Chester Hollingsworth was born on a farm in October 1917 near Greenville, Texas. He had two brothers and two sisters. He graduated from high school in Greenville. Growing up on a cotton farm, the family raised crops with the help of local black people. He remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor vividly [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His father was listening to the radio for news when the emergency special announcement about the bombing was made. Hollingsworth knew the war was going on in Europe, so he anticipated being drafted into the Army. He decided to join the Navy rather than serve in foxholes. He had brothers who served in the Coast Guard and Army. The brother in the Army was in the China-Burma-India theater of operation. Hollingsworth joined the Navy immediately after Pearl Harbor but was not called to San Diego, California until 1 February [Annotator's Note: 1 February 1942]. His basic training was at San Diego.

Chester Hollingsworth did not have much fun in basic training. The trainees were assigned ten to a tent. Besides physical exercise, he was trained to perform paperwork as a 3rd class yeoman. His advanced training was at Long Beach, California to do fingerprinting of foreign fisherman. Next was the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana for additional office training. More training in record keeping followed in Miami Beach, Florida. Next stop was San Francisco, California to pick up his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS SC-990]. The train trip took about a week from Miami to San Francisco. He boarded the sub-chaser [Annotator's Note: small vessels designed to hunt enemy submarines] in San Francisco. He filled out paperwork as the ship neared completion. There were six crewmen observing the finalization of construction and commissioning of the ship. The sub-chaser was a small ship at 110 feet long. It had a complement of three officers and 41 enlisted men. The vessel had sonar, a new technology, as well as radar and depth charges, commonly called ash cans [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum]. The sub-chaser was armed with a 5-inch gun [Annotator's Note: five-inch, 25 caliber naval gun] on the bow and two 40mm guns [Annotator's Note: Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] at midship. Hollingsworth kept records and manned the helm, as well as the sonar and radar equipment. He also had a gun assignment on the bow gun while under attack. From San Francisco, the ship sailed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. Performing picket duty [Annotator's Note: a ship stationed outside a formation of ships or geographical areas as a rescue or warning unit] offshore to protect the harbor, watch was six hours on and six hours off. He had shore leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in Pearl Harbor. It was nice with friendly, attractive young girls. This was about a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Attitude and morale were good. Sailors spent their money and locals were happy. Hawaii was as bad as San Diego[Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] in terms of not spending liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] there. Sailors found another location to spend their time. People willingly picked up military hitchhikers. Hollingsworth met his future wife in Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California] while on leave. He saw her at a USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organization Incorporated] dance and married her a year later. Although she passed nearly four years prior to the interview, the couple had 68 years of marriage together after they married in 1943.

Chester Hollingsworth's sub-chaser [Annotators' Note: USS SC-990] initially deployed to perform picket duty [Annotator's Note: a ship stationed outside a formation of ships or geographical areas as a rescue or warning unit] off Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] before heading further into the South Pacific to operate with the Seventh Fleet flag [Annotator's Note: the command ship of the fleet]. The primary mission was to escort convoys. A convoy had to maintain the speed of the slowest ship. Many small ships were attached to the convoy. Supplies were transferred from one island to another by the ships. Sometimes SC-990 would be the single escort for a convoy. Other times, there were more. The ship traversed many small islands. Hollingsworth bought items from the friendly natives he encountered on the islands. Since he did not smoke, he sold his cigarettes to the island inhabitants. He bought grass skirts and coconut shoes in exchange. The sub-chaser encountered some enemy submarines. After sighting one, the pilot house sonar would track the submerged vessel. Sonar would ping a sound and the operator would turn five degrees until he found the predator. The convoy zigzagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] to avoid being closely tracked by the submarine. Depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] were like big barrels. Each one would be set to explode at a certain depth. The operator at the end of the ship would release the ordnance over the enemy vessel. Occasionally, Hollingsworth was the sonar operator tracking the submarine. It was difficult to determine any damages done. If bulky items were discharged from the wounded submarine, it was obvious the depth charge had found its mark. Most times, the sub-chaser never knew if it was successful because it had to keep moving to avoid being detected. Japanese aircraft would not bother to drop their bombs on the sub-chaser. One particularly dangerous situation arose when the SC-990 did not respond properly to a challenge from a friendly ship during a nighttime escort mission. After two unsuccessful responses, the small ship almost was the recipient of friendly fire. Fortunately, the correct challenge response was finally sent by the signalman. In the safety of the harbor the next day, the problem was understood by all involved. During the war, news of progress was difficult to come by. Hollingworth only wore a pair of shorts and shoes during most of his two years on the sub-chaser. He sent all of his money back to his wife. The ship had air conditioning, but it was ineffective. His rations contained SPAM [Annotator's Note: canned cooked pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation] according to the size of the ship. The supply ships in the harbors provided the ship's requirements. The signalmen talked to each other while ships were moored in the harbor. That was when the crew found out that they were almost victimized by friendly fire.

Chester Hollingsworth was in the Pacific when the bombs were dropped [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. He found out about the events when shipboard signalmen corresponded with each other in the harbor. It was like a million lightning bugs [Annotator's Note: as they used their Navy blinker communication equipment to converse]. He was back in the Philippines when the Japanese surrendered. He had shore duty for the Seventh Fleet flag [Annotator's Note: command of the Seventh Fleet]. He was no longer a crewman on the SC-990 [Annotator's Note: the USS SC-990] where he had served for two years. He had a month's leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] back home before returning to the central office where the admiral maintained his flag. The Seventh Fleet duty for Hollingsworth at that time was on the beach not aboard the flagship. When the war was over, he had a half point [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] less than enough required for release from service. Hollingsworth debated with a superior officer about his discharge with the officer attempting to deny his release request. Hollingsworth finally won and was allowed to return to the United States. He returned through San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] with an assignment for discharge in Norman, Oklahoma. With his wife waiting for him in Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California], he found a way, with the help of an old chief, to be discharged in closer proximity to his wife. He hitchhiked back to Los Angeles to reunite with his wife. He had a good job before enlistment and found his way back to the firm. He helped the firm expand and had a successful career. He used 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] to help him purchase a new home. Hollingsworth was impressed with the movie [Annotator's Note: prior to the interview, he viewed the film "Beyond All Boundaries," at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana].