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Louie Clark

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Louie Clark joined the crew of the destroyer USS Haynsworth as a Storekeeper. In those days, a sailor carried his mattress on his back along with his seabag. The Haynsworth became part of the Pacific fleet, starting with the Formosa campaign. He says the ship had a "devil dog" Captain, a man angry with the world. Clark just wanted to get back home to his girlfriends. (4:02)

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After the USS Haynsworth sank a Japanese vessel, the survivors were reluctant to even grab the life rope. They finally did and were taken aboard. Louie Clark remembers his time with those men and their curious ways of strict hierarchy and constant bowing. (4:07)

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At first, Louie Clark's battle station on the destroyer was on a 20mm gun. He thought that was a little too dangerous so he moved to a 5 inch gun as a loader. He describes the many weapons carried by the ship and it's role in the fleet. One duty was picking up downed fliers, which earned the crew a tasty reward. (4:52)

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The pilot was ready to die. Louie Clark saw him after he crashed his kamikaze into the deck of the destroyer USS Haynsworth. There were many casualties, including a big pot of beans that caught a machine gun from the kamikaze after it crashed through the deck. Clark describes the bravery of men that day and the solemn ceremonies of the burials at sea. (9:36)

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Crippled by a kamikaze attack, the USS Haynsworth limped back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The ship was sent on to California, where Ship Storekeeper Louie Clark was lucky to have a 10 day leave and he flew all the way home to Georgia. On the way back, he met some of the Iwo Jima flag raisers. By the time the ship was repaired, he had enough points to head home again. (2:54)

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His ship was the destroyer USS Haynsworth. Storekeeper Louie Clark recalls the skipper, Commander Stephen Tackney and his Executive Officer Lt. Commander Scott Lothrop as very good leaders, although very strict, probably not a bad idea with 350 men on the ship. Most of the men were afraid of the Captain, but not Clark. (3:26)

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If the war had not turned around, says Louie Clark, the draft age would have been lowered to 17, with the upper limit raised to 38. He hopes young people will never face that again. He also has some thoughts on the way wars have been resolved lately. (1:56)

Louis Anderson

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Louis Anderson was working in a heavy equipment factory when a temporary lapse in his deferment got him a "Greetings" letter from the draft board. He left that and his deferment behind when he enlisted in the Air Corps. Flight school was a washout but he made a fine gunner so he joined a crew, picked up a new B-17 and headed for England. (2:56)

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Once the B-17 crew was settled in England, the Captain replaced a couple of positions with better performers, which made them good enough to go for lead crew and lead the flights on bombing missions. Gunner Louis Anderson describes the crew shakeup and details the procedures of a bombing run. (3:54)

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His first mission was memorable. B-17 gunner and Flight Engineer Louis Anderson recalls how his flight went into its bomb run at a relaxed 10,000 feet. No one knew about the new gun batteries. What had he got himself into? Later, over the Ruhr Valley, he had answered that question well enough to shoot down a German fighter. (5:44)