Charles Davis was born in December 1925 in Alexandria, Louisiana, the youngest of three sons. His father was a railroad conductor, and during the Great Depression, turned to alcohol, lost his job, and left his family. Davis' mother raised the three boys on commodities, on the outskirts of town; but his was only one of many families living under similar circumstances. Regardless of the times, Davis had a happy childhood, doesn't remember being hungry, built his own toys, and didn't realize he was poor. He walked barefoot to school, which he enjoyed. He lived in Alexandria until he joined the Navy.

Charles Davis clearly remembers the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. It was eight days after his 15th birthday, and Davis remembers he and friends were playing touch football in the road when someone hollered that the Japs [Annotator's Note: period derogatory term for Japanese] had bombed Pearl Harbor. No one knew what Pearl Harbor was, but everyone gathered around the single radio in the neighborhood to listen to the news. Davis' mother was very patriotic, and taught her boys how lucky they were to be Americans. On the day after the attack, Davis and his friends tried to enlist. He believes he probably chose the Navy because of what he had seen in the movies, and because his father had been in the Navy at the turn of the century. But the recruitment officer wouldn't accept anyone from the ninth grade. Over time, Davis coerced his mother into signing papers stating that he was 17, brought them back to the Alexandria Post Office recruiting station, and in three days he was in boot camp in San Diego, California. It was his first time leaving home. Boot camp consisted of getting shots and performing drills and lasted seven days. He was barged to Treasure Island, California and caught his first sight of the Helena [Annotator's Note: USS Helena (CL-50)], which had been torpedoed in Pearl Harbor and was in dry dock. He remembers his first impression until this day. He thought it was the biggest thing he had ever seen.

At 16, Charles Davis was one of 1,200 men, including his brother, a Marine, who boarded the USS Helena (CL-50) on New Year's Day [Annotator's Note: 1 January 1942]. He stayed lost on the big ship for about two months and recalls the pranks he suffered while a young sailor. Davis was 5th Division, and was put on a five inch antiaircraft mount as a gunner's mate. He was impressed going under the Golden Gate Bridge, and sailed out to Pearl Harbor. There were still ships languishing in the water when he got there, and being in Pearl Harbor after the attacks was a wonder. It all seemed like a great adventure to him. The Helena continued over the International Date Line, and Davis tells the story of his passage from pollywog to shellback when the ship crossed the equator. They headed for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides.

From the New Hebrides, Charles Davis said they [Annotator's Note: the USS Helena (CL-50)] proceeded with two aircraft carriers to Guadalcanal and initially encountered very little resistance. On landing, the Marines had disembarked, but the warning alarm sounded indicating that Japanese were coming down the Slot, and the Helena had to leave before all the supplies were unloaded. The Marines took control of the airfield, and when the ships returned after a few days to drop the remainder of the supplies, Higgins boats were relaying materials between the big boats and the shore. Davis went with one of the deliveries, and said the combat Marines on the island were in really bad shape. They had been under daily banzai attacks, but had held the island. Davis couldn't help comparing the life of a Marine on the island to his life aboard a cruiser. David said he had a bed with sheets, a shower, and food every day; he had it made.

Charles Davis has many observations about the number 13, which he considers lucky nowadays. Davis described the evening of 13 November 1942, when the Americans caught a Japanese task force unawares behind Savo Island. Davis was a sky lookout on the bridge [Annotator's Note: of the USS Helena (CL-50)], and the Allied ships were waiting, when the Japanese coming down the slot appeared in sight. While the enemy ships were concentrating their fire on the San Francisco [Annotator's Note: USS San Francisco (CA-38)], the Helena hit an enemy battleship with several broadside salvos, and in minutes the vessel, which was carrying tons of ammunition to bomb Guadalcanal's airfield, was obliterated. [Annotator's Note: Davis does not remember the name of the Japanese ship.] In the fierce melee that ensued, the Juneau [Annotator's Note: USS Juneau (CL-52)] was badly damaged. Davis said the Helena was credited with eight hits that night. Davis traveled on the Helena between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal delivering men and goods for about six months.

Charles Davis experienced his first burial at sea after the 13 to 15 November battle [Annotator's Note: 13 to 15 November 1942, the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]. He remembers the dead sailor, with a five inch projectile between his legs, being sewn into a canvas bag and covered with an American flag. The body was then carried out on a small platform on the starboard side of the ship, taps was sounded, and the platform was tipped so its burden could slide into the water. The five inch shell insured the bundle would be carried to the bottom of the sea. Davis was a friend of the sailor they laid to rest. They were a well trained crew, always practicing, and Davis became proficient at his task. Sometimes he was manning a gun; other times he was a hot case man, using asbestos gloves to handle spent shells. He once spent several days in sick bay after grabbing a hot case during a surprise attack.

Charles Davis was a witness to everything that happened during the night of 13 November [Annotator's Note: 13 November 1942], and in the morning, when the heat of battle was done, his ship, the Helena [Annotator's Note: USS Helena (CL-50)], was moving off. Davis was on the five inch mount and could see the Atlanta [Annotator's Note: USS Atlanta (CL-104)] burning. The Juneau [Annotator's Note: USS Juneau (CL-52)] had been torpedoed the night before and was moving slow alongside the Helena when the alarm signaling another attack went off. The whole ship vibrated as the Helena negotiated a hard port turn and its fantail barely cleared the path of a torpedo. The damaged Juneau couldn't maneuver, and that torpedo struck it. Davis believes that Juneau's magazine may have been hit, but the whole thing exploded into a black cloud and nothing more. There were survivors swimming in the water, and the Helena passed by without stopping to pick them up. Davis never understood why, and conjectures that the captain's naval academy training to first and foremost save the ship, drove him to sail on. The crew of the Juneau stayed in the water for several days, and, in the end, very few of the 700 plus sailors made it out alive. [Annotator's Note: The five Sullivan brothers were all on the crew of the USS Juneau (CL-52), and died during this episode.] The Helena had taken eight hits during the clash, and sailed to Sydney, Australia for repairs.

Charles Davis then went to Kula Gulf. [Annotator's Note: The Battle of Kula Gulf took place in the early hours of 6 July 1943 between United States and Japanese ships off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.] Davis remembers there were three cruisers and several destroyers in his convoy whose job was to interrupt the Japanese reinforcement of Bougainville Island. In the middle of the night of 5 July, the Helena [Annotator's Note: USS Helena (CL-50)] blew one of four destroyers out of the water and sunk it. Along with their sister ship, the St. Louis [Annotator's Note: USS St. Louis (CL-49)], she was engaging the Japanese destroyers when she was hit by three torpedoes. Davis was on the port bow, and was popped in the head by a five inch shell that had flown into the air when the ship was hit. He was stunned, but recovered in enough time to get to water level and swim clear before the keel broke in two and the ship went down. The terrible noise of the ship breaking up is indescribable. Davis is surprised that there was no suction. Over 200 people were killed, and there were over a thousand languishing in the water. Oil soaked, nauseated, and being tossed by four to five foot swells, Davis held on to the hope that when daylight came, they would be picked up. When the sun rose, there was nothing but ocean, and everybody was drifting off. The memory of the abandoned Juneau survivors went through his mind. He admits his morale sank. [Annotator's Note: The USS Juneau (CL-52) had been been severely damaged during the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 12 November 1942. She was then hit by a Japanese topedo in the early morning hours of 13 November 1942 and sank with trmendous loss of life.] Davis was in the water for 36 hours. He thought he was gone when someone shouted that there were stacks on the horizon. For a while they feared the approaching ships were Japanese, but eventually knew them to be American. It may have been the Radford [Annotator's Note: USS Radford (DD-446)], Davis is not sure, but the crew threw a cargo net over the fantail, and when Davis was about two-thirds of the way up, he was too exhausted to climb any further and put his arm through one of the rope rungs and just hung there. Then an attack alarm rang, and the ship took off. Some of the other sailors on the net couldn't hold on, and got sucked under. Two crew members pulled Davis up, and they were underway. He couldn't see where he was going, but ended up on a mess table where they cleared the oil from his face and put salve in his eyes. Davis said the guy on the next table had been in the boiler room and was so badly burned he looked like a boiled crawfish, and didn't make it. The ship took the survivors to Tulagi.

About eight months after the Helena went down [Annotator's Note: the USS Helena (CL-50) was sunk during the Battle of Kula Gulf on 6 July 1943], Charles Davis learned that his brother, the Marine, had disappeared from a life raft about four days after the Helena sank. [Annotator's Note: Davis' brother was a sea-going Marine assigned to the USS Helena (CL-50).] Davis was sent back to the United States on 30 day travel orders, and got to see his family. He was then assigned to the cruiser USS Houston (CL-81). Afraid he was not going to survive his next tour, Davis decided to enjoy his leave, did some drinking, missed his ship, and got sent to the brig. He went to Pearl Harbor and got put in a flotilla of 12 LCIs [Annotator's Note: landing craft, infantry]. His particular ship, USS LCI-1023, had been retrofitted with mortars and guns for assault, and on it Davis participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima. Davis saw the original flag raised on the island. He notes that it took another 30 days to complete the capture of the island. About this time, Davis adopted a dog, Miss Molly, and another member of his crew kept a monkey that had a life jacket and a helmet made of a tin can. Davis also had his first experience with Kamikazes, and is sure he put some shells into some of those planes.

Charles Davis went on USS LCI-1023 to Okinawa where the Kamikazes were really bad. He thought he was immune to blood and gore, but Okinawa was the worst he had ever seen. The Kamikazes just kept coming and coming and coming. Davis' vessel was securely anchored when volunteers were needed to help deliver medical supplies. He saw a destroyer whose superstructure had been completely blown away. Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Higgins Boat was the common nickname for the Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel, or LCVP, which were manufactured by Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana] were loading the wounded and bringing them to a hospital ship. Davis said the wounded and dead and body parts were being laid out like cord wood. [Annotator's Note: Davis begins to cry, and asks that the recording devices be turned off.]