William C. Ellzey was born in September 1922 in Agricola, Mississippi. The oldest of nine children, he grew up on a 40-acre, family farm. He and his siblings graduated from the local high school. The Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] did not have an impact on his family because everyone was financially independent. At age 14, he went to work with a wealthy uncle and sent the money home to his family. Ellzey knew of the ongoing war in the late 1930s as he followed it in the local newspapers. Knowing war was imminent and wanting to avoid the Army, Ellzey joined the Navy in May 1941. He did not like the idea of living in foxholes or doing maneuvers at Camp Shelby [Annotator’s Note: Camp Shelby, Mississippi]. He was sent to Norfolk, Virginia for basic training. Though he helped raise his brothers and sisters, the severe discipline in the Navy was a shock for him. The emphasis placed on killing convinced Ellzey to seek training as a hospital corpsman so that he could save lives. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Ellzey was stationed at a brand new Naval hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. He knew war was inevitable and credits President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] with preparing the nation for war. Ellzey wanted revenge for the attack and was gung ho to join the fight.

William C. Ellzey joined the Navy [Annotator’s Note: in May 1941] and trained as a hospital corpsman in Portsmouth, Virginia. Ellzey was stationed at a brand new Naval hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. After short stops at naval hospitals in Brooklyn, New York, and San Francisco, Ellzey was deployed to Auckland, New Zealand where he was a member of the United States Navy Mobile Hospital #4. While stationed in the Pacific, Ellzey had virtually no contact with his family and rarely knew exactly where he was stationed. All of his mail was censored. Ellzey’s main job was to evacuate the wounded and bring them back to the United States. Throughout this time, he made rate and oversaw locating and offloading medical supplies from ships while stationed on Espiritu Santo [Annotator’s Note: Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu]. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee stands up and stops interview at 0:28:30.000.] His unit evacuated about 3,500 wounded per week. If the wounded could be sent back to duty, his unit would patch them up and send them back to their units.

William C. Ellzey, a corpsman in the US Navy, evacuated the wounded from Pacific islands and brought them back to the United States during World War 2. His typical day was “hurry up and wait.” [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee begins to cough and gets up and leaves the camera at 0:32:00.000.] He discusses the relationships between corpsmen and doctors and nurses. The nurses were the nicest people and very dedicated. They handled the medication and measuring out proper doses for the patients. Ellzey was promoted quickly through the ranks because of his role as corpsman. The worst part of his job was monotony when he was not in the combat zone. In 1944, he was transferred from the Pacific Theater and assigned to the USS Croatan (CVE-25) on escort duty in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. The ship had to be careful of the glaciers. When the war with Germany ended, the Croatan was converted to a troop carrier and transported GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] home from Europe. His ship was protected by destroyers. Ellzey was on the Croatan near Rhode Island when he heard the Germans had surrendered. He was elated when he heard that the Japanese had surrendered. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee pauses to think about the Japanese surrender and his wife comes in to prompt him at 0:46:25.000.]

When the Japanese surrendered [Annotator’s Note: The Japanese surrender was announced 15 August 1945, and officially signed 2 September 1945], William C. Ellzey was on a PT-Boat [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] near the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. He had a hatred towards Tojo [Annotator's Note: Hideki Tojo; former Imperial Japanese Army General and prime minister of Japan] and Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. He arrived home in Mississippi during a rainstorm. He could not find a ride home, so he walked and reunited with his parents when they were about to sit down for breakfast. It had been four years since he had last seen his parents. He had a sister that was still in Mobile [Annotator’s Note: Mobile, Alabama]. His other siblings had also moved on from his parents’ house. He continued to serve in the Navy after the war, rising in the ranks and working for high officials such as an admiral and commander. He also worked at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee begins to cough and gets up from the interview at 0:53:40.000. Wife interjects into the interview at 0:53:48.000.] He enjoyed serving in the Navy, there is no place better. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee gets up from interview at 0:55:48.000.] Ellzey remained in the Navy until 1961. During this time, he worked for seven years for the Navy in Washington, D.C. before being assigned to the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in the 1950s. The ship was commissioned in Newport News [Annotator’s Note: Newport News, Virginia]. He speaks admirably about the Forrestal and its status as the first super-carrier. He thought that the doctor on the ship was very friendly and intelligent. He held the rank of chief petty officer and took care of everything. While aboard ship, he went to Guantanamo Bay [Annotator’s Note: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba], the Caribbean, and South America. He spent most of his time on the Forrestal on the flight deck.

After World War 2, William C. Ellzey remained in the Navy until 1961. He was assigned to the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in the 1950s. He recalled going to Le Havre, France to pick up over 1,000 troops to bring them back to the United States, and then did it again around Christmas time [Annotator’s Note: year unspecified, but likely 1945]. Since he was a corpsman, he had to help the troops with their sea sickness and their pos-ttraumatic stress from combat. He was a hospital corpsman when he retired in 1960. By the time he retired, he had married a woman and wanted to start a life with her. He found a job working for a drug company and later managed a medical clinic.

William C. Ellzey’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945] because of the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. He fought for his country and family. He remarked how great New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York] was and that the people were fabulous. The war changed his life because he went from being a country boy to working with admirals and commanders in the Navy. He still believes in Christ and is a strong Christian. He is glad to receive the benefits of having served in the military. He is concerned about America because of the radicalism in the country today. It causes confusion and divisiveness. Ellzey believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because it was different from all wars.