WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:16.239 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Columbus. Our guest in this edition is 2 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:20.679 Al Hanson. He's a US Navy veteran of World War Two. And mister 3 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.199 Hanson, thank you very much for being with us. Thank you. Where 4 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:27.800 were you born and raised there? Born in Hollywood, California, raised in 5 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:36.600 Chicago and Jacksonville Beach, Florida. And what do you remember about Pearl Harbor? 6 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.759 What do you remember hearing that day and your reaction to it. I 7 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:45.039 was probably thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, and it's the first 8 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:51.640 time I ever heard my father swear. When they said that Japanese had bombed 9 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:58.000 Pearl Harbor, my father led out some very foul language. That's the first 10 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.840 time in all those years that he was very angry. He went down and 11 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:07.000 tried to enlist, and they told him he was too old and that he 12 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:12.560 had responsibility of four children. And so obviously, being thirteen or fourteen, 13 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.680 you couldn't enlist yet. So at what point were you able to do that? 14 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:23.560 Well, a couple of years passed and Dad passed away too much smoking 15 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:29.159 in his time, and my mother was a waitress, and in those days 16 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:34.680 waitresses only worked for tips, so if she would work eight hours, she 17 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:40.560 might come home with thirty cents for the whole day of working. Two bedroom 18 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:46.040 coal water flat in Jacksonville Beach, Florida was twelve to eighteen dollars a month. 19 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.840 She didn't make that much money, so we were moving quite often, 20 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:56.120 and it was suggested that I go into the service. But I was at 21 00:01:56.200 --> 00:02:00.519 the age of sixteen, and so they can to her to sign a piece 22 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:07.799 of paper that said that I was seventeen. Then she could get half of 23 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:10.840 my wages, which I can't remember, but I think was about thirty dollars 24 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:17.840 a month, the whole wages, so she ended up with at least fifteen 25 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:23.960 dollars which paid for the rent. She never knew I went overseas. I 26 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:30.280 convinced her that I was in California and spending most of my time on the 27 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:34.199 beaches and relaxing. And I assume you were the oldest of the four children. 28 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:37.199 I was the oldest, And so what were you really doing once you 29 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.439 joined the service? Well, I started off here at North Island after I 30 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:46.840 finished boot camp in Camp Perie, Virginia, and I came down here to 31 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:53.400 San Diego, and I was a back seater in the SPD. That lasted 32 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:58.840 about three months here in San Diego, and the next thing I know, 33 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:02.719 I was a starboard scunner on a Liberator, the B twenty four, and 34 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:09.400 we went out to Hawaii and then hit a couple of violence, lost about 35 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:14.319 half of the squadron, and I can't tell you even the number of the 36 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:20.080 squadron VPB something. We came back and then we shipped out again, and 37 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:24.639 then we shipped out in privateers, which was a B twenty four, but 38 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:32.319 the B twenty four hit only two single fifties. Port had starboard and the 39 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:40.680 private privateer had twin fifties with turrets on the side, so we could cross 40 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:47.159 fire underneath the aircraft, and that stopped the Japanese from coming up and shooting 41 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:53.000 out the engines from underneath. Let's follow up on both of those things. 42 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:54.680 First of all, before we get to the bombers. He said you were 43 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.599 a backseater on an SPD, So I explained what type of craft that is 44 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.599 and what your role as a backseater was. The plane was Douglas Dauntless dive 45 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:09.840 bomber, and as a matter of fact, there's a model right out here 46 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:17.240 and the backseater had twin thirty caliber machine guns, which were pretty much worthless 47 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:24.839 because thirty calibers only went so far and the Japanese knew it. Fortunately, 48 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:30.920 I didn't end up on an aircraft carrier flying in one of those, And 49 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.920 so what was that like. You're working at an aircraft carrier now, of 50 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:38.360 course seventy some years later, but what was it like actually operating on one. 51 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:43.519 The only time I spent was on the aircraft carrier Barocco, and that 52 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:46.199 was after the war, and I spent three months on it. The rest 53 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.839 of the time we were land based, being flying bombers, so we were 54 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:57.439 always land based. How did you get reassigned from the dive bombers to the 55 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:02.480 B twenty fours. Well, it was through the situation where when the machine 56 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:09.120 gun you fired the machine gun in the back there was a little break so 57 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:14.399 that the machine gun would stop and would go over the tail. Well, 58 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.000 after a little while, that little bump would wear down and if you shot, 59 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:23.480 you might hit the top of the tail. I hit the top of 60 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:28.160 the tail. So they put me in bombers. Probably turned out to be 61 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.120 better for you, though much better. I'm still here now. Bombers of 62 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:34.920 course had their own dangers, as we all know. Talk about your role 63 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:38.399 as a waist gunner. What are you looking for? How do you engage 64 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:43.920 the enemy if it happens? Well, primarily we were flying roughly around seven 65 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:49.160 thousand feet in the air, not too much high altitude, and if anything 66 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:55.720 came toward us, we were firing single fifties out of portholes. They were 67 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:02.759 just a little squirrel areas port harbored. And then you had a bow gunner, 68 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:06.920 tail gunner, upper gunner, and belly gunner. Where were you based 69 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:15.399 when we went overseas? The only island I do remember was Guam, and 70 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:21.279 after that we were in Laity and then Pullauen Hole in the Philippines. And 71 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.439 when the war ended, I was still in Pulauen. So as the island 72 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:31.399 campaign proceeded, so did your base about it? We were in the spargeant. 73 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:38.720 Then was VPB one of six? Did you have particular targets usual targets? 74 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:45.639 Anything that floated on the China Sea was either strafed or bombed because it 75 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:51.639 would have been the enemy. When were you actually deployed, Probably early forty 76 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:57.319 four, somewhere in there. I can't remember too well. So how much 77 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:00.879 Japanese resistance from the air and particular were you getting by the time you were 78 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:06.399 engaging in these bombing runs. Not too much anymore. It was we had 79 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:13.519 pretty well taken over the air from the Japanese. Every once in a while 80 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:18.600 there'd be something that would fly towards you and maybe shoot or something, and 81 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:25.000 they would get shot back at, and especially with the privateer because when you 82 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:30.000 think about it, there were twelve fifty caliber machine guns ready to shoot at 83 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:33.879 you. So they left here alone pretty much. Did you have fighter escorts 84 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:40.199 at all once in a great while, Not often, because we were primarily 85 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:45.639 patrolled and we take off in the morning, fly around looking for any think 86 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:50.199 that was floating on the China Sea, and then come back. Given the 87 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:55.680 limited Japanese air resistance, would you say a typical mission meant that you were 88 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:01.560 not firing pretty much. So I was in little combat, not that much, 89 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:05.600 not just for some of my buddies. We're in really some bad ones 90 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:11.360 and it all depended if the Japanese were out, it might be on Monday, 91 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.680 well we might be flying Wednesday or viceverse. It's just a matter of 92 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:20.959 whether you're schedules. That's right overlapped on the same bears. So for some 93 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.199 of those times where you did engage, talk to me about what that was 94 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.319 like for you. Well, at the age of about seventeen and eighteen years 95 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:33.720 of age, you were invincible, so you would never be killed. That 96 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:39.200 was our attitude. And so if they fired at us, we fired back 97 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.639 at them. Did we get any hits? We think we did. We 98 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:48.720 didn't see anything go down in flames, but we did see some go down, 99 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:54.840 and that was about it. It was nothing that I felt was dangerous. 100 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:00.759 It probably was, but when you're that young, it's not at seven 101 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.840 thousand feet could you see whether you hit what you were aiming at pretty much, 102 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:09.159 so your gun sights weren't that great. So for every four rounds the 103 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:15.279 ammunition, the fifth round was a tracer. So if you've looked where your 104 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.600 tracers were going, if they were going beneath the enemy aircraft, you've raised 105 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:22.519 your gun up, then you would give a hit. What kind of communication 106 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:28.600 was required between you and the other gunners in those situations, well port and 107 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:35.159 starboard, you've padded one another on the back because the radio worked sometimes and 108 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.759 sometimes most of the times it didn't, and the noise from where we were 109 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:45.240 we had four engines, Pratt and Whitney engines, so you couldn't hear anything. 110 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:48.279 You could barely hear your fifty calibers going. That's the reason why we're 111 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:52.960 hearing gays. What was that like? Day after day? It didn't pay 112 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:58.679 attention to it. Nobody talked about hearing problems, and I never worried about 113 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.320 it to the later run in life and died. Carol of my wife, 114 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.360 would say, did you hear me? No? Fortunately I went to the 115 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:11.639 BA and ended up getting you some here at the age. Well, mister 116 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.080 Hanson, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more 117 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:18.600 of your story here on Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus and our guest is 118 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:22.320 Al Hanson, a US Navy veteran of World War Two. We'll be right 119 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:26.720 back. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus, honored to be joined 120 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:31.039 today by Al Hanson, a US Navy veteran of World War Two. Served 121 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:37.120 as a gunner aboard B twenty fours during World War Two, who is also 122 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.840 a backseater on a dive bomber prior to that, and Sir, one of 123 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.440 the things I've noticed in speaking with members of bomber crews is the cohesiveness of 124 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:50.799 the bomb crew itself, from the pilot all the way down to what are 125 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:54.320 usually I think ten members of the crew talk to me about the men on 126 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.440 your crew and how often you were able to work together and what kind of 127 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.080 bond you built. Well much when we were on land and not flying, 128 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:09.440 we were all together in one quanstant hut for the all enlisted officers had their 129 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:15.159 own, but we were pretty tight. We had water near us, so 130 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:20.279 we were in the ocean, swimming, relaxing, playing cards, checkers, 131 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:28.480 whatever. But when we did fly, it was pretty much port and starboard. 132 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:33.879 We didn't talk to the tail gunner because he had his responsibilities. Billy 133 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.799 Gunner had his up there, and Bow had theirs. Bobby Deer doing his 134 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:45.559 own thing, so it was to each his own type thing, and the 135 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:48.480 only two that really got to talk to one another it was port and starboard 136 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:54.080 waist gunners. Do you feel like you all kind of had an understanding of 137 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:56.840 each other and just knew what each other was going to do in a given 138 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:03.080 situation pretty much? So when you think about it, we came from the 139 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:09.519 East coast to the West coast to the Middle States, what have you. 140 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:16.440 And so we were from all over the United States and it was very interesting 141 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:20.720 because some had a New York accent. I had a little twink as I 142 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:26.279 had lived in Florida. We were a real tight group. As we were. 143 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:30.440 I have to think that was a good thing in general, just to 144 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.879 meet people from regardless of the work, the important work you were doing together, 145 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.519 just to meet and understand people from different parts of the country. True 146 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.039 it was. And when it was all over, like I said, we 147 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:48.279 were in Palawan and they did this horrible thing to us. Admiral van Hook 148 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:56.600 was stationed down in Australia and Admiral van Hook had the job of closing all 149 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:03.600 the bases in all the islands Philippine, Australia, in New Zealand. So 150 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:09.639 he needed a plane. So we were selected because we were the junior crew 151 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:15.279 of the squadron and those that had their forty missions came home those that didn't. 152 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:20.840 So they busted up the squadron and all the crews went to various other 153 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:28.679 squadrons and we were selected to fly down to Melbourne, Australia, remove all 154 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:31.320 the guns, turrets and what have you, and set it up for Admiral 155 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:37.639 van Hook to fly around. Well, once it had happened, they didn't 156 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:41.840 need five of us that included me, and so well we could go home. 157 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:46.879 No, they put me in charge. I want you to think about 158 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:54.399 this. I was probably seventeen and a half, maybe eighteen, and put 159 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:00.759 me in charge of the motor pool. I had hundreds of automobiles, all 160 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:07.480 the free guests that you could use. And I was in Sydney, Australia 161 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:15.679 for about ten months. That was terrible. We didn't have barracks, so 162 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:24.200 they set us up and spoil one bedroom apartments and we ate out every day. 163 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:28.759 We took our chits in. We got money for it, and in 164 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:33.639 those days it was pounds, shillings and pits. We did that for ten 165 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:37.919 months. Sounds rough. It was terrible. I bet you had a pretty 166 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:41.200 good time. We did. We made up for the war. Did you 167 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:43.600 want to leave when it was time to leave? No? Oh my goodness. 168 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:46.720 Well, mister Hanson, let's take another quick break. When we come 169 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:52.200 back, we'll have much more of your story here on Veterans Chronicles. This 170 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:54.840 is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition A is 171 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.960 Al Hanson. A US Navy veteran of World War Two. He served at 172 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.519 a gunner aboard the B twenty fours, and I was just telling us about 173 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:09.000 the very rough duty he had following the end of World War Two, as 174 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:15.519 he was forced to be in Australia with all sorts of vehicles that were fully 175 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:20.679 gassed at his disposal. And quite quite a lovely time actually in Australia. 