Lee O. McKinnon was born in Valdosta, Georgia in August 1925. He was raised by his mother and grandfather and worked on the family farm. He was fond of his grandmother. McKinnon's grandfather ran an oak wood and hickory cutting business and did quite well for himself. In 1935, his grandfather invented the first hay baler. His mother walked two miles every day to town to work in a peanut mill in Valdosta to support McKinnon and his two sisters. He did not meet his father until he was 22 years old. The two became very close, but his father died not long after their meeting. His mother remarried a nice man who helped McKinnon with his education and bought him a blue suede suit. McKinnon dropped out of school in 1937 following completion of the 8th grade and went to work in a nearby drugstore as a delivery boy. He worked there for three years. One morning in December 1941 while delivering prescriptions in the north side of Valdosta, McKinnon noticed there were no cars out on the streets and the town was unusually quiet. When he returned to the drug store, many people were gathered inside around a radio listening to coverage of the bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He recalls President Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] declaration of war [Annotator's Note: Day of Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, 8 December 1941]. McKinnon wanted to join the military right away to help defend his country. He tried enlisting in the Army but was turned away because he was too young. The Army recruiter encouraged him to join the Navy. When he reached the front of the recruitment line, McKinnon was told he was Navy material, despite having never seen a ship before. McKinnon's mother gave her written permission, allowing him to be sworn in shortly after in Macon, Georgia. From Macon, McKinnon was sent to six weeks training in Norfolk, Virginia. Upon completion of the training, he and 60 other African-American sailors were gathered before their white lieutenant and told "Men, you're going to face the enemy, and some of you might not come back." Despite the ominous warning, McKinnon was thrilled to hear this because he had never been called a man by a white person before and it gave him the courage to keep fighting throughout the war. McKinnon witnessed many men die alongside him. He never knew how hot blood was until it splattered on him in combat. In October 1942, McKinnon was assigned to the USS Calvert (APA-32) in Newport News, Virginia. After a shakedown cruise [Annotator's Note: a cruise to evaluate the performance of a naval vessel and its crew], in which the crew familiarizes themselves with the ship, they sailed to a nearby pier to pick up soldiers, weapons, and equipment for transport across the Atlantic [Annotator's Note: Atlantic Ocean] to North Africa. They loaded on a Sunday morning and continued through the night. They sailed alongside the USS Texas (BB-35) in a convoy of 363 ships while the threat of German U-boats [Annotator's Note: German submarines] and fighter planes dogged their crossing. McKinnon witnessed many dog fights during his first journey overseas. The night before D-day [Annotator's Note: the day on which an operation or invasion takes effect] in North Africa, McKinnon listened as the ship's captain delivered a speech to all the men on board. Though McKinnon did not like what he heard, he felt that the hard truths of the speech were necessary for the men to hear as they prepared to fight and die. They would wake up and have breakfast and the first wave of the invasion would begin soon after.

As Lee O. McKinnon was on his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Calvert (APA-32)] that had reached North Africa for an invasion, the atmosphere was peaceful. Suddenly a torpedo hit the ship and chaos began. People were screaming and dying, and fuel was going everywhere. Around ten o'clock in the morning, everything got quiet again. McKinnon looked up and saw "Old Faithful" [Annotator's Note: the American flag] flying on a hill and it made him feel a little happier. After this event, they returned to the United States to resupply and reload. The USS Calvert embarked again, first stopping in Gibraltar, then headed to the Mediterranean. They circled the Mediterranean and saw many sunken ships. Being a transport vessel, their job was to carry troops and their weapons. They had to fight their way to the ports and then fight their way back. Submarines were a big threat and very effective. Ships were being sunk by submarines daily. While on board the USS Calvert, McKinnon served as a steward, which meant he was a cook, but he also helped load supplies aboard the ship. He was responsible for knowing how much food was needed to feed all the men on the ship. His job was to keep the men on the ship healthy. There was segregation during World War 2, but in combat, there was no separation. Everyone fought to destroy the enemy. However, when they returned home to resupply, the Blacks [Annotator's Note: African-Americans] and Whites [Annotator's Note: Caucasians] were separated. McKinnon never got used to that. The Navy eventually changed after the war. At one point in time, McKinnon was put on an ammunition ship. Their job was to resupply the ship with ammunition, but they were not given an escort. After they completed their mission, McKinnon was told that he was going to be transferred to another ship, but never was, because that ship was hit with a torpedo and sunk. McKinnon saw many planes. He liked the F4U [Annotator's Note: Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft] but did not like the F6 [Annotator's Note: Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter aircraft]. During McKinnon's time in the war, he was assigned to several ships including the USS Calvert (APA-32), the USS Artemis (AKA-21), and the USS Essex (CV-9). He was assigned to the galley for the most part while serving on the ship. He was called the mess attendant and prepared food all day. The Navy was always in need of men. They were making ships so fast that they could not get enough men to serve on them.

