Edward O. Wood, Senior was born in January 1927 in Orlando, Florida. He had two younger siblings. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], his father worked for a gas company and helped with the police department. Even though his father worked multiple jobs, they remained poor throughout the Depression. His mother worked for the Chamber of Commerce for Orlando until she had Wood, and then she stayed home to raise him. She had a rough childhood because both her parents died when she was young, and she was raised by her older sister. Both of his parents worked hard and very reserved people. There was always bread on the table. His parents were good to him and his siblings. For fun, he and his friends rode bicycles all over town and go to the airport and watch planes take off. They swam in the lake. They always had to find something to do for free because none of them had money. Wood attended primary and junior high school in Orlando. During his freshman year in high school, World War 2 broke out. While school was in session, there was an announcement over the public address system that FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] declared war [Annotator's Note: on Japan]. When boys turned 17, many of them quit school to join the military. Wood convinced his parents to let him join the Navy at 17. He wanted to join the Navy because he did not want to be drafted in the infantry. He also wanted to sail on the ocean and see the world. Wood was aware of the hostilities going on in Europe, but the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] came as a complete surprise for him and those around him. He found out about the attack on that Sunday morning when a neighbor friend told him. He realized the America would soon be at war. Many of his friends went into service right away, and many of them were killed. Wood enlisted in the Navy in January of 1944 in Jacksonville, Florida, and then sent home for a week. Wood was very interested in radio as a kid and one of his teachers was a HAM radio [Annotator's Note: amateur radio] operator who taught him Morse Code [Annotator's Note: a method of telecommunication encoding characters in a system of dots and dashes]. When he enlisted in the Navy and told them he was interested in working with radio. They gave him a test and he scored a 100. In the Spring of 1944, after completing boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland, he shipped out of Norfolk, Virginia thinking he was heading to Europe. He found out he was heading to Pearl Harbor. Wood spent his first two weeks at Pearl Harbor in jail because there was no other space to house him and the new trainees.

Edward O. Wood, Senior was assigned to the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] where he attended radio school. Where he was stationed on Pearl Harbor was right across the bay from the USS Arizona (BB-39) and could see it from his barracks. Once he completed radio training, he was assigned to the communications office at the base. Submarines would come into the bay after doing a tour in the Pacific and the men would be put up in a hotel on Waikiki Beach [Annotator's Note: in Honolulu, Hawaii]. Wood delivered messages to the captain [Annotator's Note: U.S. Navy Submarine Commander Richard O'Kane] on the USS Tang (SS-306) and felt honored to communicate with him because he had won a Presidential Citation [Annotator's Note: Presidential Unit Citation, or PUC, originally called Distinguished Unit Citation, awarded to military units for extraordinary heroism, on or after 7 December 1941]. He was hoping to take the place of the radio operator on the submarine but came down with pneumonia. He feels very blessed that he did not get on it because today it remains on the bottom of the ocean. Wood lost a few of his friends in the Tang accident, where the last torpedo they shot at a destroyer, backfired, and hit the Tang. There were only a few survivors, including the captain. [Annotator's Note: Interviewer talks about the Tang at 0:20:55.000.] Wood got homesick in boot camp, but he had a job to do. Luckily, he had some good friends that kept him company. He felt boot camp was fair. Many of the trainees were complainers. He enjoyed the exercising, meeting new people, and looking ahead. He received schooling that he would not have gotten if he did not serve in the military. Going through the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: in Panama] was terrific. He was amazed to see all the anti-aircraft guns placed everywhere. On their way through, his troop ship hit a tanker and another small ship while trying to make a left turn. When he arrived in Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and saw the destruction from the Japanese attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he felt horrible, wanted to throw up, and became very angry.

