Alvin Barnes was born December in 1925 in Minden, Nebraska. His family moved from the small Midwestern town and bought a farm when he was in 7th grade. The times during the Great Depression were difficult on the farm due to drought and destructive pests. The family was poor like others around them. They largely subsisted on the produce grown on their farm. Barnes was surprised with the government policy of destroying food supplies to increase prices when people were hungry. The WPA [Annotator's Note: Works Progress Administration] came along and built roads and provided jobs. The schools were good for him. His grandmother had a large map of the world on the wall showing communist countries which she abhorred. It was at the time that Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] was on the rise. Barnes remembers the war with Germany prior to his 16th birthday. Shortly after that birthday, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He knew that war was on with the Japanese and that he soon would be engaged in the fighting. Awareness and support for the war effort was high. Everyone participated in the wartime efforts like rationing and scrap drives. Barnes was drafted after high school and chose the Navy. In 1944, he attended boot camp and then was placed in a pool of sailors to be replacements aboard ships. He was the 13th man, the alternate, to go aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) when he was sent back to the replacement pool. Instead, Barnes was put aboard the USS Purdy (DD-734) as a Fire Controlman 1st Class and shipped to Hawaii and then to Japan.

Alvin Barnes was drafted into the Navy. He previously knew he would have to serve. He had no problem with boot camp. He just followed orders. He did not like what the Japanese were doing, especially their attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He attended Fire Control School and worked with the related operational equipment and identification of enemy planes and ships. He also could aid with navigation of the ship with his equipment. After his assignment to the USS Purdy (DD-734), the did a shakedown cruise [Annotator's Note: a cruise to evaluate the performance of a naval vessel and its crew] from San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] the week the war ended. They next sailed to Pearl Harbor where they were billeted [Annotator's Note: a billet is a place where military personnel are lodged temporarily] in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. After a brief time in the Hawaiian Islands, they sailed to Tokyo Bay [Annotator's Note: Tokyo Bay, Japan] just after the armistice was signed on the Missouri [Annotator's Note: USS Missouri (BB-63)]. The Purdy was assigned to mail service for the official and personnel mail up and down the islands of Japan. He toured Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan] after the rubble had been cleared. The destruction by the one bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] was evident as the only things standing were iron safes that stood where shops used to exist and bare tree trunks in the parks. Little else remained. Some people managed to survive. He was awed by the force of the one destructive bomb that changed the whole world. When the military asked for volunteers to observe the atomic bomb tests at Eniwetok [Annotator's Note: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands] and Bikini Atoll [Annotator's Note: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands], Barnes refused to go anywhere close to an atomic bomb blast and its radiation. The dropping of the atomic bomb was the right thing to do. The atomic bomb saved not only his life but thousands of others. Japan did not want to surrender so a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki [Annotator's Note: Nagasaki, Japan]. It convinced them [Annotator's Note: the Japanese] to surrender. Barnes was afforded leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan] and Yokohama [Annotator's Note: Yokohama, Japan]. The Japanese were guarded when dealing with the Americans. Barnes never got used to the food in Japan. The Purdy’s mail runs covered the length of Japan. While in the military, he never questioned authority.

Alvin Barnes rode out a typhoon off Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. The ship [Annotator's Note: USS Purdy (DD-734)] was ordered to sea for the storm. Barnes was at the helm during the height of the storm. The ocean's surface reached the top of the mast. The ship rolled so much that the extent of it could not be measured by onboard equipment. He was never seasick but very tired after his time at the wheel. He returned to his bunk and found damage induced by the hammering of a stanchion on the deck above. A hole was created in the overhead above his bunk. All his uniforms and personal items were soaked. He had to rinse out his dress whites so they would not yellow. He had no rest that night but the ship did survive. Others did not survive but were sunk.

Alvin Barnes entered Tokyo Bay [Annotator's Note: Tokyo Bay, Japan] after the war. His ship [Annotator's Note: USS Purdy (DD-734)] had a floating mine nearby. The Executive Officer fired at the mine with a rifle to detonate it. The rifle fire and even machine gun rounds did not explode it. It finally detonated and a piece of shrapnel nearly hit Barnes. On the homeward trip, Marines were carried on the ship. They were jammed aboard. Barnes entered the war late so his points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] were not sufficient to return home early. He made it home for discharge in Saint Louis [Annotator's Note: Saint Louis, Missouri] in 1946. He went on to college. He did join the Navy reserve. He resigned in 1956 after receiving his college education. In February 1951, he was commissioned as an ensign. Fire Controlmen were needed for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 to 1953] but not ensigns. He was called up but did not have to go to Korea because he was an ensign. He used the G.I. Bill for his education at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln [Annotator's Note: in Lincoln, Nebraska]. He studied chemical engineering. Even though he had high school scholarships, without the G.I. Bill, he would have had to work and thus taken longer to obtain his diploma. Not having to serve in the Korean War allowed Barnes to be with his pregnant wife when their child was born. He enjoyed that opportunity. He went on to a career in engineering, merchandising and sales. He retired in 1982. He decided to purchase an electronics company which he ran until 1992. He then sold automobiles for about 20 years.

