Meda Royce Hall was born in November 1923 in Emanuel County, Georgia. He was the youngest of seven children. 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], his father had several jobs including farming and working on a train. Hall graduated from high school in 1940. His mother passed away from pneumonia [Annotator's Note: an infection of one or both lungs] soon after she gave birth to Hall. As an infant, he was a very ill and many did not think he would make it Hall enlisted in the United States Navy in November 1940 after he heard that Germany invaded Poland. He was given a tour of a ship while he lived in Savannah [Annotator's Note: Savannah, Georgia], and he was mesmerized by the vessel. His older brothers had joined the National Guard during the 1930s. His father gave him permission to join the military. On 30 December 1940, he sworn in at the footsteps of a courthouse in Macon [Annotator's Note: Macon, Georgia]. He attended Recruit Training and Aviation Ordnance School in Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia] from January to June 1941 [Annotator's Note: Video break at 0:11:14.000]. For training he marched on the parade ground with a band and learned how to wash clothes with saltwater and properly roll and store them in his bunk. The weather conditions were cold, and he almost froze to death. He rowed boats in the freezing bay. He learned how to handle rifles. He often had to put his hands under hot water. After six weeks, he completed boot camp and was given a ten-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], so he visited his family. He returned to Norfolk for about five months and then graduated. He was given orders to go to Elizabeth City [Annotator's Note: Elizabeth City, North Carolina] to pick up a 35-foot yacht and bring it back to Norfolk through the Dismal Swamp [Annotator's Note: The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina]. They ran out of gas not long into their voyage and had to find a fueling station. He played baseball during his time at the school. There was an instance when the ball went into the ocean, and he had to go get it. He and another got stuck in the rip tide and had to float and swim in the water for hours until they could find a way to make it back to shore. He was also given orders to clean up the shoreline of gas drums after a hurricane came through.

Meda Royce Hall attended Aviation Ordnance School in Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia], and graduated in June 1941. Not long after his graduation he was swindled by a yeoman [Annotator's Note: enlisted member who does clerical or administrative work] who convinced him to get together 30 guys and pay 150 dollars to take a ship to Pensacola, Florida. He remained there until May 1943. His first duty in Pensacola was training aviation cadets in firing weapons including the .45 pistol [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol], 30 caliber machine guns [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .30 caliber machine gun], and a shotgun. Hall wanted to become a pilot and was advised to take a physical but failed due to his vision. Hall was notified about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] through a newsreel on the morning of the attack. His commander immediately told them to get into their dungarees [Annotator's Note: work uniforms] because they were at war with Japan. They then set up artillery around the base. The base was in absolute chaos because the commanders feared that Japan was going to hit America next. Training for pilots and cadets ramped up. The military began ramping up on equipment and planes as well.

Meda Royce Hall was a Ground School Gunnery Instructor at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida when America went to war with Japan and Europe. He was put on watchman duty to observe the coast for enemy. There was an ensign [Annotator's Note: lowest rank of commissioned officer in the US Navy and Coast Guard] that tried to catch Hall and his friends sleeping while on duty, so they decided to scare him one night. Around January 1942, Hall and some others were sent to the PBY squadron [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina amphibious aircraft squadron] to learn use the Norden bombsight [Annotator's Note: Norden Mk. XV tachometric bombsight]. He then became an instructor and taught cadets how to use the equipment. In March [Annotator's Note: March 1943], he began flying as a bombsight instructor until May 1943 in a PBY. After several trips up in the plane, the pilot allowed Hall to land the plane, but it did not go very well. Hall dropped the plane in the water from 75 feet high. He told the pilot that he had bad perception. There was a horrific accident where two planes collided in the air. All the crewmen in the planes were killed. Hall learned that some of his time was miscalculated as well. Hall was instructed to teach cadets how to bomb submarines. He got ill every time he went on one of the trainings, but his commander forced him to continue instructing the cadets on submarine targeting.

