[Interview Begins]

NICKELS: Today is October 18th, 2021. This is an interview with Nathaniel Joseph Blonien, who served with the US Marine Corps, 3rd Division, 3rd Battalion, M.P. Military Police Platoon. During June 1954 until June 1957. This interview is being conducted at Nat's home in Madison, Wisconsin. The interviewer is myself, Angie Nickels, and this interview is being recorded for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program. There are no other people present for the interview. Hello. We are recording for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum with Nat Blonien. How are you today? 

BLONIEN: I'm just fine, thank you. 

NICKELS: Great. Well, we're going to get started before we do. Do you have any questions? No. Okay. So, where and when were you born? 

BLONIEN: I was born in [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX].

NICKELS: And tell me about your background, your life, sisters, brothers, parents, where you lived. 

BLONIEN: Well, I have one sister and she's still living and she's in assisted living in Wisconsin Rapids. She's an older sister. Oh. And, well, I lived well, I was born in [XXXXXXXXXX], but shortly after I was born and moved to Wisconsin Rapids and I spent my formative years in Wisconsin Rapids, July 15. Then we moved to Waukesha and. Went to watch high school, graduate from high school, and after graduation, well before graduation, I paint a decision that I was going to go into the service. And the reason I chose the Marine Corps was because my mother kind of babied me all my life. And and I knew I had to. It toughened up a little bit. So I went in the Marine Corps. 

NICKELS: What what was your experience with the military like? What made you first get interested and thinking about signing up? 

BLONIEN: Oh, it was at that age. It was just something thing to do. My my cousins were mostly older than me and they were and they were sure they served in a Second World War and. My uncles were in the Army or in the Marine Corps and. 

NICKELS: So you have a family history of military members? 

BLONIEN: Well, a lot of the my generation were in the military before that. 

NICKELS: What about your parents? 

BLONIEN: You know my dad? Yeah. Funny story. My dad was very. Very patriotic and. When. When he heard President Roosevelt's infamous speech, he got so mad that he socked the radio and was on at first generation plastic radios and it just shattered. And he bandaged up his hand and he got in the car and went down and. Tried to enlist in all four branches of the service and they wouldn't take him. I never did find out why. I think it might have been on, you know, something irregularity with his heart or something. But he really wanted to go ahead and. You know, like I said, he was a kind of a Johnny come lately in the family, so. His nephews were. But same age he was. Yeah, well, they were going in, you know, as I was. I'll probably get into telling you about later. But his nephews or and his brother in laws were then. Yeah, it was. It was just the thing to do. And, you know, you, you grew up knowing, you know, that you'd have to put your duty in. 

NICKELS: Yeah. I think with your generation, it just definitely was. I mean, they had the you had to enroll when you were 18 and the, the draft. And I think that what you're saying, like a lot of vets or military people knew that's just what you do when you turn 18. 

BLONIEN: You well, another another part of the impetus was jobs were almost impossible to find at the time. Yeah. And so I went in at 17. My my parents had the same for me to get in. So I graduated from high school and I was still 17. 

NICKELS: So what about your mother? You mentioned your father. How what about your mother? 

BLONIEN: Well, she was. Patriotic know her. Her brothers were in the Army and in the Second World War. And. I don't remember. I really don't remember any encouragement from her. She she was trying to turn up when I signed up. 

NICKELS: But she didn't want you to go. 

BLONIEN: She didn't want me to go. 

NICKELS: So. Where you were enlisted. You weren't drafted. Oh, okay. And how did you feel when you were headed off to basic training? Do you remember how you felt that day or. 

BLONIEN: Well, I. You know, I was going into a new stage of my life and, you know, leaving behind a girlfriend, obviously, and and my parents. Felt pretty good. 

NICKELS: Exciting. 

BLONIEN: Exciting. 

NICKELS: Were you. Did did a recruiter come to you or did you go to the recruiter? 

BLONIEN: No, I went to the recruiter. 

NICKELS: Were there any thoughts that you had about Army, Navy, Coast Guard before you selected Marines? Or was Marines just always where you wanted to be? 

BLONIEN: Actually, it was kind of ironic because my best friend who we were kind of attached at the hips for our first 15 years, or like his uncle, one of his uncles was in the Marine Corps and. And I had uncles in the army. So I kind of just thought Army. And he thought Marine Corps. And ah, our parents bought us uniforms that, you know, we were little and our parents bought us uniforms. Well, my parents bought me a marine Corps uniform, dress blues. And his parents bought him an Army uniform. And as it turned out, he went in the Army. And he was in the Army for 14 years, got shot several times, and he spent time in Vietnam. And the other story is that I went in the Marine Corps. The irony of it all. 

NICKELS: Where did you join and what year? You said in 1954, actually, where was that? 

BLONIEN: In Waukesha, Wisconsin. 

NICKELS: Was anyone with you when you went to sign up? 

BLONIEN: Not when I went to sign up. 

NICKELS: No. And you said that your family, your parents had to sign because you were only 17. 

BLONIEN: Right. 

NICKELS: Do you remember the induction process, your physical and all that beginning stuff? 

BLONIEN: Well, I remember going to get sworn in in Milwaukee and. I think we left right after that. Got on a plane and went to San Diego for boot camp there. So I think there's a line of us from Waukesha that went to several of my classmates. 

