"Colonel Hickman dictated to me the directive, signed by General MacArthur, to send Land, Sea, and Air personnel into Japan, for the occupation of the Japanese Islands." (Memoir, page 1)

Joseph Jefferson Mickey

Sgt. Joseph Mickey War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Arena Service Location: Camp Wolters, Texas; Leyte Island and Manila (Philippines); Tokyo, Japan Rank: Technical Sergeant Place of Birth: IL

The piece of equipment which Joseph Mickey credits with saving his life in the Pacific Theater of World War II wasn't standard GI issue. Mickey was the only soldier in that area of operations who knew how to operate a stenotype machine, similar to what court reporters use, and what many officers preferred for dictating documents. So after the U.S. landed in the Philippines Mickey was taken out of the infantry and assigned to General MacArthur's headquarters. He continued to work for MacArthur during the early days of the Occupation. At the age of 86, Mickey still had that life-saving machine.