Meda Royce Hall [Annotator's Note: a US Navy bombsight instructor] had one pilot that gave him some trouble because he wanted to be fighting in Alaska. [Annotator's Note: Video break at 1:04:44.000.] He violated many ethical procedures, causing others and Hall to be harmed. Hall refused to fly with him after three incidents with the pilot not caring about the crew on the plane. In May 1943 he was transferred to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] for two weeks. He was sent with a navigation lieutenant. They were assigned to Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) which included 16 torpedo bombers and 16 FM-2 fighters [Annotator's Note: Grumman FM-2 Wildcat fighter aircraft]. The squadron trained in June [Annotator's Note: June 1943] in various areas of San Diego including Brown Field [Annotator's Note: now Brown Field Municipal Airport in San Diego, California]. After enough training, his squadron was assigned to a ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)].

Meda Royce Hall and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)] participated in the battle of Saipan [Annotator's Note: Battle of Saipan, part of Operation Forager, 15 June to 9 July 1944; Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands] and Leyte Gulf [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23 to 26 October 1944 at Leyte Gulf, Philippines]. In January of 1945, his squadron flew along the Western coast of America. The weather was terrible, and they were stranded in Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington] at some point. His squadron also was part of a southern liaison patrol duty along the Mexican border, missing aircraft searches, disaster relief, tow target and tracking operations. One pilot died due to a mishap of a parachute flare and a bomb bay. On one flight exercise, Hall noticed a plane was leaking oil. The plane eventually had to make a water landing in very rough waters. On another training exercise, his squadron was simulating a torpedo intercept, and crashed into another plane. Although there was damage, they were able to make a safe landing at Brown Field [Annotator's Note: now Brown Field Municipal Airport in San Diego, California]. During their mission during the battle of Saipan, his plane was bombed while they unloaded Marines on the beach. He saw mothers throwing their babies off a cliff and jumping in after them. The Japanese told women that the American Marines were vicious people. Later in life, Hall was awarded several decorations including the Distinguished Flying Cross [Annotator's Note: the Distinguished Flying Cross, or DFC, is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight] in 2003. There was another incident, where his friend's plane was catapulted and fell 50 feet. After the battle of Saipan, they buried the dead at sea. His ship was transferred to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] for repairs. They left Hawaii with orders to secure Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands].

[Annotator's Note: Meda Royce Hall is difficult to understand throughout this segment.] Hall and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)] were transferred to John Rodgers Airfield in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: now Kalaeloa Airport in Kapolei, Hawaii] to continue additional training. They were then sent to Manus Island of the Admiralty Islands to prepare for the invasion of Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944 at Leyte, Philippines]. By this time, a new admiral, C.A.F. Sprague [Annotator's Note: US Navy Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick "Ziggy" Sprague] was assigned to the ship. As they headed towards Leyte to meet up with Admiral Halsey [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey], the USS Fanshaw Bay went through a typhoon on 17 October 1944. Hall's first mission during the battle of Leyte was dropping thousands of leaflets onto the Philippine islands that had a message from General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area], saying "I have returned." Hall did not see any Japanese planes because they had retreated inland. On 25 October [Annotator's Note: 25 October 1944], battle had commenced. One of the Japanese battleships was sunk by several American torpedoes [Annotator's Note: Hall requests a break at 1:43:26.000]. While he was manning his plane on the flight deck, he saw geysers coming up from the water. They were also being shelled by a Japanese battleship. He took off and began shooting his guns at the enemy until he ran out. His pilot headed east flying low on the water. Hall could see bullets and tracers flying all around him. His pilot was able to land the plane on a transport carrier, called the USS Marcus Island (CVE-77). They picked up a torpedo, rearmed, refueled and catapulted towards the North. They began receiving fire from the Japanese ships below and saw one Japanese fighter in the air. Hall's plane was given orders to orbit the area. He made sights with a fighter and began to engage with him. Before the fighter crashed, he dropped a torpedo onto the USS Fanshaw Bay damaging the elevator shaft. Hall was then told to fly towards the north of Leyte. They landed at an airstrip, and waited for other planes to come in. Some of the planes that were landing had heavy damage. Hall saw Japanese planes flying low towards them, so he grabbed a machine gun and began shooting in their direction. The Japanese planes soon dispersed.

