WWII Interview

Irwin Slesnick

Born in Canton, Ohio 8/5/1926

What did you do during the war years?

            I did nothing, until I was 17 and then I joined the Marine Corp.

What was your rank in the Marines and where were you stationed?

            I was a Corporal and I was first stationed in Okinawa, Japan and then back in the states.

How did you feel when you first got to Japan?

            I was scared for my life for the first few months, and then I toughened up.

What was your reaction to Pearl Harbor?

            I was sad and I was ready to Strike back. I also felt that the Japanese were in the wrong.

How did the war affect your social life, school and relationships?

            The war did not affect any part of my social life, nor school I still accomplished my goal. I was a professor at WWU and none of my friends were Japanese or German so not even my relationships.

What is your opinion of the Atom Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

            I felt sad, but also felt that it was the right thing to do and a great victory against the Japanese.

What is your most lasting memory of the war years?

            My most lasting memory would have to be the dropping of the atom bombs.

What was your opinion of Hitler?

            He was an evil man; he did not know what he was doing and is a hypocrite.

How did you feel about the Holocaust?

            I was sad for all the innocent people who died in Hitler’s wrath of hatred, I still am sad about it.

By Charles Kaus