NICKELS: How long was your training in Basic? 

BLONIEN: Three months. 

NICKELS: And where you said that was in San Diego. 

BLONIEN: Found you around. 

NICKELS: Can you tell me a little bit about your living conditions in San Diego, the building you lived in or where you did your training? 

BLONIEN: Well, it was barracks life, you know. You share it with everything. You know, my my brother in law, who had been in the Army, had given me a shaving kit. You know, because I needed that. And of course, I was pretty naive about ownership. And I've set my shaving it down by the thanks. And I went and took a shower and came back and it was gone. You know, so I learned my lesson in a hurry. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. What was you said that your training was for military police? 

BLONIEN: Not my training. All my training was infantry. 

NICKELS: Infantry? 

BLONIEN: Okay. They had asked me, you know, when I signed up what I wanted to be. Well, I really didn't know. So I, like, was driving trucks on it pretty good, you know? So I put down for motor pool and never seen that. So they put me in the infantry. So I went through basic training and I went through advanced infantry training, and then they put us on a workshop. 

NICKELS: So you did your basic at San Diego and at in San Diego as well. Or did you? 

BLONIEN: I was at one of them. 

NICKELS: Okay. Do you remember any friends that you may be made in basic or advanced training? 

BLONIEN: Oh, yeah. And word Atkinson. And we still are friends. He lives in Dubuque. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And. Have we had? I think there are three or four people in basic that were in high school with me, and so we knew each other from there. So it had some some roots along with you? 

NICKELS: Yeah. When you were at your basic do you remember did you get any free time? Did you do anything fun or any specific memories about basic training? 

BLONIEN: Fun? No. Free time? No. Huh. 

NICKELS: Okay. Well, so you said you went to Camp Pendleton for HIIT, Advanced individual training, and you're in the West was infantry, and that was, you said Camp Pendleton. Were the facilities there different from your basic training? 

BLONIEN: Well, I had a stop over first from. At. A senior moment. I had mask duty. We you know, that was that was standard procedure that you had mask duty. So I did 30 days of mass duty at Cambridge. I can't remember the camp, but it was it was for, oh, landing blended voices, you know, like skis and such. 

NICKELS: Oh. Huh. 

BLONIEN: So he spent 30 days there before going to camp with them. 

NICKELS: And then so you said, how long was basic training? Three months. Three months. And then you did a month of kitchen patrol. KP And what did you call it, though? Did you call it KP? Yeah. Okay. I couldn't remember. I thought maybe you said missed duty. 

BLONIEN: Okay, Maybe. 

NICKELS: And then you went to your advanced training for infantry. How long was that? 

BLONIEN: And. I know, because I've seen. Had to be a couple of months. Because that's where they boarded a sunken ship in November. And I went in in June. Oh. 

NICKELS: Wow. Yeah. 

BLONIEN: So it had had to be a month. Two months. 

NICKELS: Okay. Do you remember your instructors in infantry training? Any of them stick out or create a memory? 

BLONIEN: Oh, I remember my buddies in boot camp, but because they replaced being my mother. 

NICKELS: Did you make any friends at advanced training that you're still friends with or people that you own? 

BLONIEN: My friend, work at law from the Buick was went through all of that with me and went over to Japan with me. 

NICKELS: Oh, so you guys were together from basic through. Did he do kitchen patrol with you? No, I don't remember that. Oh, okay. Do you have anything else you'd like to tell me about your training? 

BLONIEN: So I learned a lot and got swatted around a little bit. And I did my advanced early rifle training up at Camp MATTHEWS. Another irony one of one of the. Men lived here in this place was an instructor at Camp MATTHEWS. When? Probably about the time that I was there. 

NICKELS: Oh, well, that's interesting. 

BLONIEN: Small world. 

NICKELS: It really is. All right. So you said November of 54, they put you on a ship to Japan? 

BLONIEN: No, actually, they. They were sending us to Taiwan. That's when mainland China was going to be invading Taiwan. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: And. We're on a troopship and all of us to to a man where we wanted to go to war. I mean, we just got out of boot camp and, you know, we had that mindset that they had they pounded into us. 

NICKELS: So you this was in November of 54 on the the troop transport ship that was on your way to your first duty station in Taiwan. 

BLONIEN: But they never got to Taiwan because they called a they called a truce with China and Taiwan called a truce, and they just turned north and dropped us off in Japan. 

NICKELS: Okay, So then Japan was your first duty station. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. 

NICKELS: Well, that's an interesting story. How did you feel when you were shipping across and getting on your way to your duty station? Do you remember how we were? 

BLONIEN: We were going to war. They didn't tell us that until after we after we left port, because we weren't we had no communication with anybody. So then they told us where we're going and why we're going, you know? And then the enthusiasm got up, Hey, we're going to we're going to go to work at summer, get some of that cabbage and go across the top of your pocket, you know? 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And we were quite excited about going to war. And then little disappointed when we found out that that was the truth. Yeah. And in retrospect, we should have gone there then, and they wouldn't have the mess that they got that they. 

NICKELS: So when you first got to Japan, what was your first impressions of your new duty station? 

