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TRANSCRIBER: Leslie Hodges Fox - January 17, 2011
FISH: All righty. We're rolling. So... HEWITT: Okay. My name is Thur Hewitt. I'm
a veteran of World War II. As a young man, when I went to the shore, I'd see ships out
there, and I always figured that's what I want to do someday. I want to be on the ocean.
So when World War II my brother was in the 10th Air Force, flying the "Hump" in India
as a nose gunner on the Liberator. All my friends were in the service, and I was 16
and I wanted to join up. So I went to join the Navy and I kind of altered
my birth certificate, and I made it until they checked that. Then they told me to come
back in a year. And I look at the birth certificate today, and I can see that a blind man can
see it was altered. So I still wanted to go to sea. So I joined the Merchant Marines and
went through boot camp at Sheepshead Bay in New York, the maritime school.
Graduating from there, I shipped out for SO, Standard Oil of New Jersey, on the SS Portland,
a tanker, that went coastal trips from Baytown, Texas, to Boston, Massachusetts, around Cape
Hatteras. Maritime service was a very good service. You had four nice bunks to a compartment
and your chow and a mess hall was you
had a menu you could pick out five or four or five different items you could pick from
and the pay was good. So I did that for a while.
And then the minute I turned 17, I got off the ship up in Boston, got my discharge from
that and joined the Navy. I stopped at home, and my mother was glad to see me, wanted to
know how long I was going to be home, and I said, "Well, I leave for the Navy tomorrow
morning." I went through boot camp at Bainbridge, Maryland,
and which was kind of easy because my past experience. And one night I noticed I was
scheduled for the midnight to 0400 watch outside the barracks, and I didn't know what that
was about. The Chief told me, he says, "Well, just go out and relieve that man out there
and he'll tell you what to do." So we strapped on a 45 no shells, no ammo and they told
me to watch the clothesline, march around the clothesline for four hours.
Well, I looked and there was no clothes on the line. So I went back in, and I said to
the chief, "What am I doing out there? There's no clothes. There's nobody's going to steal
nothing there." He says, "Well, go out and make sure they
don't steal the clothesline itself," and basically that was discipline. You were told something,
you followed the order, you didn't question it, which in later time found to be very helpful.
After boot camp, we were given a 10 day leave and then back to Bainbridge, Maryland. And
in the middle of the night, we were all marched to a troop train. We had no idea where we
were going. The train went north, south, east, west, which they were doing because in case
anybody was watching the movements, they wouldn't know where the troops were going. It was Navy,
Army, Marines, all military personnel on board. The first night on board, I got on the top
bunk and it was pretty hot, so I opened the window. And I woke up the next morning, and
I was covered with soot, so was my bunk. So I learned that lesson.
Well, we crisscrossed across the country. I don't know how long it took us. We ended
up on the West Coast. One night we were all put together and marched with our seabags
into a big wharf, dock. And all this was done in the cover of darkness. As we were marching
in, on one side was the Red Cross. They were selling coffee and doughnuts and cigarettes.
And on the other side was the Salvation Army, which was passing out bags full of writing
material, shaving material, toothpaste, books, and that was all free.
Well, we were marching along, and all of a sudden, I realize I'm on board a ship here.
It was a troop transport, APA Butler. We were assigned quarters, and we were given a chow
chip. You took that with you when you went to chow and they'd punch it, and the purpose
of that was so you'd only go through once. Well, some of the fellows got pretty seasick.
I did once when I was in the Merchant Marines, and I know it. All you want to do is die.
You don't want to eat. So I'd get the fellow that was sick and I'd ask him for his chip,
and I'd get to go through twice if I was hungry. Well, we set out. None of us knew our destination.
Then after how many days, I don't recall, middle of the night, again, grab your seabags
and fall out. We were putting in put in a landing craft, and we went up a big river,
which I later found out was the Yangtze River in Shanghai, China. We come upon this monstrous
ship and we were brought aboard. It was the USS Los Angeles, (CA 135), a heavy cruiser.
