Alvin Hays A Sailor's Life in World War II (Part 2 of 2)

Speaker 2:
0:11

Connecting the dots, Connecting his guests to the world, Creating more connections. Welcome to the connection. Meet your host. Author, coach, Air Force veteran Jay Morales.

Speaker 1:
0:30

Did fear ever run through your veins?

Speaker 3:
0:32

No.

Speaker 1:
0:32

Never Tell me about that.

Speaker 3:
0:36

You were so well trained and so well acclimated. That you had a job to do.

Speaker 1:
0:48

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
0:50

And one other thing that they did tell us in Navy Seals training was that they asked us is your mother all right? Oh, I think so, why you have a girlfriend, a steady girlfriend back home? No, why? Well, I'll tell you why. We want your full, divided attention, not worrying about your girlfriend pulling out with your buddy, or your mom back home, or your mom being sick.

Speaker 1:
1:25

Wow.

Speaker 3:
1:26

We want your full attention all the time. You live by what we say.

Speaker 1:
1:31

Yeah, that's discipline, that's discipline.

Speaker 3:
1:35

And we were so well trained that they could almost tell us when to put our feet down. Yeah, and so it took us, I think, 28 or nine days to get to New Guinea.

Speaker 1:
1:59

So you forged onto New Guinea while being attacked.

Speaker 3:
2:04

No, we were attacked every day. We were trying to get down into the war zone, like the Marshalls from the Carolina Islands and that in New Guinea, hollandia. New Guinea was supposedly already been through the war and was pretty much under control of the Americans and the Australians. But we worked out of there with supplies and ammunition. But they had a big ammunition dump there and that one picture in that magazine.

Speaker 1:
2:52

Yeah, I don't know if you're sure you got that picture on there.

Speaker 3:
2:55

So they're going to the soldiers are going to leave them the boat. Yes, that was the way it was in the Carolinas and the Marshall Islands. The water was deep, but it wasn't deep enough. That's what the hedgehogs and all were. Yeah, and it would just take the water and run out of the ship, you know.

Speaker 1:
3:20

Oh yeah, they're jagged and they're strong, right, I mean, they're so sharp as a razor. Yeah, I totally imagine I had cut all over in these. So when you traveled to New Guinea, what was your assignment there or what was? Did you go further than that? Or tell me where you're going?

Speaker 3:
3:43

No, that was our kind of. Our battleships were already in the straits of the Philippine straits.

Speaker 1:
3:55

So you got to spend time in the Philippines. We talked about this a little bit before. We, too, won't have Philippines, so you know, in Filipino, and we talked about this. Right, like, I want to hear the stories because I think they're good, but tell me about them. Just tell me what we're talking about before we get on camera.

Speaker 3:
4:15

Well, after we left Hlandian again he, then it was our job to the first time we went to sea as the Navy Seals left the big ship at night. It was in the southern part of the Philippines, Zambuango. You ever hear of that? Maybe you can't give a name?

Speaker 1:
4:40

Sure, but I'm going to write that down and I'm going to do some research on that. So you went to the southern part of the Philippines.

Speaker 3:
4:48

And the first night out our crew. They sent out probably 10, 15 of the boats.

Speaker 1:
5:00

Oh, the smaller boats, the six cylinder boats. Right, the speed boats, yeah, the Higgin's boats, the Higgin's boats, yeah.

Speaker 3:
5:07

And the first night out we was trained so well that we were scared to death, absolutely scared to death. Okay, the unexpected was we didn't nobody know about what they unexpected. We made it through that, made it back, got the boats refueled and worked on this and did that around the ship and got the boats ready and we had the guns mounted on the Higgin's boats.

Speaker 1:
5:47

We have two 30-kilometer oh okay, fully, automatic right. Yeah, okay, machine guns, machine guns yeah. Well, now chain Yep on the feed. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:
6:00

Well, in other words, yeah and that's it, we that's it. Even if we could have slept, we wouldn't have Right that first night.

Speaker 1:
6:11

Yeah, I bet it was dark as you're traveling Probably pitch black Always at night?

Speaker 3:
6:19

Yeah, always. Yeah, and the second night you were scared, but not quite so bad. I mean, you performed your duties and looking forward to what was to come. And then the third night it seemed like it was we'd kind of passed the frightening stage Right, so we actually went ashore.

Speaker 1:
6:50

Did, I thought I must did With the Higgin's boats, and so I mean, just you just sandbarred it. Yeah, right up to the beach, right yeah.

