Fred Bronfin was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born to immigrant parents immediately after World War 1. His father was a tailor and his shop is still in existence. Times were tough for them during the Great Depression. Bronfin attended a public school named Zachery Taylor then another named Henry Allen [Annotator's Note: Henry W. Allen Elementary School]. He then went to Fortier [Annotator's Note: Fortier High School] for four years. After graduating high school Bronfin went Downtown to look for a job since he couldn't afford college. He ran into a family friend named Monk Simons [Annotator's Note: Claude M. "Monk" Simons Sr.] who owned a pharmacy across the street from Bronfin's home. Simons questioned Bronfin about going to college. He later recievd a call from Doctor Dinwiddie [Annotator's Note: Doctor Albert Bledsoe Dinwiddie], then the president of Tulane, informing him that he was being awarded a one year scholarship that could be renewed each year if he maintained a B average. He completed four years of under graduate school and three years of law school and it did not cost him anything. He is completely indebted to Tulane University.

Fred Bronfin was called to report to his local draft board to register. His blood pressure was high when he went in and he was given a 4-F rating [Annotator's Note: Selective Service classification identifying an individual as unfit for military service]. That allowed him to complete his last six months of law school. After law school he tried to get into the Navy's aviation program but was rejected because of his bite. An officer at the recruiting office gave him an application for another type of work in the naval air corps. He filled it out then waited to hear back from the Navy. While he was waiting, he got a job at a small law firm. The senior partner at the firm was a captain in the Navy's JAG [Annotator's Note: Judge Advocate General] corps. The captain called a friend at the Bureau of Personnel and had Bronfin's application fast tracked. This took place shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When Bronfin learned of the attack, he was riding in a car with some friends. All of the guys he was in the car with couldn't wait to get into the service.

Fred Bronfin reported to Fort Schuyler in New York where he had a two month indoctrination. He was then sent to Norfolk, Virginia to the fighter director school where he learned to intercept incoming enemy aircraft using radar. After identifying enemy aircraft, they would send planes out to meet them. At the time, radar was in its infancy. The United States got radar from England then made it small enough to get it onto a ship. There were 30 or 35 people in the class with Bronfin. He enjoyed the class and even saved some of his notes. The course lasted about two months. After completing it he was sent to the Army Training School for Applied Tactics [Annotator's Note: Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT)] in Orlando, Florida. It was a school for Army controllers. They were there to learn a new technique for placing aircraft behind the Japanese planes and shoot them down. The Navy placed radar on aircraft so they could locate enemy planes at night. From there, Bronfin was sent to Port Hueneme, California to continue his training. They were always placed near airports so they could practice. It was at this time that the idea of Argus units came about. A Navy Argus unit was crew of officers with a small radar. During an invasion, they would bring the radar ashore and would give warnings of incoming enemy flights. It worked well but some of Bronfin's friends were killed. After completing their training in Port Hueneme they were assigned to Argus units.

Fred Bronfin went from Port Hueneme to San Diego for overseas deployment with Argus-10. He was then sent to Maui for additional training. They were placed in village called Puunene which was close to an airbase. They were a self contained unit. Finally, they started getting sent out. Bronfin was sent from Puunene to Pearl Harbor to the Pacific Fleet Radar Center [Annotator's Note: at Camp Catlin, Hawaii] where he took some more courses. He was then retained at the Pacific Fleet Radar Center to teach. A small school was built at the Barber's Point naval air station where Bronfin provided more sophisticated training in night fighting to Argus teams that passed through. In addition to tracking planes from the rear they were also able to precisely locate where friendly planes went down in the water. When his time at Barber's Point was up, Bronfin was sent to Midway Island to continue training personnel for a while. He was primarily a teacher both at shore stations and aboard ships. The radar sets were finally made small enough to install on destroyers. They were put in small rooms called combat information centers, or CICs. During one training mission with a bunch of admirals Bronfin got very seasick. One of the admirals admitted to Bronfin that he still got seasick as well. It was pleasant duty. There were girls at the hospital and there was a good officer's club. When Bronfin was stationed at Pearl Harbor there was still evidence of the attack.

Fred Bronfin adjusted easily to military life but felt he was losing time in his career. To differentiate between friendly aircraft and enemy planes, a device was developed called identify friend or foe, or IFF. Eventually, Bronfin was given his own crew. [Annotator's Note: Bronfin gives the interviewer a copy of a photograph.] The crew operated 24 hours per day. One group used radar off Tarawa but they were doubtful that they had done any good. Radar technology did save England. The English were able to detect incoming rockets. The American Navy put radar to good use too. They were able to detect flights of enemy planes coming in from 80 miles out. When Bronfin had been at Barber's Point for about two years he began to get anxious. Typically, after two years in one location, servicemen were rotated back to the United States but Bronfin was still there. He also did not care for his commanding officer. Although it took a while, Bronfin was able to remain in contact with his relatives back home. The telephone company allowed them to call home on occasion and Bronfin would also write letters. Bronfin had a jeep and was able to see a lot of the area. Bronfin became friends with one of the fighter pilots he trained on radar. Years after the war, this fighter pilot reached out to Bronfin. The man [Annotator's Note: Robert William Daniels, Jr.] had become a big man in the cable television industry. Bronfin and Daniels remained in contact after the war. Friendships like this were one of the things people got out of the Navy.

Fred Bronfin was sent back [Annotator's Note: back to the United States] for more radar training and teaching at Saint Simon's Island, Georgia. The Navy had taken over a hotel on the beach and was using it as a school. Bronfin taught there. One day Bronfin got a call from the admiral who ran the program, Admiral Fleming [Annotator's Note: cannot verify individual], who offered him a job. Bronfin was to be placed aboard a ship aboard which he would be in charge of the radar. He would then lead the invasion forces heading to invade Japan. Shortly after the call, the war ended and Bronfin did not have to go. Bronfin's reaction to the news of the atomic bombs being dropped is that it was terrible but necessary. After the war ended, Bronfin was sent to Georgetown University where he took a course in contract termination. He then worked with the Grumman aircraft company doing termination work on the contracts that company had with the Navy. One of the men involved with this group was Richard M. Nixon [Annotator's Note: later President of the United States]. Bronfin stayed in New York doing this work until February 1946 when he was sent home.

Fred Bronfin was had mixed feelings about leaving the Navy. In the service everything was taken care of for him. In the civilian world he had to do it himself. At first, he had a tough time finding a job but eventually got a job with a small firm that is still in existence. The service gave him a lot of independence that he otherwise would not have had. The job he had was not glamorous but it was necessary. Bronfin feels that it is important for current and future generations to learn about the war. He feels that there has been a decline in patriotism over the years and that it's important for places like The National WWII Museum to show what happened back then to help bring it back. He feels that The National WWII Museum is great for the city of New Orleans. Bronfin know some of the people who helped make The National WWII Museum possible. To future generations, Bronfin says to be prepared. This is a dangerous world.