WWII Profile: Arthur L. Alarcon

In this audio interview, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Arthur L. Alarcon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recounts his World War II combat experience and subsequent judicial career. Judge Alarcon, who sits in Los Angeles, served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946, retiring as a staff sergeant.

WWII Highlights:

• Served in 94th Infantry Division.
• Fought as a sniper and scout in France and Germany, including the Battle of the Bulge.
• Received four Battle Stars and a Purple Heart.

Transcript

Q. Before World War II, did you have a sense you wanted a career in the law, or did that come later?

A. When I was six months old, my parents separated, and I was taken to El Paso, Texas, where I was raised by my grandmother until I was five years old. She did not speak English, so my first language till I was 5 years old was Spanish. I learned to speak English after my father remarried and brought me to Los Angeles. And I was taught to speak English by the children in my kindergarten class.

One of the reasons that I am a judge and decided to become a lawyer is because my father, who only had one year of education in a remote part of Chihuahua, Mexico, told me when I was still literally in my crib, you really ought to think about going to law school when you grow up, because you can practice law, or you can run for office, or you can go into business and use what you’ve learned in law school for that purpose. So ever since I was a small child, I thought that was a terrific idea. So I always wanted to be a lawyer.

Q. Tell me about your enlistment in the Army.

A. When I was 17 and a senior in high school, still hoping to one day to be able to afford to go to law school but still really didn’t have the funds to do so, the Department of Defense announced a program that they were going to give tests in the high schools throughout the United States, and the students who scored high enough on those tests … would then go off to an accelerated undergraduate program. … After we got our degree under the military, we would then become officers, lieutenants, and then be ready to occupy Japan and Germany after the war ended. … I thought that would be a terrific way for me to get my undergraduate work done, so I signed up for that test and I passed the test. … I was assigned to go to Pomona College, which was only 20 miles from my high school. … Well, when we marched to the station (at Fort Benning, Ga.), the general had us sit down and said there’s been a change in our orders. The army infantry has had great losses in North Africa, so the Army Specialized Training Program has been abolished, and you are all going into the infantry.

Q. What were you thinking at that moment?

A. I was of course disappointed that I wasn’t going off to college. On the other hand, because I was only 18, I thought it might be exciting to go off and fight in the war and be in the infantry, and work my way up through the ranks.

Q. Please give me an overview of your military service in Europe.

A. I was involved with my company in four different battles, one of which was the Battle of the Bulge. For each major battle, infantrymen were awarded a Battle Star. I have four Battle Stars on my European ribbon. There was one in Northern France, there was another battle as we crossed the Rhine, and then there was a fourth battle in Northern Germany. Fortunately we won all four battles.

Q. Can you describe your duties as a scout and a sniper?

A. I came from Los Angeles, and I had never even had a BB gun before I went into the military. ... So when I went to the rifle range to be trained, to my total surprise, and the gunnery sergeant’s surprise, I ended up having the best score on the rifle range, to the extent that they asked me to go to sniper school. … I had the top score in the sniper school, which meant that I was named the sniper in my company.

I later found out that what a sniper does is that you go forward before your fellow soldiers until you come in contact with the enemy. That meant that bullets whistling over your ears. They also said that if we have to move to the rear, and in the Army you never talked about “retreat,” but if we had to change positions, the sniper stays behind to protect the troops that are changing positions. So it was kind of an exciting responsibility both ways.

Q. Was any combat experience most dangerous or memorable?

A. We were in a snow covered valley … in Germany, and the Germans were on the other side, and my company commander said, “Okay, go forward through this valley until you come into contact with the enemy.” And I said, “Captain, if you have me go down the center of this valley, see those two mountains on each side of this valley? If I were the Germans, I would have a machine gun there.” And he said, "That was a direct order.” …

So I moved forward, and sure enough, two machine guns, one from each little peak, started firing at me. … Of course, I started running, and I looked ahead, and there was a depression in the snow that looked to be about three feet deep, and I decided I’m going to run and jump into that, so I’ll be below the machine gun fire. As I ran towards it, and my legs were scissoring, I could see bullets that were being shot, which are special bullets that can be seen in the daylight, so that the marksmen could see. I saw several go between my legs as I ran. … So I jumped into this thing. … When I jumped through the snow, there was ice under the snow, and I cracked through the ice, and it was full of water that was near freezing. During daylight, for the rest of that day, the machine gunners kept shooting. And I couldn’t get out of there because I raised my helmet and the bullets came flying on both sides of my helmet. So I ended up with my legs frozen. When it got dark, I was able to run back to where my company was.

… They rubbed my legs all night, and the next morning, they put me on an ambulance, and I was driven to Luxembourg, where there was a hospital that dealt with people who had frozen limbs. And many of the people who went to that hospital lost their legs. I had an unusual doctor, a young doctor. When I was brought in, he said, “I’d rather not do what I’ve been having to do with other people with you. I want to try an experiment.” And I said, “You’re talking about avoiding amputation? … Terrific, go for it.” He gave me one ounce of bourbon every hour for 10 hours! I don’t know if (the treatment) was scientifically correct, but I’m sitting here with both of my legs.

Q. How were you changed by your war experience?

A. One of the things that I learned was to really respect the German soldiers I was fighting. They, like me, were defending their own country. I think that’s been a life experience, to teach me in judging other people, to try to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. And I think if you’re going to be a good judge, I think you have to have that kind of sense.

Q. Is there anything else you learned that influenced you as a judge?

A. Those of us who were in World War II have had a special experience. One of the things that I really found amazing is how men could work closely together and take care of each other and to leave nobody behind. I think that experience, of dealing with total strangers from all over the United States, has given me a respect and compassion for my fellow human beings. And I attribute that to that experience of being in the military 27 months.

Q. How would you compare military service with your service as a judge?

A. Well, I think a soldier is out there to protect our Constitution and protect our rights, and punish people who don’t protect our rights and our Constitution, and I think a judge must feel and do that every day. My duty is to the Constitution of the United States, and the civil and due-process rights of the people that appear before me. And I have to keep that in mind, every day all day.

Q. What are your reasons for continuing to work on the bench?

A. I was asked by a reporter one day … what’s the most important case that you’ve worked on? And I patted a file in front of me, and he asked, what’s it about, and I said, “I don’t know. I haven’t started reading it yet.” And he jumped up and he said you’re putting me on. And I said, “No, what I’m trying to point out to you is that everything that I learned up till last night I want to put into working on this case, to make myself a better judge, and understand the law better. Why I continue to work is that I really like working in the legal field, and trying my best to solve problems, resolve disputes between people. It’s kind of fun to have that opportunity. So I’m a student for life.

Q. Do you like the phrase “the Greatest generation”?

A. I like the phrase, but I would attribute it not just to people who were in the military, but all the people in the United States at that time, all the Rosie the Riveters who went out to work, and all the young ladies who went to the USO to make sandwiches and entertain soldiers, and all the parents who put gold stars in their windows, and who when we came home greeted us with such love. I think that was a good time to be an American.

Q. What about your history gives you the greatest pride or satisfaction?

A. I guess I feel the greatest pride in fulfilling what people call the American Dream. I’m the grandson of a man who was chased out of Mexico by a murderous revolutionary, I’m a son of a father who had only one year of education, and yet I have had an experience of getting a graduate degree. I have three children, one of whom is a judge, one of whom is a lawyer in Northern California, and the third is a psychologist. So this country has been wonderful to us. And so, I feel like a very grateful American dreamer.