Speaker 3:
6:57

Right and dropped the. And dropped the right, yeah. And then soldiers were over leans putting the other men out. See we, we the dolphin could carry about 3,500 melines or army on an invasion.

Speaker 1:
7:19

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
7:20

Now these islands see down the and the southern part of the Philippines had already had. All of them had been not secured by a long ways, but they had already been invaded. Yeah, so I wasn't on the first invasion, sure, none of us were, but we took supplies then, yeah, to the army. Whichever they had, I had him down. The other thing was we kept moving up north all the time.

Speaker 1:
7:55

In a position so everybody would keep moving up Ancient, ancient Taking money.

Speaker 3:
7:59

Thinks the Philippines is one long island.

Speaker 1:
8:03

Right.

Speaker 3:
8:05

Spousings.

Speaker 1:
8:06

Yes, it is All, all pieces and bits, right? Yeah?

Speaker 3:
8:09

Yeah.

Speaker 1:
8:10

So at this time, correct me, is it because the Philippines is still under semi-control of the Chinese or Japanese, the Japanese army? The Japanese still had a stronghold on the Philippines as you're inching in to.

Speaker 3:
8:27

Push them north.

Speaker 1:
8:28

Yes, yes.

Speaker 3:
8:30

And we also had, like, some of the islands off of the Philippines, you know, in the straits. Yes, we had the big goals, yeah, and every island that, inch by inch. See they, they people did not know that they'd been doing this for 30, some years, right, japanese, and nobody paid any attention to it. Yeah, they didn't care.

Speaker 1:
8:58

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
9:00

And so they. Every island out there was filtered by 10 to 30 to 40,000 Japanese, and you can imagine what they done to the habits, habits of the islands. Yeah, they pillaged them.

Speaker 1:
9:16

They absolutely.

Speaker 3:
9:18

You can't imagine anything. Mad enough happened to oh. My heart still bleeds for the Filipinos. I'm telling you they really does. Yeah, and, by the way, I don't drive a Japanese car. He's okay, okay, never had with, never will.

Speaker 1:
9:38

I missed it, I missed it.

Speaker 3:
9:42

My kids, you know, lived in Japan for years.

Speaker 1:
9:45

Yes.

Speaker 3:
9:45

He was an oil engineer in Jakarta in that area. Yeah, For some of the J Walsh services I'm three of her.

Speaker 1:
9:55

I probably probably uh he logged on.

Speaker 3:
9:57

well, it's all over the world.

Speaker 1:
9:59

Okay.

Speaker 3:
10:00

And so they lived there for years and they didn't beg this, me and my wife, the cold. I said I can't do it.

Speaker 1:
10:08

Understood you never sent for back there in that area where you don't intend to meet and that.

Speaker 3:
10:16

But anyway, we started to work on our way out the islands and it got to the point that we were kind of in the leading process of moving north into the bigger islands and our job was as Navy Seals. Now this is now around. There's a seals, yes, that we left that ship every night around 10, 10, 30. They'd come again. You got a mission. What am I warm?

Speaker 1:
10:56

I called, and so we blackened up yep, and I saw the, the outfits at, mr. I mean, the holes weren't like your normal scuba outfits, right, like they were the. Again, this is the basic equipment. Begin on to.

Speaker 3:
11:14

You know, again, technology wasn't there yet, so you blacken up, okay, and we and we would come up on top side and usually time we all got dressed and everything, there's probably 10, 30, yeah, and they'd be a priest, a rabbi on a regular Navy chaplain.

Speaker 3:
11:46

Sometimes one would be there, sometimes two, sometimes all three of them yeah and they would always say a prayer overs yeah, and because it could have been your last time you could be yeah than me the last time you ever was and you got to the point that then, over the side, go out the barcation that you ended the powerboats yeah the power boat was speed and they would take us within. If the wind was in your face, they could take you within two miles. If the wind was behind you, then drop you off at five miles out. Oh, because they could hear the motor see.

Speaker 1:
12:38

Japanese woman oh yeah, so if the wind is blowing towards you, they can't hear much, because the world, oh wow, that's a dip. So if you were five months, so let me ask me, did you get dropped five miles or two miles?

Speaker 3:
12:53

now, both, both, then both tell me about a five-mile swim oh well, we got a rubber rat, we blow that rocket, yeah, and we put some more equipment in yes and would you hang on to the side to hang on to the side been, and you're just paddling.

