Russell Arnold Dahlstrom was born in July 1923 in Rockford, Illinois. [Annotator’s Note: A clock dings at 00:28.00] He grew up in Mount Prospect, Illinois where he attended elementary school before going to high school in nearby Arlington Heights. His father was a paving contractor and part owner of a company, Milburn Brothers. His mother was a stay-at-home mom and did some work during the war years. He was the oldest of three siblings. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], his father often went months without getting paid as many of his contracts were with the state of Illinois which had no money in their treasury to pay contractors. As a result, Dahlstrom’s family had to watch their pennies. In the late 1930s, Dahlstrom was aware of what was going on in Germany, but not Japan. He began studying engineering at IIT in Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois] in the fall of 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], things became uncomfortable for the Japanese students and faculty at the school. One of his professors was forced to resign and return to Japan after receiving many death threats against him and his family. Dahlstrom recalls being home in Mount Prospect on the Sunday when news of the attack was broadcast over the radio. He and his family thought Japan would be an easy opponent to wipe out. He felt that, while the attack was sneaky, the United States should have been better prepared. Soon after the attacks, he began to think about enlisting and went to speak to a neighbor who was a recruiting officer with the Marine Corps. The neighbor told Dahlstrom he would not be able to deliver the news of his death to his mother and suggested he join the Navy Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] instead. Because of his background in engineering and construction, Dahlstrom entered the Navy with the rank of seaman first class. In January 1943, Dahlstrom reported to Camp Peary, Virginia for basic training before being sent to Camp Endicott, Rhode Island where he began training as a stevedore with the 11th Special Battalion [Annotator’s Note: 11th Special Naval Construction Battalion]. Dahlstrom was put to work operating a winch used to load and unload cargo from the hold of ships. While loading a ship that was to take him to the Pacific Theater, Dahlstrom was selected for V-12 [Annotator’s Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946] training and sent to Tulane University in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] where he remained until the end of the war. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee begins searching papers for dates of service entrance at 0:12:37.000.] While enrolled at Tulane, Dahlstrom took engineering courses along with Navy history, protocol, and courses on officers’ responsibilities. He was relieved when he was chosen for the V-12 program and thought it was fantastic that he would receive a free education. The program disbanded when the war was over, and though he did not receive his degree, he was commissioned as a deck officer aboard the USS Bottineau (APA-235).

The V-12 program [Annotator’s Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946] disbanded when the war was over, and though Russell Dahlstrom did not receive his degree, he was commissioned as a deck officer aboard the USS Bottineau (APA-235). He boarded the ship and began a series of landing craft training exercises. During this training, he served as the beach master in charge of overseeing the landing exercises. He was then made assistant navigator and then repair officer. The ship then steamed across the Pacific to Nagoya, Japan where they picked up troops returning from combat. While entering Nagoya Harbor, a Japanese navigator came aboard to navigate the ship through a mine field just outside the safety of the harbor. Upon landing in Nagoya, Dahlstrom disembarked and was amazed at how many vendors crowded around them attempting to sell souvenirs to the arriving sailors. He was surprised at how friendly the people of Nagoya were to their conquerors. After three days in Nagoya, the Bottineau returned to Seattle, Washington. The ship then sailed up and down the West Coast and completed more landing operations. Dahlstrom requested a transfer to the East Coast where he was released from active duty. He remained in the reserve for eight years and resigned as things began to escalate in Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975]. He resigned his commission in 1954 with the rank of lieutenant JG, CEC [Annotator's Note: lieutenant junior grade, construction electrician’s mate chief petty officer]. He recalls the VE Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] and VJ Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945] as celebrations of victory after many times when victory was not ensured. His most memorable experience of World War 2 was when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He served in World War 2 because he thought it was his duty and wanted to do his part to save his country. Though the war interrupted his engineering education, Dahlstrom managed to take over the family business after his father retired and became successful. He is glad he is still able to tell his grandchildren of his contribution to victory. Because so many people are forgetting the history of World War 2, it is important for institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] to exist to give people get a better sense of what happened to earn the freedoms we continue to enjoy.