[Annotator's Note: The interview begins in the middle of a story.] Benedict Bronder was told not to sign up as a submariner when he was recruited into the United States Navy. He did go into a submarine after he was discharged. It would not have been suitable for him because of the tight quarters. He attended Cook and Baker School. He made high marks and had his pick of where he wanted to serve. He chose to serve aboard a PT boat [Annotator's Note: a PT or Patrol Torpedo boat was a small, swift craft with a hull constructed of wood]. One of Bronder's friends selected duty aboard a flattop [Annotator's Note: an aircraft carrier]. Bronder did not know where the second friend went for his assignment. Each of the three friends qualified as cook, baker and butcher. Two of the three friends were selected to go to the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. They had little or nothing to do while there. They could get liberty virtually every other night if they wanted. [Annotator's Note: Bronder recollects events that he witnessed while on liberty in New York City. Some of the events also included hearing big dance bands, but that may have been in Chicago.] Bronder went to Melville, Rhode Island for six weeks of PT boat training. At the training facility, the men were taught to quickly identify aircraft as to whether they were friend or foe. Additionally, Bronder learned to start the generator on the boat in case he wanted to do some cooking. He learned about running the boat. After Melville, Bronder was sent to New Orleans. He was separated from his training camp buddies at that time. An individual who was assigned to be a baker had to stay ashore because the boats had no baking oven. There was no place to bake while he was in New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain. There were buildings near the lake that were rented to the Navy. Bronder had to go back and forth to Mississippi in order to pick up supplies. He grew tired of that mundane duty. He came in contact with some officers who were from the state of Washington. He went about trying to find another assignment on a boat. He talked to an officer who said they were dissatisfied with their cook. Bronder signed up as a replacement, but he was assigned to a different boat. He went to PT-305, not PT-303 where the need was expressed. When he questioned why that happened, he was told the personnel officer made the selection. As it turned out, it was lucky for Bronder. The PT-303 cook, as well as the gunner's mate on the boat, was subsequently killed in action. PT-305 had its shakedown near Miami where they fired a few torpedoes. [Annotator's Note: A ship or boat goes through a shakedown trip or cruise after it has been completed but prior to delivery for duty. It is intended to identify any and all omissions or operational inconsistencies on the craft. Those identified are expected to be corrected prior to the vessel going into service.] There had been a change in the torpedoes during this time. The newer versions were like aircraft torpedoes. They were not the same size as the previous fish, but they carried more explosive power. Bronder tells of the support housing for the PT boat torpedo and the means of releasing the fish as it is fired at a target.

Benedict Bronder would usually patrol at night while on PT-305. They would be accompanied by three other boats. They would patrol from Genoa to England. In one action, the boat picked up a pip on the radar. The night was dark as the ace of spades. A light went off above them. It was a star shell. Bronder manned the 20mm gun on the bow of the boat. With the star shell, Bronder could see a floating mine forward of the boat. He alerted the man behind the wheel. They made a hard right and cleared that mine, but directly behind the first mine was a second one. If the PT had hit either of those mines, it would have shattered the boat into toothpicks. The executive officer on the boat had said previously that he did not believe in religion. The next day after the near miss of the two mines, the officer said that anytime Bronder wanted to go to church, he would sign the release for him to do so. It had made a believer of the officer. That patrol was in the Mediterranean near Italy. The management of the patrols was from England. They knew the numbers of enemy vessels going out and those returning. Claims for any sinkings would be controlled through that command center. PT-305 could not just claim credit for sinking or damaging enemy ships, they had to be honest about what they declared. To Bronder, it seemed as if PT-305 had three or four ships to claim to their credit. When the enemy was picked up on radar, the PT boat would run a parallel course with the adversary to try to determine its direction and speed. After that assessment, the PT would run about three miles further up and then double back on a course to approach the enemy for firing its torpedoes. It was necessary to be 1,500 yards from the target for the torpedo to detonate after the propeller armed the warhead. On the advance on one enemy target, it was seen that the target was escorted by a gunboat. The adversaries were closing rapidly. PT-305 and the other American boats were told to scatter. They did not fire any torpedoes and decided to avert the attack. As the boats scattered, there were two - five gallon pails of powder that were thrown off the vessels. [Annotator's Note: Bronder does not indicate which vessel or vessels threw the powder; however, based on the outcome, it is assumed the PT boat or boats threw the pails as a distraction to the enemy.] There was an explosion, and it looked like they were hit. Tracers were firing in both directions. There were tracers on both sides of PT-305 and Bronder worried that the enemy would adjust their fire to center up on 305. Instead, the explosion from the pails of powder had caught the attention of the enemy. The concentration of fire was on the point of the explosions so PT-305 narrowly escaped. Bronder and the crew were lucky. It was necessary for the American patrol boats to be out of the region near Italy by five o'clock because any cripples or other crafts spotted by Allied aircraft were free game after that point. PT-305 got back to Corsica by six in the morning after that mission. Another mission involved an Army officer using an instrument to make sightings on targets that would be blown up by the Army Air Forces later. Additionally, there were missions involving spies as well as those off the coast of Marseilles, France where soundings were taken in advance of the invasion fleet making its way to the coastline. [Annotator's Note: Operation Dragoon was the invasion of southern France which included the coastline of Marseilles. Originally planned to be in conjunction with the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the Allied assault took place in August 1944 after lessons learned from Operation Overlord were implemented.] The waters north of Corsica were rough with turbulent waves. One of the PT boats had engine problems and when the engine was revved up too much, the PT boat smashed a wave too hard. The mission was scrubbed and the boats returned to base. While on Corsica, Bronder found himself assisting Archbishop Spellman in conducting mass. The Archbishop served multiple denominations. With the Associated Press taking pictures, his mother saw her son assisting with the mass. She was proud of him for helping the Archbishop. [Annotator's Note: Archbishop Francis Spellman served as Apostolic Vicar for the U.S. Armed Forces and a close advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt during World War 2. Many trips were made overseas by the Archbishop to see the troops in foreign lands. He would go on after the war in this position and would ultimately be named a Cardinal.]

