Frank George Memory was born in Slaterville, Utah in July 1923. He had one brother and a sister and was the middle sibling. His birth mother died before Memory knew her. His father remarried and both his parents were good to him. The family home was a stable environment. His parents drank beer like some folks drink soda, but they never appeared intoxicated. With his father being a coal miner, the family moved frequently, probably for better wages. They lived in what is referred to as “Carbon County” in Utah. Frequent moves just became a part of Memory’s life. The family ended up in Price, Utah. The children never suffered any malicious punishments meted out by their parents. It was a good life. Memory was a senior in high school when he heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. It did not mean much to him at the time. It was just part of life. After finishing school that year, Memory went to work in the mines. While working, he heard explosions intentionally detonated to loosen the coal. As he neared 20 years of age and the potential for the draft, he enlisted in the Navy after getting a ride to San Diego, California. He had seen pictures of the infantry slogging in the mud and wanted no part of that.

Frank George Memory went through boot camp in San Diego [Annotators’ Note: San Diego, California] and was assigned to USS YMS-213 minesweeper with 10 or 12 men aboard. The crew rescued one pilot, but could not locate the second one after two P-38s [Annotator’s Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft] collided with each other. The minesweeper departed San Diego and made for Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. The vessel carried a small amount of fuel aboard so it needed to stop at Pearl Harbor, the Samoan Islands, New Caledonia, and New Guinea. Memory was introduced to Polynesian men wearing skirts. He thought them to be sissies until he noticed one extinguishing his cigarette butt with a bare foot. The boat next voyaged to Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. The minesweeper reached Milne Bay in the east of New Guinea where it swept for mines to Finschhafen. There, Memory came close to the war and saw how rough it was. Bored with the ship’s back and forth monotony, he became intrigued with submarine duty while talking to some sailors in Brisbane. He requested that his captain transfer him to submarine duty. When he arrived in Milne Bay again, he was sent to a submarine tender which performed repairs on submarines. Ending up in Pearl Harbor, he was given an abbreviated training aboard the submarine Gato [Annotator’s Note: USS Gato (SS-212)]. The first assignment for the submarine involved a 50 square mile area looking for Japanese shipping. That was normal for each of the subsequent runs. While chasing a convoy one night, Memory observed an enemy destroyer turn on the Gato. Two veteran submariners claimed the enemy threw everything at the Gato that night. The boat returned to Majuro Island [Annotator’s Note: in the Marshall Islands] where the elevation was only 11 feet. The next run was up to the Yellow Sea where a man had to be placed in the freezing water. That made a big impression on Memory. He felt sorry for the individual considering the frozen water temperature he had to enter. The Gato had a maximum depth of 300 feet to avoid enemy depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum]. Once, the Gato reached 100 feet and hit bottom. Memory feared that the submarine would be stuck in the mud, but it managed to free itself. The third run from Pearl Harbor was near Chichi Jima [Annotator’s Note: Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands, Japan]. Everyone was at battle stations. Memory was at the helmsman position and was told which direction to go. There were gun flashes ashore and the submarine had to change direction from its course to rescue a downed pilot. Memory wonders what the pilot must have thought as the Gato avoided him [Annotator’s Note: an infamous incident occurred on Chichi Jima where downed American pilots were cannibalized by Japanese military personnel]. Afterward, the next run was to Kyushu, Japan. Many torpedoes were fired and depth charges were dropped on the Gato during the runs. The click-click of the depth charges would indicate pending detonation. Memory was hardened to the explosions by his experiences in the coal mines [Annotator’s Note: explosions in the mines were used to loosen coal for the miners. Memory worked in the coal mines in Utah after high school graduation and heard many explosions.]. While off Kyushu, two P-29s [Annotator’s Note: Boeing P-29] provided air cover for the submarine. The Japanese managed to fly under the cover and drop two bombs on the submarine. The concussions knocked out the engines and released cork insulation from inside the Gato. That was a serious close call for the Gato. Each run for the vessel resulted in the rescue of a pilot or two.

