Lawson Tracy Winslow, Junior was born in February 1926 in Arden, Montana. Custer's [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General George Armstrong Custer] Last Stand [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Battle of the Greasy Grass or Custer's Last Stand, 25 to 26 June 1876 near Little Bighorn River, Crow Indian Reservation in Little Bighorn County, Montana] was nearby. About two years later, the family moved to Eureka, Montana. His father was educated in agriculture and established a dairy farm there. The Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] hit about that time. Winslow and his four siblings did not recognize any issues. They each had their own riding horse on the dairy ranch. The family grew their food and even had ice cream once a week. The children lived comfortably but the parents likely did not. In 1937, the family lost the farm and moved to Carmel Valley in California. The children had a good life. After a year, the Winslows moved to Santa Rosa, California. Four years later, the family made its home in Oroville, California. Prior to that point, Pearl Harbor had been attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Life changed quite a bit. On that 7 December 1941, church had ended when the announcement was heard over the radio that the Japanese had attacked. A few days earlier, Winslow had learned of Pearl Harbor after reading a letter from a former student who was based in the Navy there. On the next Monday, Franklin Delano Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] made his speech about the attack [Annotator's Note: Day of Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, 8 December 1941] and Congress declared war on Japan shortly thereafter. That was rapidly followed by Germany and Italy declaring war on the United States. Winslow was about to become 16 years of age. In his senior year, a recruiter came to town and offered the Army and Navy training program to the students about to graduate. Winslow preferred the Navy and selected that program [Annotator's Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946]. Those who opted for the Army program were called to duty before program completion. Many were involved in the Normandy invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Meanwhile, Winslow continued his program with the Navy and graduated just as the war ended with the peace signed by the Japanese on the battleship Missouri [Annotator's Note: the USS Missouri (BB-63)]. Winslow's brother served in the Army Air Forces during the war.

Lawson Tracy Winslow, Junior completed the program [Annotator's Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946] whereupon it would have normally been the requirement for him to attend Officer Candidate School and become a 90-day wonder [Annotator's Note: derogatory slang for a newly commissioned graduate of three month, or 90-day, officer candidate or midshipman school]. Instead, he was given leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and then served nine months on an amphibious transport ship, the USS Monrovia (APA-31). His war years were enjoyable. He was called back during the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] to serve on a destroyer. His sacrifices were not great plus he was never fired at in anger. The Navy program was the V-12 program. He had signed up when it was called the V-1 program. He was mobilized in July 1943 and the V-1 no longer existed. The V-5 program [Annotator's Note: V-5 US Navy Aviation Cadet Program, 1939 to 1943] was also at the University of Texas [Annotator's Note: in Austin, Texas] where Navy pilots were given early training. After his nine months active, he stayed in the reserves for 22 years. He combined weekly training sessions with active duty for two weeks training every three years vice every year as expected. He was never mobilized after marrying and raising his family. It was not like today with multiple deployments required of service personnel [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview]. The reservists and guard units make more sacrifices today that were required of him during his years of service. The V-12 and Navy ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] units were separate. Courses were different for the individual groups. ROTC took additional classes so that they were not required to go through OCS - Officer Candidate School - after graduation. Prior to the Normandy invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], the ROTC class was told that their graduation would be accelerated because more officers were needed. Winslow was disappointed that he was not called up at that time but realizes that he was fortunate.

Lawson Tracy Winslow, Junior was at the lowest enlisted rank - E1 - when he participated in the Navy V-12 program [Annotator's Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946]. Students were in uniform and under Navy regulations. There were veterans in the program who had sailed previously with the Navy. Winslow had to take extra courses in the program. Policy and grade acceptance levels were strict. The day FDR died was memorable [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States died on 12 April 1945]. The loss was announced in class. It was an emotional time. Winslow liked FDR's policies, although he was too young to vote. Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] did not have much of a reputation but made an excellent president. The end of the war in Europe was a big celebration [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. The armed forces could focus on the Pacific War. Everyone knew the Allies were winning the war from Normandy on [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. The news of the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] made everyone aware that the war was coming to an end. It was Winslow's last semester in school. His professor of metallurgy had served in the Army. He was in uniform and was an officer. He knew nothing about the bomb ahead of time. He referred to an atomic bomb as being golf ball size that could generated amazing energy. It was an understatement. The end of the war was definitely a celebration. Movies were free that day for Winslow and his date. He was 19 years of age at the time. Older people were celebrating in different ways. Winslow was due to get his degree in late October [Annotator's Note: October 1945] after the peace treaty was signed on the Missouri [Annotator's Note: USS Missouri (BB-63)]. The first indication was that all the program students were going to be released. That would have caused consternation with the veterans serving overseas if they had been released prior to those who had been deployed. The Navy decided to keep the program graduates on to serve active duty. Prior to that decision, Winslow had received a job offer from Westinghouse [Annotator's Note: Westinghouse Electric Corporation]. With the policy reversed, Winslow went on to serve on an APA [Annotator's Note: APA—Auxiliary Personnel, Attack transport ship] for nine months.

