Arthur Fishman is a World War 2 Navy veteran. He had three sons and several grandchildren, and his wife passed away. He was born in Oak Park, Michigan in 1927. At 16 years old, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was studying aeronautical engineering and went to an Air Force training program while in school. He trained in a Piper Cub [Annotator's Note: Piper J-3 Cub light observation aircraft] trainer. When they closed the training program, there were too many pilots, so Fishman was offered a spot in OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] with the regular Army since he had ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] training. He did not want to do that, so he took, and passed, the naval aviation exam. Fishman trained at Great Lakes [Annotator's Note: Great Lakes Naval Station, Great Lakes, Illinois] for five weeks. His father would not sign for him to join the regular Navy. He was tested in airplane gauges. After two days, he was sent to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California], and was then went to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He was put on a troop ship and then joined the USS Robinson number 562 [Annotator's Note: USS Robinson (DD-562)] as an engineer and fireman. Before the end of the war, Fishman became a 1st Class Fireman and later a Petty Officer 3rd Class. When he was on duty, he worked below deck reading gauges. Fishman had a good bunk area, could eat when he wanted, and at night, he worked on the mast looking for other ships. He enjoyed the night duty because he liked to look out at the ocean. His main duty on ship was reading gauges and also working with the front forward gun as a pointer. Fishman's ship was a member of the Fifth Fleet and saw many islands, including Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Fishman could not understand why they were fighting for Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan]. From 12 miles off shore, it looked like a rock in the water. Fishman lost a friend on the island. It was the only time in the war that he questioned a war aim. When he saw the airstrip, he understood why they fought for the island. From there, he sailed the northern Pacific and spent time in Tsingtao, Korea in the fall of 1945. He was told they were there to see how deep the ports were. Fishman then spent three months cleaning the Huangpu River near Shanghai, China. During that time, Jewish holidays were coming up, but Fishman was the only Jewish sailor, so his officers allowed him to go ashore for services. However, Fishman refused the offer because religion was not very important to him at the time. He was the youngest sailor aboard ship. His did shore patrol in Shanghai. Fishman had never been qualified with a pistol, but it was not loaded. He spent New Year's Eve in Shanghai with other sailors. Fishman was given ten dollars to spend in the city. He could not find food he wanted to eat, until he found a steak. His ship was also sent to Okinawa to pick up mail. In December 1945, he returned to Pearl Harbor to escort the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga [Annotator’s Note: USS Ticonderoga CV-14] back to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. He had a good time in New York, even though he was not allowed to participate in the welcome parade. He attended a USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations] event and traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to mothball [Annotator's Note: to put a ship into reserve] a destroyer. Fishman traveled with an officer because he could type. The officer got him a flight to Jacksonville, Florida, and then Fishman took a train to Miami [Annotator's Note: Miami, Florida] to see friends, including his future wife. He did that route for six weeks until he was discharged in Jacksonville. He visited his family after his service discharge. Fishman enrolled in college at Wayne State University [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan] and wanted to go to law school. After a year, he moved to Florida and moved in with his future wife and her family. After five years, he returned home, built a house, and has lived there ever since. He is active with the local university, his temple, the local World War 2 memorial, and is friends with other veterans. He marches in parades with veterans.

Arthur Fishman had one sister growing up. His mother died when he was six years old. A few years later, his father remarried. His family life was irregular. Fishman grew up with seven friends. One of his friends joined the Navy with Fishman. His group of friends visited the World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C. [Annotator's Note: the National WWII Memorial in Washington, District of Columbia]. There were veterans in wheelchairs. Some veterans had interesting stories, others were at the same islands Fishman went to. On 7 December, 1941, he went to the movies with his sister. They went to see Disney's "Fantasia." When he got home, he heard President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] on the radio. His family did not speak while the President spoke. The commentators discussed the attack at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His father could not join the service because he worked for the war industry. Fishman heard about the Normandy invasion. He had two friends that were involved in the Battle of Normandy [Annotator's Note: 6 June 1944 through 30 August 1944]. One of them saw their comrades drown trying to get to the beach on D-Day [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Another friend went in during the second wave. Fishman knew another man who fought in Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Fishman feels fortunate to have survived so long.

Once in the Navy, Arthur Fishman did not receive much training. He was taught how to read his gauges. On his way back from Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China], he was trained how to work the engine throttle. The hardest part was going through the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: Panama]. He did not get to see the canal because he worked the whole time. He was almost promoted to a 3rd Class Petty Officer. He joined the Navy on 4 June 1945 and was discharged a year later. He was given credit for his service in the Army. He was in the Army from February 1944 to 1945. He was in the Air Corps Reserve during that time. The Robinson [Annotator's Note: USS Robinson (DD-562)] was a destroyer. She had two guns forward, two guns in the rear, and a rack of depth charges. They were not used, except for practice. He remembered the water being so clear, he could see the men swimming underwater. He did not see any action during the war. He was in Shanghai when the war ended. His ship was in the Huangpu River [Annotator's Note: China] clearing mines during the surrender. When Fishman's ship arrived in Shanghai, the crew went on deck in their dress white uniforms. His ship came up next to a British cruiser and their crew was also on deck in their dress white uniforms. He saw the British sailors getting their afternoon grog [Annotator's Note: an alcoholic drink, usually rum and water] ration. Fishman was excited to be on the USS Robinson (DD-562). He was used to being on smaller boats, so the big destroyer was exciting to him. His first two days on board were spent below deck in the engine room. He was in a fleet with four other destroyers. He did not see the other ships in the fleet. Fishman never got seas sick. On his way to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], he would take the fruit from men who got seasick. He did not get fresh fruit again until he went to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Fishman was treated well by his officers and only got into one fight while aboard ship. Fishman was not much of a drinker. He tried vodka when he was in Shanghai, but could not walk after. Fishman found himself between an officer and another man and they accidently hit him. After that, they tried to do whatever they could for Fishman. He enjoyed playing the V-Disks [Annotator's Note: Victory Disk, record label formed in 1943 to provide records for American military personnel] on the ship. He enjoyed the big band music. He was allowed to take the V-Disks with him when he was discharged, but he did not take them because he did not have a record player. Fishman wished he would have kept them.