Speaker 1:
13:10

Push it in yeah there's no motor on there oh, no, no it's quiet and you don't get in it right, you're just. You're literally hanging off the side with what? How many other people? Four, six people, four, four of it and equipment in there and your cold water, always dark. You can't see your hands, probably from your face, oh, true, and and you're just you're hoping what you're swimming or other the stars you can tell by.

Speaker 3:
13:40

You know right, exactly where you are and the boat cruise. You know exactly where we are. We come time to pick us up. We hit this island. Okay, the water is here yes this is the island. Yes, this is the island. We're well in that, yes, and there's a garrison the Japanese. You can see him. Yeah, he can hear him yeah you see the sentry, walk this way, talk to this century on the beach, on the beach, and there's lots of them and the back here will be the other one on the beat.

Speaker 3:
14:23

Yeah, he will turn. Go this way, the other mm-hmm this room, walk back over to this Senate and they'll meet what they'll turn back. We count the steps. You imagine whether they're taking 30 inch steps. Probably they're short people right so you figure out how long it's gonna take this guy to get to that.

Speaker 3:
14:49

Christmas well, can we slip in into the collie at Lee without being heard or seen or leaving the track or anything? Can we do it? We lay there in the water, but we can figure out exactly no word. We're spoken everything with hands like you, off and you're cold and freezing you don't worry about that right, but I'm right. I get it.

Speaker 1:
15:15

Yes, it is cold try to do a calculation today in a warm home, with a little bit of pressure on you. We'll talk it in the water. If probably so, what hallucinating right because of the pain and and what I mean this year. Just in the watering, how do you stay? How do you stay focused? How do you stay sharp?

Speaker 3:
15:37

any. Yeah, best trained group and that melt herring's ever had yeah, there's no doubt, I mean and they tell you you lay your life on the line every ten that cover night. You went out a lot of times it would be six, seven times in a row and the beach couple of days off while the ship move different place yeah sometimes we would go the same place time two times in a row.

Speaker 3:
16:08

We, for instance, let's get ahead a little bit, but not too far, like open all, yes, per even team, or let's go even team okay there was not much vegetation on even team right rocky.

Speaker 3:
16:25

Yes, you could hide behind the rocks that the beach was fairly shallow and so you couldn't get too close to the rock. It'd be a hundred yards at least to the, for you can find cover and you would get determined between the four over here or six of you, you would determine. Is that a high heavy equipment military force? There are they just now. It's a regular rank and we don't want to be scouting, and so we determine this and we try to determine whether it's a heavy artillery or they've got small tanks or what, and the only way we're gonna know it, get in there and see. So we make a run for it right, so you go back.

Speaker 3:
17:37

We go back into that like a diva J. Well, right, and try to get in behind the rock. Let's do it, then we would separate mm-hmm, some of us and we go like this right you would. Everybody would never say a word to the one another. Right, complete silence, complete silence. And then he would hide and observe what the Japanese were doing. They never suspected me, is there never? The adoption was close to doing, why aren't it?

Speaker 3:
18:24

we carried a knife yeah strap to your hip yeah, yeah and the car being on your back and, of course, car being worthless because all my one shot that's when you got.

Speaker 1:
18:42

It was a name one. Yeah, it was an army car blur. Okay, yeah, yeah, so so one shot then well, ours were all waxed yeah amnesians all white, oh, okay but one shot and you're dead.

Speaker 3:
19:01

That brings the Japanese out like flies around the last yeah, because you know everything was secret. Surprise.

Speaker 1:
19:10

Yeah, that's how it works yeah, and we worked that all the way up through the Philippines from the southern part.

Speaker 3:
19:20

Thorough lady was the last yeah that was the biggest pile as they grew then game golf. We called it then. That's called so big bay so that's where. Macarthur.

Speaker 1:
19:38

Joe MacArthur said to the film I'll be back. I'll be back right, if you ever see him. Yeah, you did.

Speaker 3:
19:46

Wow, tell me about that, tell me about how I see them when they had the peace treaty oh really bad yeah, truman was president and and you told me you were fan of Truman they wire and a president. Truman cuz they dropped the bomb before we's going into Tokyo okay we went into Tokyo. You wouldn't see me here today, right, and we knew it yeah but you were trained to do this, you.