Edward O. Wood, Senior was assigned to the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] as a radio man in the communications center. His main duty was copying Morse Code [Annotator's Note: a method of telecommunication encoding characters in a system of dots and dashes] and sending and receiving coded between the admiral Charles Lockwood [Annotator's Note: US Navy Vice-Admiral Charles Andrews Lockwood] and the submarines out in the Pacific. It was difficult at times because the Japanese often jammed the frequency with noises. Admiral Lockwood was a very nice man and treated all the service men with great respect. When he lost a sub, it hurt the Admiral terribly. Wood enjoyed his duty in Hawaii. He received one day off a week and often went to Waikiki Beach [Annotator's Note: in Honolulu, Hawaii]. Even though he enjoyed his duty in Hawaii, he had a desire to serve on a submarine. He volunteered to serve on a submarine tender for a while. As for entertainment, he went to the movies often. He was able to attend a USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Inc.] show and saw Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War] and Eddie Peabody [Annotator's Note: Edwin Ellsworth Peabody, known as Eddie Peabody, American banjo player, instrument developer, and musical entertainer]. Wood met and became good friends with Peabody. Having the movie stars and entertainers come and put on shows was great for morale for many of the service men. [Annotator's Note: Some background noise starts at 0:37:00.000.] Besides going to the beach, there were not too many other things to do. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer talks about an experience he had in Hawaii at 0:38:48.000.] Many sailors would get tattoos while they were stationed at Pearl Harbor, but his father told him not get a tattoo or smoke a cigarette. He smoked but did not get a tattoo.

Edward O. Wood, Senior was assigned to the submarine tender, USS Holland (AS-3), as a replacement radio man. Their main mission was to serve submarines in the Pacific that needed maintenance and supplies. They steamed to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] with Admiral Lockwood [Annotator's Note: US Navy Vice-Admiral Charles Andrews Lockwood] and set up the submarine base and rest camp on the island. Wood lived in a Quonset hut [Annotator's Note: prefabricated metal building] and was able to stay the submarine rest camp at times. After the war concluded, they steamed around the Far East putting in at ports in Japan, China, and Korea. He enjoyed visiting Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China] and eating Chinese food. When he visited Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan] for the first time, he saw the horrible destruction of the city and felt for its citizens. He was warned to stay away from the Japanese because they were angry at the Americans, but he thought the Japanese were very nice. During one stop in Japan, Wood was able to visit Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan] where he saw the devastation caused by the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, 6 August 1945]. He could not recognize it as a city. A Japanese man took some of them to see where the bomb hit. Although he felt terrible for the use of the atomic bomb, he believed that the Americans had to do something drastic to make the Japanese surrender. If war continued millions more would have died. [Annotator's Note: Video break at 0:55:03.000.] When the Japanese surrendered, Wood was on duty and was the first member of the USS Holland's crew to know that the war was over. Wood's living conditions were better accommodations than on other ships. The food was excellent.

Edward O. Wood, Senior was assigned to the submarine tender, USS Holland (AS-3), as a replacement radio man stationed at the port in Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands]. While in Guam, he had no direct contact with the Japanese, but could hear gun fire every now and then from the mountains. A group of submariners went into the mountains to find them but were killed. After the war concluded, Wood was in Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China]. In late March 1946, he was transferred to the USS Beaver (AS-5), left Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Toyo, Japan], and headed to Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington]. Wood boarded a train and headed across county to Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois], and then to Jacksonville [Annotator's Note: Jacksonville, Florida]. Wood was discharged from the Navy in Jacksonville on 6 June 1946 with the rate and rank of Radioman 2nd Class. Wood did not want to stay in the service or sign up for reserve duty. He used 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] to go to junior college for one semester, but then needed to get a job. His parents needed financial help and he wanted to get married. He chose a career as a licensed optician. Wood's service allowed him to have more opportunities for career choices. It gave him more of an affinity for America and those that serve for the country. He never regretted serving for his country. After the war, he got involved in church work which helped him transition back into civilian life. Wood's most memorable experience being stationed in Hawaii was going to radio school and watching the submarines depart and arrive in the bay. He enjoyed his stay there. While he was in Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Island], his most memorable experience was being near the action of combat. He saw damaged ships returning to port after being hit from kamikazes [Annotator's Note: Japanese Special Attack Units, also called shimbu-tai, who flew suicide missions in aircraft] and talking to some of the sailors that were on board. His most memorable experience of World War 2 was serving on the USS Holland because he enjoyed his service and traveling. Wood served because he felt it was his duty. His service made him grow up in a hurry and gave him a greater respect for those in military service. To prevent another world war, America needs to be on its toes and ready to protect itself. 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 so people know what happened and how bad the world can be.