Arthur Fishman's bunk [Annotator's Note: aboard the USS Robinson (DD-562)] was near the engine room below deck. He worked in the engine room, so it was convenient. He read the gauges while on duty. On a typical day, he ate, went on duty, and then had the afternoon off. When he had night duty, he was fed before everyone else, then went on duty. He wanted to learn from the other men, so Fishman would stay a bit longer to talk to the next shift. Sometimes he did watch duty. He did not have papers, books, or television, but did listen to the radio. He liked to sleep by the fan tail because it was warm. The first time he crossed the equator, there was a ceremony, but he did not get to participate because he was on duty. However, he was given a badge and allowed the rank. Fishman remembered the excitement when word came that the war had ended. The men who had been there longer were the most excited. Some of the men had not been home in years because they did not want to leave the ship. There have been ship reunions, but Fishman never attended them. He needed to take care of his wife while she was sick. He keeps in contact with his shipmates and various associations. Fishman is a member of the honor guard and attends military funerals to honor dead veterans. Fishman went ashore on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He was a member of the crew that picked up the mail from the island. He was educated about the battles from television documentaries. He watched a documentary on the Tuskegee Airmen [Annotator's Note: African-American airmen who served in the 332nd Fighter Group and 477th Bombardment Group during Word War 2]. Fishman knows one of the Tuskegee Airman and thinks he is a hero. They welcomed World War 2 Memorial groups to their area. Fishman heard about anti-Semitism in the military, but did not experience any anti-Semitism. He was allowed to go ashore for a Jewish holiday while in China. Fishman has experienced anti-Semitism in Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan]. Fishman is involved with his local Holocaust center. His relatives were Russian Jews, so they did not experience the Holocaust. His wife's parents were Holocaust survivors. His grandfather was a Russian Cossack who worked putting shoes on horses. His mother's family came to America before the war. Fishman sympathizes with the families that experienced the Holocaust. He works with the local Holocaust center in their honor. During Jewish high holidays, his temple allows him to participate in the services because of his war service. Fishman went to Okinawa before going to China. He did mine sweeping operations so larger ships could enter the Huangpu River [Annotator's Note: China]. Fishman knew how to operate the dingy, so he was allowed to go ashore to Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China]. It was late in the day, so he could not stay long. Shopping in Shanghai was an experience. A man carried Fishman around the whole day. He brought Fishman to a Chinese restaurant, but he could not find the food he wanted. The Chinese wanted to give him a steak, but Fishman did not like the meat. He did not know how to eat with chop sticks. The food was mostly rice with whatever they could put on top. While going up the river, Fishman saw several junks [Annotator's Note: small boats] and huts the Chinese would live in. He would like to visit Shanghai again.

Arthur Fishman returned to the United States sometime in April or May 1946. He returned to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], then escorted an aircraft carrier back to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. He was given a few days of liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in New York. From there, he went to Charleston, South Carolina to decommission some destroyers. His ship [Annotator's Note: USS Robinson (DD-562)] was used again during the Korean War [Annotator's Note: 1950 to 1953]. It was eventually used as target practice and sunk in the Pacific. Fishman was not called back to service during the Korean War. He did not have enough training. He was a fireman when he left the service. He rose through the ranks because he studied his duties so much. He was discharged on 4 July 1946 as a Fireman 1st class. He used the G.I. Bill to attend Wayne State University [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan]. He did not finish college, so he went to work. He did not have any difficulty transitioning back to civilian life. He did not think he was much of a sailor. Fishman had a busy life after the Navy. His most memorable moment in the war was when he was in a fight with an officer and another sailor. His most traumatic moment was at Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] because he did not understand why they fought for that island. He felt like a tourist because the Fifth Fleet went to places after fighting was done. He thought Tsingtao, Korea was beautiful. Fishman joined the service to get away from his home life. He lived in a gentile neighborhood and only knew of a couple Jews at his school. He experienced anti-Semitism at school. He wanted to learn how to fly an airplane, which is why Fishman initially tried to join the Air Corps. He enjoyed learning how to fly. World War 2 did not change Fishman's life. When he became involved with World War 2 activities, he felt more of a change. He was promoted to head publicity for the Jewish War Veterans of Michigan. He is involved with the World War 2 Memorial [Annotator's Note: Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial] in Royal Oak [Annotator's Note: Royal Oak, Michigan], Korean War Veterans, the VFW [Annotator's Note: Veterans of Foreign Wars], and the American Legion. Fishman likes to march with the groups. When he was in the service, he lost the opportunity to fly, which is what he wanted to do. Fishman believes education is more important than ever. He thinks people are not learning and missing out on colorful history. He enjoys learning about the things that happened in the war that he was not a part of. He feels fortunate to be able to talk about his experience. He is honored to be a part of the activities. Fishman wanted to be an aviator, not a fireman.