Speaker 3:
20:20

You got so damn bitter at it and so crusted that after a main battle in the first come first wave, we only took first wave in after we'd scouted the islands but we knew where to go see, and then after that we'd take a first load of soldiers in on moving and Go back and get another load 25 to 30 depend on that. The sea heavy sea can take 25, smooth sea, why you could take 30 and full combat year see, and We'd take the first load in. Go back to the mother ship was about five to seven miles out, maybe more, and and we've come back to the same location and the chief statement oh, the Beach beach master would say you can't go back yet Got a job for you and he says I Called the Corning, they'll bring in like six live usage.

Speaker 1:
21:57

You mean it wounded yeah?

Speaker 3:
22:00

Maybe that many dead men and we'd take them back to the USS Comfort.

Speaker 1:
22:10

Yes, it was about 10 12. I Did that work.

Speaker 3:
22:16

Night and day.

Speaker 1:
22:17

I mean, walk me through this. They would six, four to six at a time. You put them in a small little.

Speaker 3:
22:25

In a on the Higgins boat.

Speaker 1:
22:27

Higgins boats and Ten miles in and you just do the rough water bringing them back. So some of them passed away, so they're right.

Speaker 3:
22:40

And they're nice comfort, would see us coming or hear it, and they would open the hatch Just above the water line. Yes, yes and that steel beam and come out likely and then let change down and hook on to the Mascots mm-hmm.

Speaker 1:
23:05

Alvin, I want to shift gears here because, because we could be here two weeks, yes, and I would love to spend the time with you, but I a little. I Want to share some things post military right. We talked about this off-camera where, when you got out, it was hard. Definitely show what was it? What was hard about getting out? You think Al. I didn't belong anywhere right, we talked about that would tell people what you mean by you, didn't well?

Speaker 3:
23:36

My parents had lived on the farm. Yeah, we've a mountain of big but herdy cows. Yeah, but I live yeah and they. Two weeks after I left, dad sold the cows okay. They sold the farm, yeah, they moved to Melbourne. Okay, the house month, the day before Christmas, and they couldn't find another house, so they moved to Glenwood. So and I didn't know this because we wouldn't get mail a maybe Three months.

Speaker 1:
24:12

Yeah, cuz they had to travel and it sat on somebody's.

Speaker 3:
24:16

Our mail is on the island.

Speaker 1:
24:18

We would just land okay, yeah, they held it for you.

Speaker 3:
24:22

Well, that's how fast they were when they dropped the mail.

Speaker 1:
24:26

Oh, I will that was where we had men. Yeah, there was no contact with your family at all except through mail, and that was three months and delayed, so so Bring me to when you got back, so back. So when did you, where were your parents living when you came back? In Glenwood? In Glenwood, yeah, in the new place, hell, okay. So how old were you when you came back? And I was 19 20 years so you took train to Des Moines. Des Moines, did you take a bus? No, but how we?

Speaker 3:
25:05

come back. I took train right into council one council of laughs.

Speaker 1:
25:08

Okay, so train into council bluffs. So then you got to Glenwood.

Speaker 3:
25:12

Mm-hmm, and the cabs were waiting there, yeah say where you are to go.

Speaker 1:
25:17

So you had your dungarees on. No, I had dress dress white, dress blues. Okay, tell the kid you dress blues on and he says where do you want to go?

Speaker 3:
25:28

That's with the Glenwood. Well, he said five dollars, I'm ready to go. Oh, I carried good way. She even cream to fish.

Speaker 1:
25:40

That's all you had in the broad.

Speaker 3:
25:42

Yeah, I liked everything else, the big bag, you know, cuz you didn't need it anymore.

Speaker 1:
25:47

That's you, let me just let it be so. You only had one set of uniform your dress, blues and no wearing and, and your cover and your To paste in your shaving kit. So you're driving, you get out at Glenwood, what do you see? What time was it? Well, nighttime about what? Label of cloth every night. Okay, that was a five dollar tower, I, that was expensive. Yeah that was a lot of money.

Speaker 3:
26:14

And it. When he got in Glenwood he said where do you want to go? And I said I don't know. So I found something that was open, so I called, went in and used the phone and called them. Well, hell broke me to the house, I guess when they called on the phone.

Speaker 1:
26:35

Yeah, okay. What was the reaction? Who answered the phone?

Speaker 3:
26:39

Probably one of my sisters, so they were all up and waiting. When I got there I was so Strung up, so high for two weeks I couldn't set in chair low enough to wrinkle my trousers.