BLONIEN: Well, just going just traveling to I was stationed at a side of Mt. Fuji and we had landed in Yokohama and they put us on a regular passenger train. A passenger train. And it was basic, very basic and. Everything was close in Japan, you know. And when we went past electric poles or telephone poles, they were, you know, less than a foot away from the side of the train. So, you know, we're told not to stick our fingers out the window so we lose them. But we went through a lot of cities and. It's a different way of life that we see seen. You know, all the houses were very close together and kids are all playing outside and waving at us as we went by. And and it was. It was an experience. And first one we got when we got to Camp Fuji and then we went back and to the barracks life and. And they put me into a border patrol to start off with. And I was with the Border Patrol and for a couple of weeks and going through training with mortars. And then there was a posting on on a board that they were looking for employees. And and I had to have a IQ of 120 or better to get in. That was the only stipulation you had to play. You had to be. I forgot. Was it five foot ten or five foot 11 and an IQ of 120 and you could apply? Well, I applied and was accepted. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: So I spent the next. Next two years. Your next 18 months. It was actually in a piece. 

NICKELS: And this was still in Japan? 

BLONIEN: Yeah. 

NICKELS: Okay. Do you have any memorable experiences or people that you met while you were stationed there, whether it be others military members or civilians on the economy? 

BLONIEN: Well, I had a lot of friends. That MP was a very it was a very close group because we weren't close with anybody else. If you were an MP, you were you were an outcast with the general public. And so I was on. On regular patrol with an MP or, I don't know, three or four months. And then I got the job as a driver for the provost marshal, which was really, really good. 

NICKELS: That's a coveted assignment. 

BLONIEN: Yes. 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: Yeah, I got to go to, you know, some of the parties that the local businessman threw for him for the major. Major Roberts is his name. 

NICKELS: Major Roberts. Yeah. John Roberts. 

BLONIEN: Okay. And anyway, I got to go to some of the parties and that were that was really great because the businessmen, you know, depending on the province marshal, because the province marshal was the man, if if they were going to stay in business, if they ever put off limits, they they might as well go home, you know. So they they catered to him pretty well. And so I got some pretty unique experiences for going to the parties with them. And, you know, seeing how the Japanese put on the show, drank enough saki and seen, you know, they had geisha girls that come come to the parties to entertain, you know, and of course, geisha. So it's a lot different than most people understand them to be. They were just entertainers. And that was pretty neat. And one of the entertainers after the show, the collectors that they had, you know, and they did their dance. And after the show, she came in to me, her collectors. So I kept them up to probably probably when we moved here, I got rid of most of that stuff, but it was kind of special. 

NICKELS: Did you have any other duty stations? Pardon? After Japan, did you go to any other assignment? 

BLONIEN: When I came back to the States and I went to three point North Carolina and guard duty. 

NICKELS: Oak. 

BLONIEN: Guard detachment. 

NICKELS: Before we moved back to the United States. Is there any other information you'd like to give me about your time in Mt. Fuji or fought for Fuji Mountain? Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji. Yeah. While you're were stationed there? 

BLONIEN: Well, there were Camp Fuji. There's three Camp Fuji in the middle camp, south south camp and the North camp. Okay. The north camp was 50% Marines and 50% Army. The middle one was all Marines and South Camp was all Marines. 

NICKELS: Was that located by the DMZ? The. No, That's. 

BLONIEN: When I was in Korea. 

NICKELS: That's right. Okay, So then how did you get. Well, let me go back. While you were stationed in Japan, did you earn any awards or accommodations? Medal. 

BLONIEN: But. Well, I had two promotions. I was promoted, you know, the PFC. And then later on. Corporal, before I left there. 

NICKELS: Okay. Is there any other information you'd like to talk about from Japan? 

BLONIEN: Oh, I climbed Mount Fuji while I was there, which is really unique experience. A the Shinto religion requires a pilgrimage once a year of Mt. Fuji. So Japanese were carrying their elders on their back of Mt. Fuji. And that's a. It's a full two days climb, you know. It's all volcanic ash. And also take one step forward and you go back two steps. And so that was kind of unique. But I made it to stop there. Mm hmm. That was that was memorable. 

NICKELS: Oh, it's quite an accomplishment. Yeah. Do you have any photos of that? Yeah. Awesome. Well, maybe we can look at those later. 

BLONIEN: Oh, wait a minute. I have one picture of me and my girlfriend up on top. 

NICKELS: Oh. You had someone go with you? Yeah. Oh, Could anyone do it? Was it like, Oh, yeah. 

BLONIEN: You know, anybody could do it. But if you looked up at the mountain, it was the trails were all zigzag, you know, And you could see people flying all the way up. You know, it's it's a great experience to get up on top and and you could only claim of what you won one month of the year. Otherwise, it was it was snow. There was still snow up there in July when I went up there. Oh, hell. In a crater. 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: No, because it a volcano. 

NICKELS: All right, let's see. Did you get any leads? Well, before we go back to United States, Yeah. Did you get any lever R and R while you were in Japan that you may have taken and traveled anywhere else or. 

BLONIEN: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I took. Well, it's well, it's been a little bit of time in Tokyo because of being an MP. I, I had take the duty of taking prisoners up to the Big eight, which was an army army break in and Tokyo. So I got up to Tokyo and and you know, did a little bit of experimenting and Tokyo sightseeing. And when I, when I took leave, when I took vacation time, I went to Osaka and Kyoto and that was that was nice. So. Well, Kyoto, it was Cherry Blossom Festival and that was a big deal. 

NICKELS: I bet it was beautiful. 

BLONIEN: The cherry the cherry trees in Washington, D.C. were a gift from Japan, you know, So when when they're in blossom, that's a big deal here. But in Kyoto, where it all originated, it was really a big deal and it was beautiful. And Osaka went there and my girlfriend's mother and sister let and Osaka. So we went and visited them and then went to Nara, which is a sort of really neat, neat city na na park, because, you know, they have a border there, big boot camp. All right. That was that was kind of cool. 

NICKELS: Do you remember when you were in Japan? Any big challenges you may be faced? 

BLONIEN: Well being an MP challenges for Congress. But you know, you probably know that the Marine Corps, the Marines that were over there were not 20 years old yet, you know, and they were experimenting with anything and everything. And fights were pretty regular. And few a few deaths occurred where I had to put my put my initial son and. You know, some bloody clothes and stuff. Mm hmm. So it was it was unique to me because I was only, you know, I got discharge at 20, so I was only 19 years old, you know? 

NICKELS: Do you remember how you kept in touch with your family and friends back home while you were there? 

BLONIEN: Letters my mother wrote frequently. I wrote and frequently and. In fact, I think one time she contacted the the priest there to find out if I was okay. 

NICKELS: Well, is there. Okay. So that basically was everything I wanted to ask you about your duty station in Japan. Do you have any experience with combat? 

BLONIEN: No. 

NICKELS: Did you? Okay. So after you left Japan, then let's talk about where your next duty station was. You said you came back to the States. Yep. 

BLONIEN: Carry Point, North Carolina. 

NICKELS: Okay. And do you remember what your company? Battalion unit. 

BLONIEN: It was a it was a guard unit. And I was a corporal. The guard. 

NICKELS: And you are still an MP? No, no, no. 

BLONIEN: It was just a guard unit. 

NICKELS: Oh, okay. Do you have memories or anything specific about that time that you want to talk about? Oh. 

BLONIEN: Well, it was kind of nice. We were. We were close to the beach and. I was the only one who had a car, so I was pretty popular getting to the beach. But one morning I was caught with a guard and like 5:00 in the morning, I got a call from a colonel in Camp Lejeune and he said he had to go. It's an airbase to points an airbase. And I got a call from a colonel and he says, I need a plane. I got to get some flight time. And he said, Well, if you have such and such a plane ready for me at 800, you know, I'm going to take off. He said, By the way, you know, anybody wants to go to Milwaukee for the weekend. 

NICKELS: Oh. 

BLONIEN: No. I said, Sir, you're talking to him. So he told me what I had to do to get checked out on the plane and that you get all checked out and get your stuff ready for the weekend and meet me there. And I did. And so I got to fly in a two seater jet, which was really an experience for me, was when we were taken off. I tried to pull my head forward and it was impossible that the G forces that were holding my head back. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: But the and then I got the colonel flying the plane, obviously, and he says, we have you have a slight problem here with the hydraulic line in the front landing gear, He said, So we'll have to stop at Glenview, Illinois, and have that checked out. So it was it was only 10 minutes. Milwaukee, you know, by jet. And so we stopped. And sure enough for you to go on the other 10 minutes, you wouldn't have had a hydraulic fluid in from landing gear. 

NICKELS: Oh, wow. 

BLONIEN: Yeah, we'd have crashed. So, you know, it it all worked out. So it was a fun ride. 

NICKELS: How long were you in North Carolina? 

BLONIEN: About six months. 

NICKELS: And that was your last duty station. Right. Okay. So what happened before you were discharged? Did you just your time was over or did you think about re-enlisting or. 

BLONIEN: No, I don't. I don't think I'll tell you what my thought process was there. But I had known people that were lifers in the Marine Corps, and I didn't didn't want a life like that. So, no, I didn't think about re-enlisting. 

NICKELS: Do you remember your discharge out processing any of that time? 

BLONIEN: I remember I got $100. 

NICKELS: What was the hundred dollars for mustering up? Mm hmm. What was your homecoming like? Do you remember that? 

BLONIEN: That was stranger than what I had anticipated. You know, because I when I left, you know, I was part of a group and in high school. And when I came back, just about everybody was married or going to college or something. So I had I had no close friends. And except for what I should say, when he ended up being my brother in law. 

NICKELS: Oh, he married your sister? 

BLONIEN: No, I married his sister. 

NICKELS: Oh, you married his sister? 

BLONIEN: Oh, tell his brother he had. 28. He'd just been kicked out of college and he didn't take it serious. And so he he had a year to think about it. And then he went back and he finally did get his degree. And then he went on to get his master's degree. 

NICKELS: So good for him. 

BLONIEN: But he was the only one that was single and around. So we we traveled around and he had invited invited me to go to a family wedding with him. And when it came time for the Grand March, he had grabbed a girl for the Grand March. And I looked around and all of a sudden his little sister, that was in sixth grade when we graduated from high school. 

NICKELS: Mm. 

BLONIEN: Pretty darn good. Well, that's her. Oh. 

