Encoded for the Experiencing War web site for the Veterans History Project.
The recording of the interview with Thomas Green was digitized.
This transcription was encoded with minimal changes to the original text in an effort to preserve original content and idiosyncrasies of the person interviewed. Period language and terminology are also retained. Encoding is literal with regard to the transcriptionist's capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Spelling errors are indicated with [sic]; however, recurring errors in spelling within a single document have been marked the first time and not subsequently.
My name is Tamer Morsi. I'm an attorney here in San Antonio, Texas. I am here with Veteran Thomas Green in San Antonio, Texas and it is February 20th, 2016.
Good morning, sir. How are you?
Good morning, sir.
Can you give us your full name, please.
Thomas P. Green.
And, Mr. Green, you, sir, are a Veteran; is that correct?
Yes, sir.
I want to start with your birth date, sir.
Five, January, 1923.
And where were you born?
A farming town in North Carolina called Spring Hope, two words.
And what were your parents' names?
My dad's name was Robert W. Green. My mother's name was Ayer May Green.
And what did your father do for a living?
A farmer.
And did your mother have an occupation?
No. Housewife.
All right. Did you have any siblings?
I had two brothers, both passed away at age -- less than age 14. I had three sisters. One was -- I never did meet. She died before I was born. The other three, one of them was a farmer's wife. One was a -- a school teacher. The other one was an RN.
Were you the only member of your immediate family that joined the military?
Yes.
And how long did you -- did you live in -- did you say it was North Carolina?
Yes.
How long did you live in North Carolina?
I was born there until I left at age 16 -- 17.
Seventeen, okay. And was your father a farmer that whole time?
Yes. Well, he -- he owned a little general merchandise store out in the country and had been farming at the same time.
And what did you do -- what sort of work did you do as -- growing up?
I was a farmer most of the time and then I -- after I left the farm, I went to Newport News, Virginia and worked in the shipyards as an electrician's helper or trainee. And then after that I worked for another company that was building runways and -- and Air Force stations. And right after that I went into the service.
Did you ever graduate high school?
Only a GED.
So you were working -- you were a working man at age 16, 17?
Yes.
You -- where did you enter the service?
It was at Richmond, Virginia.
And you were living there at that time. Which job did you have at that time?
I was living in Newport News, but I was -- had to go into Richmond to actually get into the service.
Okay. And what job did you have at that time?
That's when I was an electrician's helper.
Okay. Tell me about the -- the stories surrounding your enlistment.
While I was on active duty?
Right when you tried to enlist, how old were you when you first tried to enlist?
Seventeen.
Okay. And were you able to enlist at that age?
No.
Okay. So tell me what happened?
Well, the second time I was there the Sergeant told me, You come back in and we'll throw you out of here, because my dad wouldn't sign the papers for me to go in.
Was there any particular event or reasoning in your life that made you want to enlist at that age?
I loved my country.
Had you heard about what happened in Pearl Harbor?
I knew about it.
Was that something that made you feel like it was time to enlist?
That's right.
And at that time how old were you?
I was 17 at that time.
Okay. How long after you turned 18 did you enlist in the Army?
A few days.
And it was, in fact, when you enlisted -- you enlisted in the Army; is that correct?
Yes.
Why did you choose the Army as opposed to other branches?
I suppose that's the first recruiting office I saw and just walked in.
Okay. Had you got -- specifically went to Richmond to join the military?
Well, yes and no. That's where I had to go from Newport News into Richmond for the signing in.
How long after you enlisted in the Army did you go to Fort Lee?
About three days.
Did your parents know that you had enlisted?
Yes.
How did they feel about that?
Same as any father from a farm, he didn't want me to go.
And was your mother alive at the time?
No. I was six months old when she passed away.
Where did you -- did you depart from Richmond to -- to Boot Camp?
Went right into Camp Lee, Virginia, in Petersburg, Virginia.
So you did your Boot Camp in Virginia?
Right.
How long were you there for your Boot Camp?
I believe that -- well, when I went in, I was only 130 pounds and five feet two inches tall. 65-pound backpack didn't work too good. So then they started training me for a truck driver across the Alcan Highway up there and that didn't last two long either because I ran into a tree. That ended my training on that. And about the end of -- sometime in February when we were having a revelry, the Sergeant came out and wanted to know who wanted to transfer from the Army to the Army Air Corp, and that's when my hand went up. It's still up there. It never came back down.
So --
I stayed at Camp Lee for -- even after that for just about maybe two or three weeks and I transferred to Chesterfield, Mississippi and that's when I became a part of the U. S. Army Air Corp and stayed there until 1947 when the Air Force became a separate major command and instead of staying in the Army or the Army Air Corp, I went directly into the U. S. Air Force.
