Herbert Weatherwax [Annotator's Note: Mr. Weatherwax's name is actually Clarence Herbert Weatherwax] was born in Honolulu in June 1917. When he was growing up Hawaii contained a very mixed population. People came from many nations to work in the fields. In school, they learned to speak Pidgeon English so that they could all understand each other. Weatherwax's mother was a native Hawaiian and his father was a Caucasian from Iowa. His father worked at Pearl Harbor. When Weatherwax was about three months old his father was killed in an accident at work. His mother remarried to a native Hawaiian and had two more children. Weatherwax was raised as a Hawaiian. His family had difficulty with English so Weatherwax learned some Hawaiian but it was difficult for him since speaking any language other than English in school was prohibited. Weatherwax did not speak English very well and had a tough time when he went into the military. Money was hard to come by during the Great Depression and they had to be careful how they spent it. Eventually, Weatehrwax left school and took a part time job as a longshoreman for 30 cents per hour.

Herbert Weatherwax was drafted into the military when he was 24 years old. He had a problem with alcohol while he was growing up. He started drinking while working as a longshoreman. Weatherwax originally tried to get into the Navy but was rejected because he had been in jail before. The Army ended up taking him and he was sent to Schofield Barracks where he took his basic training. Before entering the military he got a handle on his alcohol use and got a job with a local electrical power company. He worked there for a year and a half before being drafted. Since he had experience doing electrical work he was assigned to a communications section. Ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor Weatherwax's unit was ordered to construct defensive positions and outposts along the waterfront to defend against a possible invasion.

When they were finished building their positions [Annotator's Note: along the beaches of Oahu] Clarence Herbert Weatherwax was given a weekend pass. He went home to visit his family in Honolulu. On the morning of the attack he heard a loud explosions in the direction of Pearl Harbor. He turned on the radio and heard an announcement that the Japanese were attacking Pearl Harbor and all military personnel were to return to their units. He got on a bus which would take him back to his unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 298th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division]. The bus passed the harbor on the way and Weatherwax saw the Arizona [Annotator's Note: USS Arizona (BB-39)] engulfed in flames. He also saw a battleship [Annotator's Note: the USS Oklahoma (BB-37)] that had overturned after being hit by torpedoes. He does not recall seeing any airplanes in the sky. The bus kept going toward Schofield. They passed Wheeler Field. All of the airplanes were destroyed in place on the airfield and all of the hangars were burning. Weatherwax saw a single airplane circling overhead. He went into Schofield and got into his uniform. When everyone was there they traveled in convoy to where his unit was assembled near Kailua and Kaneohe. When they got to the naval air station at Kaneohe, Weatherwax could see a lot of smoke. Weatherwax felt helpless. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor they woke the United States up.

[Annotator's Note: Clarence Herbert Weatherwax served in the Army as a communications specialist in Headquarters Company, 298th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division and was based on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.] The next day, President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin D. Roosevelt] spoke to the nation about the attack. In just six months the American military was built up enough to take the fight to the Japanese. The Japanese were forced to pull their forces back from Australia which they were trying to take. While the American forces were fighting against the Japanese on the islands in the Pacific, Weatherwax was still in Hawaii. About one third of the men in Weatherwax's unit were Japanese-Americans. They were so mad at the Japanese that they wanted to go out and fight them. The decision was made to remove all of the Japanese-Americans from the unit and they were shipped to Wisconsin. That left the unit ineffective as a fighting force. They were tasked with quartermaster work. They were infantrymen and did not like that. Weatherwax requested a transfer to Fort Shafter and was transferred there as an electrician.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax rose through the ranks quickly [Annotator's Note: while assigned to Fort Shafter as an electrician] to a point where it would be difficult to advance any further so he applied for aviation cadet training. He was sent to America [Annotator's Note: to the United States mainland] but instead of being sent to flight training he was sent back to the infantry and assigned to the 69th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby. When he got to Camp Shelby, Weatherwax ran into the 442nd [Annotator's Note: the 442nd Regimental Combat Team] which was made up of all Japanese-American troops. Weatherwax did not recognize any of them. After the 442nd left for France, Weatherwax's division went to England. They crossed the Channel after the D-Day invasion and landed at Le Havre, France. They went to Belgium and entered combat at Aachen. After Aachen they went into the Eifel Forest for a time then continued on into Germany. At the time, Weatherwax was in charge of a demolition squad. His main job was sweeping for mines. The Germans were tricky when it came to laying mines and they would often booby trap them. Weatherwax's squad advanced with the infantry to Siegfried, Germany. From Siegfried they advanced on Torgau where they linked up with the Russians. That is when the war ended. They pulled back and the Russian took over all of the areas they had taken.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax was in the town of Bad Ems, Germany. They located some alcohol and he got intoxicated. He took a bicycle and rode into town. He blacked out and when he woke up he was locked in a room with German prisoners. Soon after that event Weatherwax's required time in the military was up. He could either get out or re-enlist. He decided to get out since he already had a black mark on his record.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax returned to Hawaii, took advantage of the GI Bill and went to school. After he got home he met a girl and courted her for two years. He quit drinking and had a good job as an electrician working overseas. He was sent to Kwajalein. He learned about the fighting that had taken place there as well as what happened after the battle. When he made enough money, Weatherwax returned home. While he was overseas he had someone propose to his girlfriend for him. She accepted and they got married. By the time Weatherwax got home he had saved enough money to buy a home. Weatherwax started his own electrical contracting business which he ran until his son was old enough to take it over. Weatherwax retired at age 65. After retiring, Weatherwax traveled extensively with his family. Weatherwax quit drinking with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. He has been part of that organization for 61 years helping others with their addiction.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax also joined the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. When the building was built [Annotator's Note: Weatherwax is referring to the Valor in the Pacific Park at Pearl Harbor] Weatherwax started coming out to talk to visitors. He has now been doing that for 20 years. When his mobility began to decline, Weatherwax's family bought him a scooter. He now has one that he leaves at the park and one that he leaves at home. Weatherwax enjoys meeting people at the park, especially the school children. A few years prior to this interview, the bookstore at the park took some stories from Weatherwax's biography and wrote a book about his experiences. He receives royalties from sales of the book which he gives to a family member.

After getting the alert prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor that Hawaii may be invaded by sea, Clarence Herbert Weatherwax was apprehensive. There are reefs surrounding the island that any invading force would have to contend with. If the enemy had bombed the coastline none of them would have survived. On the second night after the attack, Weatherwax and his fellow soldiers were concerned that the Japanese in Hawaii would attack them. At the time Weatherwax was assigned to a switchboard. When he was moving from one location to another he stepped on some dry leaves which made a noise. He was immediately halted by a sentry. Everyone was nervous. They were set up next to a swamp that was full of mosquitos which constantly harrassed the soldiers.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax was at home on the morning of the attack. He heard a loud explosion but did not know what was happening. He did not learn about the casualties on the Arizona [Annotator's Note: USS Arizona (BB-39)] until later. Weatherwax tells visitors to the park about the explosion. Divers have gone down in an effort to recover remains. Many of the remains that were recovered were interred in a large trench. There was a lot of confusion after the attack. A blackout was instituted and the military took over the area. Individuals who violated the rules were fined. Citizens of the island lived under military rule for the duration of the war. Following the attack, Weatherwax was not able to let his family know he was not hurt until he got a leave. He also feared for his family's safety. He did not learn until later that the attacks had been concentrated on the military bases. All of the civilian casualties had been caused by American fire when it fell back down.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax served in the 298th Infantry Regiment which was a National Guard unit in federal service. He was in Regimental Headquarters Company. Since he was an electrician he did not have to go out and carry a rifle. He saw a lot of death in Europe, mostly Germans. The Americans would quickly remove the bodies of American dead. Weatherwax wishes that the troops that are currently being sent overseas would be brought home and used to defend the islands. Weatherwax has a good family. When Weatherwax was sent to fight the Germans he felt that he just had to go where he had to go. He wanted to be a fighter pilot. He considers himself blessed. He is happy to share his story with people.

Clarence Herbert Weatherwax feels he is blessed and is happy to share his story with people. He enjoys talking to people about his experiences. Recording his experiences is an important thing.

The war was a new experience for Clarence Herbert Weatherwax. During the Vietnam War young people going to college were afraid of being drafted. They protested and called the soldiers names. One of those protesters was the governor of Hawaii. Weatherwax has no use for him. Weatherwax got into politics so he could challenge the governor but he did not get elected. Now he is glad he was not elected. Weatherwax's most memorable experience of the war was the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seeing the damage to the battleship [Annotator's Note: he is referring to the USS Arizona (BB-39)] really got to him. In the days following the attack they were concerned about saboteurs. They did not need to worry about the Japanese in Hawaii because they were loyal Americans. The Japanese had a different culture. The Japanese troops were ordered to never give up. A sailor from one of the Japanese two man submarines gave himself up and was snubbed back in Japan.