Joseph Daquana was born in Plaquemines, Louisiana in May 1928. He was the second youngest child in a family of seven children. He attended high school in Plaquemines and then transferred to Holy Cross in Baton Rouge [Annotator’s Note: Baton Rouge, Louisiana]. In May 1944, Daquana was a student at LSU [Annotator’s Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge] when he volunteered for the Navy’s submarine service. His father had his own rig welding business which suffered 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 was not aware of the conflicts rising in Europe and Japan. He was selling peanuts at the movie theater when he first heard the news of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He had animosity towards the Japanese after that event. Civilian life changed a bit because men were joining the service and leaving the country. It was still hard to get money and life continued to be difficult. After he joined the Navy, he trained first at San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] and enjoyed his training overall. He had to learn a different way of living and being regimental. He did not mind the adjustment. Daquana recalled a time when he was in Manila [Annotator’s Note: Manila, the Philippines] and consoled a woman who just lost her little girl. Japanese soldiers took the girl and killed her.

Joseph Daquana completed submarine training in New London [Annotator’s Note: New London, Connecticut]. During his training, he had to wear a big diving suit as part of a training exercise. He thought his submarine training was good and prepared him well. He was told that the submarine patrols lasted several weeks, and he had to get used to being in tight quarters. After training, he was assigned as a metalsmith aboard the USS Skate (SS-305) in August 1945. He was on the submarine when he heard that the Japanese surrendered. The Skate departed for Bikini Atoll [Annotator’s Note: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands] to be used as a target ship in atomic bomb tests. To pass time, Daquana kept his area clean and thought about his family. He had close relationships with his fellow sailors and captain. He was on the Skate to make several patrol missions. He recalled a time when he was in Hawaii and had a fun experience on the beach. He also remembered that there were times when the Japanese dropped depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] in their vicinity, but the captain of his ship was able to divert the Skate out of danger.

Before VJ Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], Joseph Daquana was reassigned to the USS Fulton (AS-11). One of his friends married a Hawaiian girl, and after the war he lived on a plantation farm in Hawaii. Daquana remained in the Navy until after the war and took part in Operation Crossroads [Annotator’s Note: Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946]. Many people were affected by the aftermath of radiation. The second atomic bomb test was ignited underwater. After the Crossroads tests, his ship was constantly tested for radiation. He was discharged in May 1949 with the rating of First-Class Petty Officer. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee shows things to the interviewer that cannot be seen on the camera at 0:38:45.000 – 0:40:09.000.] He was sent to San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California] to be discharged. He and his friend went to Mare Island [Annotator’s Note: Mare Island, California] and bought a brand-new military jeep for 800 dollars. He drove back home to New Orleans East [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans East, Louisiana]. His family was so happy to see him when he finally arrived.

After World War 2, Joseph Daquana took advantage of the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He never received any benefits for his service in Operation Crossroads [Annotator’s Note: Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946]. He met his wife when he was discharged from the Navy. His father gave him and his brother a Corvette one year for Christmas. Daquana’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was how his captain followed an enemy vessel and destroyed it. He served in World War 2 because everyone else was going into the military. He wanted to protect his family. He thanks God that he is still alive. He feels he helped protect the world. He experienced Hurricane Betsy [Annotator’s Note: August 1965]. He feels that people today do not think about World War 2 very much. 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 people need to learn what the men did.