Now, how did you -- how was -- how did you adapt from the life of being a young farmer to being in the military?
Easy.
Why was it easy?
I didn't have to do the same things I did on the farm.
Like what?
Walking behind a mule.
So did you like the military better than being on a farm?
Yes, I did.
Can you tell me some of the things at that age that you liked about the military?
I suppose the uniform had a lot to do with it. It just made me feel that I was a part of something that was taking care of what had happened on the 7th of December.
After you -- how long did you stay in Mississippi for your training?
About two months and then I went to many places in the United States for either further training or for mission support.
When you left Mississippi, do you remember where you were sent next?
Augusta, Georgia.
Any idea how long you stayed there?
About six weeks.
Okay. And then after that?
Greenville, South Carolina.
Okay. Were you there long?
Not very long. I didn't stay at either one of those places very long.
Okay. Where did you perform most of your service?
The majority of it was --
During war time?
Oh, the majority of it was in Hawaii and as a -- on a support team.
Okay. How old were you when you were sent to Hawaii?
I think 19.
Okay. And do you remember getting your orders to be sent to Hawaii?
I had asked for them to go anywhere.
Okay.
Overseas I was.
So you specifically asked --
I asked for overseas. That's where I ended up.
Okay. And what were your first assigned duties when you were sent to Hawaii? What did you start doing?
Driving a big truck, 18-wheeler.
Were you -- were you a part of a larger unit that performed many tasks or were you doing a lot of solo work?
No. I belonged to the Hawaiian Air Depot, which is a support organization for any unit down under.
Okay. And when you say down under, you mean Australia?
As far down as that.
Okay.
Most of the -- when I was a part of it, it was in the islands, all of islands in between, including the Philippines.
Okay. What was your -- your unit's general duties?
The general duties of the entire depot was just either assembling or packaging or shipping supplies four times, supplies down under.
And did you also -- were you also in charge of the logistics of shipping personnel or military personnel, fighters or soldiers?
Not -- not on active duty -- I mean, combat duty, no.
So mostly it was supplies?
Yes.
Can you give us a general idea of what sort of types of supplies that your depot was involved in providing?
Whatever was needed in war time.
That would include heavy machinery?
Yes.
Weapons?
Yes.
Food?
Yes.
Clothing?
Yes.
Shelter?
Yes.
And were these relatively large shipments that would be going out?
Yes.
Okay. Can you give us an idea on maybe how many tons or how large the shipments were that were going out and how they were sent?
Most of them were the Liberty ships. I can't tell you the size of it. I don't know.
So were these supplies, were they loaded on these ships off one of the islands in Hawaii?
Oahu.
Oahu, okay. Is that where the depot was located?
Yes.
How did these supplies get to Oahu?
Most of them came in by a surface transportation ship.
From the main land?
Yes.
Okay. So they would ship supplies by boat from the main land to your depot?
Yes.
And then your depot would then put them on another boat and send them where they needed to go down under?
Yes, as needed.
And were you supplying all branches of the military?
Yes.
And tell me about what your specific jobs were in the depot? I'm sure you had many. So give us an idea on what they were starting with, what you began with?
Most of it was -- excuse me. Most of it was transportation.
Okay. Were you -- did you actually personally drive trucks that had supplies on them?
Yes.
So were you kind of a what we would call in the civilian world a truck driver?
Right.
Okay. Did you participate in off loading the supplies from the main land?
No.
Did you just participate in taking the supplies from the depot to the -- to the boats that were going to take it down under?
Yes. I would drive the truck.
Okay. So would you load the truck?
No.
Okay. What types of trucks are we talking about?
Two and a half ton truck upwards to an 18-wheeler.
Okay. So did you -- did you have the skills of a truck driver?
Yes.
civilian truck driver?
Yes.
Okay. And was it the military that trained you to do that?
Yes.
Okay. Where did you get your training on that?
Well, it started out at Camp Lee, but that was -- that was before me and the tree got into this argument. And the rest of it was mostly after I arrived at Oahu.
Okay. What sort of truck did you start out training on?
Two and a half ton.
And then you worked your way up to the 18-wheeler?
Yes.
Okay. Did you drive supply trucks on a daily basis?
Most of the time, yes. I might have a day off once in awhile.
What would you say was your main job while you were stationed in Hawaii?
Truck driver.
Now, the -- I'm sorry, did you load the supplies or were they loaded for you?
No. They were loaded for us.
Okay. And then when you would take the supplies from the depot, how far was it from the depot to the ships?
I would say approximately 12 miles.
What type of roads were you expected to travel on at that time?
Rough.
Rough roads.
They were -- they were paved roads, but not very good paved roads.
