Chester L. Talley was born in Idaho in 1921. He grew up with one older brother and one older sister. His father was a farmer and carpenter and struggled during the days of the Dust Bowl [Annotator's Note: period of severe dust storms in American prairies, 1934 to 1940]. When Talley was two years old, his family moved to Kansas. Shortly after he graduated from 8th grade, his family moved backed to Idaho due to the Dust Bowl. Talley finished his high school education in Rupert, Idaho and graduated in 1940. While in high school, Talley also took a radio maintenance course by correspondence from Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois], and worked as a farm hand. In the fall of 1941, he borrowed money from his older sister and went to Chicago to complete his radio maintenance course to receive his certificate. He was in Chicago finishing his course when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He heard the news over the radio. He knew right away that he was going to be drafted. After he graduated, he found a job at a radio factory in Chicago, and then decided to enlist in military service in hopes to work in radio maintenance. He married his sweetheart from Idaho in Chicago in 1942. His military training sent him to radio school for six weeks, and then to radar school in Philadelphia [Annotator's Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] for another six weeks. After he completed his course, the military told him to go home and wait to be notified by mail for his assignment. Talley and his wife visited his parents who were residing in Oregon. He then found out that they Army was trying to reach him, and he was considered AWOL [Annotator's Note: absent without leave]. He and his wife took a train to Idaho so she could be with her parents, and he went onto Chicago. The army then sent him to San Antonio, Texas for basic training with his assigned company. [Annotator's Note: Video break at 0:10:55.000.] After six months of training, he boarded a train to New York, and three weeks later set sail for Europe during the night on USS West Point (AP-23). He was assigned to the last compartment of the ship which all the troops called, "torpedo junction." The ship zig-zagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] across the Atlantic. They had one torpedo scare. The troops were sleeping in their bunks when the ship suddenly turned sharply, throwing the men out of their bunks. Seven days after leaving the New York port, USS West Point arrived at Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco].

After enlisting the Air Force, Chester L. Talley was sent overseas to Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco] for one month. He was then assigned to detached service and was flown to a British airbase in North Africa to work in the radio maintenance and teletyping in the message center. He lived in a pup tent with one other person. A bomber plane immediately caught on fire after it landed. Luckily there were no bombs on board and did not explode. He had to take shelter in a foxhole. After two months he returned to Casablanca to be assigned to teletyping at an American airbase in a small village for about four months. He recalled a nearby stream that had large lizards. When he was not on duty, he and some others would go to the nearby town by train. When his assignment was completed, he returned to Casablanca again. His company was then flown Naples, Italy. When he arrived, the city had been bombed quite extensively. He only stayed a few hours. He was then flown to Foggia [Annotator's Note: Foggia, Italy] and assigned to the 15th Air Force [Annotator's Note: 965th Air Engineer Squadron, 15th Air Force] as a radio repairman. He remained there for a year and then his company was transferred to the town called Torremaggiore [Annotator's Note: Torremaggiore, Italy]. The local kids swarmed around them because they were excited to see the Americans. He was put on guard duty to guard freight trains and officer quarters. He returned to Foggia and worked as a radio repairman for two years. He interacted regularly with the local population.

Chester L. Talley was sent overseas and eventually stationed in Foggia, Italy as a radio repairman for the 15th Air Force [Annotator's Note: 965th Air Engineer Squadron, 15th Air Force]. During the Battle of Kasserine [Annotator's Note: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Kasserine, Tunisia, 19 to 24 February 1943], the Air Force did shuttle bombing [Annotator's Note: a tactic where bombers fly from their home base, bomb a target, and then continue to a different location to refuel and rearm for another target]. [Annotator's Note: Video break at 0:33:25.000.] They would receive bombs that were shuttled from England to Foggia. Once the bombs were delivered, the planes returned to England. While stationed in Italy, he took a pass [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy] three times after his work had slowed down considerably. He also went to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] after the city had been cleaned up. By this time, he was waiting for orders to go back to the United States. He boarded the USS West Point (AP-23), the same ship that took him overseas. As the ship crossed the Atlantic, they had heard the Japanese had surrendered and World War 2 was over. Talley was very relieved to not have to fight in the Pacific. Talley disembarked in Newport, Virginia [Annotator's Note: Newport News, Virginia]. After two weeks, he was transferred to Idaho and then discharged in California. He and his wife returned to Idaho and worked on his father-in-law's farm. After a year, he and his wife welcomed his first child. His family moved to Twin Falls [Annotator's Note: Twin Falls, Idaho] after his father-in-law sold his farms. Talley initially found work at a slaughterhouse, but then became an electrician for ten years. He started his own business as a licensed contractor and worked until he retired just a few years ago [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview].

Chester L. Talley was not too anxious to go overseas and serve in World War 2, but since he had no choice, he tried to make the best of everything he could. He was glad that he did not have combat duty, and the closest he ever got to the front lines was when he first arrived in Foggia [Annotator's Note: Foggia, Italy]. Overall, he had a good trip overseas. He arrived in Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco] in May 1943. The locals spoke French or Arabic and did not associate with them very much. When he was transferred to Foggia, he became well acquainted with the local population, and a lot of the natives could speak English. He was assigned at a radio repairman while stationed in Foggia. He worked in a repair shop and fixed airplane radios. Most problems he fixed was replacing the tubes, repairing resistors, and tuning up. One time while he was repairing a radio, he electrocuted himself. It was just a funny feeling that went through his body. In high school he played the trumpet in the school band. He had his parents mail him the trumpet and he began playing in his tent. He then was asked to join a dance band and play at the officer's clubs. Video break at 1:03:46.000.] The British radios were very similar to the American radios. The Germans, however, were different and Talley could not figure out make one work after finding an abandoned one.

Chester L. Talley was on a fighter base in Foggia [Annotator’s Note: Foggia, Italy]. He also remembered when he heard about the death of FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States died 12 April 1945]. He was sad and wondering what was going to happen with the new president in office. When he returned home to his wife, there was a whole lot of hugging and kissing. He disembarked in Newport News, Virginia and called his wife on the phone to let her know that he was heading to Salt Lake City [Annotator's Note: Salt Lake City, Utah]. His wife met him there the day after he arrived. After he was discharged, he visited his parents in Portland [Annotator's Note: Portland, Oregon]. He was happy to see them and his brother.

Chester L. Talley does not believe that World War 2 changed him in any way. He did not suffer from nightmares. He believes 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. Talley donated to the museum when it first started. He returned to the United States in July 1945 and was discharged the following month. He arrived at the port during the night and could see the coastline lights. On his way overseas, someone told him about flying fish. He went on deck and looked over the ship's side to see them. His quarters were the last compartment at the bottom of the ship. He returned on the same ship out of Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy]. He spent a short time in Gibraltar [Annotator's Note: Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory].