Archaeology

Historic Buildings/ Districts

Prehistory

Settlement - Civil War

Post-Civil War

Current Research

Map

Integrated Cultural Resource Mngt. Plan

Oral History Project

Contacts

INTRODUCTION

    This volume represents one in a series of projects initiated by Marine Corps Base (MCB), Camp Lejeune in the late 1990s to manage its archaeological and historical resources, to educate assigned Marines on the proud heritage of the base, and to increase public appreciation of Camp Lejeune, its place in the local community, and its contributions to the Marine Corps and the Nation. Under provisions of Contract DACW 54-99-C-0004, MCB Camp Lejeune commissioned an oral history project to record and preserve memories and experiences of individuals who have served aboard or have in other ways been associated with this Marine Corps base since its establishment on North Carolina’s New River in May 1941.

    Louis Berger & Associates, Inc., of Richmond, Virginia, served as consultant for the oral history project. Berger assigned L.J. Kimball (Lt. Col. USMC, Ret.) as Project Historian. Through advertisements in Leatherneck, Marine Corps Times, and MCB Camp Lejeune’s Globe, as well as through professional contacts developed during his own years in the Marine Corps, Mr. Kimball compiled a list of potential interviewees.

    Interviews with twenty-one individuals were conducted in 1999. Thirteen of these interviews were subsequently transcribed and reviewed by Mr. Kimball and the interviewees for completeness and accuracy. Four additional transcripts were prepared. One is from a 1985 interview with a long-time Jacksonville newspaperman and noted personality, Mr. Billy Arthur. The other three, Lt. Col. Bozarth, Capt. Ruse, and Maj. Updegrave, are from tapes of interviews conducted by Mr. Kimball in his own research efforts from 1994 to 1999. The seventeen transcripts included in this volume recount experiences of men and women who served, or now serve, in the Marine Corps, ranging in rank from Lance Corporal to Major General. Some became Marines at Camp Lejeune during World War II, while others completed tours of duty there in later decades. Still others report to Camp Lejeune for duty today.

Choose an interview :

*Billy ArthurEditor, Onslow County News and Views, 1940 to 1953.

*Lt. Col. Hubert Bozarth, USMC (Ret.) Served as assistant to Lt. Col. W.P.T. Hill and as liaison officer to HQMC during construction of Camp Lejeune, and subsequently as Base Maintenance Officer.

*Lt. Col. Darlene Brabant, USMC Serving aboard MCB Camp Lejeune in 1999.

*Margaret Flanagan (former Gy. Sgt., USMC) Trained at the Women’s Reserve boot camp at MCB Camp Lejeune during World War II.

*MSgt. Ralph Freeman, USMC (Ret.) Trained at MCB Camp Lejeune in 1944-1945; served tours there in the 1960s and 1970s.

*Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel James, USMC (Ret.) Served several tours aboard MCB Camp Lejeune during career.

*LCPL Orlondre Lawrence, USMC Serving aboard MCB Camp Lejeune in 1999.

*MSgt. Bruce Morris, USMC (Ret.) Served aboard MCB Camp Lejeune in various tours, 1949-1985.

*LCPL Samantha Pope, USMC Serving aboard MCB Camp Lejeune in 1999.

*MGy. Sgt. Joseph Rameriz, USMC (Ret.) Served aboard MCB Camp Lejeune in the 1980s and is currently employed on base in a civilian capacity.

*Capt. Clarke Ruse, USMC (Ret.) Served under Lt. Col. Bozarth and W.P.T. Hill at MCB Camp Lejeune during World War II.

*Sgt. Maj. Mary Sabourin, USMC (Ret.) Trained at the Women’s Reserve boot camp at MCB Camp Lejeune during World War II, with subsequent tours.

*Sgt. Maj. Ihor Sywanyk, USMC (Ret.) Served several tours aboard MCB Camp Lejeune during his career.

*Maj. Maurice Updegrave, USMC (Ret.) Came to New River with the first firefighter detachment in 1941.

*Maj. Gen. Herbert Lloyd Wilkerson, USMC (Ret.), served several tours and as Commanding General, MCB Camp Lejeune, 1972-1973.

*MGy. Sgt. W. Michael Woods, USMC (Ret.) Trained at MCB Camp Lejeune’s Montford Point during World War II.