Clarence Robert Duff was born in 1923 in the farm country of North Dakota. He was one of nine children. His family was able to be sustainable during the Great Depression because they grew their own crops. Everyone in the family had a job to do to keep the farm going. His dad also did any kind of part time work he could find. No one in their community was wealthy, but every looked out for each other. He went to school on a school bus that was a wagon during the summer or sleigh during the winter. Duff did go through high school unlike some of his friends because many of them had to work on their family farms. After he graduated high school, Duff was drafted by the Navy even though he had a blind eye. Duff went to Farragut, Idaho for his basic training for six weeks, then went to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California], and onto Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He was assigned to a brand-new ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Benham (DD-796)] and he was on it when they were doing various trials to make sure it was functioning correctly. His rate was a seaman first class, or deck ape, in the first division. His responsibilities were to keep the front part of the ship clean and orderly. He also oversaw whaleboats that were used to take the captain or troops to shore. He was also assigned to a 40mm gun as a loader. The ships first mission was to the Northern Marianna Islands where they were to invade Saipan. They bombarded Saipan and shot star shells over the island so the Marines could see when they were fighting. The enemy would attempt to strife their vessel during the battle. Duff witnessed mothers strap their babies to themselves and jump off the cliffs. After Saipan was secures, the USS Benham went to Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Mariana Islands] and then Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands].

Clarence Robert Duff remarked on the times when they interacted with Japanese pilots. Duff remembered they came across a Japanese pilot trying to float across the bay from Saipan to Tinian to escape, but the chief on the ship knew he was alive. The chief asked the Japanese to come aboard but he refused, so he was shot. When the Japanese body was scooped up, the crew found some valuable information on him. Another time, one Japanese they took in as a prisoner was only 17 years old, and they held him in a machinist's locker until they could transport him to a carrier ship that had a cell. After securing Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands], Duff's ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Benham (DD-796)] went to Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands] and Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands] to help with the invasions on those islands. Invading the Mariana was his first taste of real action. Duff and the USS Benham were at the beginning of the Battle of Leyte Gulf [Annotator's Notes: Leyte Gulf, Philippines], but was selected to escort the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) to Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands]. If the Benham was not supporting the invasion of an island, Duff recalled, they were chasing the Japanese fleet. They even went as far as the South China Sea looking for the Japanese fleet. He recalled the sea was so rough that he was scared for his life. They made two air strikes while they were there. When they came out of the South China Sea, they were ordered to bomb Formosa [Annotator's Note: now Taiwan, China] and nearby islands. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer cuts the tape at 0:25:33.000.] Duff recalled that Ulithi was their base port. They would go there to get supplies or fuel up. It was also one of the few islands where they could go ashore.

Clarence Robert Duff remembered that during World War 2, his ship rode out three typhoons. The last one was in December 1944 [Annotator's Notes: Typhoon Cobra], and he recalled that a Chief was responsible for saving the ship during the storm. At one point the ship was at 90 degrees and the engine had quit, so in the middle of the storm, the Chief went below decks to restart the engine. Two of the other ships next to them succumbed to the storm and sank. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings and the interview is cut at 0:32:01:000.] Duff claims that the ship had more damage as a result of the typhoon than any combat action during the war. For days after the typhoon passed, they were dead in the water, and a tugboat had to bring them back to their port in Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands]. Practically everything had to be repaired or replaced on the ship. It took about ten days until the ship was seaworthy again.

Clarence Robert Duff recalled heading to Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan], Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], and Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau] after their ship [Annotator's Note: USS Benham (DD-796)] was repaired. He recalled the enemy attacked with Kamikazes. They did a lot of bombardment of the islands. They would be out in the front of the fleet on picket duty. He recalled one time a Japanese plane came towards the ship and they began shooting at it, but it got away. They picked up a total of 25 pilots out of the water during war. After World War 2 was over, the USS Benham (DD-796) was second in line behind the USS Missouri (BB-63). Duff recalled that they transported some Prisoners of War to a hospital ship, including a pilot who was part of the Doolittle Raid. Duff did not know how the kamikaze planes could get through heavy shelling and hit ships. His ship had a few close calls with kamikaze planes, but somehow avoided it. During the battle of Iwo Jima, his ship was strafed. During the Battle of Okinawa, they were screening for multiple carriers. Duff recalled chasing Japanese submarines and the USS Benham received credit for destroying two of them during the war.

Clarence Robert Duff recalled picking up survivors from the USS Franklin (CV-13) during the kamikaze attacks off Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He also remembered a few close calls of kamikaze on the USS Benham (DD-796), but none that caused major damage. Off Okinawa, a plane was flying so close that Duff left his seat and ran to the front of the boat. Fortunately for Duff, this incident was not reported to his superiors. Duff can remember the smirk on the Japanese pilot's face when he came across the ship. Duff recalled some of the sailors would ferment fruit to make alcohol and sometimes sailors would steal food. They would get liberty when they would go to their home port at Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands]. They stayed at Okinawa for 40 days, and longer on Iwo Jima. After they left Okinawa, they headed towards the mainland of Japan, bombing the city of Kyushu. Shortly after, the atomic bombs were dropped.

Clarence Robert Duff recalled the USS Benham (DD-796) was on picket duty the night the first atomic bomb was dropped. The radio man picked up a message that the Enola Gay was heading back to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). After the surrender of Japan, the USS Benham received an escort into the harbor. They were behind the USS Missouri (BB-63). Duff remarked that the USS Benham was in service for 17 months without getting back to the United States. Admiral Halsey [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey] did not want to include the Benham in the signing of the surrender because the ship did not look nice, so they were ordered to stay in the harbor and guard the beach. Duff stayed there for six more weeks until they sent him back to the United States. He was discharged in Bremerton, Washington. He returned to his family farm in North Dakota, but moved to Minneapolis [Annotator's Note: Minneapolis, Minnesota] and got into construction work.

Clarence Robert Duff does not believe World War 2 changed him. It made him realize how green he was. He learned a lot and respected life more. Duff believed the war changed America because it stopped the Great Depression and made a lot of people wealthy. The war unified the country for many years. He believes that people should not be ashamed of the American Flag. He is a veteran and he is proud of it. Duff hated the Japanese and believes they did not have much skill because they just drove their planes into ships. Duff thinks The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is a great place.