Speaker 1:
26:58

Understand, because your stress, you're still, you're still ready, you're still combat ready.

Speaker 3:
27:05

I couldn't come down, I couldn't go up, but I just plain I didn't belong in it. I went to the farm with my dad the next day or two the I Enjoyed that, but I didn't blow. Focus so well. It was completely different form one that.

Speaker 3:
27:33

So I Didn't know what to do. And the big thing was I'd save some money. When I was in I always checked her. I'd sent her home to my mother, she got a little booze, so I had saved some money. And so about a couple of weeks after I was home the chivalrider in the mountain would call me and he said he knew I'd been to service and I suppose dad had talked to him too. And he told me he says whenever I get a car that I think a young person will like, I'll call you. And so I kind of forgot about it. So I told him okay. So one day I don't know whether it's six weeks or so later he called and told me. He said I got in a sport coupe.

Speaker 1:
28:41

Sport coupe. A Chevy sports coupe, Is that right? Chevrolet sports coupe what year? 46. 46.

Speaker 3:
28:50

Okay, they look like the 42s. Yeah, sure, that's that.

Speaker 1:
28:55

Pretty much the same. But you went in there to 46 sport coupe. Did you go to the dealership?

Speaker 3:
29:01

I went and looked at it, yeah.

Speaker 1:
29:02

Okay.

Speaker 3:
29:03

Yeah, and he says you can have it, and I said well, all taken, I think it was $800.

Speaker 1:
29:14

$800. Did you? I mean you obviously, just you had the $800. He said here you go. No one that easy.

Speaker 3:
29:25

Okay, he told me I didn't need to pay for it yet and you just like. So I went to the bank and I has one. I told the bank or what I was going to. I was going to buy a car. He says how much money you need Because they wanted to lend you the money right. And he says, yeah, we'll take care of it for you. I said no, I want to withdraw that, and so I finally talked him into it and I told the dealer. I said you better take it before you give it. No, no, no.

Speaker 1:
30:09

And can you do it when I owe anybody and no?

Speaker 3:
30:13

So that, and then I met the redhead.

Speaker 1:
30:16

Let's talk about that. So here you are. Here you are in your 1946 sports coupe. You pay cash for it. How much time passed by before you meet this beautiful redhead? Probably a month, okay. So you're still 19. Yeah, okay, where were you?

Speaker 3:
30:36

In Omaha. She was standing there on the by the corner of the Jocelyn Memorial.

Speaker 1:
30:43

Wow, and 19 years old. What's her name?

Speaker 3:
30:51

Well, her given name was one thing, when everybody called her right because she had rare Rusty.

Speaker 1:
30:57

Okay, that's a picture of her. Oh, wow, she just is pretty.

Speaker 3:
31:04

She looked to one seat and the other part of it. Was she just as nice as she looked.

Speaker 1:
31:11

Yeah, Tell me. Tell me back to that first day. This is the part that is going to interest. Well, give it. You seen her.

Speaker 3:
31:19

I've seen her say, finally talked her into taking her home that night.

Speaker 1:
31:24

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
31:26

And they're going to have been two or three bucks. Yeah, yeah, and so I asked her for a date then, yeah, on Sunday, that was Saturday night.

Speaker 1:
31:37

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
31:38

And so she finally can set his dick all with me. You can clap with me. Just turn an eye on.

Speaker 1:
31:48

It was that training you had.

Speaker 3:
31:50

That training. Well, maybe I was a pretty fast talker.

Speaker 1:
31:55

Could be. Could be, you just send this smart.

Speaker 3:
31:58

Just so Sailor had a way with him.

Speaker 1:
32:00

Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure, did she know you were in the military? No, you just, you just had that sailor mentality, yeah. So Rusty and you go on your first date. Yeah, where was that at?

Speaker 3:
32:14

In Omaha to a movie.

Speaker 1:
32:15

Okay, yeah, to a movie. Do you remember the movie? No, but you do remember the date, yeah, okay, so after the movie.

Speaker 3:
32:27

Well, and then when I took her home, I took, I asked her for another date. Yes, and I remember it was on a Wednesday, I'm not sure Sure, and I had been working out on the farm a little bit and so I was making gas money maybe.

Speaker 1:
32:48

Yeah, and I was wasting up to get you around, right.

Speaker 3:
32:52

And so I started dead and natered At least once a week, twice a week.