176 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.080 But as we were talking in the breakout, you mentioned that you were on 177 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.919 the island of Palau when the war ended. But while that was nice, 178 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.440 and getting into the ocean at times was nice, there were some other things 179 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:35.360 that on Palau that were not as fun as I said before. As we 180 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:43.440 landed and got off the plane, we could smell this oder and I made 181 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:48.320 to comment, what the hill is this smell? And I think it was 182 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.799 a marine said, hey, Saylor, come here. Took me to this 183 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.879 great, big pit and it was just it was empty. And he said, 184 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:03.279 the Japanese put four hundred prisoners down there, and they were Americans, 185 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:11.960 Australians, England and some veterans from the actual Philippine group. And they poured 186 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:17.240 gasoline on him and burned them. And as they came out, they shot 187 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.519 him. Then they just filled it all up with dirt again because they were 188 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:25.840 all dead. Well, our people had come back and cleaned it all up 189 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:30.600 and buried them, but the odor was still in the dirt. And that 190 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:36.519 was the smell that we were smelling now. That made VPB one oh six 191 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:44.279 very angry. And when they were on patrol. As I said before, 192 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:52.039 anything that floated on the China Sea was either bombed or strafed. It was 193 00:16:52.240 --> 00:17:00.759 not floating anymore. That was the hatred for this unbelievable situation. You had 194 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:03.440 plenty of motivation before, but that took it to a new did it and 195 00:17:03.599 --> 00:17:07.720 did it so you could see, given your low altitude, if you bombed 196 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.359 something in the China Sea, you could tell if you got a hit. 197 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:15.119 Oh, yes, very much so. And so your accuracy was pretty good. 198 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:18.599 It sounds like it was very good. Our bombardier. Was that something 199 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.960 that got honed over time or by the time training was done. The bombardiers 200 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.160 could pretty much do that over time pretty much. How long would you say 201 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:33.160 you spent on those missions over the China Sea? Oh, sometimes five hours, 202 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.759 maybe six. It all depended did we have enough fuel to do what 203 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:45.480 we wanted to do. We took what they call pie sectors. Our plane 204 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.559 would take this section out, that section over back, somebody else would take 205 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:56.319 this out back, and we just cut the whole situation and cover the whole 206 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:02.480 China Sea at from our location. By the time you were doing these missions, 207 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:06.240 how active were the Japanese in the China Sea. It was pretty near 208 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:12.000 over form, pretty much so. And what they had done before we took 209 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:21.759 over Pullawen was pretty terrible. Once we took over Pullen, that was one 210 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:26.079 of their main areas of their squadrons, and we took it all over. 211 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:33.400 And I still have some photographs of old beat up beddies and what have you 212 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:37.400 and zeros that we're on the ground that we bombed and streaped. Talk a 213 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.920 little bit more about the targets that pretty much what you were seeing on the 214 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.400 ground, certainly, What about in the sea itself, what kind of targets 215 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:48.240 we're out there? Well, if it might be a tanker, there might 216 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:52.799 be a freighter, there might be what looked like fishing boats. Well, 217 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:57.640 we've probably had Japanese soldiers on under what have you? What? Like I 218 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.680 said, whatever float it was into me. So it was strafed and sunk. 219 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:08.880 How much ammunition did you have on a given run. Well, each 220 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:18.079 each gun carried about a thousand rounds, and then there was always under the 221 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.039 thousand or so belts that you could add to it if you wanted to. 222 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:30.000 About in the bombing bay we were running probably two hundred pounders, there was 223 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:33.799 some one hundred pounders, and if we had long runs, we'd only use 224 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:40.279 half of the bomb bay and the other half was a gas tank and we'd 225 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:45.200 add the fuel to that so that we could do a longer run. By 226 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.079 the time the Japanese surrendered wasn't much of a surprise. Let's put it this 227 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:52.200 way. First, had you heard about the atomic bombings? By the time 228 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:57.359 the surrender happened, we had no knowledge of it. I don't take the 229 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:04.119 officers did either, because they were obviously told us. But once it was 230 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:11.559 over and we got to sound the war has ended, and then we found 231 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:17.559 out that they dropped atomic boats only after the fact. Yes, what was 232 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.240 your reaction to hearing that we can go home? But the way it was 233 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:23.480 ended about the jew I mean, when you heard that there were atomic weapons 234 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:27.960 used? Did that shock you? Were you surprised? Well, most of 235 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:33.000 us were looking at each other and saying, what's an atomic bomb? Because 236 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:38.240 it was the biggest secret in the United States. So for us to be 237 