Larry Martin presents “WWII in Their Own Words”

Learn about the experiences of those who lived through WWII in an interview presented by local historian Larry Martin at the Carnegie Library.

August 6: Bud Abbott Lt. USN. Bud was a PT boat skipper (the same thing that President Kennedy did during the war). Bud was in the South Pacific at New Guinea and saw a Japanese Kamikaze plane hit a ammunition ship that blew up so violently that it sunk two other ships.

September 10: Charles McClulland was aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific and was involved in naval battles around the Guadalcanal area. The Helena was escorting the USS Juneau away from a battle when the Juneau was hit by a Japanese Torpedo, which sunk the ship in 12 seconds. The Helena was later sunk on July 5, 1943, with Charles spending four days in the water before being washed onto a Japanese-held island.

October 1: Bob Liberty served in the US Navy, and was aboard the naval destroyer USS Tingey. He was in many battles including the Battle of the Philippine Sea (the Marianas Turkey Shoot) as well as the naval battle of Okinawa. The Tingey was also was in what was called “Halsey’s Typhon” which sank four destroyers with the loss of about 750 men with winds at 140 mph and waves 70 feet high.

Larry has interviewed everyone from U.S. veterans, to Hungarian underground fighters, to European citizens. “WWII In Their Own Words” has been presented at JDL for almost 15 years, and we are always proud to partner with Larry on this wonderful program.