[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] Harry Tennant was born in November 1918 in Virginia. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer and another person with Tennant do some adjustments for the camera.] He worked in the President's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] office in Washington [Annotators' Note: Washington, D.C.]. Tennant was in the living room on a Sunday afternoon listening to the radio when the news [Annotator's Note: of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] came on. He went outside to tell people about it but they told him he was crazy. He heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. He was in the Reserve [Annotator's Note: Naval Reserve] and knew he was going right to the war. He went in and told his family. He did not see them again for three years. He entered as a Naval officer and went to Pearl Harbor. He got on a ship and landed in the South Pacific. They were ready to land in Japan. He was close enough to see it and then the war was over. They turned around and came home. It was a happy day. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer tells the other person that he thought Tennant took part in D-Day, he Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944, as well.] The Navy offered a chance to get quick training. He was anxious to do that.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] Harry Tennant worked in the English Channel practicing landing on the beaches and to get ready for the initial landing in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. They sailed from England to France on 6 June and climbed the cliffs to where the Germans were. They crawled across France. Standing, you get shot at. They crawled on the ground. Being there and seeing thousands of men, thousands of planes in the air, thousands of ships in the sea, and men moving ashore was unbelievable. They had the whole German war machine in front of them. The Germans were losing ground and finally they crossed the river into Germany and gave up. It means they were able to save the country and keep the Germans in Europe. They [Annotator's Note: the Germans] did not think we [Annotator's Note: the Americans] could do that and were surprised. The day he stopped fighting in Europe, Tennant was on a ship and got orders to go home. He got on a ship in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] and headed to the Pacific just days after leaving Europe.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] They had rocket boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Support (Small) or LCS(S); also called Rocket Boats] that were about 40 feet long. The rockets were in the center with the crew behind. They had no idea what they would be up against. The rockets were so many and so strong, the Germans could not believe it. They could not believe we [Annotator's Note: America] would consider attacking them. They opened their eyes. They landed and kept going until they got to Germany. Germany gave up. For Tennant, both invasions he was in were the same. In Europe, they landed and then crawled across Europe. When they got to Japan, they felt they knew how to do it. They landed on an island with a whole war machine. This dismayed and surprised the Japanese. [Annotator's Note: There is background conversation that can be heard.] Tennant was at sea when the bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] was dropped. He was unaware of what was going on. He realized that the bomb was the beginning of victory. It was war and they were there to kill him. They were looking at each other ready to kill each other that the bomb was an appropriate way to win and come home. That is what happened.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] Harry Tennant was in the Pacific on a ship when it [Annotator's Note: the news of the Japanese surrender] came over the radio. The Army landed on an island near Japan and accepted their surrender. The war was over. He never did fight the Japanese in a war time battle. They fought their ships. If they would have had a land battle, they would have lost a lot of men. Japan would have been completely destroyed. They had celebrations on the ship. They immediately began to go home. He sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and then to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. He took a train home to Virginia. He had orders to go to the Navy in Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.]. They gave him liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and sent him home. He separated as a Commander in the Navy. He went to work in Richmond, Virginia where the veterans were coming home. Tennant worked on projects to get them home and back to work. That was hard work, seven days a week. These guys wanted to go home and go to their families. That was a great part of the war for Tennant.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] Harry Tennant was in the Naval Reserve for the rest of his life. He went to war two weeks to a month every year until he retired. He is still on call despite being retired. He would not go back to fighting but would have a job somewhere. Once you are in, you are never let go. When he came home from the war, he took off his uniform and went to work for the Veteran's Administration. He helped get veterans home and find jobs. That is the most important part of his whole life. He was very fortunate to have gotten an appointment in the Navy. They sent him to Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.] and Annapolis [Annotator's Note: United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland] where he helped train Navy personnel. Then he helped get them home and back to civilian life. It was the most important work he ever did. He was married while in the Navy. He graduated on a Sunday morning in May [Annotator's Note: unable to identify what year]. He got on a train that night and got on a ship the next day. He was in the war then for four years. He attended Berea College, Kentucky [Annotator's Note: in Berea, Kentucky]. He has four children, some grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His most memorable experience was the invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He was on a ship with a couple thousand soldiers, and they were landing soldiers on the beach. They did that for a month, day in and day out. Then he turned around and went to the Pacific. They were ordered to New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] and got new motors, new guns, and new people. They went through the Panama Canal and straight to the Pacific and fought the Japanese.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer has Harry Tennant answer questions written to him.] The war gave Harry Tennant the beginning of a career. Having a mission and being responsible for a good bit of what was going on, the Navy said he should stay with them. He worked with the Navy the rest of his life. He was pleased to have the opportunity to serve the country. He was happy to serve and then get home and get the war behind him. Most came home and went to work. Probably the most important thing the war did, was to show that Europe and Asia were not as smart as they thought they were. They were countries that had war for hundreds of years. They were faced with the United States which was new, able, and willing to look after the rest of the world. He wants people to know about war. He was just a part of it. The war is part of their history. Since he stayed in the Reserve, each year he was somewhere in the business of the Navy. Most of the time he could take his family with him. So, they knew that the Navy and his civilian job were part of his life. The military keeps the country safe now. They know the people that did this, were not necessarily heroes, but did it to keep the Germans, and Russians, and others from taking over the world. The Army, Navy, and Air Force determine what is necessary to protect the United States and to keep peace in the world. He was there [Annotator's Note: at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. His youngest son went to university in New Orleans and then bought a house. Tennant has been back for visits. [Annotator's Note: He asks the other person where she is from and they talk a bit.] Tennant says his whole life has been a story. Every year for two weeks, he goes back to the Navy and stays up to date. There are others who stand ready to go to war. The Navy, Army, and Air Force have kept the country safe and ready to protect the world. We no longer have wars but have peace in our time. [Annotator's Note: Tennant puts his Navy Veteran hat on.] Tennant landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, France [Annotator's Note: on D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944].