Ira Milan was born in November 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up during the Great Depression, which was very rough on a family with seven children. His father managed to feed the family, but had to move them to Galveston, Texas to make a living at a shipyard. Milan learned the sheet metal trade from his dad. In 1940, he got homesick for New Orleans, and business there was picking up in the repair of old ships that had been sitting idle. He got a job at Todd-Johnson Shipyard, but didn't really realize how bad things were in Europe. He was too young to be concerned about anything more than making a good salary. Milan had money to buy a suit and a car, and have a girlfriend. He looks upon that time as a turning point in his life. On 7 December 1941, he was visiting his grandparents when the news came over radio that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese, but he still didn't know how serious things were. That realization finally came to him when his shipyard began repairing American ships that had been damaged by German torpedoes in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the young guys were joining up or getting drafted. When the draft board sent him their greeting card, he decided to join the Navy because he had always liked boats. When the recruiters learned of his work in metal craft, they suggested he join the Seabees [Annotator's Note: nickname given to members of naval construction battalions that is a play on the initials CB], where he could start with a rating of 3rd Class Petty Officer. Although the shipyard where he worked asked him to consider a deferment, he said he would rather go into service like all the rest of the young guys.

Adjustment to military life was only difficult at first for Ira Milan; for a couple of weeks he was lonesome, as were all the young men, but they got used to being away from home. Training was hard work, and even though the guys were soft, they had a lot of energy and could take it. Milan was trained in gunnery and signaling, neither of which he used. He learned how to march, and to take guns apart and put them back together blindfolded, but never used a rifle. Milan went from Williamsburg, Virginia to Camp Parks, California for advanced training in a special battalion, which was not special, but a stevedore outfit that loaded and unloaded whatever floated. Once he got overseas, he got to do a little bit of everything, and because building Quonset huts was basically sheet metal work, he got to use his trade skills. He worked on Attu and other islands in the Aleutians, which wasn't fun because it was cold out there. Milan was stationed at a base in the Philippines, building a supply depot and helping prepare for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. He was working the night shift on a liberty ship when Germany surrendered, and remembers being amazed at the amount of ammunition was being fired off the nearest island. He said it was quite a celebration, like the Fourth of July on the Mississippi River. He said everyone realized they would be going home pretty soon; they knew the Japanese couldn't hold out too much longer. He was still in the Philippines for V-J Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. Milan was glad to hear about the atomic bomb explosions because it meant the Japanese would finally give up. He has thought about it a lot, and believes dropping the atomic bombs was the right thing to do under the circumstances at that time. He thought the Japanese, and the Germans, were vicious people, made that way by their leaders.

Ira Milan went back the United States on a crowded ship, but the food was good on board, and it was a pleasant trip. He passed under the Golden Gate Bridge going into San Francisco, and within two weeks he was back in New Orleans, getting a discharge after three years of service. It was great, Milan said, to get home. He was able to resume his life within a week. He was back to his job at the shipyard, driving a new car, and living with his wife and two children. He admits that he picked up skills while he was in the Navy that helped him in his postwar life. The Seabees [Annotator's Note: nickname given to members of naval construction battalions that is a play on the initials CB] had to find ways to get things done, and it was always a "can-do" operation. While living in tents, they built docks and airports with no heavy equipment. Milan worked with the 68th Battalion [Annotator's Note: 68th Naval Construction Battalion] while he was in boot camp, then went to Davisville, Rhode Island for advanced training where he got sick with pneumonia and the outfit moved out. He was moved to the 8th Special Battalion [Annotator's Note: 8th Special Naval Construction Battalion], which was the next outfit scheduled to leave, and ended up in Attu, on the same assignment with all his friends from the 68th. After more training he had a long leave, and when he returned, he was reassigned to the 5th Special Battalion [Annotator's Note: 5th Special Naval Construction Battalion], and shipped out to the Philippines. Milan pointed out the contrast of working on Attu, where it was ice cold, to the Philippines, where it was jungle country.

Remembering his voyage to the Philippines, Ira Milan said he saw some real jungle country around New Guinea. During a week-long stop at a small naval base in the area, the crew did some sight-seeing. Milan went into the jungle to a big swimming hole, and saw real native life there. He said it was just as pictured in the movies. The natives were really ugly, wore skins, carried spears and walked around in groups. He said it was a real experience. The Seabees [Annotator's Note: nickname given to members of naval construction battalions that is a play on the initials CB] could not communicate with them because of the language barrier, and were instructed not to get involved with them because they were "jungle people." Afterward, Milan's unit [Annotator's Note: the 5th Special Naval Construction Battalion] joined a convoy of several hundred ships, made up of everything military, going to the Philippine Islands. The convoy was under attack during that time by Kamikazes, but the enemy planes only hit a few ships, sinking none. MacArthur [Annotator's Note: US Army General Douglas MacArthur] was getting off his landing craft and walking in the water shortly before Milan's ship pulled into Leyte Gulf. Moving further south, Milan's unit built a huge supply depot, and in this instance the Seabees had a lot to work with. Roads and airstrips were easy to build because the land was almost solid coral, which packed like concrete. Hauling materials was easier because of the smooth roads and good equipment. Milan notes that when the war ended, all that equipment and all those supplies stayed there, and the Filipinos were fighting over who would get all the discarded goods. Milan asserts the abandonment of the equipment was in accordance with an agreement the government had with the American unions, which ensured there would be ample work for the returning G.I.s in replacing all the items that were left behind.

Ira Milan feels it important that kids today learn about World War 2, and believes that all kids should undergo military training. He thinks that if there are museums about the war, there should be good ones, and is disappointed in the one in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum]. He has donated artifacts to that museum, and thinks that some of the things he donated might have been on display for only about 30 days. He said there is nothing much to see there, and would rather the museum was located outside of the city where more kinds of things could be displayed. To future Americans, Milan says to get the books and pictures and see what went on in the war; see what war is all about and know why there shouldn't be any wars. Milan said he appreciated the interview, but is always at a loss for words when discussing war; he avoids looking at the news on television these days because today's wars are different, and he turns it off.