[Annotator's Note: Interview begins with the interviewer introducing himself.] Harold Whitaker was born in Henrietta, Oklahoma in 1929. In 1935 he moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma where he stayed in an American legion home until 1942 then moved to Santa Barbara, California. Whitaker's family had been broken up and he did not live with them until moving to California. His mother worked as a nurse in Santa Barbara and as she became more affluent she brought most of the children out to live with her. Whitaker's mother had 11 children, however, two of them died before he was born. Of the nine, eight eventually moved to California to live with their mother. His oldest sister remained in Oklahoma City where she lived with an aunt. Whitaker's oldest brother made his own way to California to avoid living in the American Legion home. Whitaker made the trip from Oklahoma to California by himself at the age of 12. Whitaker went to high school in Santa Barbara for a few years but it did not suit him. He and several of his friends decided join the Merchant Marine.

Harold Whitaker and a few friends went up to San Francisco in the summer of 1945 and joined the Merchant Marine. They arrived in San Francisco as the war was coming to an end. Whitaker went to union school in San Francisco then got on a ship owned by Waterman Lines and shipped out. The only training he received was rowing a boat across San Francisco Bay for three days then went to mess school at the University of San Francisco. After completing his training he went to the union hall and got a ship assignment. Whitaker went out on his first trip as a mess man. As a mess man, he was responsible for serving food, making coffee, and washing dishes. They steamed out of San Francisco and headed south. They were to pass through the Canal [Annotator's Note: the Panama Canal] and go to Norfolk, Virginia. During the trip they made stops at different islands. After arriving in Norfolk, Whitaker left the ship. After a brief stop in Oklahoma City to visit his aunt, Whitaker travelled to New Orleans where he got on another ship and steamed for Oran, North Africa loaded with grain.

By the time Harold Whitaker made his first voyage carrying grain to North Africa the war in Europe was over so there was no fear of enemy submarines. One of the men aboard ship who was 18 years old had been aboard three tankers that were sunk by enemy submarines. During the voyage to North Africa Whitaker did a lot of chipping paint and painting with red lead. The red lead was used to keep the ship from rusting. Whitaker never really got close to the war. They steamed to North Africa, offloaded their cargo, and then returned to the United States. Whitaker was planning to go out on another ship but instead went back home to California. He went back to high school and graduated. In 1948 he went into the Air Force. Going back to high school was not difficult for Whitaker because he really wanted to graduate.

After high school, Harold Whitaker was bumming around and getting trouble until his mother and a family friend convinced him to enlist. He went to Santa Barbara and enlisted in the Air Force. Whitaker initially enlisted for two years but after he arrived in the Far East his hitch was extended another year. Whitaker took his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The military discipline was good for Whitaker and he did well. After basic training he was sent to Chanute Air Force Base where he was trained as a welder. After completing the course he stayed on as an instructor for a time. He then went to March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. There, Whitaker met a girl and married her then went overseas 12 days later.

Harold Whitaker went overseas in 1949. He was at Johnson Air Force Base in Japan when the Korean War began. After the war in Korea started every base in Japan went on alert. Whitaker left Japan and went back to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa then returned to Johnson Air Force Base to attend radar school. From there he went to Miyako Island from where he guided B-29 bombers from Guam to Korea. The civilian populations in Japan and Okinawa loved the Americans and were glad they were there. Whitaker did not get to any of the bombed out areas when he was in Japan. On Okinawa the scars of World War 2 were still present. Whitaker remained in Japan until December 1951 then returned to the United States.

Harold Whitaker went back to March Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: when he returned to the United States in December 1951 after serving in Japan during the Korean War]. He was discharged there. Whitaker remained in Riverside, California after leaving the service. At the time the Merchant Marine seamen were not considered veterans. That upset Whitaker. The Merchant Marine suffered quite a bit during the war. Whitaker recently visited The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. He feels that it is an interesting place but he did not really have enough time to see everything.

Harold Whitaker does not believe that the story of the veterans of World War 2 has not really been told. He also believes that everyone should spend a year or two in the military for the discipline. The two best things that have happened to Whitaker were his going into the military and getting married. He has been married for many years and has three kids, seven grand kids, one great grand kid and another on the way. Whitaker and his wife have lived in Arizona since 1994.