Earl Wergin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in May 1927. As a boy, he and his family moved to New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. His father passed away when he was ten and he dropped out of school to help support the family. At age 16, Wergin's family moved back to Wisconsin, but he stayed behind. Wergin was working as a messenger on the New York Stock Exchange when in 1943, he decided to enlist in the Navy. He the date of birth box blank and was accepted into service two weeks shy of his 17th birthday. Wergin chose the Navy because an older brother had served in the Navy during peacetime and because he had nothing better to do. He applied for submarine duty, but he was denied. Wergin reported for training in Sampson, New York [Annotator's Note: Naval Training Station (USNTS) Sampson, Seneca Lake, New York]. Basic training was nothing out of the ordinary, although he was assigned to guard duty on the psychiatric ward of a hospital and was allowed to carry a .45 caliber pistol [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] while on duty. He reported for gunnery school in Shell Beach, Louisiana where he was certified as a marksman on the 20mm gun [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon]. After gunnery school, Wergin served for seven months as an armed guard on several merchant ships sailing out of New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. Wergin was transferred to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] where he boarded the USS Hitchiti (ATF-103)]. The ship was used to tow damaged vessels and often took part in submarine patrols. Wergin was based in Guam [Annotator's Notes: Guam, Mariana Islands], Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands], Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands], Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan], and Subic Bay [Annotator's Note: Subic Bay, Philippines] while the war was going on. Once when leaving Guam for a tow mission at three in the morning, the crew of the Hitchiti spotted a Japanese submarine that had surfaced to charge its batteries. When the submarine spotted them, it dove. Wergin was responsible for releasing depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum]. Minutes after dropping the charges, debris from the struck submarine surfaced. While on Guam, Wergin witnessed the death of his buddy Dago [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling].The pair were heading to a water filtration plant when a Japanese sniper killed Dago. After being shot in the leg, Wergin opened fire on the sniper and killed him. He felt no remorse for killing the Japanese soldier until he discovered a picture of his wife and kids in the dead man's wallet. Wergin reported to his commanding officer that his friend had killed the enemy so that he would earn a posthumous citation. While stationed in Subic Bay, the crew of the Hitchiti was called to tow a sinking ship. Upon arriving alongside the sinking ship, the crew of the other ship began jumping on board the Hitchiti. One sailor threw the ship's mascot, a cat, at Wergin while he was coming aboard. Wergin says the cat scratched him all up, but luckily missed his nipples.

On VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], Earl Wergin [Annotator's Note: with the USS Hitchiti (ATF-103)] was sent to Yokosuka, Japan to see if any ships needed to be towed. Upon discovering they were not needed, they reported to Tokyo Bay [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan] where they towed several Japanese submarines and ships to Bikini Atoll [Annotator's Note: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands]. They took a Japanese Naval person with them so they could show the Americans how to drop the anchors. While on occupation in Japan, Wergin visited a geisha house [Annotator's Note: also called an okiya; lodging house and drinking establishment to which a geisha, a class of Japanese performance artist, is affiliated] and enjoyed sake [Annotator's Note: also spelled sake, Japanese alcoholic beverage] and Japanese food. He rode a rickshaw [Annotator's Note: light, two-wheeled, hooded vehicle drawn by one or more people] down the main street in Tokyo. Many Japanese civilians bowed to him as he passed. At the time, Wergin says he thought nothing of the killing because it was something that had to be done. It aggravates him today to hear veterans say they were never scared while in the service. He returned to the United States in June or July 1945. His ship was decommissioned when he made it back and Wergin was discharged. He returned to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] to marry his girlfriend and start a family. He moved his young family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin shortly after. He bought a home and lived there for eight years, then moved to Rochester [Annotator's Note: Rochester, New York]. Wergin had no problem adjusting to civilian life after he returned from the war. He did not use 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] for college.

Earl Wergin's most memorable experience of World War 2 was when his friend was killed. He fought because he felt there was a need for it and that is why he enlisted. The war changed his life because he was able to get a good job postwar due to his service. He found a girl to marry and settled down. He likes to tell his grandchildren that he was carrying weapons at age 17. They do not believe him. World War 2 was something America had to do. He believes we [Annotator's Note: the US] had to drop the atomic bombs in order to save the world. 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 because there is a need for it. Many died in order for future generations to be where they are today. He feels lucky to be here today.