Louis B. Hutchinson was born in November 1925 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Philadelphia [Annotator's Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. He had three siblings and his father was a lawyer. They all went to school and then moved. In the Great Depression, Hutchinson was in the Navy and would send all his money home to his family. After being drafted into the Navy, Hutchinson did his basic training in Bainbridge, Maryland. While walking to chow [Annotator's Note: mess hall], he passed two igloo huts. When a man came out of one, someone called him an Eskimo. The man was an officer and Hutchinson learned a new expletive from him. He adapted well to boot camp, even though it was difficult. After basic training, Hutchinson went to radar school at Virginia Beach. At the school, there was a safe in the cellar where the day's lessons were kept. When he finished that day's lesson, Hutchinson had to put it back into the safe. They were not allowed to have liberty or outside communications. Hutchinson was taught how to read radar and how it worked. At Okinawa, he could see Japanese Kamikazes on the radar 100 miles away, allowing them to be ready. He thought radar got better during the war. After he finished at Virginia Beach, he went to another radar school in Rhode Island. On 16 April 1944, he was assigned to the new battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64). Hutchinson is a plank owner [Annotator's Note: a member of the first crew of a new ship] of the Wisconsin. Hutchinson boarded the ship in Philadelphia then immediately sailed to the west coast [Annotator's Note: west coast of the United States]. Hutchinson passed through the Canal [Annotator's Note: Panama Canal]. To keep the ship from getting scrapped up, they put bamboo along the sides. Four of Hutchinson's family members were allowed to board the ship in Philadelphia for a meal before they shipped out to Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia]. He believes they picked up ammunition there because the ship did not stay at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] very long.

Louis Hutchinson and the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) used Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands] as an anchorage instead of going back to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] for resupply. At Pearl Harbor, when he passed the sunken USS Arizona (BB-39), he gave a hand salute. By the time he made it to Pearl Harbor, the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) had been righted and tied to a pier. The Wisconsin was only staying one night at Pearl Harbor, so she was tied to the Oklahoma. To get ashore, sailors had to cross onto the Oklahoma. When Hutchinson was on the Oklahoma's deck, he could smell the rot and burn and he knew there were still 500 or 600 men still in the ship. The Wisconsin set a record for continuous days at sea. On the Wisconsin, Hutchinson operated the radar equipment. He was only allowed to operate for half an hour at a time because it was bad for his eyes. Hutchinson was mainly searching for enemy planes, because the duty of the battleship by the end of the war was protecting carriers [Annotator's Note: aircraft carriers] from kamikaze attacks. On the Wisconsin, they had a bakery, ice cream, sailors could exercise, and they did gun drills. Because he worked in radar, Hutchinson did not have to swab the decks, just his own compartment. During one battle, Hutchinson and two other sailors were in a 20mm [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] clipping room. When the battle ended, one of the sailors sat down and started showing signs of a mental breakdown. Hutchinson participated in five battles, Luzon, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and was a part of the surrender in Tokyo Bay. When the Japanese went up the gangplank [Annotator's Note: to board the USS Missouri (BB-63)], MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area]. Hutchison was below deck on the Wisconsin in Tokyo Bay during the surrender. The radar operated seven decks down in the CIC [Annotator's Note: Combat Information Center] room. The guns of the Wisconsin were accurate as long as the radar was correct.

Before the Marines landed on Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan], the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) bombarded the island. Louis Hutchinson also bombed Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], then went to Japan where he helped put ordinance over a mountain, hitting an ammunition dump. Because of kamikaze attacks at Okinawa, Hutchison was at his battle station for a week. They would bring a hotdog up to the crews because they could not leave their stations. In the CIC [Annotator's Note: Combat Information Center] room, he could hear pilots talking to each other, which he thought was neat to listen to. When Hutchinson saw an enemy plane coming in on the radar, he sent the information all over the ship. While she was not damaged during the war, the Wisconsin was hit during Korea [Annotator's Note: during the Korean War]. A kamikaze did hit the USS Missouri (BB-63), and the pilot's body was recovered. When the captain ordered the body be buried at sea, the Marines initially refused to shoot a volley, but eventually did. Hutchinson does not blame the Marines. When the typhoon that hit off of Okinawa struck, Hutchinson says the Wisconsin tilted 30 degrees. Despite that, he did not get seasick. It was not possible to refuel the ships while the storm was happening. Hutchinson thinks the most dangerous moment for him was when a sailor had a breakdown because Kamikazes were still coming in. He could see it happening because he was on the deck handing out the ammunition. He could see through a porthole, but he was too busy to look.

While off Okinawa, the USS Wisconsin [Annotator’s Note: USS Wisconsin BB-64] picked up some British POWs, which were brought back to the United States. Louis Hutchinson arrived in California with an Essex carrier and other big ships. He was happy to see the Golden Gate Bridge. The Wisconsin was then stationed near Guantanamo, Cuba for drills. Hutchinson enjoyed a strong Cuban beer. During the Wisconsin’s shakedown [Annotator’s Note: a performance cruise for a new ship, usually 45 to 120 days] she stopped at Trinidad. On the island of Mog Mog [Annotator’s Note: Ulithi Atoll the sailors got liberty. The Wisconsin had a heavy weight fighter onboard, Freddie Bayshore, who later fought against Joe Louis.

Louis Hutchinson was discharged from the Navy on 16 April 1946, in Bainbridge [Annotator's Note: Bainbridge, Maryland]. He then worked at The Evening Bulletin as a printer for the next 35 years. He did not find it hard to readjust to life. Hutchinson got married to his sweetheart and refused to reenlist in the Navy. During the war, Hutchinson and his sweetheart stayed in contact through mail. He received Christmas letters from his father and his sweetheart. They honeymooned in Washington. In 1950, Hutchinson used the G.I. Bill to buy a house in Sharon Hill [Annotator's Note: Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania]. He sold the house in 1980 and put the money in bonds. In the Navy, Hutchinson played a lot of poker. On one occasion, he saw another sailor cheating. During his deal, Hutchinson decided to do what the other guy was doing when he dealt. They looked at each other with a knowing look and the other sailor did not do it again. The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) made her own ice cream, which all big ships could do. When other ships came for resupply, they would ask for ice cream. She also had a Marine detachment. Hutchinson used to attend reunions with his wife until she passed away. He thinks the country recognizes and respects World War 2 veterans. One day at a casino, a woman saw Hutchinson in his hat and told him "thank you for me being free." Occasionally people would pay for his meals.