Lawson Tracy Winslow, Junior decided to use 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 attend graduate school following his active duty. He completed the course work but did not finish the thesis requirement. He received employment offers from multiple oil companies. He chose Chevron [Annotator's Note: Chevron Corporation] and spent over 34 years with them. He was recalled during the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] and assigned to a destroyer [Annotator's Note: USS John A. Bole (DD-755)] as EDO - Engineering Duty Only. He had been an assistant engineering officer on a transport [Annotator's Note: the USS Monrovia (APA-31)] at the end of World War 2. In March 1951, he reported for duty aboard the ship at Sasebo, Japan. The ship had special radar installed for a top-secret mission. Winslow was not aware of the assignment when the ship was sent to the Formosa Straits [Annotator's Note: now called Taiwan Strait; separates Taiwan and continental Asia]. The Navy maintained a patrol of one or two ships in that area between Taiwan and China. The Chinese had declared some of that territory as belonging to Chinese waters. The United States said it was international water and felt it was to be protected as open water for commerce. In April [Annotator's Note: April 1951], Winslow's ship sailed into Chinese waters. The crew went to general quarters. Winslow was stationed in the after-engine room. When one of his firemen went topside to relieve himself, he reported back to Winslow that the ship was surrounded by Chinese junks [Annotator's Note: a type of Chinese sailing vessel]. Winslow learned at a reunion much later in 1993 that the event was an attempted provocation by General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area during World War Two and Supreme Commander of United Nations force during the Korean War] to get the Chinese to fire on the destroyer. It was the General's attempt to start a war with the Chinese. The junks were men-of-war, and the destroyer would have been a sitting duck had gunfire erupted. Carriers were brought closer to the location in order to respond if war broke out. Two or three days later, MacArthur was relieved of his command. It was a decision made prior to the actual event. That was the closest that Winslow came to being fired on in anger. The ship was USS John A. Bole (DD-755). Winslow had been in danger in the Formosa Straits but did not realize what was happening at the time.

As a veteran, Lawson Tracy Winslow, Junior is often thanked for his service. It surprises him. During World War 2, the question would have been about what service you had served in. People today [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview] are not as involved with the country's hazardous situation with terrorism and so forth. In World War 2, everyone was involved. Oshkosh [Annotator's Note: Oshkosh, Wisconsin] had Rosie the Riveter [Annotator's Note: nickname used to identify any female working in a physical role in the defense industry during World War 2]. People do not realize what the military is doing for them. It is important to keep up our defense. Other nations look up to the United States despite all their criticism. We have so much more than other nations. Many of the critics are trying to immigrate into our nation. We should not be so sensitive of our mistakes. People died due to the mistakes made in World War 2. It is important to use our strength wisely. Museums such as The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] are absolutely important. Winslow was affected a lot by the Vietnam War Memorial [Annotator's Note: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.] with the names of those who did not make it home. Many more were affected than those names on the Wall. Oshkosh memorializes the Air Force [Annotator's Note: a yearly airshow is presented at Oshkosh featuring vintage warbirds and other features] and is important to do that as well. Winslow listened to General Borling [Annotator's Note: US Air Force General John Lorin Borling] who was a prisoner for over six years during the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] in the Hanoi Hilton [Annotator's Note: Hỏa Lò Prison, known to American prisoners of war as the Hanoi Hilton, in Hanoi, Vietnam]. Vietnam, as well as Japan, are now our closest allies. It is good to have the programs and the museums.