NICKELS: Well, you got a prize. So another thing I was going to say was when you got out, you were only 20. And it's an interesting thing for the military community at 20. You're right. Most military personnel are married, have a kid have a kid on the way or or something. It's a totally different lifestyle. When you're in the military, things get sped up a lot quicker. And so I can understand, you know, all your friends are married and you're 20. What do you do? 

BLONIEN: But but you you come out at 20 years old and you spent three years in a marine Corps, you know, and then you got out. You got you weren't able to go into a bar. Yeah. Yeah, that was that. 

NICKELS: Yeah. What did you do after you left the service? 

BLONIEN: Well, I had put my application for school at Waukee School of Engineering. So basically, when I left the service, I was I was going to go to college and that didn't start until September and I got out in June. So I worked at that. You know, many men on a minimal job, you know, for three months. And then then what? I started school and I just work part time on Saturdays, So pay my I lived at home and I, I just needed $7 a week for bus and a bus fare to get into Milwaukee to school. 

NICKELS: Did you use your GI Bill? Is that. I Did you did you use. Good for good. Okay. Um, so you went to school at the University of Milwaukee? The engineering. 

BLONIEN: School. Large school of engineering. 

NICKELS: And how long did that take? 

BLONIEN: Oh, I went one year full time, and I really felt like a square peg in a round hole. The people that were in classroom there were inexperienced, and they were experiencing some of the things that I had already been through. Mhm. And they had money and, and I didn't, you know, so I really kind of felt left out. So I dropped out after one year and um, after I was married and I went back and, and um, you know, it took me I think six or seven more years and, and I finally got an associate degree in industrial management, but by then I was working and, and so I spent 36 years with the company. I was working with the Arctic Corporation in Waukesha. R.T. Yeah. And then they, they sold out to Cooper Stokes. Cooper Industries. 

NICKELS: Mhm. 

BLONIEN: So I spent 36 years there and after I got my associates degree, I was, I was in management and industrial management in a lot of different capacities, and the top one being the plant superintendent. 

NICKELS: So when you got out of the military, did you get any veterans benefits besides the GI Bill or did you have any injuries or disabilities that you know been able to. 

BLONIEN: No. 

NICKELS: Okay. Um, and you said that you have stayed in contact with your friends from the military, your one friend down in Dubuque? Yeah. What about now? Are you involved with any veteran organizations or do you participate in any sort of activities or have you attended any reunions or met up with any of your military friends? So I know that you want to talk about your military family. You have some family members that were in the military that you want. Why don't you tell me about them? 

BLONIEN: Okay. Yeah, that was that was the main reason that I wanted to go through this interview is because I've been active in trying to get back to remains from my my cousin Elmer, and I've got a lot of information on him. Uh, Elmer was my first cousin of mine, but like I said before, my cousins on my dad's side were more the age of my and my uncles, and Elmer was my dad's best friend. And he was also he was the best man at my parents wedding. And he went into service before before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and he was sent to Manila. And Manila was the the second place that the Japanese bombed or attacked. And that was like the day after Pearl Harbor. And they they were not equipped at all. He was he was at the Tank battalion out of Janesville, Wisconsin, and. He's, you know, got all kinds of correspondence. I've got all the correspondence that him and his mother had going back and forth and him and a sister. And anyway, he said there was they had nothing. When they when they practiced drill, sort of drill, they used broomsticks. They had no weapons, no equipment. No. Oh, wow. 

NICKELS: And this is when he was still serving. Right, right, right. 

BLONIEN: He was over in Manila. 

NICKELS: At a duty station. 

BLONIEN: At Clark Air Force Base and in Manila. 

NICKELS: Uh huh. 

BLONIEN: And it was they had just the light tanks. The tanks were for defensive purposes only. And. And that's that's all they had. And they're supposed to protect the the airport, the the base area, Army Air Corps base. And, you know, they got. They got attacked the day after. After Pearl Harbor. And then the fighting went on and until they surrendered, the U.S. surrendered to the Japanese. And General MacArthur led with his finger up. But he was incorrect. Or is his baseless incorrect, or which is a island right off of Manila. But he fled to Australia. That's when he said he'd be back. 

NICKELS: Oh. 

BLONIEN: Well. 

NICKELS: Well, tell me more. So what happened to your first cousin, Elmer? So he was serving and the base got attacked the day after Pearl Harbor. So he was there. Do you have any information about that? 

BLONIEN: I got the whole thing down there, if you'd like me to read that. 

NICKELS: Well, we can actually give that to the Veterans Museum, too. Any clue? You don't have to say at all. They don't. 

BLONIEN: Get. 

NICKELS: Yeah, I think I only have that one page. 

BLONIEN: Oh, really? 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: I got a lot more. 

NICKELS: Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, you can certainly tell me whatever you'd like to tell me. We can. I can take that and include that with the. You know. 

BLONIEN: Elmer was, uh. He was taken captive eventually. I mean, there's a lot of things that went on in between, but he was taken captive, and he participated in the Bataan Death March and got letters from people that he was with during the march. And they said because of his size, that the Japanese picked on him more than they would anybody else. But after the death march, he had he had a ruptured spleen and malaria. And then the doctor who looked at him was an American doctor. And he said, well, I can't you can't live with a spleen like that. I don't know. You know, you won't live. But if we leave it in there. So he operated on on a bamboo table out in the sun with a kitchen knife. 