I was assigned to the navigation division, N division, from my past experience as helmsman
in the Merchant Marine. There's only 11 of us in the division, and the count on board
the whole ship was 1,485 men. So
you could see we were very small amount. Our duties while at sea was the helmsman,
navigation, correcting the navigation, and the charts. And while in port, our duties
were on the quarterdeck. It was the officer of the deck, a Marine guard, a boatswain mate,
and a quartermaster. My job was to record the weather conditions every half hour, log
in who came aboard, who left, if dignitaries came aboard. They were piped aboard by the
boatswain. Let's see. We made several maneuvers out of
the Yangtze River doing gunnery practice. We shot at some floating mines, Japanese mines
that were out there, and we'd go back into the river, anchor. Behind us was another cruiser,
the USS Helena, CA (CL 75), [sic] a light cruiser. And there was many destroyers and
destroyer escorts. Liberty in Shanghai wasn't that great. I didn't
go that often because at that time, when you walked down the street in Shanghai, there
was the odor was terrible from every alley, their filthy living conditions. Children half
naked were come out and beg for anything, money, candy, anything you could give them.
And if you watched them, they'd hightail it back into an alley, and then there was sitting
what we called the White Russian, who at that time controlled Shanghai pretty much. And
they'd give whatever you gave them to that man and then come running back out and beg
some more. And the children were prostituting their mothers. I'm sure they were talking
in English, but they didn't know what they were saying. It was disgusting. I've seen
women give birth to a child and leave it right there on the sidewalk and walk away.
You didn't dare eat anything over there. And they had liquor in American bottles like Jack
Daniels and all that, but you wouldn't dare buy it because you know it wasn't the real
thing in there. The only place you could really go to was the USO where you could get something
good to eat and didn't have to worry about it. So like I say, I didn't go ashore too
much there. One time we did. The ship had a beach party.
We went over into Shanghai into the ballpark, and we played ball and drank beer, had a good
day. Then what beer was leftover, we brought back aboard the ship, and I was carrying a
case of beer. Instead of leaving it on the quarterdeck where you were supposed to leave
it, kept right on going and brought it down to the compartment. Well, we had a few extra
beers. We never got caught. Thank God. We traveled to Hong Kong and Sing Tao. And
at one time in Sing Tao, got a temporary orders to with four Marines and two Navy men
to go ashore and guard an ammunition depot. Well, one night, we don't know who at this
time, but at that time came to get in to get the ammunition, steal it. Small arms
fire was exchanged. I received a slight wound in the leg. They never did get in. I don't
know if I ever hit anybody. I don't think so.
Then, later on, we were ordered to go to Pearl Harbor to into dry dock for a complete overhaul.
On the way to Pearl Harbor, we stopped off at Guam, which was nothing but a rock, for
three or four days R and R. Well, there was nothing to do there, but they gave you two
warm cans of beer a day. So I'd always find the fellow that didn't want a beer, tell him
to get in line and get a beer, so I'd get a few extra beers, and we had a good time.
They'd show us a movie. It was run out of on old Japanese pillbox. And that's where
I ran into an old friend here from Bristol, Kenny Ricker. He was in the Navy stationed
there, and he was running the projector, so we had a nice visit.
So we went to Pearl Harbor into dry dock. And that was it's beautiful there. At that
time there was only one hotel on the beach, the Waikiki. There was a USO there, a pink
building with a large horseshoe driveway, which was very nice, treated us good. While
there, I was assigned temporary duty at the submarine base, which was very interesting.
I went out a couple of times on a couple of runs, and that was great. I have all the
respect in the world for submariners. It's a whole different Navy.
Well, we returned to Shanghai, and then we were ordered back to the States. As we were
heading back, the orders were changed. They were going to rendezvous, and they're getting
ready for their preparations to invade Japan. But thanks to the President Truman and his
actions, which I feel are rightfully so, he dropped the A bomb. And in my opinion, it
probably saved my life and millions of other Americans. I say that was the right decision.
