"We were in Manila Bay, and that entire bay was
completely full of sunken Japanese ships." (Audio Interview, Part 2,
14:45)
“Serving for the duration” perfectly describes
Raymond
Brittain’s World War II experience. Already
in the Navy for 15 months when his ship was attacked in
Pearl Harbor (he provides a riveting eyewitness account
of December 7th), he saw subsequent action in the Aleutians
and on Tarawa. After retraining in the U.S. to become a
Fire Controlman, he was on his way back to the front when
the war concluded. But his ship continued onward, to Japan
for repairs, allowing Brittain a closeup look at postwar
devastation. |