Speaker 1:
32:59

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
33:00

And the more I got seen over, the more I wanted to be with her. Yeah, and we started doing different things, like going to dances. Right, you told me about that. We went to a lot of the big dances. They used to have a lot of good ones. Yeah, all the main bands.

Speaker 1:
33:19

Yeah, yeah, like ballroom dancing. Yeah, all that, yeah, yeah, and it was you were quite the dancer right. That's what you were telling me At one time.

Speaker 3:
33:28

Yes, absolutely Sorry that the time ran out, but you know, her and I went to dance one night and I done the doctor. The best thing to do was dancing. Yeah, she wouldn't go no more. She almost stumbled and fell. Oh okay, I checked her for going down.

Speaker 1:
33:48

Yeah, she was like that's it.

Speaker 3:
33:52

That's it, and sometimes we go to listen to music afterwards. But we had 75 years 75 years.

Speaker 1:
34:05

I'll be 97. 98 in May. Okay, let me make sure I get that. What's your, when's your birthday?

Speaker 3:
34:12

May the 23rd.

Speaker 1:
34:14

May 23rd. Okay. So, al, I want to talk about we'll talk about Rusty here in a bit but I want to talk about when you say you don't belong, because there's a lot of military people right now, veterans who get out of the military and they feel like they just they just don't feel like they're in their skin. They just don't feel like they belong, they just don't feel. I know exactly what it's like. What would you just say? So I just had a friend the other day tell me hey, I got a buddy right now that's in trouble. He wants to talk to somebody, but he doesn't want anybody to know. What would you be of your advice for someone who was feeling like that today? Because I know they'll listen to people like you. Al, you've been through it. You've been through it.

Speaker 3:
35:07

Well, the first thing is maybe I have something like some of the Red Stugging by having to go to church and I have felt, like you know, after what they told us in boot camp carrying the seal of training, that after they would always say the 23rd song, who will walk through the valley of myth?

Speaker 1:
35:38

Yep, we, yep. Can I share something with you? I read the same verse before we walk from Lincoln to Omaha.

Speaker 3:
35:48

Last year, you know and you know, unless the people that may, who done he can't do that. He's doing their own, their own, ready to be. Well, I'll tell you the. I went on so many missions and I felt like we had a shield over. You Can't be. Let's just put it this way you can't be lucky on your life, you just cannot be lucky.

Speaker 1:
36:22

There's no way.

Speaker 3:
36:24

So the good Lord is taking care of it, regardless of what anybody says, I know what is plain, as I know who I am. I really feel it, I really do.

Speaker 1:
36:36

You're 97 years old. You're up at two o'clock in the morning doing your pedaling 30 minutes.

Speaker 3:
36:43

You walk these halls for 30 minutes every day every day and I don't cheat because I'm cheating myself. That's right. If I cheat on any of this exercise, I'm cheating nobody, not you, not you, you.

Speaker 1:
36:59

You.

Speaker 3:
37:00

So I make sure that I get in that late at time and I walk fast. I fast enough to bring the sweat out and you get ready every day. Every day.

Speaker 1:
37:12

Like there's no day, that's just a relaxed day. Every day you get ready, so you don't have to stay.

Speaker 3:
37:18

I'll be waking up two o'clock anyway, because I've been that way for so many years.

Speaker 1:
37:26

You know, this has probably been one of my favorite interviews because you're such a good, you can share the story. That pulls people in, because my job is to preserve the story. I don't know how much I'm here since I've been sitting here. The things that we have on our backs nothing, nothing compared to what you've been throughout, what you've done for our country, how you've served this great nation. You continue to do it. You're making me a better person today and you make me want to work harder.

Speaker 3:
38:10

I don't go to church like I should, but my daughter's home. She always comes and gets me. She lives in Council Bluffs. She comes down to church down here and the boys go to their church or something and my daughter and I go to this heaven. Like I said, I've been to Tosanri a guy when I was young Is there any other kid? Oh sure, okay, I have this feeling about myself. I've been protected by God himself. I really believe it, I really do, and I've had two heart attacks.

Speaker 1:
38:50

Open heart surgery.

Speaker 3:
38:52

Yes, two of them, yeah, and I've had two kidney surgeries. I was almost 90 years old when I had an excited fear and doubt. I was 86 years old, 90.

Speaker 1:
39:08

Oh, 90. That was a hard year.