I'm awful glad he did it, and we returned to the States. I remember coming under the
Golden Gate Bridge and our homebound pennant flying, and you felt, "Boy, I'm home." Of
course, you were still 3,000 miles from home, but you're home.
We went into Long Beach, got shore leave there. And as you walked down, all you could see
was white hats for miles and miles in Long Beach, real sailor's port. One door was a
tattoo shop; the next door was a barroom. And there was another tattoo shop, another
barroom, and then souvenir shops, but we enjoyed ourselves and, of course, had to get a tattoo
while we were there. And from there, we went to Mare Island and unloaded all our ammo.
And the ship was put in moth balls at that point. I was sent to Treasure Island to await
my discharge. I should add, while we were still on board
ship, they were asking us to reenlist. We all stood in formation, Navy band come on
board and played a lot of patriotic tunes, and they had some desks set up there with
officers and asked if anybody wanted to reenlist, to step forward, and they played Navy "Anchors
Away," and that really gets you. So I stepped forward because I love the sea. I love the
Navy. I at that time wanted to make it a career. So things were going pretty good on
reenlistment. Then I said, "I'd like to go home for 30 days." I hadn't been home in a
long time. It was December, get home for Christmas maybe.
He says, "Well, you have to serve a year. Then you get your 30 days."
I said, "No, no, no way." So he says, "I'll tell you what to do." He
says, "You go home, and if you reenlist within 90 days, you can keep your rank and it goes
right on as continued service." So I said, "Okay. That's what I'll do." Well, I came
home, and I met a girl at a dance, and that was the end of my naval career. She won out.
The Navy lost. We've been married for 56 years. I should add when we were at Parris Island,
backtracking a little bit, get discharge while we're waiting there. I had a motorcycle, Harley
Davidson. We'd ride up the beach and being in the service you didn't need a registration
or a license. So we were going one day, riding down the street, my buddy on the back, and
a couple of girls come along to our left. They were in a convertible. Of course we were
back and forth, and I didn't see the car in front of me stop. So we slid into that, and
my body impression was right on the trunk. So the boy and a girl got out, and he was
all excited. It was his girlfriend's father's car. He was worried about the damage. So I
says to him, "Well, why don't we just pull around this corner here before the cops come
and we'll settle this." So he got back in and he pulled around the corner. My buddy
and I got back on the bike and off we went. I often wondered what happened to him, kind
of a dirty trick. Then one other thing on the motorcycle, we
were going up to Redondo Beach one day, pulled into a little drive in for a hot dog and a
soda, and a California highway patrolman come along on his motorcycle. He pulled in, he
had an Indian, and he says, "Hey, sailor, how fast will that thing go?"
I said, "I had no idea." He said, "Well, let's go up the road. It's
nice and straight and there's no traffic. We'll see. Open it up." Sure. So I got on.
I opened it up. I looked down. He went by me. I looked down at the speedometer. I was
doing 105 and he went by me on his Indian and he just waived, big smile. We never saw
him again. In coming back, got on board a train to come
home. It was all full of GIs. There was no seats. There was civilians. The only thing
you could do was really go in a club car. And I had sold my motorcycle, so I had a lot
of money. I don't remember how much, probably $2 or $300 and everybody was playing cards,
poker and all that. And I had never played cards, but I they said you can learn. I
sat down and a bunch of sharpies took this kid for all my money I got out of the motorcycle.
So I learned a lesson. Don't gamble and I hadn't gambled since.
But on the train, there was no room. There was guys sleeping on the floor. You had to
step over them. They put down newspapers to lay on it, and so finally I looked around,
I looked up and I saw some other GIs. I threw my seabag up there and crawled up on the rack,
and I had a bunk, which was very good. FISH: Up on the luggage rack?
HEWITT: I got up on the luggage rack. That's where I slept. Of course, every night you
had to find a new spot because other guys got the same idea and that's about it. Another
thing I learned in the Navy was always to grab the top bunk. Because if somebody got
seasick and you were on the lower bunks, you were in trouble. Top bunk was always the best.