And these ships were docked 12 miles away?
Yes, at Oahu.
How would the -- can you describe the process of off loading your -- your cargo onto the ships?
It was done -- done by workers in the shipyard using a forklift.
And typically what was your job once you got -- got your cargo to the dock? What did you do?
Turned around and go back to Hickam Field.
Pick up some more?
Yes.
Okay. Did you wait there for them to off load you or did you drop your load and go pick something else up?
Usually we waited. It didn't take very long to get off. They had skilled people, very skilled people, and it was just a short while from the time we arrived until we were ready to turn around and go back.
Would you describe it as an efficient process? Would you describe it as efficient?
Yes, very.
Now, you were about as far away from your family as you could get and still be in the United States; isn't that correct?
That's right.
And were you able to keep in touch with any family or friends while you were in Hawaii?
Letters, but they were mostly monitored.
Okay. Your correspondence with your family was via letters?
Yes.
Okay. But the military was monitoring your correspondence with your family?
Yes.
And that was because of the sensitive nature of your services in Hawaii?
Yes.
Was Hawaii an important geographical or strategic location in the war?
Very much so.
Can you tell our listeners why?
I would say one word. Refueling.
The -- the -- the depot and other areas in Hawaii were used to supply fuel to ships and planes?
Anything, yes.
Okay. So those ships and planes could continue on into the theater of war?
Yes.
Was your family able to write to you?
Yes.
Did you feel home sick while you were in Hawaii?
Not really. I didn't have time.
Tell me some of the special things about being stationed in Hawaii that -- that you remember?
Well, one thing that I do remember, they had what they call a civilian housing there and part of that 18-wheeler were made into a bus and we would transport children to and from a school. And I will remember that, because I like children.
Now, you -- so as part of your duties, sometimes you would get to take kids to and from school?
Yes.
Were these civilians?
Yes.
Were they civilian American children?
Mixed.
Mixed. When you say mixed, what -- what sort of mixture are we talking?
Well, oriental who lived in that area, as well as the Americans who came over there as a work force.
Would you describe being stationed in Hawaii as being stationed in a paradise?
Not really.
Tell me a little bit about that.
Well, the thought of what was going on. Any time you were close to a war area, whether you are in combat or not, it has a strange feeling to you because you never know when that enemy is going to come there also. They did on the 7th of December and that fear was always there that they could come back.
Did you make any special friends while you were in Hawaii?
Yes.
Okay. Were they military?
Both.
Did you remain friends with these folks after your service in Hawaii?
Yes, I did.
Is there anyone in particular you would like to tell us about?
Well, we had funny things that took place there also and I never -- I can remember sitting in the barracks one afternoon and this guy came barreling through the front door and he had a stop sign holding on his shoulder and he threw that thing underneath my bed. And the MP, Military Police, were right behind him. Later on I found out that he had been in one of the local bars and I guess he had had a little too much and he was also a truck driver and he didn't like to have to stop at those stop signs and he just pulled -- pulled -- pulled it out of the ground and came running down through the base with -- with the MPs right behind him, but I didn't like it because he threw it under my bed because -- but at least the MPs got passed there, my bed, but they didn't stop. They saw him throw that stop sign underneath my bed. So then they knew I didn't have anything to do with it. That was just one of the funny things that happened.
So what did you do when you were given a day off? What did you like to do?
A played a lot of poker.
Did you play a lot of poker with the folks at the military?
Yes.
Did you play with any civilians?
No.
How did you get -- how good did you get at playing poker?
I had good days and bad days.
Okay. Anything else you like to do on your days off?
Well, we could go down to the one area they had marked off in the bay out there that we could go swimming and have a little bit of recreation that way or visit the restaurant, if we could find one that was open and had food that we liked. That wasn't very often, but then these friends that I made while I was there outside of the base, I would visit them occasionally and maybe have lunch or something like that with them on a Sunday or whatever day I could get there.
Did you folks play any sports while you were there?
Not -- some. Mostly basketball or volley ball.
Did you -- did your job duties ever change during the war?
Well, I had different jobs. I had some administrative jobs, as well as the vehicle, but most of it was with the vehicle, but I did have some administrative jobs. And I was assistant truck master after being there for a while.
What did that mean, becoming an assistant truck master?
Well, it was the head of the motor pool and all of the vehicles, to make sure that they went in and out with a trip ticket so we'd know where they were going. What they were going for. And also kept maintenance records so we could schedule vehicles in and out of the maintenance shop to keep the vehicles in good condition.
At that point when you got that position, were you still driving trucks or mostly doing the supervisor work?
Mostly administrative type.
And how long did you remain in Hawaii?
I think it was three years total.