Speaker 3:
39:11

I couldn't believe it. And Dr Iperager'd only five o'clock in the evening and he says uh, it'll be all right, come by in the next morning and look me up, says everything looks real good, you can go home. Same stuff next day, thanks. And the doctors come in and they say you're what?

Speaker 1:
39:38

That's some of my conversation with you today.

Speaker 3:
39:40

He said what he said, I could go home, and of course I've been up walking around anyway.

Speaker 1:
39:49

Yeah.

Speaker 3:
39:50

After the second heart surgery, I was just there for days and didn't even stop the heart.

Speaker 1:
39:55

A couple of questions I want to ask and then we'll wrap this up. But, al, what would you say to all this rhetoric going on in this world and you know the patriotism there's do you think it's missing in the generation? I know it's missing. What do you want to tell this generation of 20, 30, 40 year olds? And it's okay, I want you to speak your piece.

Speaker 3:
40:23

Well, you've got to have your faith. You need your faith. You need your country. It's the best place in the world there is. Protect like it's yours. You got to remember I'm no hero. The heroes of the guys out there under the white crosses.

Speaker 1:
40:44

Yeah, they're on the other side of the ground right now.

Speaker 3:
40:47

Yes, they are. I know a lot of them and I miss them terribly, I think that over the years. Well, here's another about Rudy.

Speaker 1:
41:00

Oh, here's your competitor.

Speaker 3:
41:03

Well, the shim and I were quite blood brothers.

Speaker 1:
41:06

Yes, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:
41:10

And we were in Norfolk, Virginia, my wife and I. My grandson was a stool out there. They said parents leave there, Little Creek, and so we went out to see him graduate. So when we got ready to leave we thought we'd just drive down to Gulfport, Mississippi, and see them old buddies yeah.

Speaker 3:
41:40

Well, we got close to town and I called him and his wife entered. She was kind of interested. She said, by the way, she says who is it? I said Al Hayes. He started crying and she said Rudy died three months ago. The last thing he said to me, the last breath he took. Be sure and tell Al Hayes I'm not. I felt like less than two cents. It just took my breath away and I told him I'm sorry, I'll get in contact with you later and you know I haven't got over that. But here was another thing that I I assume as many people as I've seen carried dead ones and did this and did that. I got so damn crusted to it that I could fall, I could take anything till that lady died.

Speaker 1:
42:48

That was in 2021.

Speaker 3:
42:51

I'm down here, I'm done. Here's Nan dying. Three weeks later, one rainbow.

Speaker 1:
42:58

But no, you get out of the woods. Yep Rainbow, but you're up for Bill. Bill Hayes January 11. She'd only sell them, please 97 years on this earth, you can still say life is short, is that right?

Speaker 3:
43:17

And it really is. And you know, there's one thing that people have got to learn you can't be on the take, You've got to be on the give.

Speaker 1:
43:30

Yes, yes, I agree with that 100%. There's too many takers today and there's some people that just can't get it out, can't get enough of it either, and I don't regret one minute of my life.

Speaker 3:
43:50

My time in the military made more out of me than if I went to college for years and years and years. I weren't more.

Speaker 1:
44:01

Yeah, you sure did. I have no college behind me, it's all in the military and it served me very well.

Speaker 3:
44:08

And I have no regrets at all. I kind of live by the standard. I love this world. We've got the best, except it's not. This is not the case. We are proud Americans, but there's a lot of things.

Speaker 1:
44:32

Here's one of them's home of the free because of the brave. That's right. You put that uniform on. You serve this nation so that other people today don't have to.

Speaker 3:
44:45

And I had this happen to me several different times. I go to the Veterans Day down here in Memorial.

Speaker 1:
44:54

Day yes, yes.

Speaker 3:
44:56

And, by the way, I belong to the Court of Honor here in town.

Speaker 1:
44:59

Oh, you do.

Speaker 3:
45:00

Yeah, and these high school boys will come up and talk to me afterwards, because they introduced me a lot of times.

Speaker 1:
45:23

Well, anyway, that you can say it if you want. You can, I don't matter. Listen, this is, this is good.

Speaker 3:
45:32

These young kids will come up and they'll say you know, I wouldn't mind being the Navy Seals, and she was. What was it they got? You know, stand the chance. Well, what do you mean? I'm just good as anybody. I said the first place is you got the wrong attitude.

Speaker 1:
45:51

That's right. It starts here.