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:45.480 in the island trying to protect ourselves, we're about an atomic boat, sounding 238 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:52.319 like a cartoon in Disneyland. It was a surprise given the estimates for US 239 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:57.559 casualties if there had been an amphibious invasion of Japan. How grateful are you 240 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:04.880 that that wasn't necessary? Extremely grateful. We'd have lost at least another four 241 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:11.839 or five hundred America for thousand Americans because it was I'll say one thing, 242 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:17.039 that Japanese would a foot to the last man in woman, just like they 243 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:21.920 did on every island. That's right. Yeah, I've got I've had a 244 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:29.839 few friends that were an Okinawan. It's just unbelievable what our marines went through 245 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.599 in the army. And when when I think of where I was in an 246 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:40.759 aircraft and they were on the ground, I wasn't even in the war when 247 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:45.079 you consider it, I mean they were almost face to face shooting at each 248 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:49.279 other hand to hand. Sometimes that's not to limit the danger you were in. 249 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:53.200 The bombers had plenty of risks. So don't don't don't feel like you 250 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.680 gave lesser service. You did the job that you were sent to do well. 251 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.839 We do think about the Battle of Midway. We sent out at fifty 252 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:07.799 seven planes and seven came back. That's two guys to each plane. That 253 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:14.000 is sad. What did you do after the war? There? Married Australian 254 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:18.920 girl, went over and lived in Australia for about three or four years, 255 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:25.920 and got a divorce and came back here and was going to go to work 256 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:33.160 for what to call the Utah Construction Company down in Brazil and found out that 257 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:37.640 they went belly up and they couldn't go down there. So my mother made 258 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:45.839 the comment which was very convincing, Sonny, a rolling stone grabs no moss. 259 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:49.079 You've got to get a job and stay here. So I went to 260 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:53.079 work for the phone company. I was going to move down to Brazil, 261 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.440 and six months later I found out that they had gone belly up. So 262 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.519 thirty one years later I retired from Pacific Telephone. Now I have to back 263 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:07.279 up the Australian girl. Did you meet her on that in Australia at the 264 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:11.000 end of the war. After the war, I thought that might be a 265 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:17.240 coda to that story. And so did you stay active and in touch with 266 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:22.519 your fellow veterans and veterans issues or was it only when he got involved with 267 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:26.759 the Midway that kind of It's the only time I've discussed this, is it 268 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.799 the seventeen years that I've been on a Midway. It's just most World War 269 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:37.599 Two veterans never talked about it. I never discussed it at home to nobody, 270 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:41.240 but I have since I've been here. I think I've said more today. 271 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:45.880 I said, in probably seventeen years, what made you want to be 272 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.440 part of the Midway Museum when it opened? Oh my god, that's another 273 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:56.839 story in itself. My Australian son that was born in Australia, Leon, 274 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:03.079 he and his wife and family came over and from Australia and we were in 275 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:07.240 the house and I said, Leon, what would you like to do? 276 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.200 And he said, I want to go down to the Midway aircraft carrier and 277 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:12.920 look at it. And I said, why would you want to do that? 278 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:17.440 You never been in the military. Well, I'd like to go down. 279 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:21.880 So we came down. When we left the ship, we walked around 280 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:23.599 and the thing went up to the bridge and so on and so forth. 281 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:29.519 And we were walking to the parking lot to get in the car and I 282 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:33.160 said to Carol, you know, I think I'd like to volunteer. You've 283 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:37.440 never volunteered for anything in your life. What's the matter with you? Anyway? 284 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:42.240 I was in class fourteen and on the midway and now I think they're 285 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.319 up to about sixty eight. What does it mean to you to visit with 286 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:49.039 people at veterans especially, but just the general public. When we had the 287 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:55.279 Chinese coming over here in bus loads, I'm going to stand up and turned 288 00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.480 around to let you look at the back on my jacket. It's called a 289 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:04.839 blood shit and you carried it in your pocket. In the event that we 290 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:12.119 would have crashed in China, I would hopefully found a Chinese instead of a 291 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:15.720 Japanese and held it up and it just says, I'm a good guy. 292 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:22.240 Take me to your leader and you'll be rewarded. But it's called a blood 293 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:27.160 chit. And we were told to return him once we got this charge. 