John Sprenger, interviewed by Braden Sprenger, 2014
Name of person interviewed: John Sprenger Researcher: Braden Sprenger Date of interview: 6/1/14 Location of interview: LaGrande, OR General description: Interview of John Sprenger's service in the Marines during the Korean War. Length of interview: 31:57
Index
0:00-2:27 Enlistment in the military 2:27-9:20 Boot camp / combat training 9:20-18:57 Being overseas in Japan 18:57-23:00 Coming back home 23:00-31:57 His life today
Mr. John Sprenger Interviewed by Braden Sprenger, 2014
John Sprenger grew up and went to school in Zillah, WA. After he graduated from Zillah High School, he enlisted in the Marines along with five of his school buddies during the Korean War in 1953.
He then went to Camp Pendleton, California where he went through boot camp and combat training. There he learned how to shoot and do maintenance on his rifle, work with tanks and how to survive in the combat field. While his company was on mess duty, his Platoon got sent off to Korea, but he had to stay behind because of mess duty.
Soon after mess duty he was shipped off to Japan. In Japan, he was stationed at Camp Gifu, where he worked in supply. While he was in Japan, he did a lot of sightseeing. He would send letters back home to his wife, Betty Sprenger, and his parents. The letters often came with pictures of the sights that he saw in Japan.
His brother, Fred Sprenger, was in the Air Force and was also stationed in Japan. He would fly down and see John sometimes at Camp Gifu. While at Camp Gifu, John was part of the honor guard. The honor guard greeted any dignitaries that might come to the base when they arrived at the airport. John was discharged from the Marines in 1957 after 4 years of service.
Once he got back to the states he spent some time at Glacier Park, Montana with his wife’s family. Then he went to college on the G.I. Bill. After that he became a service man at an auto service station. Then he partnered with an electrician to become a journeyman electrician and worked at Cheney Electric. He also worked full time as an accountant at General Telephone, while holding up his end as an electrician. John later went on to teach at LaGrande High School until he retired. In that time, he had four children; Ken, Kari, Mike, and Tim Sprenger. He now also has fifteen grandchildren.
John is proud that he served his country and spent four years of his life in the Marines ensuring our freedom.