Irwin R. Schneider was born in August 1921 in Newark, New Jersey. He was raised there. His father was a school teacher who held multiple jobs. His mother was a shrewd operator so even though times were tough in the Great Depression, no meals were missed by the family. Schneider had a younger brother and sister. After graduating high school, Schneider began attending chemical engineering classes at a local college. He was 20 years old in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He exited a movie and heard the news. It became the buzz on the campus. One afternoon, recruiters from the Army, Army Air Forces, and Navy came to the college in an effort to enlist students. Schneider liked the offer made by the Navy and volunteered that day. He finished his college degree and was then commissioned an ensign in the Navy Reserve on 3 April 1942. He went on active duty in December 1942.

Irwin Schneider was ill prepared to be a naval officer when he went on active duty. He was sent to Fort Schuyler, New York for training after which he spent several months traveling around the country taking classes at many of the manufacturing firms that produced weapons for the Navy. With his training complete, he went to San Bruno, California where he boarded the transport vessel Sea Witch for transport to Australia. From Australia, Schneider was sent to an area just outside of Milne Bay, New Guinea. There, he was to set up an ordnance depot to service the PT boats [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boats] and other American military assets in the area. Along the route, he had some fine experiences and learned much from the enlisted men under his command. He became fast friends with one gunner's mate in particular who advised him on his actions. He learned many things about women and certain vices during his time in the Navy. [Annotator's Note: Schneider says with a smile.] When he reached Milne Bay, he coordinated the unloading of his equipment to get it to the beach. The weather was hot but his crew was willing. They looked forward to getting off the ship and having access to better chow.

Irwin Schneider's job was not overly exciting [Annotator's Note: he was in command of an ordnance depot at Milne Bay in New Guinea]. He was responsible for repairing three inch guns and small arms. He established his depot facilities including a warehouse where he was given control of all the Australian beer on the base. He was skilled at bartering the beer for needed infantry supplies from the Army depot across the bay. He used his LCVP [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] to transport goods across the bay. He was there for six or eight months. He had a luxurious hospital stay after contracting fever. He enjoyed the nurses there. Everyone hated MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area], but he was a respected general [Annotator’s Note: General Douglas MacArthur]. He did a good job of bypassing Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] strongholds and saving American lives as a result. From Milne Bay, Schneider went to Finschhafen and then Hollandia [Annotator's Note: both in New Guinea].

Irwin Schneider arrived at Hollandia just after the landings there. There was no opposition to the assault. He had not heard shots on Milne Bay, Finschhafen, or Hollandia. Schneider was in charge of an ordnance depot for the Navy. All depots he worked seemed the same. He eventually made his way to Biak. The Japanese were entrenched in caves and intended to not be driven out. Mios Wundi was where he ultimately was based. It was close to the Philippines and considered a secret base. In his free time, he went out on patrols aboard PT-330. The skipper of PT-330 was a friend of Schneider’s who invited him to come along whenever he liked. Schneider made roughly six patrols aboard PT-330. During the patrols, the boat would be positioned outside of a cove on a nearby island where the Japanese had a base. They would wait in the darkness for Japanese barges to round the cape heading into or out of the base and engage them with gunfire. Schneider’s boat never received return fire from any of the Japanese barges but were fired on by Japanese shore installations. During these hit and run raids, PT-330 sunk a number of barges. The PT boats would become very instrumental in the defeat of Japanese battleships in the Philippine Sea. PT 330 was hit by a kamikaze and Schneider’s friend, the skipper, was killed. Schneider’s stay on Mios Wundi and Biak lasted roughly 19 months. The only Japanese he saw were in the chow line. They blended in with the Americans who were taking Atabrine. The medication changed the American skin into a yellow color. An occasional bomb might be dropped by the Japanese but that was the closest that Schneider was to being fired upon. He was there when the atomic bombs were dropped and the Japanese surrendered on 15 August [Annotator’s Note: 1945].

