Dee Wayne White was born in September 1929 in Chester, Idaho. At age eight, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to Richmond, California. His mother helped build tanks at the Ford Motor Company plant in Richmond. When he was 15 years old, he also worked at the Ford Motor Company. From 1942 until 1944, White and his best friend, Tom, volunteered for the Air Observation Corps as aircraft spotters logging over 200 hours on the job. He became an avid admirer of Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945]. He learned about the attack of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] when he was at the movies. The owner of the theater stopped the film and made an announcement. White and his friend went home to listen to the radio. As a kid, it was exciting news. He was very “military-minded” as a boy, and was completely focused on the course of the war. He and Tom played with toy soldiers and were fascinated with the progression of the war.

Dee Wayne White has vivid memories of his life on the Home Front in Richmond, California during the World War 2. From 1942 until 1944, White and his best friend, Tom, volunteered for the Air Observation Corps as aircraft spotters. Citizens were more positive then that the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] was over. People had money, however, lots of items were rationed, such as sugar, gas, and shoes. He talked about the effects of propaganda on his opinion of the enemies and the accompanying distrust for Japanese-Americans. At the time, he was in favor of internment, but recognizes now that that was a naive belief. White had a hatred towards Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] and Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also known as il Duce] as much as Tojo [Annotator's Note: Hideki Tojo; former Imperial Japanese Army General and prime minister of Japan] and Hirohito [Annotator’s Note: Emperor Shōwa, Hirohito, 124th emperor of Japan]. White had an uncle who fought in Italy and was wounded several times and suffered from post-traumatic stress. His mother helped build tanks at the Ford Motor Company plant in Richmond [Annotator’s Note: Richmond, California]. Many of the women that worked there put their phone numbers in the tanks. One time a serviceman did call his mother from a piece of paper he had found in the tank. When White was 15 years old, he also worked at the Ford Motor Company.

Dee Wayne White recalled when VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] was announced and was excited that America beat Germany, but there was still another war to win [Annotator’s Note: in the Pacific]. Seeing that the war was ending, White forged his birth certificate and entered the Merchant Marine at age 15 in July 1945 in San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California]. After receiving seaman training with the US Coast Guard, he boarded a freighter, the SS Sea Blenny, as an ordinary seaman in early September 1945. His ship was preparing for the invasion of Southern Japan, but when the atomic bombs were dropped [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] and the Japanese surrendered, their plans changed. They headed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. The ship sailed after the war had ended and delivered cargo in support of the 1st Marine Division stationed in China at the time. White and some others snuck ashore into the city. They were caught by an officer and sent to headquarters. They were held in an old Chinese prison until one of their boat mates came to release them.

Upon returning to the United States in January 1946 from serving in the Merchant Marine, Dee Wayne White signed up to go aboard a Victory Ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship], but was replaced by a seaman with more experience than he had. White then decided to join the Army in March 1946 like his best friend, Tom. He decided to sign up for three years so he would not have to be considered for the draft in the future. White received basic armored training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for eight weeks and then received a 30-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. Tom contracted scarlet fever during training and was medically discharged. White reported to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey after his leave for overseas deployment. He then boarded a troop ship and headed to Germany. White chose the Army over the Navy because he did not like Navy uniforms. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 6th Constabulary Regiment. He attended a month-long constabulary training course in Erlangen, Germany. He was trained to police the civilians and helped displaced persons to return home. Upon completion, he was assigned as a cannoneer aboard an M24 Chaffee tank, but decided to attend Signal Corps school instead. He was then transferred to the message center serving as a clerk. In this role, he coded and decoded messages and went on messenger runs to the various troop squadrons stationed throughout Germany. White was reassigned to the regiment’s intelligence section in Schweinfurt [Annotator’s Note: Schweinfurt, Germany] where he took reports on the work of an undercover constabulary trooper. He was injured in a jeep accident when his intoxicated driver ran off the road and hit a tree. He injured his leg and had to stay in the hospital for a week. Shortly before being sent back to the United States, he served briefly in the message center of the 74th Field Artillery Battalion.

Dee Wayne White served in Germany during his three-year deployment overseas. Shortly before being sent back to the United States, he served briefly in the message center of the 74th Field Artillery Battalion. There was not a lot of interaction with the German civilians. He had more interactions with Polish displaced persons because they were trying to send them home. While he was in Germany, he did not have KP [Annotator’s Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police] duty because Germans and Polish people served the Army. He did not have hot showers on base and had to take a truck ride to a place to enjoy hot water. He had the chance to go and observe the Nuremberg Trials, but he was too young and stupid to sign up. White had very little information about what was going on. He had no television or radio. He only was able to receive news through the Stars and Stripes newspaper [Annotator's Note: United States military newspaper]. He finally received orders to return home. He saw a friend while he was waiting for a troop ship. His friend had a pet dog and was going home on a small ship. His friend, whose last name was also White, got him on the small ship by pretending they were brothers. He spoke about visiting Schweinfurt, Germany with his family years after the war. He was so surprised by how the city had improved from when he had been stationed there.

Dee Wayne White was discharged from Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in January 1949 with the rank of T/5 [Annotator’s Note: Technician fifth grade]. He flew home from New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York, City, New York]. He had kitchen duty while he was at Camp Kilmer. White put another name down so he would not have to do kitchen duty. He 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 went to college. He majored in advertising, and then pursued a degree at an art school in Oakland, California.

Dee Wayne White’s most memorable experience of his service was in the Merchant Marine when his ship took on several Marines at Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan] and brought them home for discharge. One of the Merchant Marines played Christmas music on the way home for the troops. He served in World War 2 because he felt a sense of duty to do something for his country. If he had not signed up for World War 2, he would have been drafted in the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953], and he was awarded with 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] so he could go to college and buy his first home. He is proud that he served, and he does not look kindly on people who do not appreciate America. White believes World War 2 means a lot to America today. He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He was honored to receive the Congressional Gold Medal [Annotator’s Note: The United States Congress passed the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act in 2020 in recognition of the efforts of merchant mariners during the World War 2] as he believes it is a long overdue recognition for the service of merchantmen during WW2.