294 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:33.200 Well, nobody asked me for it, so I put it in a drawer 295 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:38.680 or someplace. Oh my oldest son found it and he saved it. And 296 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:45.880 on my ninetieth No. Eightieth birthday, eightieth birthday, he got this jacket 297 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:51.200 that Carol had bought years ago, and he put sewed all the patches on 298 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:56.000 and he had that bloodshed and he put it on the back. Well, 299 00:25:56.039 --> 00:26:03.519 I can tell you that every Chinese group it came aboard saw that when the 300 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.640 women's would scream, come over and hug me, give me a kiss on 301 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.400 the cheek. All the Chinese guys had come and shake my hand and say 302 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:19.119 thank you because they knew that we had strafed and bombed their enemy, the 303 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:26.920 Japanese, So it was a real They took photographs. Women would, like 304 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:30.200 I say, would hug me and give me a kiss. And the other 305 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.200 part of all of this was that one day I was down in the engine 306 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:38.359 room to explaining the engine room and one of the fellows came to me. 307 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:42.759 There was about six sixteen in the room, and he said, you let 308 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:48.200 me try jacket on, and I said sure, I gave him jack. 309 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:55.000 Every guy there put that jacket on and took photographs of Now they took that 310 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:59.359 back to China, so were not the real bad guys, and I hope 311 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:04.160 it stays that way. That's the power of Oh. It was unbelievable, 312 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:10.720 the hugs and the kisses. It just went on and on. And on 313 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:15.200 and on. To see that appreciation in real time. What does that mean 314 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.440 to you? It was just awesome. I was so proud to show it. 315 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:23.119 And there were a couple of guys aboard the ship that said you shouldn't 316 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:30.759 have that on your back. Well, it's still there and everybody knows me 317 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:34.839 because of that. What what are you most proud of from your time in 318 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:45.720 service to our country? All the guys that I served with. It was 319 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:51.400 just unbelievable. And when you think about it, I was sixteen, I 320 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:56.799 was a kid. It's just unbelievable that it was just one of those things 321 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:03.039 at the age of sixteen. I grew up to be twenty probably in about 322 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:07.400 six months, because that's what they did to me. When you think back 323 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:10.039 now, and this will be the last question, when you think back now 324 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:15.480 to your reluctance to talk about your service until you came aboard that one day, 325 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:18.559 and where you are now, how glad are you that you now tell 326 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:25.799 your story? The story is pretty well cleaned up and very very quickly. 327 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:32.440 And if I'm down near the jet shop, I've always say to a couple, 328 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:33.880 somebody, come here, let me show you, and I take them 329 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.880 into the jet shop turn them around. They look up and they see that 330 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:41.440 photograph and they say, I'm the guy kneeling down, And I think I 331 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:45.400 was just about seventeen then, and now I'm standing here talking to you and 332 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:49.880 I'm ninety four years old, and they just look at me. Are you 333 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:55.440 thought you were seventy? Thank you a good compliment. It's a good compliment. 334 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:57.960 But it also shows for people who are too young to remember World War 335 00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:00.480 Two, they think, oh, well, it's so far long ago. 336 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:04.640 It's not Bill, It's just part of a lifetime ago. It is a 337 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:10.559 lifetime. My oldest son, as I say to Carol, our oldest son, 338 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:15.319 now seventy three years old. I have two sons. I had a 339 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:22.680 third son was a Vietnam vett, adopted and he has now passed away. 340 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:27.480 He came home with about a two hundred dollars a day habit. And for 341 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:33.599 those three kids, they gave us seven grandkids, who gave us sixteen great 342 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:41.119 grandkids. And is it three great great grandkids, three great great grandkids. 343 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:47.039 So I'm a great great grandpa. Am I happy? You bet? I 344 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:48.559 am? Mister Hanson. We cannot thank you enough, first of all, 345 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:52.559 for your service to our country, your ongoing service to educate people who come 346 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:56.480 to the Midway about World War Two and beyond. And we also thank you, 347 00:29:56.519 --> 00:30:00.599 of course very much for your time today. Thank you Al Hanson, 348 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:06.559 US Navy veteran of World War Two. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans 349 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:19.960 Chronicles. Hi. This is Greg Corumbus, and thanks for listening to Veterans 350 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:26.359 Chronicles, a presentation of the American Veterans Center. For more information, please 351 00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:32.039 visit American Veterans Center dot org. You can also follow the American Veterans Center 352 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:37.839 on Facebook and on Twitter. We're at AVC update. Subscribe to the American 353 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:42.519 Veterans Center YouTube channel for full oral histories and special features, and of course 354 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:48.359 please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks again 355 00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:52.039 for listening, and please join us next time for Veterans Chronicles.