Speaker 3:
45:53

The second place is you got to take care of yourself. I was 100 percent perfect and health wise when I went. You don't find that everywhere. No, they told us to start with, and I don't want 100 percent out of you, I want 125, and we're going to get it or you're not going to be here.

Speaker 1:
46:17

You know how many people would fold today just hearing that. You know how soft these kids are. They're still good ones.

Speaker 3:
46:26

Oh, this is the thing. Oh yeah, yeah, I'll take this away. I've known this the way you don't know how many times I've had. I think we'll get it out in the trash. Well see that on the front of it oh right there, yes, the American Eagle. Yeah, that's down in Florida.

Speaker 1:
46:46

Wow. It's taking a live big one In front of a flag like that.

Speaker 3:
46:53

He just polled.

Speaker 1:
46:53

You just took it. Yeah, oh, that's a great shot. Yeah, well, al, I mean I can feel your patriotism and I want this to be. I would like to invite you to some of our events and I'd like Chris to be able to pick you up and I want you to witness some of the patriotism going on. I want you to see what we're doing for veterans and I would like more people to hear your story. I mean, if you're up for it, you don't have to feel obligated at all. But, al, I've learned so much today. I have just sitting here.

Speaker 3:
47:32

Well, I could have took you right into Japan to see the armistice was signed and everything. My gosh and they. The day they are Mr for signed, the minute that Our boats and whistle blew on, the ship says Scouts and Raiders, manual boats, full combat gear, and my job or not my job, my crew's job was take every flag down, japanese flag down in Tokyo Bay, and we did. Wow, and I've got one of them that I've got one picture of it.

Speaker 1:
48:18

The. How many people stood up and volunteer? Oh, that's where you told us when you first.

Speaker 3:
48:26

Oh, one of the things was that we were back in Manila, yeah, and we were taking on supplies. We just left Okinawa Because we'd been there, so they did pretty well, excuse me, 45.

Speaker 1:
48:48

This was in 1945. 45.

Speaker 3:
48:52

Okay, 46.

Speaker 1:
48:52

46. Okay. 46. Okay.

Speaker 3:
48:54

Yeah, when they are in the sea.

Speaker 1:
48:56

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 3:
48:59

And so our ship had already left After it was pretty well secured in Okinawa was. So when we got into Manila, of course, there was no Manila left. Did you ever fly over for you?

Speaker 1:
49:20

No, no, was it obliterated.

Speaker 3:
49:23

You think that what you see on television, that the Gaza's this is the Gaza's strengthen, all that.

Speaker 1:
49:31

Israel lights over there yeah.

Speaker 3:
49:35

What we do to get these out, those.

Speaker 1:
49:37

Really.

Speaker 3:
49:38

Who, in them building standing Japanese, took it away from us. Then we took it back, so you can imagine how much is left.

Speaker 1:
49:48

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:
49:50

Well, anyway, he Come up that Five. I would play the main officer that took care of the seals. Oh, by the way, they was about 40 of us Navy Seals that was on this ship. I don't think it was 50 and 50 people on that ship that knew that we left every night. It was that top secret.

Speaker 1:
50:20

I can only imagine. Well, I do want to conclude today's interview, but I do want to come back for more stories. Would you have me back? Sure, I, and I mean that, because what you have is history.

Speaker 3:
50:37

That's what they show me a lot of it.

Speaker 1:
50:39

Yes and I don't. I don't want people to forget what your generation did for this world. We would not be here today. It would have turned out different and speaking. Japanese it to this would be a different place without people like yourself who serve selfishly. Brave, courageous.

Speaker 3:
51:03

I don't know if you got to the point in the Air Force or not that you was never scared anything.

Speaker 1:
51:11

I won't say I was. I was always scared. I'm getting honest with you Scared, scared to Of the unknown, scared to lose my life, stare at what would happen. That was in my veins, but it also helped me keep a level head. To say You're scared, you should be. It's too often where People got too comfortable and that's when they lost their life. But your training was a hundred times more regimented than mine. It, it, it's. It was intense, but I, I want to thank you for today. I want to say I'm grateful and you have no idea I've been, I've been anticipating this interview for at least a couple of months now, working with Chris, and I just want you to know when I leave this house of yours, I want you to know that you're going to honor the story. You do it. Just this I'd like to give you some more sometime. Oh, I'll be back Two to three weeks if you don't mind. If you don't mind, I'll be back with Chris and we'll do more of this Now. Bless it.

Speaker 2:
52:32

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