William Lee Barnes was born in December 1926 in Cottondale, Florida. He started school in Saint Andrews, Florida but then moved to Alford [Annotator's Note: Alford, Florida] which is a few miles from Cottondale. The family lived on a farm and grew most of their food. Barnes' father also worked and earned a good living. Everyone thought he was paid well when he received a raise to two dollars a day for his labor. Barnes heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] and although he knew the location of Pearl Harbor, the event did not mean much to him at the time. He was 15 and attending school. It came to mean a lot to him as people around him volunteered or were drafted. Education was offered only through the tenth grade, so at 17 years of age, Barnes joined the Navy. His father agreed to sign an authorization for him to enlist. Barnes chose the Navy because of his early life interest in that branch of the service. A friend's uncle was a chief in the Navy and many discussions centered around him. By the second grade, Barnes was signing his name as Admiral Barnes. [Annotator's Note: Barnes chuckles.] He had great hopes. He did know that he did not want to be drafted.

William Lee Barnes enlisted in the Navy and was given basic training at Great Lakes [Annotator's Note: Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, Illinois] in Illinois. It was mighty cold for a fellow from Florida. He took swimming lessons and spent ten weeks in basic. He had a ten day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] after basic. Following leave, he was sent to San Francisco, California where he was assigned to the Bunker Hill [Annotator's Note: the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)] which had just come out of a repair yard. His selection for the crew was very random. It included an offer to train on any gun he wanted. He chose the 20mm [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] and rated as a Gunner's Mate striker. His job was to load ammunition magazines on the gun and to assist with any repairs needed on the weapon. The carrier left San Francisco bound for Pearl [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and then sailed on to the Pacific. Passing close to Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] at the beginning of 1945, the island was bombed intensely. The invasion had not yet started [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945]. Daily life on his carrier at that time consisted of continuous general quarters [Annotator's Note: battle stations] requiring eating and sleeping at the gun station. As the Bunker Hill sailed past Iwo Jima, he had no idea that his ship would be part of the invasion of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945, Okinawa, Japan].

William Lee Barnes does not remember seeing the island of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], but he does remember the continuous bombing flights taking off [Annotator's Note: at the Battle of Okinawa, code-named Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945]. He remembers the kamikazes slipping in to attack the ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)]. The enemy came in on Mother's Day in May 1945 while the crew was at general quarters [Annotator's Note: battle stations]. Preparations for the morning flights were underway. Some of the fighters for combat air patrol had previously been launched. Other aircraft were loaded with bombs and fuel. The first attacking plane dropped his bomb. It missed the ship, but the aircraft crashed into the deck starting a fire. The second plane came in and hit the island [Annotator's Note: name for the superstructure of an aircraft carrier]. Barnes was at his gun station at the end of the flight deck. Barnes was lucky. The two planes came in quickly. The action was over fast except for the crew trying to put out the fires. Barnes went to the hanger deck and returned to his station after the fire was extinguished. There were about 370 deaths due to the kamikazes. Smoke inhalation from burning gasoline killed many of those. A hatch had been left open making the casualty count worse. The ship started to list. It made a turn at 30 degrees and it helped eliminate some of the burning fuel. The Bunker Hill next went to Mogmog Island [Annotator's Note: Mogmog Island, Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands] which was a repair and recreational facility. From there, the ship sailed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and then to Bremerton, Washington. She was escorted by two destroyers. Barnes had a friend who was killed in the action. Only 30 or so in his division were left alive after the attack. Many bakers, cooks and storekeepers were killed below deck during the attack. Barnes was offered any number of jobs in the Supply Department. He could select which job he wanted. He thought becoming a baker would offer civilian opportunities after discharge. He knew nothing of what would be required, but he was trained for the position.

William Lee Barnes was aboard the Bunker Hill [Annotator's Note: USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)] while his crew mates were ashore celebrating the end of the war. He joined the celebrations later. He was discharged in 1946 but, after two months, he decided to reenlist. He received the same rate he had at discharge. He had always wanted to be in the Navy, so he rejoined. He was in the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 to 1953] serving as a cook and trainer aboard the USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697). His ship was hit by enemy fire while it was destroying buoys. It had been at battle stations prior to the enemy fire. Barnes was with the Chief Pharmacist's Mate in the Wardroom when they decided to go above deck and see what was happening. They saw the light onshore as the enemy fired on them. The projectile penetrated the ship and went through one of the officer's mattress while he was on it. The officer only received one scratch despite the bulkheads being distorted. No one else was injured in the incident. The Sperry fired a salvo at the location that fired on them. The enemy fire ceased after that. Following the Korean War, Barnes' rate was changed to Commissary which required more education. Subsequently, he went into teaching. He retired as a Master Chief in 1966. He had spent six or seven years in the Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia] area. He went on to spend 11 years in the Newport [Annotator's Note: Newport, Rhode Island] area. He had different jobs during those tenures. After being an instructor, he went to the Field Food Service Team with responsibilities from Washington, D.C. to Scotland. He never stayed on a ship or base more than two weeks. He was based in Newport during that time.

William Lee Barnes never had occasion to use the G.I. Bill. He had a job waiting for him after he took two weeks off after Navy retirement. He left the Navy in March [Annotator's Note: March 1966]. After several job moves around the state of Florida, he located in Mobile [Annotator's Note: Mobile, Alabama]. He built a home in Orange Beach [Annotator's Note: Orange Beach, Alabama] and subsequently moved there. The location has grown into a large tourist spot. Hurricane Fredrick blew through the area in 1979 and generated massive destruction. Things started to grow with the area reconstruction. Barnes had a lot of good times, nervous times, and fearful times in the service. Anyone who denies being afraid is not being truthful. The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is a good tribute to the military efforts in the conflict. Barnes has been there twice. He was particularly interested in seeing the Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat]. He was impressed with the Museum. People today do not understand what happened in World War 2. The questions about dropping the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] do not take into consideration the numbers of both Americans and Japanese who would be killed otherwise. The islands of Japan had been firebombed extensively and yet they were determined to fight. It took the emperor [Annotator's Note: Emperor Hirohito, also called Emperor Showa, Emperor of Japan] deciding to stop the fighting after the bombs were dropped.