Charles "Chuck" Schmetzer was born in August 1926 in Louisville, Kentucky. His father owned a sheet metal business and managed to keep the whole family employed throughout the leanest years of the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. Schmetzer's father bought his mother, an Austrian immigrant, a hardware store that she ran throughout the Great Depression. His family was better off than most during the Great Depression. Schmetzer was aware of the rising tensions in Nazi Germany only from what little news he read in the newspaper. His grandmother, a German immigrant, refused to believe anything that was being reported in the papers about the atrocities being committed by the Germans. On 7 December 1941 [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Schmetzer was helping his family decorate the hardware store for the Christmas season. He heard the news of the Japanese attack over the radio. His dad reassured him that it would all be over in a few weeks. Schmetzer's cousin was in the Army, and he thought he was at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. He was relieved when he found out he was not stationed there. No one gave any thought to the possibility of Germany or Italy entering the war at that point. Soon after war was declared, several defense plants began opening nearby and many men began to enlist. This fighting spirit caused many of his father's employees to leave for better opportunities. Schmetzer wanted badly to fight in the Navy, but they were not taking enlistments at the time. The family doctor, who sat on the local draft board, ensured Schmetzer's father that, when the time came, Schmetzer would be drafted into the Navy. When Schmetzer reported to the draft board, he was placed into the Army, but after asking to speak with the family doctor, everything was straightened out. He wanted to join the Navy because he liked that branch the best. Schmetzer reported for induction on 2 December 1944. After induction, Schmetzer was sent for basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station [Annotator's Note: Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County, Illinois]. Schmetzer was taught to pack his sea bag. After target practice over Lake Michigan, Schmetzer was assigned to duty driving a mail truck to various Naval offices across Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois]. In late January 1945, Schmetzer was sent to Gulfport, Mississippi for quartermaster training. The weather of Mississippi was a welcomed change from the frigid Great Lakes region. Schmetzer learned above deck protocols while in training in Gulfport, including flags, signaling, and right of way.

After twelve weeks of training in Gulfport [Annotator's Note: Gulfport, Mississippi] Charles "Chuck" Schmetzer was sent to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] to await assignment. He did not have much to do and took liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] whenever he could. He often went to an amusement park and dance hall. He would also attend movies. Schmetzer then boarded a troop ship to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and Eniwetok [Annotator's Note: Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands] with Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] as the destination. He was served two meals per day. Upon arrival at a replacement depot in Guam, Schmetzer was offered his choice of ship. He requested something small. Initially he was offered a position on board the heavy cruiser USS Columbia (CL-56). He turned down the offer and accepted a position on board the much smaller minesweeper YMS-477 [Annotator's Note: the USS YMS-477]. Schmetzer was part of a 25-man crew that had a lax [Annotator's Note: slang for lackadaisical] attitude and little shipboard discipline typical of larger vessels. While not standing watch, his duty on board ship and while in port was to continuously update his maps and charts according to Navy standards and manuals. His first mission was to the islands of Woleai [Annotator's Note: also known as Oleai, Caroline Islands]. The YMS-477 was to sweep the channels so that the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] could go ashore and build a radio weather station. Schmetzer went ashore in Woleai and was surprised to find many souvenirs left behind by Japanese forces when they evacuated the island. The sailors would trade for souvenirs with the native population in exchange for cigarettes. After Woleai, Schmetzer returned to Guam before heading to Truk [Annotator's Note: Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia] to clear mines from the north, east, and west sides of the island to allow better access to the shore for larger ships. The ship swept around Bikini Atoll [Annotator's Note: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands] in preparation for atomic testing. Schmetzer was in Guam when news of the surrender came over the Armed Forces radio. A party was thrown with lots of alcohol mixed with grapefruit juice. Schmetzer was relieved the war was over and he could go home and get on with his life. After the war ended, the ship was turned over to the Philippine Navy in Subic Bay [Annotator's Note: Subic Bay, Philippines] to decommission. In May or June of 1946, Schmetzer had enough 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] to return home. After picking up additional troops in Japan, the ship sailed for San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. From San Francisco, Schmetzer boarded a train to Great Lakes Training Station [Annotator's Note: Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County, Illinois] where he was discharged. Everyone on the train was filthy. Many of the servicemen would get off the train when it stopped to buy food. He arrived at the Great Lakes at three in the morning and the military administration personnel immediately began processing everyone out of the Navy.

Charles "Chuck" Schmetzer took advantage of the G.I. bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He played collegiate football and graduated three and half years later. He met a girl and married her. They had one child and another on the way by the time he graduated from college. After graduating he again used the G.I. bill to buy his first home. Schmetzer's most memorable experience of World War 2 was leaving San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] and going overseas to the Pacific islands. His life on a minesweeper ship was routine and not exciting. Schmetzer joined the military because everyone was doing it. Most people were patriotic and wanted to do their part. He benefited from his service because he was able to receive an education, which brought him to Cincinnati where he met the love of his life. He is proud to have served and instilled pride in his country to his children. World War 2 does not mean a lot to the younger generation in America. There should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because it was the biggest time in our country's history.