Walter Augustyniak
Walt Augustyniak was born and raised in the coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania during the Depression Era. He graduated high school as valedictorian in the summer of 1941 at 16 years of age. Jobs for teens were scarce. Walt was able to attend and complete a locally hosted college course in Engineering, offered free to recent high school graduates. In the course of attending these classes, he found himself intrigued by a nearby Marine Corps recruiting station, eventually entertaining the prospect of finding adventure with the Corps. As a youth, he had read countless books on adventure by writers such as: Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the Arctic explorer, Admiral Robert Peary. So in September of 1941, with adventure on his mind, he bid his family and sweetheart farewell, and enlisted for a four year tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.This book reviews the almost endless day-to-day adventures that Walt was to experience. What was boot camp like in the time before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? What was daily life actually like during those endless months spent on some lonely Pacific island, dreaming of the day of returning to marry your high school sweetheart?Following boot camp, Walt was assigned to the fledgling Aviation arm of the Marines, and schooled as an Aircraft Armorer, with special training in the maintenance and use of the top secret Norden Bombsight, and its accompanying autopilot. He then spent eighteen months in the South-Central Pacific war zone in support of the Tarawa campaign. After returning to the States somewhat more mature, the adventures continued while Walt served as a specialty bombardier flight instructor. While he saw no combat, Walt did experience plenty of “adventures,” which are detailed in this memoir. Four teenage years with the Marines…. What a great way to grow up! 3