When hostilities ended, Irwin Schneider was sent up to the Philippine Islands. It was in the Philippines that he was informed that his friend who had skippered PT-330, the boat he had gone on patrols with while based at Milne Bay, had been killed in a Japanese attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Schneider spent two and a half years in the Pacific during the war. He learned a lot and became a master scrounger. The PT patrols were the closest he came to combat. He was not even officially assigned to the PT squadron. In late December 1945, Schneider boarded an LST [Annotator’s Note: landing ship, tank] in Manila Harbor and steamed for Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. In Honolulu, Schneider and two Marines he met there, convinced the Captain of an APD [Annotator’s Note: high speed transport] to give them a ride back to the United States. The ride back to the United States was the only time in his 21-year Navy career that Schneider got seasick. Upon arrival stateside, he and his fellow passengers threw a big party with plenty of nurses in attendance. After returning to the United States, Schneider was assigned to a torpedo testing facility on Long Island, New York. He returned to civilian life and entered the oil business. He remained in the naval reserve and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. He spent the war years as the ordnance officer at a supply base in San Francisco, California. Schneider finally retired from the Navy in the 1960s as a commander. Although he has had multiple careers after the Navy, his service was one of the most useful experiences of his life. He learned to mold himself to fit into a big operation and lead others. Schneider’s brother fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He really knew what combat was compared to Schneider who never really did.

Irwin Schneider was injured on a PT boat patrol out of Milne Bay [Annotator’s Note: in Papua New Guinea]. He went to Australia for medical treatment. The takeoff for Australia was harrowing. He thought the country was beautiful after he arrived and had a chance to see it. A female Australian doctor coaxed him into getting in the water for a cure. It worked. After recovery, he returned to New Guinea. The jungles grew rapidly even after cutting them back. The native people were very clever in planting gardens in the jungle for their food. Schneider learned to run his depot through bartering with the local Army depots. He was able to scavenge items that others would want and trade for. Food was as good as could be expected. No one was fat though. Basketball was a favorite sport. Schneider helped others write their love letters. He had contact with the locals on Mios Wundi [Annotator’s Note: near Biak, New Guinea] and was invited by them to beach parties. They caught small fish by hand. Schneider taught them to fish using hand grenades. When Schneider returned home with his .45 caliber pistol, someone stole it from him. When the war ended, an announcement was made over the theater loud speaker. Shortly afterward, a Japanese plane dropped bombs on them. Many Japanese would not surrender. Schneider’s son would eventually do business with the Japanese and fly to a location near where his father served during the war.

Irwin Schneider was changed by the war completely. He had led a sheltered life prior to his service. He learned to be a leader and deal with groups of people. The Navy enabled him to have the confidence to be the head guy in groups. He managed large sums of money and developed deals to get what he and his men needed. During the Korean War, he managed a huge supply base with two other supply officers. He became a trial attorney during that time. He learned about law and how the court works. In the Navy, he learned abut the bad things he wanted no part of. Some officers he admired whether they were academy trained or not. Schneider retired as a commander. He ended up with multiple retirement checks from other businesses where he was employed. The National WWII Museum is important. Schneider has visited it twice with the Honor Flight. He was pleased and proud to see something about Hollandia, Biak, and Mios Wundi. Schneider served for 19 months in and around Biak.

Irwin Schneider learned how to obtain needed ammunition and how to safely load added weapons and ammo on a PT boat. He had multiple vehicles and could accomplish quite a bit through barter and trade. When he was on a PT boat, the fire on the enemy in their territory was heavy. The boat never attempted to enter an enemy harbor but would blast anything they could see whether personnel or vehicle. Schneider had no sense of killing. He saw no faces. He felt he never experienced war up close. He did fire on boats that approached him. Those vessels had to be manned. He could see enemy fire incoming toward him. He got used to when the rounds got close. He does not recall being afraid during the war. By the time the war ended, all of Schneider’s crew serving under him were first class gunner’s mates. They had started as inexperienced youngsters. Schneider used the GI Bill at Columbia University and obtained his first mortgage with the Bill. Schneider carried ten thousand dollars in a money belt to buy whiskey in Hollandia. His LCI [Annotator’s Note: landing craft, infantry] was called back and so his transport for his precious cargo was gone. He negotiated with some troops to watch his booze and then got a Catalina flying boat—PBY to fly it to his base in Mios Wundi. The plane ran out of fuel in route and had to be towed to the base. The pilots each received a case of whiskey and Schneider completed his mission. The Navy was very good to Schneider.