Okay. So that would be about till what year, 1945, '46?
I came back in '46, came back to the States just for a short time. At that time I was also driving a Jeep for the General. I was the General's driver for a while. How about that.
That's big stuff.
Yes.
Was that in Hawaii?
Yes.
Which General did you drive around?
Clifford C. Nutt was his name. One of the most wonderful generals I have ever met.
Was that on -- which island was that on?
Oahu.
And when did you get that job?
It was sometime in '46, maybe early part of '46. And then in the middle of '46 is when it was time for him to come back to the states. So at that time he hooked me on to the C54 as an engineer and we're going back to the States. And I remember we landed at Wright Patterson and he knew I hadn't seen my dad in sometime and he said, you need to drop down to North Carolina for a few days and he said I will pick you up on the way back. And he was going someplace up in New York and so I did. He arranged for me to fly from Wright Patterson to Bowing in Washington and then I got home myself down in North Carolina. And when he told me to came back, I met the plane back at Bowing and I go on the plane back and went to Hawaii.
Now, at that point that you saw your father, how long had it been since you'd seen your dad?
About three and a half years, close to four years.
And how old were you?
At that time I was -- I must have been 22 or 23.
So from what I understand, you are telling me at 22, 23 you were assigned to this General, and not only did you -- were you his personal driver in Hawaii, but you also accompanied him State side?
Yes.
Upon his request?
Yes.
Do you recall how you got assigned to the General in the first place?
Well, this friend of mine was getting discharged and the General knew what I had been doing at the headquarters, administrative, so he asked for me. So I took it.
So this General Clifford Nutt --
Yes.
-- asked for you to -- to --
Be his personal driver.
Right.
I still had my -- my job at the headquarters in the administrative part of it, but I also drove for him, too. Took him any place he wanted to go.
And after you saw your father, did you and the General come back to Hawaii?
I did, but he stayed at Washington.
Okay. And what did you do when you came back to Hawaii?
Just re -- redid the same thing I was doing.
Oh.
With the exception of his personal driver.
Okay. Now, at this point the -- the -- the war had been declared over; is that right?
Yes.
Okay. But you were still in the military?
Yes. I was still in the military.
Had you reenlisted?
I had reenlisted, yes. I think it was a six year term.
Okay. What did you do after you -- when you came back to Hawaii after dropping off the General on State side, how long did you stay in Hawaii?
Very short.
Where did you go after that?
Came back to Washington D.C. for reassignment to New Mexico with the 8th Air Force.
And how long did you stay there?
I stayed at -- in New Mexico a little less than a year and then I transferred to a fighter organization up in Nebraska and from there that's when they said we need you in the Air Lift.
And can you tell us what you mean by the Air Lift?
Berlin Air Lift, flying cargo from east to west in Berlin.
And what -- what year was that?
'40 -- the end -- the latter part of '47 and I came back in '49 and that's when I got out of the service and that's when I stayed 85 days and I couldn't take it. I didn't like civilian service.
So you went back into the Air Force?
I went back into the Air Force.
Have you remained friends with -- with folks throughout your life that you met in your early career during the war?
They're all dead. I don't -- I don't have a single one that I served any part of the war in or even in Korea who are still alive.
Were you in the Korean War also?
Yes.
Do you mind talking a little bit about that?
(Nodding side to side).
Okay. What about -- did you ever get married?
Oh, yes.
When was that?
5, January '53.
You wouldn't have married a Hawaiian girl, did you?
No.
Did the thought cross your mind?
I won't answer that.
Okay.
It might incriminate me.
You, sir, served in the military through 1964; is that right?
Yes.
So you had at least 20 years?
21 and six months, I think.
And what --
It was almost 22.
What sort of work did you do after the military?
I would like to tell you this. Just logistics.
Logistics, which is a skill you learned while you were in the military?
Yes.
How did your experience during World War II change your life?
I think it made me have a greater appreciation for the United States.
For the freedoms that we enjoy? For the freedoms that we enjoy?
That is true.
And the type of country that we have?
And I don't want anybody fooling with it.
What lessons did you learn from your military service starting at such a young age as you did?
Taking orders. All the skills that I even now, all the skills that I possessed throughout my lifetime, I learned most of them in the service.
So would you say that even today that serving your country in the military is not only a great thing to do for your country, but a good thing to do for yourself?
That's very much so.
We are almost at the end of -- end of our interview today, but I want to ask you, Mr. Green, if there's anything that you would like to tell us that we haven't talked about today concerning your service?
I guess I liked it so much and liked my country so well, I'd put my uniform on today if they would let me at my age. I don't want somebody fooling with my country. It's mine. Leave it alone.
Amen. I think that will close the interview with that, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.