"It was like an inferno. I couldn't believe it. It was a nightmare." (Video interview, 20:23)

Jesse W. Dunnagan

Jesse Dunnagan, 2003 War: World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Navy Unit: 7th Fleet Service Location: Atlantic; Pacific; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Philippines Rank: Master Chief Place of Birth: Newport News, VA

Serving in the Navy for thirty years starting in 1940, Jesse Dunnagan saw three wars-WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was on the USS California when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and had to abandon ship when it was sunk by the Japanese. Although he was unhurt, his family was informed that he was listed as missing and presumed dead, and though they soon learned otherwise, even now his name appears on a monument to the dead at Pearl Harbor. After Pearl Harbor, Dunnagan went on to serve on the USS McCalla at Guadalcanal and on through to the end of the war.