Alvin Barnes was temporarily assigned to the USS Indianapolis [Annotator's Note: USS Indianapolis (CA-35)] for one day. Afterward, he was permanently assigned to a destroyer [Annotator's Note: USS Purdy (DD-734)]. While on fire watch, he observed the Indianapolis passing his ship. The cruiser was fully prepared for sea but entered a drydock. Barnes questioned why. On the next leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], he went to visit his buddies on the Indianapolis but his entry was blocked. A few days later, Indianapolis went to sea. The secrecy was due to the two atomic bombs being loaded for transport to Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Mariana Islands]. The bomb triggers would transit separately. Unexpectedly, no destroyer escort was provided for the cruiser, despite the threat of enemy submarines. After delivery of its cargo, the Indianapolis was sunk [Annotator's Note: 30 July 1945] by a Japanese submarine while it was en route to the Philippines. The vast majority of the crew were killed by the sinking or shark attacks. Barnes realized that he came close to being a member of that crew. That was his first contact with the atomic bomb. The second experience was walking the streets of Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan] in October of that year [Annotator's Note: 1945]. Another experience was during the 1960s while he was touring the University of Chicago [Annotator's Note: in Chicago, Illinois] campus. He observed a small sign indicating the location where the atom was first split. The 1950s and 1960s was a time of stress due to the threat of nuclear war. People did not realize what they were up against. Atomic energy and the threat of mass destruction still has a profound effect on the world today.

Alvin Barnes had coincidental meetings with a childhood friend during the war. He had a friend named Paul [Annotator's Note: no surname provided] during his earliest years in Minden, Nebraska. He reunited with him in boot camp and met him later in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] while celebrating the end of the war [Annotator's Note: 14 August 1945]. While Barnes was in high school, his uncle worked in war production with high explosives. An accident resulted in a fatal detonation. None of his uncle's remains were found other than his personal ring. While Barnes was working in Mare Island [Annotator's Note: Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California] loading ordnance, he saw identification on one depth charge that indicated that it could have been loaded by his uncle. [Annotator's Note: Barnes chuckles.] He was glad it did not explode while he was working onboard the ship. Barnes met a bigot [Annotator's Note: a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people base on their membership in a particular group] from Texas while in boot camp. The desperate recruit slammed his arm in a window to try to escape duty in the Navy. Barnes' buddy, Paul, got scarlet fever [Annotator's Note: a type of infection] while in boot camp. When Barnes visited him, he too contracted the disease. Barnes discovered that he was immune to mumps [Annotator's Note: a contagious viral disease] when he was misdiagnosed with that disease. He was mistakenly placed in a ward with those suffering from mumps but did not contract the disease. Funny things happened during the war. [Annotator's Note: Barnes laughs.] After visiting a submarine, Barnes knew that was not the service for him. Barnes enjoyed his time in Hawaii during and after the war. Barnes loved sailing and sea duty on his ship [Annotator's Note: USS Purdy (DD-734)]. The feeling has stayed with him. At the rifle range, he shot various weapons. He learned to handle firing them. He strapped on a .45 caliber pistol [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] for his one day of shore patrol. During that day, he picked up the mail which contained his orders to transfer to another ship, a supply ship. His destroyer was returning to the United States without him.

Alvin Barnes was drafted into the military and was able to select the Navy as his service branch. He grew up during the war. He learned what life was all about. He became responsible and accountable for his actions. Society was changed by the war as well. Trust in others was reduced as individual security became endangered. It seemed as if others tried to take advantage of the vulnerable. A person had to protect his family. Barnes studied in Sunday School and was given a New Testament [Annotator's Note: Section of Christian Bible] when he entered the service. Barnes has a firm belief that Christ died for his sins and is his friend. Jesus Christ has forgiven him of his sins and Barnes can have eternal life as a result. World War 2 means little to the young people of America today. It is an ancient war to them like the conflicts between the Greeks and Spartans [Annotator's Note: citizens of Sparta, Greece]. Culturally, people after the war became more interested in material things like houses and consumer goods. It has become a consumer generation. As a teetotaler [Annotator's Note: word used to describe someone who does not consume alcohol] in his youth, he did not understand why Navy reunions offered so much liquor to veterans. He had seen what alcohol abuse did to his uncle. It is a major problem for society today. Alcoholics have their decision making power destroyed. Marijuana does the same thing. Heroin addiction is a problem in many places today. It is important that institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] reveal the life or death struggle that required victory in the war. Future generations should have more knowledge about what the war was all about. It facilitated the freedoms we have since we won that war. More publicity about the Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum] should be provided to the public. Many people do not know of its existence.

Alvin Barnes heard an interesting story of a man who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. During his service, Barnes was allowed by his ship's [Annotator's Note: USS Purdy (DD-734)] captain to swim in various waters the vessel traversed. The water could be dangerous, depending on where the current or tides would take him. In early 1945, he was in Florida and saw the nice beaches and experienced the warm water. The United States has great diversity in weather conditions, terrain, and tidal action. In the Navy, he was able to see most of the United States and some of the Orient [Annotator's Note: name for the countries of Asia, especially eastern Asia] and Mexico. He has visited many countries in Europe and England. He has fulfilled his bucket list.