Joseph Earl "Joe" Samrow was born and grew up in Slidell, Louisiana in 1926. He had five brothers and a sister, he was second to last. His father was a World War 1 [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918] disabled veteran who served with the US Army in France. He was a "Jack of all Trades" [Annotator's Note: an individual with many talents who is good at many vocations] and picked up jobs where he could, doing some farming and carpentry work. His mother stayed home and took care of the kids. They lived about four miles outside of Slidell. They always kept a garden, and had chickens which he would sell. Samrow was 15 years old and still in high school when Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was attacked. His older brothers enlisted, and his parents were very supportive. His brothers served in the Army and Coast Guard, while Samrow joined the Navy when he was 18 in 1944. He had one year of college at LSU [Annotator's Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana] done. He studied chemistry. He was drafted, but did not want to go into the Army so he volunteered for the Navy. Samrow saw no combat at all during his service. He completed boot camp in Millington, Tennessee [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, Tennessee] outside of Memphis [Annotator's Note: Memphis, Tennessee]. He had a week-long furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] at home and then reported to Norman, Oklahoma to the Naval Air Tech Training Center [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Technical Training Center Norman in Norman, Oklahoma] where he went in as a combat air crewman designated to repair airplanes and to serve as a gunner on torpedo bombers.

Joseph Earl "Joe" Samrow [Annotator's Note: enlisted in the US Navy in 1944, trained as a torpedo bomber gunner and repairman] was trained for about seven months, learning how to repair engines and about radar which was new at the time. He then went to gunnery school as well, training on the .50 caliber [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .50 caliber machine gun]. He was not intimated because his parents were always supported and told him there was nothing he could not do. He enjoyed learning about engines. The war ended while Samrow was still in training in gunnery school in Jacksonville, Florida [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida]. At Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands], without going ashore, they transferred to a destroyer and went out to catch up with the 7th Fleet, later transferring to the aircraft carrier Boxer [Annotator's Note: USS Boxer (CV-21)]. Finally, once arriving in Suzhou, China, he was transferred to the Antietam [Annotator's Note: USS Antietam (CV-36)]. Samrow was part of the flight deck crew and stayed aboard the ship while in China, handling the airplanes taking off and landing. He remained in China for three or four months. While there, there was a typhoon. He came home and was discharged, he did not want to stay in the Navy. He used 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] to go back to LSU [Annotator's Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana] to study chemistry until his father's health began deteriorating and he went back home [Annotator's Note: Slidell, Louisiana]. He never graduated from college. He worked in shipyards for a while, but did not like it at all. He then got a job at a chemical plant for a while, then went to Kaiser [Annotator's Note: Kaiser Aluminum Corporation] where he spent the rest of his career. He retired in 1982.

Joseph Earl "Joe" Samrow did not see any combat [Annotator's Note: during World War 2] like his brothers did, so he felt like they did more for the war effort than he did. His time in the military did not change him. The aircraft carrier was so big that it was like living anywhere else. The food was similar to what was had on any other ship or in the Army. He had a job to do, and he did it. They each had a bunk and a locker, it was roomy even when they were confined to the ship. The ship had no air conditioning. Samrow met his friend, Warden Peterson [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify], in boot camp. He was a farmer from Minnesota. They lost contact after the war, but six or seven years ago they got back in touch and remained friends until he passed away. It is important that younger generations learn about the war. He was married around 1949 and they had five children, two daughters and three sons. They occasionally ask Samrow about his wartime experience. He is proud of how many of his close relatives served during World War 2, and his father who served in World War 1. They were all affected differently. One became an alcoholic after the war and never talked about his wartime experience. He was missing once, so Samrow and his brother searched for him and found him. It was the only time he opened up to them about the war. He had served in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] and talked about how bad it was.