Frank George Memory was a crewman on a submarine [Annotator’s Note: USS Gato (SS-212)]. The boat was about 300 feet long and 20 feet wide at its widest part. Its shape was similar to a cigar. The forward torpedo room had six tubes with three on each side. There were 16 to 18 torpedoes carried on racks behind the tubes. At the beginning of the war, the torpedoes were very erratic. There are records of some torpedoes returning and hitting the submarine that fired them. A few men slept in the forward torpedo room above the torpedoes. Officers’ quarters were next in the submarine. The sound and radio men were stationed just aft of the officers’ quarters. The galley was next to where the meals were cooked. Rescued pilots were amazed at how well the crew ate. Dining tables were next in the boat. Crew sleeping quarters with bunks were next. Crewmen shared bunks when pilots were picked up. Bunks were three high in four rows. The head, or toilet, came next in the vessel. Flushing a toilet while underway was tricky, and new men had to be advised accordingly. A shower was available, but seawater had to be used so no one showered much. Next in the submarine came the engine room with its four big diesel engines. There were two forward and two aft in the space. Behind the engine room was the aft torpedo room. The four tubes in that room had 12 to 15 torpedoes available for firing. After Kyushu [Annotator’s Note: a main island in the chain of Japanese home islands], the next run [Annotator’s Note: submarine mission] was off Tokyo Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Tokyo Harbor in Tokyo, Japan]. The Gato surfaced at night after staying submerged all day. Nighttime would be the opportunity to run the diesel engines after running on batteries all day while underwater. When the sound man picked up two torpedoes coming at the Gato, the submarine sought shelter underwater. It stayed submerged all night and the through the next day and night. Oxygen became very thin in the air. After surfacing the next night, the air in the boat was replenished. Each of the Gato’s patrol runs in enemy waters lasted from four to six weeks. While pursuing the final enemy ship, the crew cheered the news that the war was over. Gato was tied to a tender in Tokyo Harbor during the surrender ceremony aboard the Missouri [Annotator’s Note: the Japanese delegation signed the unconditional surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay.]. Afterward, Gato sailed to Midway where the only interesting thing to observe were the goony birds. They looked like drunken sailors. That reminded Memory that the first erratic torpedoes ran off of straight grain alcohol. The fuel was colored pink to differentiate it so that the sailors would not drink it. They referred to the alcohol as Pink Lady. The sailors discovered that running Pink Lady through a loaf of bread made it safe to drink. They used quite a bit of that, but not while on a run. A good friend in the forward torpedo room saved a couple of quarts for them to enjoy. An officer checked them while they were loading torpedoes. They told him they were doing all right. The crew had a lot of fun. They got along well together. There were 80 men aboard the Gato with 10 or 15 of them being officers. They never seemed to argue. After Tokyo Harbor, Gato proceeded to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], then Midway, through the Panama Canal, to Staten Island, New York and finally New London, Connecticut. Each stop prior to the last was for refueling. At New London, Memory was placed on a train bound for Los Angeles, California. Born and raised in Utah, he went through Salt Lake City [Annotator’s Note: Salt Lake City, Utah] on Christmas Day. Reaching Los Angeles, he was discharged after which he stayed with people he knew there. He drank too heavily at that time, so he decided to return to Utah. He had money to travel, but opted to hitchhike because it was so easy to thumb a ride. The war ended for Memory after he reached Utah. Although he had wanted to go to college and become a forest ranger, he went to his grandparents’ home in Springville [Annotator’s Note: Springville, Utah] and obtained work in an automobile repair shop. He eventually bought the shop and spent his career as a car mechanic. He retired in 1990. Computer work became the nemesis for Memory before he decided to retire.

Frank George Memory worked mainly with the officers [Annotator’s Note: Memory was assistant navigator aboard the USS Gato (SS-212)], but his best friend was in the forward torpedo room. They played chess together. When in Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii], an officer gave Memory a bottle of whiskey. Memory handed it to his best friend and told him to wait until he and the officer returned from dinner for them to split it three ways. When the two finished dining and returned, the torpedoman had drank the whole bottle and was beyond intoxicated [Annotator’s Note: Memory laughs]. Memory tried to get in touch with the friend after the war, but he had died an alcoholic after his family left him. Memory felt sorry for his buddy. Crew lived inside the Gato except for the lookouts and the officer on deck. With Memory being assistant navigator, he was also allowed topside in the morning and at night. He used a sexton to measure stars to determine the boat’s latitude location. He took readings on the sun at noon to tell how far north or south the vessel was. It was not possible to determine east to west longitude just latitude with the instrument. Memory used the sexton twice a day and provided his readings to the executive officer who was second in command on Gato. Memory also took care of the three chronometer clocks to assure their accuracy. The periscope only operated from the conning tower. When the officer announced over the loud speaker to clear the bridge and dive, the controls were handled in the conning tower where the periscope provided visibility three or four feet above the water. At battle station, Memory sat with the helmsman. Memory aided the cook when nothing was going on. Rescued pilots were amazed at how well the submarine crew ate. Memory once saw the cook toss a big chunk of frozen hamburger meat overboard in order to make room for more steaks. Memory was living apart from his parents but informed them of his enlistment in December 1942. He visited with them while on leave afterward. He was discharged in December 1945. He chose the Navy because he did not want to go in the Army and walk in the mud. He joined the Navy in San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California]. Memory could see the surrender proceedings on the USS Missouri [Annotator’s Note: the Japanese delegation signed the unconditional surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay off Tokyo, Japan.] from Gato while it was tied to a submarine tender having its engine overhauled. There were four big diesel engines on the boat. Memory helped with the overhaul work. Memory had no problems with his service and got along well with the crew. He could tell little difference between officers and enlisted men. They were all just people with no differences. Everyone ate the same food. Sleeping arrangements were satisfactory until rescued pilots had to be accommodated [Annotator’s Note: a pilot took a crewman’s bunk so that another bunk had to be shared]. Memory had responsibilities with the sexton and chronometers and logging transit information. He largely dealt with the officers as a result. The Gato traveled 20 knots on the surface and eight knots while submerged. Because of his keen navigational skills, Memory was rated as Quartermaster 1st Class at discharge and was offered Chief if he reenlisted. He decided he wanted no part of that [Annotator’s Note: he chuckles].

Frank George Memory had no problems returning from the war. He was married in 1946 and had five children with his wife. He had no financial problems during his lifetime. He kept his job until he bought his own garage. He had a good life. He had a lot of good experiences in the Navy [Annotator’s Note: Memory was assistant navigator aboard the USS Gato (SS-212)]. Some of the torpedoes the boat fired hit a target, but did not explode. They were very erratic at the start of the war. At the end of the war, one torpedo design followed the loudest sound, the adversary’s propellers, before detonation. After releasing the torpedo, noise on the submarine became minimal. Memory has wondered what would have become of him had he stayed in the service. He had a good life at home even though he and his wife disagreed frequently. She passed away a few years prior to the interview. She always liked to take charge when her husband drove his vehicle. One of the reasons Memory joined the Navy was because he was angry at the Japanese after they bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He had no intention of enlisting in any of the other services. He feels sorry for the current generation and all the problems that are ahead of them. He sees no way of improving their situation. It will likely get worse. As for Memory, he got through his life because of his family. There were problems, but nothing serious. He had a good life and cannot complain about it. The things he did was because he wanted to do them.