Benedict Bronder came aboard PT-305 while it was in New Orleans, Louisiana. That was where he met his fellow crewman and friend Jim Nerison [Annotator's Note: TM1c James Henry Nerison]. After the shakedown cruises, the officers of two PT boats decided to hold a friendly competition between crewmen on alcohol consumption capabilities. Each boat selected one crewman to represent the PT. Jim Nerison was selected for PT-305. Nerison was not a drinking man, but he held his liquor the best. After the competition, Nerison had to put his arm over Bronder to get back to the boat. After a difficult trip, they made it to the boat. Bronder put Nerison in the bow where there were accommodations for eight crewmen. When the drunken man's pocketbook was missing the next day, he blamed Bronder. It was awhile later when they determined who had lifted the wallet. On another occasion, Nerison and Bronder swam across a broad channel together. There was risk associated with swimming that distance. After reaching the opposite end of the channel, the two men went out searching for conch shells. Finding some, they decided to boil the meat out of it. They were subsequently told that the meat in the shell was really good to eat. It was too late for them to learn that information. Then the two faced the swim back to the original side of the channel. Bronder felt he was too tired for the swim. Nerison helped him along during the swim. Both men made it safely back to their point of origin. As a result, Bronder saved Nerison when he was drunk during the competition between PT boats, and Nerison saved Bronder on his swim across the wide channel after finding conch shells. Those two incidents bonded the two individuals. There were nine crewmen and two officers on PT-305. There were two torpedo men. Three mechanics manned the three Packard Marine Engines which ran on high octane gasoline. Two men manned the 40mm cannon aft. Two men manned the 20mm cannon. Bronder only shot the 20mm once. He only used it against mines on that occasion. Generally, the PT boat worked at night when it could run slow and quite without using the guns. There was nothing exciting except for a couple of incidents. There was also a cook aboard the boat. There was no baking capability on the boat. Supplies would be provided by larger ships since there was so little needed by the small crew of the PT boat. A gunner's mate named Schoonover [Annotator's Note: GM3c William Draper Schoonover] found 60 dozen eggs. When the eggs were cracked open, they smelled very bad. Nevertheless, Schoonover was determined to eat some of the eggs. When queried later about whether he ever fried any of the eggs, Schoonover confessed that he did not. The torpedo man on the 305 was Nerison and he was good. Joe Cirlot [Annotator's Note: MoMM2c Joseph Mitchell Cirlot, Jr.] was a mechanic for the engines. Minnick [Annotator's Note: MoMM1c William Herman Minnick] was also a mechanic. Also aboard the 305 was a mechanic of Italian ancestry [Annotator's Note: MoMM2c Fernando Joseph Ferrini was aboard the PT-305 during the same months as Bronder]. The skipper of the boat was a lieutenant named Borsdorff [Annotator's Note: LT(jg) William Berle Borsdorff]. The boat commander was cool about the way he handled his crewmen and their assignments. The executive officer was from Texas and had an authoritarian manner in the way he managed the men. He would count off tasks from his black book and demand which of the tasks had to be completed. The Texan was named Martyr [Annotator's Note: LT(jg) Leonard Wheeler Martyr]. Miles [Annotator's Note: QM1c George Arthur Miles], the quartermaster on the 305, was very sharp. When the 305 had to put in for repairs in Maddalena, it was a tricky voyage because of the geography of the small islands. The skipper used Miles to plot his course toward the repair facilities at Maddalena. After seeing the proficiency that Miles displayed, the skipper recognized his quartermaster as being pretty sharp with his navigational plotting skills. Miles was a quiet guy, but he was good at his job. Doc, a fellow named Donald, would find a way to become acquainted with town widows. He would try to help them. He would become involved with them to fix up their poor lonely souls. That was how he received the nickname Doc. There were three strikers, or newcomers, on the boat who assisted the torpedo men, the radio man or quartermaster. They learned from the more experienced men. One striker went about selling goods. He became so attached to an Italian family that he was considered the son of an Italian woman. There was a variety of personalities on the boat. Bronder slept with two other crewmen in the lazarette [Annotator's Note: the lazarette on 305 was just forward of the last aft compartment of the boat]. Cirlot was one of those men who bedded down in the lazarette. That was how Bronder bonded with him. Cirlot was married before the PT boat left Miami. Bronder was invited to meet Cirlot's wife before they left for service overseas. The gunner's mate, Percy Everett Wallace, was a Scotsman who was windy like a Texan. Wallace was given the nickname "Cain't Hep It" because of his Texas twang and the way he constantly used the phrase. The shipmates got along well except for once when sausage and sauerkraut was served. Ferrini, the Italian, got on Bronder's bad side when he refused the sauerkraut. The Italian used to pick on Bronder about his cooking. Bronder took him to task on it and said that the others might not like the smell of the garlic that Ferrini liked so much. That settled the issue of Ferrini picking on Bronder.

