This is the transcription of the interview. “Q” is Megan, the questioner, and “A” is Marian, who is answering.

Q: So, what did you do during the war years?

A: World War Two started in 1941, and I was in the eighth grade.  I lived on a ranch 20 miles from Lavina, Montana, which was and still is a town of fewer than 200 people.  By the time the war ended in 1945 I was living in Billings attending Billings Business College.

Q: What was your reaction to Pearl Harbor?

A: I remember more my parents’ reaction than mine, because I was pretty young and didn’t have a real grasp of what war meant, but my parents were devastated. It was as though our world had, or, their world had come to an end, they were very frightened.

Q: M’kay. Wait, why?

A: Well, we... when it happened, when we were attacked, we knew that, uh, it would mean a war. And my parents had 3 sons who would probably have to fight. My father was too old, and he had 5 children, plus a wife, so his going was not a factor. And my two brothers did serve in the military. My oldest brother, Dan, was in the Pacific, and my youngest brother, Red, was in the horse cavalry. Now, the horse cavalry had no part in WWII, so he never did go overseas. But Dan went.

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

A: The war didn't affect my school that I remember, but quite a number of the boys in school enlisted.  As an example, when I graduated from high school in 1945 there were four girls and one boy in my class.  Because two of my brothers went in the Army, they were away from home and my contact with them was through the mail.  I would write them letters, put on a three cent stamp, and they would reply by V-mail, which was one thin sheet so they could write a letter, but they didn't need to put a stamp on the letter.

My brother Dan spent his tour of duty as a medic in the Pacific, and Leland (Red) was in the horse cavalry, so he did not go overseas.

Q: What is your opinion on the dropping of the Atom Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

A: I have mixed emotions regarding the United States dropping the atom bomb.  I still have not resolved the issue; someone smarter than I am will have to come to a conclusion.  The good news was it ended the war.  The bad news was what effect it could have in the future in the hands of people without a social conscience.

Q: What is your most lasting memory of the war years?

A: One memory of the war years involved my sister, Betty, entering a free throw tournament sponsored by The Billings Gazette.  This took maybe six or eight weeks, and the scores were published weekly in the newspaper.  My dad wanted Betty to win, and he especially wanted her to beat a Japanese girl who also entered the competition.  As it happened, Betty got a small trophy for first prize.

My lasting memory of the war has to do with the soldiers coming home.  Our small town had, I believe, three men killed in action.  I went to Montana State College in the fall of 1947, and there were three men for each woman enrolled.  Most of the men were veterans taking advantage of the GI Bill.

Q: How was Lavina affected?

A: Well, I had two brothers in the military, and one was, got a medical reason for not going into the military, and he, along with his friend, Roy Howat (not sure of exact spelling.) came out here to Seattle, and worked for Boeing. So, there may have been others from Lavina who did that too. Uh, how was Lavina affected? I remember the scrap drives. I can even remember the piling of scrap behind this one building, and I don’t know what ever happened to it. (laughs)

Q: Is there anything else that you remember?

A: I'm not sure any Japanese people lived in my area of Montana.  There was a large internment camp in Wyoming.  I had a friend in business college who was Japanese.  I think I personally witnessed no acts of discrimination against Japanese or German people.  I don't even know if the Japanese people in Montana were interned or whether the internment was limited to the west coast areas.