"I just about knew it was gonna happen. I was the right age. I was about…18, 19 at that time, and…I felt I was gonna go. I did learn, however, that if you volunteer, sometime you can pick the service that you want, and when I got to…

"After high school in Henry County, I learned the Tuskegee would offer people jobs. They would give ’em work scholarships, and if you would come to Tuskegee and wan—and you were willing to work, you could just about work your way through…

"We didn’t have a high school, we had tenth grade, and when you finished the tenth grade, that was the end of the line. Now the other school system across town where I couldn’t go, of course they had high school. So at the end of tenth grade,…

"Well, Eufaula is on the bluff of the Chattahoochee River, and it’s called “The Bluff City.” It was a small town when I lived there, about 6,000 people, and it was about 50% black and 50% white. My—my father, my grandfather was a janitor at…

"I was born in Prichard, Alabama, February 8th, 1922. I had one brother and two sisters. I lived with them for about 3 or 4—maybe 8 years, and then it was decided that…I should live with my grandparents. You must remember, in the early days,…

"My roommate was arguably the best basketball player who ever played the game. His name was Wilt Chamberlain. Even though the team was owned by a Jewish man, our traveling secretary, shall I say, was not exactly a big fan of Jews or blacks. I…

“He went to Harper High School in Atlanta, and then, they tried to give him a scholarship to Morehouse – four years paid scholarship to Morehouse-- but he didn't want to go there. He wanted to go to Yale, so he went to Yale…It made me feel…

“This medal was authorized by President Obama in 2012. And they had a big deal where it was presented by some general in Washington, and I think Obama was supposed to be present, but something else came up and he didn't make it, but anyway, it…

“We found that most of the palm trees had been cut off where the Navy had, with their big guns, had just blown everything on the island down. And I didn't see any live Japanese except, we saw a few dead ones. You could, every now and then, you…

Editor's note: Lorenzo Wallace shipped out of San Diego with the 51st Defense Battalion.