NICKELS: Oh, my gosh. 

BLONIEN: And removed the spleen. And the letters from the guy that were with up the next morning, he was dead and his hands had been rubbed rock down to the bone on the sides of that bamboo table from the pain. And so when he was buried and what they were doing at that time in the prison camp was a they threw everybody in the same hole that died on that particular day. So they just threw him at all while it was. I guess I guess it was marked in some way, but, you know. Nothing sophisticated. And anyway, that was in November 15th of 1942. 

NICKELS: And November of 42. 

BLONIEN: And November 15th, 1942. Okay. And about that time, P.O.W. camp number one. I got that down there. 

NICKELS: Yeah, I I'm reading here. It says several of the letters Alma's mom received are very descriptive and including the exact time and date of death. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. 

NICKELS: Those were from other prisoners that were with him. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. Elmer's sister was very active and trying to find out where he was. Anyway, she was in communication with the guys that were with him. And if you read the the the book called The Death March, it was written by the participants. And there's four or five participants that wrote in there that that that cousin Elmer's sister got letters from She communicated with them. 

NICKELS: Oh, wow. The name of the book is The Death March. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. But the whole book is written by the guys that participated. 

NICKELS: And. And they were with your first cousin? 

BLONIEN: Yeah. 

NICKELS: Is your first cousin mentioned in the book? 

BLONIEN: I read one book on a death march that he was mentioning, but just a casual match. And I forgot even what context it was. But his name is in there and I sent the I had a copy of the book and I sent it to the American Legion and Rudolph, Wisconsin, which is named after my cousin. Oh, the Honorable Indian Legion. And 185. I think it is around 84. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: But anyway, I sent the book there and, you know, sure. That he was mentioned in there. 

NICKELS: So why don't you give me a little synopsis of what your family has been doing with regard to Elmer? You've his remains have been located and DNA has been able to determine that it is, in fact, your first cousin. 

BLONIEN: But. Well, I don't. I don't know that. 

NICKELS: Oh, you don't know that. Okay, I know that. 

BLONIEN: They were able to identify the the grave. And in Manila. And I think they dug everybody out of that grave and. Of course, the bones are all mixed up, so we have to go through it. Make sure that they've got the right answer. But but two of my second cousins had to give their DNA or two ID, and one of them was Elmer's niece, who with he's a retired captain from the Navy. And the other one was her brother, who is a retired assistant attorney general in the state of Washington. 

NICKELS: What's what are their names. 

BLONIEN: Jodie? Well, I mean, he still goes by lightning, but the married name is folks, you know, for C.H. as. And the other one is. 

NICKELS: This is your niece. You said that? 

BLONIEN: Elmer's niece. 

NICKELS: Oh, that's Elmer's niece. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. DNA sample. Okay. 

BLONIEN: And her brother is John Scott. 

NICKELS: Doing. 

BLONIEN: Blood in. 

NICKELS: Jail and by jail. H and. 

BLONIEN: Jail? Yeah, After his grandpa, my Uncle John. 

NICKELS: So both of them submitted DNA samples, and that was quite a while ago, wasn't it? Yeah. 

BLONIEN: About four years ago. 

NICKELS: Okay. So some time in like 17 or 18, 2000. 

BLONIEN: That's a. Was five years ago. So it's about six years ago and now I'm thousand 15. 

NICKELS: Okay. And sense that DNA from your Elmer's niece and and Jodi's brother. Nothing has come of it. 

BLONIEN: Well, both Jody and John followed up on I've and. In all, it all ended up with one guy in the what they call the. 

NICKELS: Other DD form 214. 

BLONIEN: PD. Let's pass past conflicts. I forgot. Okay. I don't have this stuff. Category catalog. Great. 

NICKELS: So that's okay. Take your time. The the Veterans museum can edit out. Pauses. Yeah. 

BLONIEN: DPI. 

NICKELS: A DPI, a DPI. 

BLONIEN: Just displaced versions. I think it is, you know, a risk call all scheme. I. 

NICKELS: I do. From what, Milwaukee. 

BLONIEN: Oh, this is from Jim Bellamy. 

NICKELS: Chris Kowalski. That sounds like my sister's fiancee. 

BLONIEN: Calling Hong Kong wants me to tell. 

NICKELS: But my family's. So who? Who's. I don't see Chris Kowalski. Was that part. Who's Chris Kowalski? Well. 

BLONIEN: Cola. Cola. 

NICKELS: Koski, Cola, Koski. Okay. 

BLONIEN: Yeah, well, it was when, you know. Jim. Oklahoma. Oh, he. He was a high school teacher and he picked up on a on death march and anyway chose that for a project. And so he, he had his students all digging in and and he really dug it. He spent a lot of time. In fact, he still is in charge of it. He's retired now, but he's still in charge of that. You know, you could fight, You could Google them. 

NICKELS: Oh, here it is. Defense P.O.W. Accounting Agency, DPA. Yeah. Okay. They're the official U.S. government website for the defense P.O.W.. Am I Accounting Agency? Okay. So you are working with this person who works at DPA? No, no. 

BLONIEN: No, This. Trying to find a neighborhood. You might. You might be interested in this. This email from Jim. Just. 

