Oral history interview of Virgil Messel. Virgil I. Messel was drafted into WWII (1943-1946) in the Army, 504th AAA Gun Batallion, and served as a T-5 Corporal. He worked with communications switchboard and ran lines between gun batteries and headquarters in combat zones. He saw action in the Pacific Theater, including Hawaii, Leyte, and Okinawa. There was hand to hand nighttime combat in the jungles of Leyte and Okinawa.