"That was the best day of my life, when I saw my mom again." (Video interview, 1:05:44)

John Kinsel, Sr.

John Kinsel [2003] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Service Location: Bougainville Island (Solomon Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater Rank: Corporal

John Kinsel, Sr. was born in 1921 near Lukachukai, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation. He became accustomed to hardship from an early age—his father died while he was still an infant, and he later lost a younger brother. Kinsel was a member of the second cohort to be trained as Code Talkers, and he remembers working together with some of the “First Twenty-Nine” to develop additional code terms. Kinsel was assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and his first combat experience came during the Battle of Bougainville, where he recalls the intensity of jungle fighting but also the camaraderie of celebrating Thanksgiving with his fellow Marines. Kinsel also took part in the Battle of Guam in July-August 1944, then in February 1945 he was involved in the Battle of Iwo Jima, where he and his regiment landed as reinforcements on D+5. On his sixth day on the island, Kinsel was wounded by falling rock after the Japanese set off a large explosion inside a cave network.