NICKELS: It's. Wow. So they only have it listed that there was only 11 other deaths at the camp that day. Or. Yeah, that Elmer died. Yeah. So is that why they're having, like, less commitment or ability to identify? Because there were so few people that day. 

BLONIEN: I really don't know why. But every every avenue that I've tried, everything this Senator Johnson, I've tried to get some help there. They just they just go back to the same the same guy ex Exxon over. I read so much in Urdu every fall on it. Action. Paul. Paul, Xo. Aide XO. And. 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: Exceptional wall action. 

NICKELS: A so and yeah. Okay and when. 

BLONIEN: When my cousins Jordie and John Scott tried to get to the same guy wall action. 

NICKELS: And he works at the D. A. Okay. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. I got it. I got another whole folder, and I'm trying to get Elmer back. 

NICKELS: So as of today, October 18, 2021, Elmer has still not been laid to rest. Yeah. Okay. 

BLONIEN: Want to? I want to get him back and get him buried in a family plot. And Rudolph. And, of course, the American Legion there would really like to give him a proper burial. Correct. Burial. 

NICKELS: And so I don't know if you've contacted the Veteran's Experience office at the White House. They have a special phone line in that's staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they they might be able to help you. So I'll write them number for that. I've used it before. When I needed help with the situation, I called up and I would say within a week they had I mean, my situation was not like this, but they're very quick to act and help think. 

BLONIEN: I, I think I contacted them too and they. 

NICKELS: You Yeah. 

BLONIEN: And they ended up with Paul Axum also. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. Wow. 

BLONIEN: So all action is tired, in fact. You think? 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: It's an email. Get off my back. You know, paraphrasing. But he says there's no way of hurrying up the process. 

NICKELS: No, not with the government. Hurry up and wait. Is. Yeah. So I have hear that you had two of your cousins. So we talked about Elmer. But you have another cousin that who Marine, PFC Ira Iron and. And he was. Tell me about him. What happened to Ira? 

BLONIEN: Well, I got the thing off of Google. 

NICKELS: Or all of his Navy Cross. 

BLONIEN: Cross? And he was he was 19 when he was killed. 

NICKELS: Do you know what happened to him? 

BLONIEN: Well, he was being nodded and he held his ground while all the rest of his outfit could get away. So. 

NICKELS: Oh, he was in. 

BLONIEN: He's in Guam? 

NICKELS: Yeah. Intense, hostile mortar and machine gun fire. Private First Class Heineman and Heineman fought with determination, aggressiveness, and although wounded twice, assisted in repelling two fierce charges by the enemy while personally accounting for at least eight of the Japanese assailants. Wow. And he was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously. And where is he buried? 

BLONIEN: He is buried in the Orange Bowl. Oh, wow. Oh, boy. 

NICKELS: In Hawaii. Yeah. Okay. 

BLONIEN: And his family is all all dead now. His brothers and sisters are all he had. I know. I know his brother. One brothers, his older brother. He was in the army. And. And his younger brother was the only cousin. My dad's side that's younger than me. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And he was. He was in the Marine Corps. But I think I was doing stuff there in Hawaii. 

NICKELS: I remember when I went to Hawaii, going to the graveyard and seeing all the homes, and from there. 

BLONIEN: It's quite a military. 

NICKELS: It is a cemetery there. Yeah, it is. So is there anything else you'd like to tell me about Ira or Elmer? 

BLONIEN: Elmer, Brother Clayton. Oh, he was. And he was in the Army. And he he fought in North Africa and Italy in the war. And he was awarded the the Bronze one, Bronze Star and one Silver Star for bravery. And he was also an in the tanks. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And then his sister, Earlene, was a nurse in the Army. An Army nurse during the Korean War. 

NICKELS: So you have a lot of military in your family. 

BLONIEN: Yeah. And the only other member of Eleanor's family was the sister Lillian. 

NICKELS: And you have a picture of her, don't you? 

BLONIEN: No, that's. 

NICKELS: All that you. 

BLONIEN: Know, Lillian. It's quite a lady in her. In her own right. She couldn't go in the military. She had an extreme hunchback. And very intelligent, very nice person. But she was postmistress in Rudolph, Wisconsin. And she developed the cancellation stamp with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And that was the first pictorial cancellation stamp in the United States. And in fact, in fact, when the reindeer stamp came out about ten years ago, the postmaster general dedicated that to her. Oh. And she was also the the first single person in the state of Wisconsin that was allowed to adopt. She adopted four Native American Indian kids. 

NICKELS: Wow. Oh, fantastic. 

BLONIEN: It's quite a lady. 

NICKELS: It sounds like a trailblazer to me. 

BLONIEN: She's a she's also my godmother. 

NICKELS: Oh. 

BLONIEN: And she was old enough that she was my godmother. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. Well, so the only other thing I wanted to talk about with you, now that we've covered most of the military stuff, was about your life after the military. So you married kids. Do you have any of that stuff you'd like to talk about? 

BLONIEN: Yeah. Oh, Sally and I got married in 1960, so we've been married 61 years now. We have two daughters, one daughters lives in Middleton and the other one in Milwaukee. And neither neither one of them. Any connection with the military other than their dad? 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And our daughter in Middleton is. Married. Married to a guy. He's a vice president of avian group. Mm hmm. Or even groupies. 

