[Annotator’s Note: The sound is choppy in this segment.] Edwin Sedran was born in the Bronx, New York in March 1924. [Annotator’s Note: A woman comes into the interview area to ask questions at 0:29.000-1:00.00.000.] His father worked at a factory that produced men’s shoes until the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] hit and he lost his job. They had a tough time for a while. His mother would try to sell coal to his neighbors for money, while his father looked for work. Sedran was with his friends shooting pool and listening to a football game when news came over the radio that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Sedran wanted to join the service right away, but his parents insisted that he wait. After he graduated from high school, he found a job as a riveter at the Grumman factory. His friend’s father ran the local draft board, so Sedran knew that he would be drafted soon. Sedran was drafted into the Army Air Corps near the end of 1942. He was sent to ground school training where he was taught about sheet metal. He also spent time in Texas learning about new grounding gear. He did basic training in Miami Beach [Annotator’s Note: Miami Beach, Florida]. Because he played basketball in high school, he was physically well during his training. Sedran was assigned to the 570th Air Engineering Squadron, 359th Air Service Group. In November 1944, he was deployed overseas to the Pacific in a converted tanker ship. He slept on the deck many nights because he did not want to sleep at the bottom of the ship. It was remarkable that no one ever complained about anything. The voyage was boring and some men were seasick for the beginning of the trip. After 38 days on the water, his ship finally landed [Annotator’s Note: at Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands].

[Annotator’s Note: The sound is choppy in this segment.] When Edwin Sedran landed on Tinian [Annotator’s Note: Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands], he saw chaos. He watched the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] making runways. They did not have any place to sleep until a few days later when a barracks was finally built. On the first night, Sedan heard gunfire, but learned later that it was just friendly fire. There was not anything for his unit [Annotator’s Note: 570th Air Engineering Squadron, 359th Air Service Group] to do for a while. Finally, his unit was put on patrol duty looking for Japanese. One day, Sedran and his friend volunteered to get some supplies for the camp. The drove a truck to the beachhead and loaded it up with beer. On there way back to camp, Sedran saw a Japanese soldier waving a white flag trying to surrender, but Sedran kept telling the driver to keep moving. He was told by his commander to not stop for anything. When they made it back to camp, he reported what he saw. When Sedran’s unit was finally settled on Tinian, his job was to work on planes. He admitted that his work was not very hard. At night he often watched the fighter planes strafe Saipan [Annotator’s Note: Saipan, Northern Marianna Island]. Sedran felt that he was never in any danger from Japanese strafing. He worked five to six hours a day on planes, until the war progressed and there were “red alerts.” He began working day and night preparing planes for missions. During his off time, he played sports with the other guys. He had one friend who was a pilot that died on a mission to Saipan. He also was friends with Zander Hollander [Annotator’s Note: Zander Hollander was an American sportswriter, journalist, editor and archivist.] Sedran and his friends also listened to Tokyo Rose [Annotator's Note: nickname given by Allied servicemen to any English-speaking female radio personality broadcasting Japanese propaganda in the Pacific Theater] while he was stationed on the island. Everyone thought she was funny, and it helped with the morale of the troops.

[Annotator’s Note: The sound is choppy in this segment.] Edwin Sedran was assigned to Tinian [Annotator’s Note: Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands] with his unit [Annotator’s Note: 570th Air Engineering Squadron, 359th Air Service Group] doing maintenance on planes during his deployment in the Pacific. He was part of the ground crew that maintained the B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. He did not associate too much with the air crew. He took a flight to Guam [Annotator’s Note: Guam, Mariana Islands]. Sedran befriended many guys in his unit that were from all over the United States. He met one guy named Lopez, who was Spanish. Sedran, being a Jew, felt that he had to show his patriotism overtly while in the service. He joined the basketball team at the base which made it easier for others to accept him. He shared a few stories about hearing antisemitic remarks from fellow men during training. One of his friends later beat up another guy for using an antisemitic remark towards Sedran. He did not receive much news or mail while he was overseas. He was thrilled to learn about the surrender in Europe. He was saddened to hear of FDR’s [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] death and he had no idea who Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] was and how he would lead as the president. He learned about the dropping of the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] the day after it happened. Sedran and his unit continued working day and night on Tinian until the Japanese surrendered [Annotator’s Note: the Japanese surrender was announced 15 August 1945, and formally signed 2 September 1945]. He left Tinian in December 1945. He served about 15 months before returning to the United States. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer talks to someone off camera at 0:43:15.000.]

[Annotator’s Note: The sound is choppy in this segment.] Edwin Sedran returned to the United States and went to the hospital because he had broken his wrist falling off a plane. He was discharged from service sometime in February 1946 at Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey] as a sergeant. He immediately found a job to support his ailing parents. Sedran did not suffer from any post-traumatic stress from the war. He felt there was a morality boost of Americans after he returned. Sedran found a job as a shipping clerk in the garment district and worked his way up in the business. He believes that the war made a man out of him, because he was a baby when he was first deployed overseas. He thinks that everyone should serve. After the war, he developed more values and morality in his life and became more responsible. Sedran fought in World War 2 because he felt it was his duty and wanted to do something. He believes this country is worth fighting for. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings in background at 0:52:41.000.] He believes that World War 2 made America a leader in the world. Sedran believes that there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because they are not getting the information from schools. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee becomes emotional when he tells a story of his friend’s death.] Sedran shared that the saddest event was when his friend told him he would see him soon, but never returned from his mission. He remarked that the spirit of Americans and how they never complained was amazing to him.