[Annotator's Note: Meda Royce Hall is difficult to understand throughout this segment.] Hall and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)] were engaged at the battle of Leyte [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944 at Leyte, Philippines]. They landed at an airstrip after a long day of fighting. By nightfall they headed inland to camp. The general at the camp asked Hall and his radioman to have dinner with him. Hall debriefed him about their day at battle. He was then taken to another area of the island that was highly dangerous. He was given new clothing, equipment, and weapons. He found some fresh water and bathed. [Annotator's Note: Interviewer pauses the video at 2:08:35.000.] Hall was able to get back to his ship and found out who was lost and killed during the battle. They headed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and then to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] on 27 November 1944. Hall went home on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and reunited with his brother, George. His brother, Jim, had participated in the invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. His brother, Rudolph, was a plane captain in the 7th Air Force and served in the Pacific. His brother, Vernon, was in the National Guard and guarded Hilton Head Island, South Carolina from the Japanese. At Christmas 1944 [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1944], he introduced his family to his future wife, Phyllis, who was in Hawaii at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Her mother was a nurse, and her stepdad was a chief motor tender. He married Phyllis in June 1945. Near the war's end, he was given orders to remain in the United States. He was sent to the Citadel[Annotator's Note: The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina] and remained there for three months. He was then shipped to Oceana Naval Air Station [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia] where he was given duty to inventory weapons equipment.

[Annotator's Note: Meda Royce Hall is difficult to understand throughout this segment.] At the end of World War 2, Hall was stationed at the Naval Station in Oceana[Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia]. The Navy had no assigned job for him. He lived with his wife in a little apartment paying the landlord with groceries he got at the PX [Annotator's Note: post exchange]. Hall was discharged in December 1946 and headed home for Christmas [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1946] to see his family. Following his military career, in 1947, Mr. Hall became an apprentice carpenter then foreman, superintendent, and finally construction estimator. In October 1954, he founded a corporation. His wife died 0n Valentine's Day, 1994 [Annotator's Note: 14 February 1994]. They had several children together. He moved to Georgia after his wife died and met and married his second wife. [Annotator's Note: Hall begins to read off a piece of paper that recaps his life.] He was born in Emanuel County, Georgia in November 1923. He graduated from high school in June 1940. He enlisted in the United States Navy in November 1940 and attended Recruit Training and Aviation Ordnance School in Norfolk, Virginia. He served as a Ground School Gunnery Instructor at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida in 1941 until 1942. He then began flying as a Norden bombsight [Annotator's Note: Norden Mk. XV tachometric bombsight] instructor until 1943. At that time Hall became a leading aircrewman and torpedo plane turret gunner in the Composite Squadron VC-68 [Annotator's Note: Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)] until November 1944. Hall served in numerous significant battles including the Marianas Campaign [Annotator's Note: Mariana Islands Campaign, also known as Operation Forager; Mariana Islands and Palau, June to November 1944], Philippine invasion [Annotator's Note: Philippines Campaign, Operation Musketeer, or Liberation of the Philippines, 20 October 1944 to 15 August 1945], and Leyte Gulf [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23 to 26 October 1944 at Leyte Gulf, Philippines]. His last duty station was the Naval Air Station in Oceana [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia] in 1946. Hall separated from Naval Service in January 1947 and subsequently enlisted in the US Naval Reserve from July 1950 until July 1954. He was not called to active duty during that time. He received several military decorations for his service and became a member of several veterans' organizations. In 2005, he was awarded the American Patriot Award [Annotator's Note: presented by the National Defense University to men and women of extraordinary excellence whose leadership and character strengthen the nation's strategic interests]. He collaborated with James D. Hornfischer, author of "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers", published in 2004. He was cited by the author as a torpedo plane gunner in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

[Annotator's Note: Meda Royce Hall is difficult to understand throughout this segment.] During his service in the Pacific, Hall flew on an Avenger [Annotator's Note: Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber]. The plane was a good plane and very dependable. The Navy used them to relieve the dive bombers. Hall had to crawl through a chute in the plane to get to his position. He flew with his feet hanging out. He shot 180 degrees around the plane with a .30 caliber [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .30 caliber machine gun]. He lived aboard an escort carrier [Annotator's Note: as a member of Composite Squadron 68 (VC-68) aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70)] and slept underneath the flight deck. World War 2 changed his life. He joined various veterans' organizations and attended reunions. He lost his first wife to cancer [Annotator's Note: a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body] and lost his only son as well. Hall is battling against cancer as well, which has altered the way his speaks.