in. They saw it, got a hold of a tank and destroyed that piece of artillery. Frank describes staying close to regimental and when they had to get back in contact, either Louis Scopel, who was the other man with him, or Frank, went back to the company to tell them what was needed from the 9th Marines. They just kept close tabs between the tanks and the infantry. Then finally they went through the center of the island, the 9th Marines swung around and the 77th Army Division came up and joined and then just pushed up through the middle of the island. When things were secure, they sent Frank and Louis back to the 3rd tank battalion. Frank recalls a story of a young Chamorro boy seeking their assistance with Jap soldiers who were taking the villager’s food. After Frank’s Division completed Guam, they went into training for Iwo Jima. They we were on the LST, waiting for the 4th and 5th Divisions, to see if we were going to be needed. While out at sea there, the LST took a kamikaze. The plane went into the LST. One tank in the hold was rendered useless. While out at sea, waiting to get in, they saw the flag go up on Iwo Jima, on Suribachi. They heard the cheers from the beach. On Iwo Jima they stayed with the company commander and they were in a lot tighter area and pretty much in visible contact with the infantry as well as with tanks. While there, they were used by both the 9th and 21st as they were so close by. Frank was tested on Iwo Jima for V12 and he passed it and they sent him back from Iwo Jima to Guam and for the first transport back to the States. Frank rode back on an escort carrier that had engine trouble, to San Diego and then from San Diego went to Cherry Point, North Carolina and then they selected their school and Frank went to Colorado College at Colorado Springs and went to V12 there. Then after he was discharged in the Marine Corps, he came back and went to school at Colorado A&M, Fort Collins. July 11th ’48, his enlistment ran out and he was at Great Lakes Naval training station and then was discharged out July 28th, ’46. There he went to Colorado State University. Frank got into Civil Engineering and became a highway engineer and worked for the Wyoming Highway Department and then the Oregon State Highway Department and then went to work for the Illinois Department of Transportation. This was Frank’s first time back to Guam in 50 years. He loves the island and promised himself he would be back all those years.

U.S. National Park Service, War in the Pacific National Historical Park

This digital asset is in the public domain. This digital version was made possible through the National Park Service by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support from the Mellon Foundation. When using this asset for any purpose, including online, credit 'Courtesy U.S. National Parks'.

Public domain

Video

War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Code: WAPA

Guam , Guam
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam , Guam
Latitude: 13.3905000686646, Longitude: 144.654006958008

ICMS (Interior Collection Managment System) : WAPA-00246
NPS Museum Number Catalog : WAPA 4170

War in the Pacific Oral Histories

2025/03/07

T. Stell Newman Visitor Center, Collections room, Safe and Shelf SLF D-01

Public Can View

Rose Manibusan, Jennifer Craig

Organization: American Memorial Park
Role: Chief Interpretation
Address: Micro Beach Road, Garapan, Mp 96950
Email: wapa_interpretation@nps.gov

Sunday, April 6, 2025 1:13:33 AM

Sunday, April 6, 2025 1:13:33 AM

Brown, Frank_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4

mp4

1325.9 MB

Historic

NPGallery Main Search