William "Billy" Suiter

My Grandfather, William Kent Suiter was a part of the greatest war the United States has seen, and was lucky enough to tell his story. When the war broke out, my grandfather was attending college at UCLA in California (go bruins!) After he graduated, William enlisted in the Army Air Core. With his education -- something that many soldiers were deprived of when entering the war -- my grandfather was able to serve the United States without directly fighting on the battlefront. He was stationed in Guam, an island in the Pacific, where the allies were able to strategically plan attacks against Japan. William briefed pilots on their missions to Japan, where they would likely be going on bombing missions through Tokyo. On their trips back, he would debrief them via radio on how successful their sorties -- an attack made by troops coming out from a position of defense -- were, or what went wrong during the mission. The all important question: "what were his motivations for enlisting in the war?" Like most, he believed that his duty was to serve his country and to help win the war. My grandfather was a patriot, and I know that he indeed carried out his duty in flying colors. Colors of red, white, and blue.