That's about it. I can't think of any more. FISH: Okay. You had mentioned when you first
saw the Los Angeles, you were over in China already?
HEWITT: The ship was there. FISH: The ship was already there? So what
do you remember when that was about? HEWITT: November probably.
FISH: November of '44? HEWITT: '45.
FISH: '45? HEWITT: No, '44. Dates I don't remember. You're
just a kid and everything's a big whirlwind. FISH: Oh, yeah, plus with all the shuttling
back and forth so that they couldn't find you. It'd be tough to keep track of, I would
think, too. HEWITT: I really don't remember.
FISH: So you were there for really the better part of a year. Between
HEWITT: Yep. I come for a year and 10 months, all total overseas.
FISH: Uh huh. HEWITT: Time I got over there until the time
I returned back home. FISH: Yeah.
HEWITT: And then I was in the Merchant Marines for one year before that.
FISH: Okay. You saw quite a bit of time. HEWITT: Yeah and I enjoyed it. I think everybody
should join the service or go in. It's a great opportunity. You grow up. You'll see how other
people live. FISH: Yeah. That's true. You see some very
different sights. HEWITT: Different life. You can meet different
guys from all across the country. FISH: I know you on occasion you'll go back
for some of the ship's reunions. Do you ever meet anybody that you served with then?
HEWITT: We've gone to several reunions and one thing I forgot to mention was the Los
Angeles come out of moth balls and served in the Korean War and got eight battle stars,
I believe. They were hit by shore shells right on the pilothouse and they served it served
she served in Vietnam also, and she came back and she was scrapped, but somebody that worked
at the shipyard in California was a former crew member. He got to save the hull, the
pilothouse, the anchors, the main mast, and which are now all on display in a maritime
museum in Los Angeles, California. When we went there it was great. I got to
stand at the helm that I stood for many hours and that ship was bought and paid for by the
citizens of Los Angeles. They had a war bond drive. They paid for the ship.
FISH: Oh, okay. HEWITT: And when we got back to the States,
we got a real welcome from the citizens of Los Angeles.
FISH: They had seen a lot of ships come back, but that was theirs.
HEWITT: That was their ship. Oh, yeah. That was their pride and joy. They came aboard,
dignitaries, and everything. It was quite a thing, Bob Hope and a bunch of them.
One other thing I can think of, when we were in California, we went to Hollywood. A bunch
of us on a tour going through the studios, went by a set and Robert Mitchum was on it.
So I knew he come from Bridgeport. So I yelled, "Connecticut."
He said, "Where?" I said, "Bristol."
He came over, and he's just the way he was in the movies. He sauntered over, talked slow,
his hair was falling down, "What are you boys doing?" Just on a tour. He said, "How would
you like to go out for dinner?" Oh, sure. There was probably half a dozen of us, so
he called two cabs. We got in the cabs. He took us to the Brown Derby, which I don't
believe is there anymore. We had ring side table, great show, great food. He sat with
us. Batted the breeze. We had a great time. When it was all over, he called two more cabs,
took us back to the ship, all on him. FISH: Wow.
HEWITT: Great. FISH: Great guy?
HEWITT: Great guy. FISH: He must have been fun to talk to?
HEWITT: Yeah. He was quite an experience. Felt great. Like I say, he's just like he
was on the screen. FISH: When you were when you were over around
in China, when you were on patrols and all, so you were there, you know, from December
through like during the war part, especially like through May, what was the weather like
at that was it like around here or a little hotter?
HEWITT: Yeah. I don't remember any snow or anything, cold. Seasonal, I guess, like here.
FISH: Okay. HEWITT: Yeah. We were wearing to go ashore,
blues, but we didn't have a pea coat or nothing. It was, you know, warm.
FISH: Okay. Warm enough to be in blues? HEWITT: (Nods head.)
FISH: All right. Going to turn it off for right now.