Charles Chatterton was born in Somerville, Massachusetts in November 1925. and grew up in the nearby town of Quincy. He was an only child after his sister died as an infant. His father left the family to fend for themselves. Chatterton was bounced around from relative to relative, essentially being raised by his entire extended family. By December 1941, Chatterton was living with relatives in Stoughton, Massachusetts. The family was preparing to leave for church on the morning of Sunday, 7 December 1941 when news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] reached them. Chatterton did not know what to think. He did know, however, that he wanted to get revenge for the attack. He also wanted to join because his friends were joining, and he wanted a break from his home situation. In the spring of 1943, at the age of 17, Chatterton enlisted in the Navy. He had considered other branches of the service but felt that he would have more opportunities in the Navy. He later had an opportunity to transfer over to the Marine Corps but quickly decided to stay where he was. Chatterton took his boot camp training in Newport, Rhode Island. The training they received during boot camp was very basic. They learned to march and use small arms. His instructor had buck teeth and was an excellent drill sergeant. After completing his boot camp training, he was immediately sent to a communications school in Pennsylvania. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to deal with clock noise at 0:06:18.000.] Chatterton trained to be a radio operator. After he completed communications school, he became a Seaman First Class. He was sent to Camp Shoemaker [Annotator's Note: in Dublin, California] for two weeks. He was boarded a ship and was sent to Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] where he was assigned to his ship [Annotator's Note: USS LCI(L)-334] for the next two years.

In March 1944, at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, Charles Chatterton was assigned to the USS LCI(L)-334 [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Infantry (Large)] which was a 150-foot-long vessel with two ramps. It took 25 crewmen and five officers to work the vessel. It held 200 troops. The vessel held two 20mm guns [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon], and quad 40mm guns [Annotator's Note: quadruple mounted Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] on both side of the ship. Overall, they were not heavily armed. The ship was designed to be able to maneuver close to the beachhead and allow the troops to exit off onto the beach by lowering the ramps. Chatterton was the first replacement on his ship and was welcomed by the rest of the crew. He was assigned as the radioman. His duty was to keep the radio operating and communicate with the flag ship. He was required to be up before the officers to prepare the radio room. His first missions were patrolling "The Slot" [Annotator's Note: New Georgia Sound, Solomon Islands] or the passageway between Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, SolomonIslands] and Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. Washer Machine Charlie [Annotator's Note: Washing Machine Charlie, also called Bedcheck Charlie; a solitary Japanese aircraft performing nocturnal operations meant to harass Allied servicemen]. While he was on shore at Guadalcanal, Chatterton saw the cemeteries of the Allies. His first combat was at Humboldt Bay [Annotator's Note: now Yos Sudarso Bay], Hollandia, New Guinea [Annotator's Note: Operation Reckless, 22 April to 6 June 1944, Hollandia, New Guinea]. He made a total of five landings on New Guinea. He had a couple of other hot missions, but for the remainder of his time on the vessel, they shuttled supplies and ammunition from the beaches to the supply ships.

Charles Chatterton was responsible for orienting new personnel on the vessel [Annotator's Note: USS LCI(L)-334]. A man name Jake Schmidt, who was a baker from the state of Washington, and he became instant friends. He would make cinnamon buns and coffee for Chatterton while they were on watch together. Chatterton thought the living accommodations were great aboard ship. He felt lucky to be the radio man on the LCI [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry] because he was his own boss. He was responsible to make sure the radios were in operation and the radio room was clean and tidy. One day he asked his officer if he could apply for the position of Radioman Second Class. The officer agreed and sent in the paperwork. Chatterton was promoted not long after. Chatterton did not have any personality problems with anyone on the ship. When they made an amphibious invasion, Chatterton was stationed near the radio room. They were never severely hit when under attack, and none of the crewmen were injured or killed during their missions. They often stayed near a supply ship during invasions. When loading the troops on board, they would either load them from an island or from a larger vessel. On one amphibious invasion in New Guinea, his vessel was damaged. They took the ship to a shipyard in Brisbane, Australia and were allowed one week of R&R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation] in Sidney [Annotator's Note: Sidney, Australia] while the vessel was being repaired. The Australians and New Zealanders were very friendly people. He met a girl who invited him to her house to meet her family. The food in Australia was different, especially the coffee.

[Annotator's Note: Charles Chatterton served in the Navy as a radio man aboard the USS LCI(L)-334], a Landing Craft Infantry (Large), in the Pacific Theater.] They would either park the vessel on the beach 40 feet apart from the next LCI or tie the vessel to another LCI in the water. The only leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] he received during his two years overseas was one week in Sidney, Australia. Sometimes they could go to shore when they were stationed in New Guinea. His officers told the crewmen to not go with the tribal women up the hills and to not pick-up souvenirs because they may be booby trapped. Chatterton was told that the tribal people were cannibals. On one amphibious invasion the Admiral's vessel was beached, and he was trying to contact another vessel for help. Chatterton was able to communicate with the angry admiral and received orders to help him get off the beach. The weather was hot during his two years in the Pacific. His landings on the beach were fortunate because they did not have a lot of damage to the vessel. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview at 0:54:33.000.] After a brief leave in Australia, his ship was given orders to report to the Philippines. There were a thousand ships there preparing to invade Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan]. He was able to go ashore in Manila, Philippines which was more civilized than the jungles of New Guinea. In 1945, there was a typhoon, and somehow the LCI survived the 50 foot waves.

While in the Philippines, Charles Chatterton's vessel [Annotator's Note: LCI(L)-334, Landing Craft Infantry (Large)] off loaded troops at the Lingayen Gulf [Annotator's Note: Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, 6 January 1945]. During his time on the LCI, they were attacked by the small Japanese submarines [Annotator's Note: Type A Ko-hyoteki midget submarine]. A torpedo went right under his vessel. [Annotator's Note: There is lawnmower noise at 1:01:17.000.] The torpedo was a dud. They were very lucky. While at Lingayen Gulf, they were preparing to make the invasion in Japan. His ship was assigned to go to Kyoto [Annotator's Note: Kyoto, Japan]. Once the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945], plans were canceled. At war's end, Chatterton heard about kamikaze planes, boats, and submarines. He could not understand how the Japanese had so little regard for life. Chatterton was elated when the war ended. The troops celebrated by shooting guns. When he heard the news that Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] died, he did not even know who the vice president was at the time. He also remembers hearing when the war in Europe ended. He was very happy. After the conclusion of the war, he remained in the Philippines to shuttle troops around until they received orders to return to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] in December 1945. Chatterton hated the Japanese during the war but that has changed over the years. He researched to find out what happened to some of the men he trained or served with. He was surprised to find out that two of his roommates in communications school died on a ship that was torpedoed by the Japanese.

Charles Chatterton was relieved to be back in the United States. On his return, they stopped in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii] and then went to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. He looked forward to renewing friendships from school. He remembers knocking on doors at his friend's homes, only to find out that some of them did not make it. He feels guilty but lucky to have survived the war. Chatterton was discharged in January 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts as a Radioman Second Class. He found a job soon after. His most memorable experience of World War 2 was when his vessel survived a Japanese torpedo attack. He fought in the war because of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He believes his life had turned out better because of serving. He is glad his time in the Navy was well spent and that it is over. He thinks the public today has different opinions of World War 2. Chatterton believes that it is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach to future generations.