Benedict Bronder and the crew gave PT-305 the nickname of Sudden Jerk after its engine was gunned while it was being backed up to secure to the pier. The big bump that resulted gave the boat the name Sudden Jerk. Bronder was on the boat from 1943 to the end of 1944. He was a plank owner since he was on the vessel when it was commissioned into service. The squadron before Bronder's squadron was shipped to Russia as part of the Lend-Lease deal. There were torpedo tubes on the boats sent to Russia. The design was inferior since the compression intended to launch the torpedo would not always operate effectively. The design on the 305 had a torpedo cradle which was more efficient to deploy the torpedoes. The torpedoes on the new boats had more power and explosive capability. The 305 operated at night so the crewmen had no experience with enemy aircraft attack. The crewmen saw no Germans during the war. The spies that the 305 deployed could not speak English. [Annotator's Note: PT-305 operated with foreign commandos on occasion.] They were dropped off on the southern French coastline. A Marine officer was having trouble getting out of occupied France so PT-305 went in to retrieve him. The officer used a blue light at the last minute to attract the attention of the sailors. The Marine was relieved to be spotted and recovered. While overseas, the crew would have liberty and leave incrementally. They would not all go out at one time. Bronder walked one Corsican town and noticed an officer whom he recognized. It was a young man from Rice [Annotator's Note: Rice, Minnesota was Bronder's hometown]. When Bronder was being readied to return to the United States, he was watching the gear for other men as they went to have chow. When it was Bronder's turn to eat, the chow line was long but a man with MINN written on the back of his shirt was handling the chow line. It caught Bronder's attention. When Bronder inquired, it turned out that the man was from St. Cloud [Annotator's Note: there are less than 80 miles between Rice and St. Cloud, Minnesota. The men were practically neighbors in the sense of an individual's feeling of displacement during the war]. The man from Minnesota got Bronder to the front of the line and he did not have to wait for his chow.

Benedict Bronder was shipped to Africa on an LCI, or Landing Craft Infantry, and then from Africa to the United States aboard an LST, Landing Ship Tank. They left PT-305 in the Mediterranean Sea in 1944 after the end of the war in their region. The men shipped out on the larger vessels to return home. Returning to the United States, Bronder got married in December 1944 [Annotator's Note: Bronder served on PT-305 from December 1943 to November 1944]. Shortly after his marriage, he shipped out for the Pacific for the war still raging in that Theater. He was assigned as a baker at Base 17 in the Philippines [Annotator's Note: PT Boat Base 17 was on Samar in the Philippines]. Bronder was in Borneo when the war ended. After the war, he returned to Base 17 and helped dismantle PT boats and salvage the engines. After removing equipment, the older boats were burned and allowed to sink offshore. Base 17 at one time had a population of 3,500 people. Eventually, the facility would have only 350 men as the work on burning the old PT boats came to a conclusion. Bronder remembers being attached to 27 [Annotator's Note: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 27 (MTB RON 27)] although some information connects him to 37 [Annotator's Note: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 37 (MTB RON 37)]. Bronder recounts an incident with a Singer sewing machine being traded for a pint of alcohol to celebrate the end of the war. The men had agreed that before they shipped out for home, they would sell the machine and split the proceeds. Bronder sold the machine for 125 dollars. The two men then split the proceeds in half. The other man proclaimed that 125 dollars was a lot of money for a pint of alcohol. One individual attempted to drink alcohol from the torpedoes. He subsequently went blind as a result. Bronder's friend on the 305 named Jim [Annotator's Note: TM1c James Henry Nerison] had tried to straighten out the man before he drank the alcohol, but the man went ahead and was going blind from the experience. While he served on PT-305, Bronder's most vivid memory was when a star shell went off and mines were discovered just off the bow. They had just enough time to make a turn to avoid the mines. It made his executive officer a believer in faith. The other memory was when the Associated Press sent pictures of him to his mother [Annotator's Note: this incident involved Bronder helping perform mass on Corsica with Archbishop Francis Spellman while he was serving aboard PT-305].