Calvin Blank was born in January 1926 in Bronx, New York [Annotator's Note: the Bronx is one of the five boroughs in New York, New York]. He had one brother and two sisters. He was raised by his parents. His father lost his business in the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. He was an umbrella manufacturer. They were living in a house near farmland. Blank walked barefoot to school. His father became a cab driver. The best thing that happened to Blank was joining the Army. He got the GI Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and was able to go to a university. The economy got better after the war because the veterans came back and got jobs with Ford [Annotator's Note: Ford Motor Company] and General Motors. He was walking to get the Sunday paper when the news came over the radio in the candy store [Annotator's Note: about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. In those days if someone was poor, they did not know they were poor because everyone was all in the same financial situation. As long as their stomachs were full, they did think about it.

Calvin Blank was drafted into the Army [Annotator's Note: in 1945]. He was five foot six and weighed 118 pounds. When he was discharged, he weighed 126 pounds. He was drafted at 19 years old. He was a senior in high school when someone came into his class. The guy was from the Post Office [Annotator's Note: United States Postal Service] and was recruiting people to sort the mail for the GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] in Europe. Blank went to work for them and later, when he got out of the service, he worked for them again. He went to Fort Dix in New Jersey Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey] for boot camp. After that, he was shipped to medical school. When medical school was over, they shipped him out. He was hoping to go to Europe, but they sent him to Long Island [Annotator's Note: Long Island, New York] to Mason General Hospital. He spent two years of his service there. He was an aidman or a corpsman [Annotator's Note: enlisted medical specialist in the US Navy who may also serve in the US Marine Corps]. He was six months in the Army once the war was over. They took care of the mentally wounded World War 2 veterans. The housing was in the hospital. They had regular barracks. They had 12-hour tours. They played ping pong with the veterans and took them to the services they needed. They took some to have electric shock treatments. They had hydro treatment [Annotator's Note: hydrotherapy; exposing patients to baths or showers of warm water for extended periods of time] if they were violent. It was all posttraumatic injuries they dealt with. He had to stop some guys from hanging themselves. He never had personal relationships with any of the patients. A lot of people were cured there and sent to work. He thought it was his job, it did not seem unusual to him what they were doing there. He did rounds with the nurses. After his shift, he would go back to the barracks or go do whatever he wanted to do. He was discharged right from the hospital.

Calvin Blank was a PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class] by the time the war ended. When he returned home, he worked in a cleaning store. Then he decided he wanted to go to college. He had to go back to high school to take some courses to be eligible for college. He went to City College [Annotator's Note: The City College of New York in New York, New York] and then he transferred to NYU [Annotator' s Note: New York University in New York, New York]. He majored in real estate and insurance. After he got out of school, he went to work immediately for his uncle in the insurance business. He was an underwriter for fire insurance. He was in the insurance business for 60 years. The underwriters used to be in different categories, but as time went on, they merged. Companies wanted more than just fire insurance; they wanted to have everything. On his desk, he had all the manuals for fire and casualty. He was glad he got out of the business before they switched to computers. He retired in 1993.

Calvin Blank and the hospital staff [Annotator's Note: at Mason General Hospital in Long Island, New York] had to make a convoy of ambulances. There were about 40 ambulances. They had to drive from Brentwood, New York to Manhattan [Annotator's Note: Manhattan is one of the five boroughs in New York, New York] or to the piers. There was a hospital ship there. They had to unload the ship using stretchers. They loaded up all the ambulances and took the wounded to the hospitals. They took some veterans out to dinner and show on Broadway [Annotator's Note: Broadway theater district in New York, New York]. Blank does not think the war shaped him because he did not have a stressful job. He took care of patients and made sure they did not hurt themselves. He did not have the stress of not knowing he would make it through the day like some of the patients who were shell-shocked [Annotator's Note: psychological disturbance caused by prolonged exposure to active warfare, especially bombardment]. The Second World War was a good war because they [Annotator's Note: the Allies] were fighting for liberty for countries all over the world. Everyone was patriotic because they knew what they were fighting for. He does not know why they were fighting in Korea [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953], Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975], or the wars today [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview]. In the Second World War, they knew what they were fighting for, and they were proud. There were very few people that ran from the draft. Blank thinks it is good to educate people about why there was a Second World War.