Survival at sea

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Zamperini, Louis 47 Day Adrift, 18 Months of Torture and Being Born Again
They [Annotator's Note: Louis Zamperini, his pilot and their tail gunner] spent 47 days fighting off sharks, the...
Henleben, Edwin A Week on Attu
Edwin Henlebin described the beachhead as glutted with supplies. The problem was getting the material from the beach to...
Downs, Raymond Abandoning Ship
Raymond Downs finally got up the stairs and found the captain in the pilot house. The captain said they needed to get...
Roy, William Abandoning the USS Yorktown (CV-5)
[Annotator's Note: William G. Roy served in the Navy as a Photographer's Mate 2nd Class aboard the aircraft carrier USS...
Fitz, Robert Aboard Ship Training and Service
When he was told that he would be trained aboard ship as a gunner, Robert Fitz was "mystified." He arrived at the main...
Driscoll, Edward Action in the Philippines, Kamikaze Hits and War's End
They [Annotator's Note: Edward Driscoll and Torpedo Squadron 13 (VT-13), USS Franklin (CV-13)] left Leyte [Annotator's...
Payn, Thomas Action on the High Seas
According to Thomas Payn, the Atlantic convoys were under attack from E-boats [Annotator's Note: German Schnellboot or...
Giroir, J. Actions in the Pacific
J. L. Giroir wrote to his mother on the Fourth of July [Annotator's Note: 4 July 1944], and although he could not tell...
Yusen, Jack Adrift at Sea and Being Rescued
[Annotator's Note: Jack Yusen served in the Navy as a gunner aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). The Samuel B....
Downs, Raymond Adrift at Sea and Rescued by a Shrimp Boat
Raymond Downs was in the water for almost 20 hours with no food. On the horizon, he could see 27 shrimping boats. He...
Lefever, Paul Advanced Training and Deployment
After gunnery school, Paul Lefever underwent training at Buckley Field, Colorado for pursuit armors training and had...
Bailey, Raymond After the First Explosion
Raymond Bailey was on the mess deck washing cups when he felt the first shudder caused by the bomb hit [Annotator's...
Nelson, Walter After the Lexington sunk
Walter Nelson was only 19 years old at the time [Annotators Note: at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea]. The USS...
Marks, James American Samoa
James Marks was on a ship that was carrying people to American Samoa. The ship tied up at the pier and he decided to...
McEwen, Richard Anecdotes
During the 13 months that Richard McEwen was in combat, he described the Japanese activity where he was as a "backup...
Manasse, Fred Arriving in America
The day after they arrived in Spain, Fred Manasse and his brother caught a train to Barcelona, Spain where they stayed...
Kopp, Alois Arriving in Burma and Survival
Alois Kopp escaped from a sinking Hell Ship and swam to the beach on Burma only to be recaptured by the Japanese. The...
Tizzard, Thomas Assigned to the USS Helena and the Battle of Kula Gulf
Thomas Tizzard was assigned to the USS Helena (CL-50) and sent to Nouméa, New Caledonia. A person had told him the...
Riddle, Robert Assignment to the SS Typhoon
Robert Riddle was assigned to the Merchant Marine ship SS Typhoon, transporting supplies and soldiers throughout the...
Spencer, John Assuming Battle Stations on the USS Maryland (BB-46)
John Curtis Spencer said the USS Maryland (BB-46) was inboard of the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), and because the Oklahoma...
Stone, Edward Attack on Pearl Harbor
Edward Stone began his morning duty [Annotator’s Note: 7 December 1941 aboard the USS Pyro (AE-1) in Pearl Harbor] with...
Childs, J. Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the battleship, J. W. Childs said, it was mandatory for a sailor to wear his white hat if he went outside of his...
McCaslin, Lorraine "Lorraine Taix" Backstory of a Radioman
Lorainne (nee Taix) McCaslin was born [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to French immigrant parents who...
Marcantel, Bernard Basic Training and Deployment
Remarkably, Bernard Marcantel claims, he went through three basic trainings: after Camp Fanning, in Texas, he was...
Davis, Charles Battle of Kula Gulf and Loss of the USS Helena (CL-50)
Charles Davis then went to Kula Gulf. [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Kula Gulf took place in the early hours of 6...
Westcott, Marvin Battle of Midway
Marvin Westcott was aboard the USS Balch (DD-363) while she earned nine battle stars supporting the USS Enterprise (CV-...
Fulton, Robert Battle of Sunda Strait
Robert Fulton and the USS Houston (CA-30) and the HMAS Perth ran into a Japanese landing force late on the night of 28...
Tacket, Henry Battle off Samar
Henry A. Tacket was aboard the USS Heermann (DD-532) when the invasion of the Philippines started. The initial landings...
Beaman, William Battle Record of the USS Flasher (SS-249)
One memorable experience that came to mind for William Beaman was when his submarine, the USS Flasher (SS-249), sank...
Clay, Russell Battle Stations
Russell Clay always served below deck during engagements with the enemy [Annotator's Note: he was a crewman aboard the...
Prince, Robert Becoming a Ranger
[Annotator's Note: Robert Prince volunteered to be a Ranger while in Port Moresby, New Guinea.] They moved to...
Edwards, Troy Becoming a Sailor
Troy Edwards entered boot camp in San Diego. It was a lonesome experience for him. He did find a friend to talk to...
Grapes, Opal Becoming an Army Nurse
Opal Grapes joined the Army and reported for duty at Foster General Hospital in Temple, Texas. She underwent training...
Kopp, Alois Being Captured
Alois Kopp was in the water for nine hours before being picked up by Japanese [Annotator’s Note: After his ship, the...
Theodore, Theodore Bombing Balikpapan
The missions Theodore Theodore flew to Balikpapan, Borneo were "prime" experiences of the year he spent in the Pacific...
Field, Edward Bombing Missions and Ditching
Edward Field was a navigator and an officer but also enjoyed associating with enlisted men. He discovered that one of...

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