Salvador Perino was born in March 1924. He grew up in the Irish Channel, New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] and attended high school there. He graduated in 1941 as the war was about to start. The draft was underway. Perino went with his cousin to Arkansas to haul produce. The two cousins knew that they would soon be called up for service. Perino opted to enter flight training in preparation for being a Navy pilot. He was largely enticed by the good pay. He entered the V-5 Program [Annotator's Note: V-5 US Navy Aviation Cadet Program, 1939 to 1943]. He was sent to Lafayette, Louisiana for civilian flight training. He attended Southwestern College [Annotator's Note: Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana] there and flew a Piper Cub [Annotator's Note: Piper J-3 Cub light observation aircraft] airplane. He was sent to Athens, Georgia for rugged preflight training. It was early 1942.

Salvador Perino was sent to Memphis, Tennessee to fly Stearmans [Annotator's Note: Boeing-Stearman Model 75 Kaydet or PT-13 primary trainer aircraft]. He practiced the types of flying appropriate for aircraft carrier duty. Next, he was sent to Corpus Christi [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas] where he commenced fighter training. George Bush [Annotator's Note: George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States] was being trained there at the same time as Perino. The baseball player, Stan Musial [Annotator's Note: Stanley Frank Musial, American baseball player], was also there. Perino was involved in an incident that nearly caused him to be washed out. He refused to follow the veteran instructor during a heavy weather situation. Perino and his friend, Eli Tanner [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify], flew a different route back to base. The two trainees made it safely although they immediately ran out of fuel upon landing. The veteran and other pilot had to ditch in a tobacco field in Texas. Perino had to stand before his commanding officer and explain his actions. He was almost washed out of flight training for disobeying his flight commander. The captain in charge of the base thought differently and only mildly punished Perino and his friend. Perino saw his fellow trainees go to separate assignments, but he finally received his wings. He was sent to fighter training in Florida. He was flying in relatively old and beat up aircraft no longer suitable for combat missions. His intended first roommate was killed during training. While up on a flight, Perino's engine stopped. He turned his nose down, found a landing spot and safely brought the ship down. He was lucky then as he was during the war. He was assigned to VC-97 [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron VC-97 (VC-97), USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91); also known as the Fishhook Squadron] in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. Squadron commander Captain Mark Whittier [Annotator's Note: US Navy Captain Mark Twain Whittier] was a rugged leader and decorated veteran of the Battle of Midway [Annotator's Note: Battle of Midway, 4 to 7 June 1942, Midway Atoll]. Whittier sunk two ships at Midway and received the Navy Cross [Annotator's Note: second-highest military decoration warded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force]. After flying up and down the west coast, the squadron was assigned to the Makassar Strait [Annotator's Note: USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91)]. Prior to the assignment, Perino witnessed an aeronautic exhibition by a 45-year-old skilled pilot [Annotator's Note: unintelligible]. The Makassar Strait was a good ship to serve on.

Salvador Perino liked his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91)]. The ship's force learned to respect the pilots when they saw the damage enemy fire inflicted on the returning airplanes. Initially, there was inflight training including target practice on towed targets prior to reaching their destination. When they reached the mooring at Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands], the Randolph [Annotator's Note: the USS Randolph (CV-15)] was hit by a Japanese kamikaze. Ulithi had recreational activities, including liquor, available for the crews taking rest there. Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945; Iwo Jima, Japan] was next after Ulithi. Perino and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron VC-97 (VC-97)] did combat air patrols around Iwo Jima. He fired rockets at what appeared to be a submarine. Other aircraft joined in the attack. Debris floated to the surface, but it was never determined if the submarine had been sunk. Most of the Japanese defensive fire from Iwo Jima was directed against the amphibious landing forces. It was terrible on the foot soldiers. Antiaircraft fire witnessed by Perino was much worse when he attacked ships. Firing rockets was not as forceful an impression as was the .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .50 caliber machine gun] fire against antiaircraft positions. Frank Waters [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) William Frank Waters Jr.] was shot down during the process.

Salvador Perino had flown other aircraft, but the FM-2 Wildcat [Annotator's Note: Grumman FM-2 Wildcat fighter aircraft] was like flying a brick. It had a lot of torque. He was better off landing on a carrier than on land. He had some rough landings in the plane. His first reaction was to turn the ignition off when he had a rough landing. He got used to landing on a carrier but in rough weather, the pilot had to carefully watch the signal officer [Annotator's Note: the landing signal officer or LSO] very closely to cut the engine at the right time to correctly hit the wire [Annotator's Note: aircraft carrier restraining wires which stopped the momentum of the landing aircraft]. One of Perino's friends cut into four friendly aircraft when he landed improperly. At Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan], Perino and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron VC-97 (VC-97), USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91)] supported the Marines as they made advances on the island. Spotter aircraft aided in directing airborne firepower. The few enemy kamikazes Perino witnessed were mostly shot down. His ship even came under attack. Perino had to wait for the action to clear to return to his carrier. Perino experienced flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] over Okinawa. Being the last plane in an attack formation could be fatal. At Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945; Iwo Jima, Japan], Japanese fire was directed mainly against American landing forces, not aircraft. Okinawa had heavier antiaircraft fire. The Makassar Strait [Annotator's Note: USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91)] was sent to assist the British when they were having heavy losses. That was a time of substantial enemy antiaircraft fire. In the Philippines, the jeep carriers [Annotator's Note: small aircraft carriers used to support ground troops] took a lot of fire. Ishigaki [Annotator's Note: Ishigaki Island, Japan] was where Perino had the most damage to his aircraft due to enemy fire. He had been on a strafing run against enemy gun positions. He did not realize his wing had sustained damage. He used his homing device to find his way back to the ship. Explaining how the device operated, Perino donated that device to the Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. Perino switched aircraft when he detected a mechanical problem prior to takeoff on a mission. He was flying to identify incoming aircraft as friend or foe. He saw enemy aircraft coming. His buddy, Tom Collins [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify] was killed during a landing when he came in short. The men raised a toast to him. The dead airman had requested they do so with some liquor he had brought aboard the ship. The hospital also had brandy for the returning pilots after a mission.

Salvador Perino's ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91)] was brought to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] for repairs resulting from a mine [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact] concussion. Movies were shown while the crews rested. Enemy troops were captured attempting to watch those movies. Perino was in combat for 13 months. He returned to Hawaii prior to the end of the war. He was there when the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] were dropped. The war ended. There was no celebration for Perino. He had to wait for a ship to return to the United States. He landed in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. He was not anxious to stay in the Navy. He received medals in Hawaii for his service including a Distinguished Flying Cross [Annotator's Note: the Distinguished Flying Cross, or DFC, is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight]. [Annotator's Note: Perino shows a shadow box with his medals.] After the war, Perino worked with his father in Burris, Louisiana in the produce business. He reunited with the young lady who would become his future wife. They were married after a courtship. His father had a dancehall and sponsored a large reception for the newlyweds. Perino went into business shortly thereafter. He had worked in high school for a man with a fruit stand. The man was very tough and demanding. It made Perino tough. He started a business with his wife. They both worked hard and started Perino's Garden Center. He put the business and everything else in his family's name. He worked hard with his wife and made a success of his career. He had a recent accident that prevented him from doing what he was capable of doing before. It is important to show the future generations how tough the war was. Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal Campaign, 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] was a particularly tough experience for American troops. It is important to have The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to educate people about the war. The museum in Pensacola [Annotator's Note: now the National Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida] is important to teach future generations about people like Butch O'Hare [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare]. Perino attended reunions after the war to reconnect with his wartime friends.