While serving in England, there was a ship that gave Lee O. McKinnon and his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Calvert (APA-32)] a lot of trouble. Eventually, two American destroyers took care of it. The North Atlantic was very rough and difficult to move through. Not long after the war ended, he was on an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] in the Arctic Circle where they were responsible for patrol duty. They often spied on Russia. McKinnon was very happy when the war ended. He left the Navy but rejoined three months later. McKinnon really wanted to join the Merchant Marines, but his mother persuaded him to rejoin the Navy. He was assigned to the USS Artemis (AKA-21) in California. After boarding the ship, they went to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. His captain told them that they would be going on a dangerous mission. The mission was called Operation Crossroads [Annotator's Note: a pair of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in July 1946 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands], to test the effects of atomic bombs. There were other ships present at the site, but they had animals on the ships. They did a surface blast in July 1946 and then did a beneath the surface blast August 1946. He was not allowed to look directly at the blasts. After the initial blast they were given the okay to see the effects of the bomb. He saw the ocean rising with colors of red, green, and white. It was very destructive and tidal waves began soon after. He also felt a breeze. McKinnon lost his hair and remained bald for most of his life. He also hallucinated and had night terrors after being exposed to the atomic bomb blasts. The surface blast affected him the most. Initially after it happen, he heard a noise that sounded like a .22 rifle [Annotator's Note: .22 caliber rimfire firearm]. In 1948, he witnessed President Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] signing Executive Order 9981 [Annotator's Note: Executive Order 9981, 26 July 1948] to desegregate the military. Before the order was signed, Black [Annotator's Note: African-American] and White [Annotator's Note: Caucasian] military men could not interact with each other unless they were on a ship together. Even when they were aboard ship, there were still some kind of separation by duty assignment. A Black man could not tell a White man what to do even if he out ranked him. All the bases were segregated. McKinnon feels that his part in World War 2, along with other black military men, helped power the Civil Rights Movement in America. McKinnon's military records were carelessly lost after the atomic bomb testing, and he does not understand how that could happen. The impact of 9981 was great for McKinnon and he was happy to see the changes.

Lee O. McKinnon stayed in the Navy until 1947. The Navy made good progress. When he first enlisted, there was no Navy college for Blacks [Annotator's Note: African-Americans], but by the time his son came along, he became an aviation pilot. His grandson is a submarine nuclear engineer. He believes that his part in the Navy helped improve the chances of future generations of Blacks having better prospects in the military. He feels his Navy career made a lot of difference. McKinnon was in the Mediterranean during the Cold War. He was supposed to be stationed there for only six months but was there for one year. There were many young married men [Annotator's Note: there is a video break at 0:50:27.000] who received "Dear John" letters [Annotator's Note: a Dear John letter is a letter from a female to a male serviceman serving overseas breaking off a romantic engagement]. Some of these men jumped in the water because they were so upset by the letters they received. He saw a man dressed in his dress blues jump overboard. McKinnon ran over there to look for him in the water but did not see the man. The next day he had duty and went offshore in the morning. He was called "The Good Samaritan" because he always helped his fellow Navy man. A group of Navy men went underground and got weapons like grenades and guns. After he returned to the ship from his guard duty, he was woken up and told to go back to shore. He saw that there was a lot of commotion, but he was told to protect the other Navy men around the area. Terrorists had raided a federal building and held 72 high military officials hostage. McKinnon was asked to go into the building and try to talk with the terrorists because he was trusted by these men. McKinnon agreed and was successful in talking down the terrorists and the hostages were released. He learned that many of these men were having family issues and wanted to die, so they figured they would kill people first. McKinnon made sure that the men were protected as the military police took them into custody. [Annotator's Note: There is a video break: 0:58:31.000.] He believes if he was a White [Annotator's Note: Caucasian] person, he would have received the recognition for his bravery. He also felt that these men had lost everything they had, but nobody seemed to care.

Lee O. McKinnon's most memorable experience of World War 2 was his first invasion [Annotator's Note: Operation Torch; the invasion of North Africa on 8 November 1942]. He had never seen or heard men die before. That first night after the invasion he could hear White [Annotator's Note: Caucasian] men crying and he had never experienced that before. His trainer told him he was going to die for his country. McKinnon served in World War 2 because he wanted to help America. He wanted to make a difference. The war changed his life because he had unique experiences and did things that were worthwhile. He can look back on his life and say he fought for his country. If he was asked to serve his country again, he would do it. He has more reason to fight now because he is a free man today. During World War 2 he had to deal with segregation. He saw signs that said, "White Only," and Blacks [Annotator's Note: African-Americans] had to sit in the back. They were treated as second class citizens. He was not allowed in the dining cars on trains, but today, all that has changed. He believes World War 2 opened the eyes of America and the leaders of the country. Also, more jobs were created especially for the Black people. Black people were able to rise in the middle class. They were given more opportunity and it is still going on today. McKinnon believes it is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because it's a steppingstone to a better world. This interview allowed him to relive some of his military experience that he has not thought about in a while.