NICKELS: Hmm. 

BLONIEN: Oh, right. Right down in Madison, here, about a block off of the Wisconsin Avenue. There's a there's an old church with big pillars, and that's the Haven group building. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: And he's vice president of that and does all the marketing for Gulliver's. Oh, yeah. So. 

NICKELS: Wow. That's amazing. 

BLONIEN: That's a big deal. Yeah, really big deal. And the other daughter's is. Listen, Pewaukee, she has a Down syndrome son that she's pretty pretty well active with him, yet he's 21, 22, and he works at Chick-Fil-A. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: And really amazing is Down syndrome. They gave him they just gave him a $4 an hour raise. 

NICKELS: Wow. Good for him. 

BLONIEN: The manager said they do have work there. You know, even if it was just for a smile. 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: This keeps the other kids going. You know. 

NICKELS: Tell me about your other grandkids. 

BLONIEN: Oh, gosh. Well, the ones from Middleton, my oldest grandson, that's from Middleton, is an assistant manager at a Culver City per mentor. Mm hmm. And the other one is autistic. Mm hmm. And so he's. He requires quite a bit of a lot of attention. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. 

BLONIEN: So my daughter is a ah, and a retired. Ah. And and she's pretty much dedicated her life to making sure she can function in society. 

NICKELS: Yeah. 

BLONIEN: That's working, but not real. Well, he is out on his own, but she gets about five phone calls from a mother a day, you know, And high maintenance. 

NICKELS: Yeah. And what about you said you have the one son or the one daughter with the son in Pewaukee. Does she have. 

BLONIEN: She's got three. 

NICKELS: Sons. Okay. 

BLONIEN: And, you know, the oldest one works in the same place. And I used to be superintendent is a coal miner and he's going to school. And I guess he wants to get into the engineering part of it. So he's married. 32 years old now. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: And then the second grandson is. He's estranged from the family. He disowned us all. He's a Waukesha County deputy now. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: And the younger one is. It's got Down's syndrome. 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. Any of your grandkids interested in military or have any military, sir? 

BLONIEN: No. I think my. My daughter in Pewaukee, I think is. Pretty much a pacifist and. She had no interest in raising her kids to go in the military. 

NICKELS: And. 

BLONIEN: In the. One in Middleton. I don't think she ever encouraged her kids to do anything, but a lot of them couldn't be artistic and write. The other is. Highly intelligent but has no interest in. Going to college or anything? 

NICKELS: Mm hmm. So do you have anything else to add that we haven't addressed? Anything else you'd like to include in your oral history interview? 

BLONIEN: No. I've already told you about Jodie. She's my second cousin, and she was in charge of the PTSD program for the Marine Corps. 

NICKELS: Okay. 

BLONIEN: Oh, whoops. She was just there. Pretty good. In fact, I think she still. As a consultant for the for that matter. And Elmer's sister Arlene, since she was an Army nurse. I think that's the out there. 

NICKELS: And so the last question I have left to or what would you want people who listen to this interview to take away from it? 

BLONIEN: Most importantly of mostly I just want want to make sure that my cousins that died in the Pacific were remembered and there were some some place where it was documented as to, you know, what they did and what went on. 

NICKELS: Who they were, they were. 

BLONIEN: In my personal experience in the Marine Corps, was not that exceptional. But I think there's there's was exceptional. 

NICKELS: You know, I have a similar feeling. I didn't never was deployed and never saw combat. I'm a non-combat vet. And for many years I felt like not a real veteran. I've heard that from a lot of that's too that I didn't have combat experience. And what I've come to find is through doing these interviews is that we didn't decide where we went or where we were stationed, but we all raised our right hand and took the oath to defend with our life the great United States. And so I tell everyone that I interview, regardless of what you did in the service, you still are truly a veteran and deserve the honor just as much as anyone else. So I do. 

BLONIEN: Feel that. 

NICKELS: It is hard to feel that way. Yeah, I know. But I appreciate you sharing your story. 

BLONIEN: Particularly when we went, we went to France and I was on Omaha Beach and it was low tide, which is when the invasion was at Omaha Beach. And I went and I stood right at the water line and I looked at where the Germans were entrenched. You know, I just pictured and I've read so many stories. Are they the guys that got off of the landing crafts? And they were, you know, they were up to their neck and water to begin with, but they could walk to shore. And the bodies that were, you know, because they all had. 

NICKELS: Full. 

BLONIEN: Packs and floated and, you know, they walked across bodies to get to the beach to get to kill themselves, you know? 

NICKELS: Yeah, definitely. 

BLONIEN: And of course, we walked in the cemetery and on. Read some of the names and where they're from. 

NICKELS: Why? Last question Why was it important for you to do an oral history interview or why did you agree? 

BLONIEN: I guess that mostly it was to it to make sure that my cousins are remembered. 

NICKELS: Well, I believe that we've accomplished that. Great. Anything else that we haven't addressed? 

BLONIEN: No, not that I can think of. 

NICKELS: Well, I think you. 

BLONIEN: Pretty much covered it. 

NICKELS: Very much for your time and sitting down and sharing the information with us. So I'm going to end the recording now. 

[Interview Ends]