George Hamilton was born in April 1922 in West Monroe, Louisiana. Hamilton lived in five states before he was six years old, joking that his “daddy moved us every time the rent was due.” He spent most of his childhood in St. Clair County, Alabama. He was the youngest of three siblings. Hamilton did not realize that his family was poor because it was a common way of life 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]. He feels privileged to have grown up during this time because it instilled many of the traits that served him well in his life. In the late 1930s, Hamilton was aware that the world was in bad shape, and felt that the United States had no business getting involved in another war. Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was a turning point, and after hearing the news of the attack, he immediately went to the Marine Recruiting Station in Birmingham [Annotator’s Note: Birmingham, Alabama] to enlist. Hamilton and his friends had second thoughts and did not join immediately. Looking back, they were all in a daze that day. Most of the country became focused on cooperating with one another to make contributions to the war effort. No one sold scrap, they donated it to defense industries. One morning in August 1942, Hamilton reported to work to find that his boss had enlisted in the Navy. Having much respect for the man, Hamilton enlisted the following day. At the time, the Navy had no men or ships and he was rushed through bootcamp in three weeks and radar school in six before being assigned to the USS King (DD-242). Navy discipline was the most surprising thing for Hamilton upon entering service. Though it was not always easy, he learned to respect the rank. Doing so made the United States military a success and he became eager to please his superior officers.

After his Navy training, George Hamilton was assigned to the USS King (DD-242) and spent 16 months aboard her in the Aleutian Islands [Annotator’s Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska] on submarine patrol and coastal defense. When he left Seattle [Annotator’s Note: Seattle, Washington], he got seasick, but the cook on the ship gave him soda crackers which helped with the nausea. Seeing the ocean amazed him because he had never seen anything like it before. The water was rough, but it did not take long to get used to it. Though he recalls several close calls from Japanese air raids, he and the rest of the crew had complete faith that the ship’s captain would make the right decisions to ultimately keep them safe. He went into the harbors of Nome and Attu [Annotator’s Note: Nome and Attu, Alaska]. There was one instance when his ship was sent to Vancouver [Annotator’s Note: Vancouver, Canada] because a Japanese submarine had been spotted, but when they arrived, they realized it was a whale. While in the service and for many years after, Hamilton viewed the Japanese suspiciously and thought of them as wholly evil. During his time on the King, he rarely spent leisure time on the deck because the weather conditions were so cold. After watch duty, he spent most of his time in his quarters. He had a cleaning station he had to take care of everyday, and mostly goofed off with other sailors. The weather and rough waters were worse than the Japanese enemy. His ship was hit by a 45-foot wave that stopped them dead in the water. Another time, the ship listed 57 degrees one night. He was never scared and trusted the captain of the ship. In January 1944, he was selected for the V-12 program [Annotator’s Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946] and was sent to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. The program was canceled, and his training cut short. He was then assigned to a skeleton crew for the USS Orleck (DD-886).

George Hamilton was assigned to a skeleton crew aboard the USS Orleck (DD-886) in Norfolk, Virginia when he first heard about the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. Initially, he was conflicted because he wanted to invade mainland Japan, but in the end, he was relieved that the war was over. When the war ended, he participated in the shakedown cruise before being discharged on 23 December 1945 in Charleston, South Carolina with the rating of radarman second class. Inflation was a significant obstacle for him upon returning to civilian life. He met his future wife soon after he got out of the service and married her 12 dates later.

George Hamilton’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was getting hit by a 50-foot wave and the ship shuttering. It was the scariest moment of his World War 2 experience, everything else was positive and he felt that the Lord protected him. He served because the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] and he wanted retaliation for his country and to do his part. World War 2 made him aware of the world and he became more interested in the economy and world politics. He is proud to be part of the greatest generation [Annotator's Note: the term The Greatest Generation refers to the generation in the United States that came of age during the Great Depression and later fought in World War 2 and is derived from the book The Greatest Generation by American network television journalist and author Tom Brokaw] because people had respect for their neighbors. Life was simpler and less fearful during his time. He feels that the younger American generation does not understand the seriousness of World War 2. Hamilton believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because it should not be forgotten that a nation of civilians took it upon themselves to defend their country. He believes America is the greatest country and the Lord blessed this country.