Myron J. Carraway was born in Idaho [Annotator’s Note: in Jackson, Idaho in March 1922] and grew up there. He graduated from the local high school in 1940. He attended a vocational school for a year then enlisted in the Navy in April 1941. He was inducted in Salt Lake City, Utah. A group of classmates and Carraway decided the Navy would be the best option for service for them. Additionally, his father had been in the Army and did not object to his son’s decision. Carraway had two brothers in the Army and one in the Navy during the war. He did basic training in San Diego, California. He learned Navy regulations and marching and took aptitude examinations where he qualified for communications school. He then had advanced training in Los Angeles [Annotator’s Note: Los Angeles, California]. He was then deployed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] aboard the cruiser Salt Lake City [Annotator’s Note: USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)]. Reaching the harbor in October 1941, he was transferred to the USS Curtis (AV-4) and then the USS Hulbert (AVD-6). He served as a signalman for ship’s communications including signal flags on the bridge of the Hulbert.

Myron J. Carraway was waiting for breakfast when the Pearl Harbor attack began [Annotator's Note: Carraway was aboard the USS Hulbert (AVD-6) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Initially, the assault was thought to be a drill, but quickly understood to be the real thing. Carraway’s battle station was on the open mount aft 5-inch gun by the stern of the ship. He had a good vantage point for the attack that morning. As the bombs were falling, the planes were immediately identified as Japanese. The harbor was under attack and Carraway was a witness. He saw bombs drop and torpedo planes just 150 to 200 feet off the stern of the ship [Annotator’s Note: Hulbert was just opposite Battleship Row where the Pacific Fleet battleships moored]. The pilots could be seen concentrating on the battleships. Their attention was focused on the large ships, not the small craft like the Hulbert. The crewmen on the ships were very busy during the attack. The enemy assault lasted from 7:55 to 9:35 in the morning. Afterward, the focus turned to recovery of equipment or items that could cause fires aboard ship. The Hulbert was given credit for shooting down one enemy plane and partial credit for a second plane during the course of the attack. The crew had to be very careful not to fire on their own Navy yard. The incoming planes had to be fired upon only after passing the stern of the ship. The evening after the attack, AVD-6 was ordered to Hilo on the big island of Hawaii to provide fuel for PBYs [Annotator’s Note: Catalina PBY long-range reconnaissance aircraft]. Near the Arizona [Annotator’s Note: the USS Arizona (BB-39) was totally destroyed with great loss of life during the attack], what appeared to be a periscope went by the ship. The signal tower was notified, and submarine chasers were dispatched. There is a debate as to whether submarines were involved inside the harbor. Carraway lost no friends during the attack. Friendly aircraft from the Enterprise [Annotator’s Note: USS Enterprise (CV-6)] approached the blacked-out harbor and anxious gunners fired on them. One was shot down and another crashed. One landed safely. Exiting Pearl Harbor on 9 December, a submarine fired on the Hulbert while she was at Hilo. A nearby ammunition warehouse may have been the target. As for AVD-6, some of its antenna were shot down.

Myron J. Carraway served in Hawaii until June 1942. He then sailed to the Aleutian Islands based out of Kodiak [Annotator’s Note: in Alaska]. No action was experienced there. Prior to the Pearl Harbor attack in Hawaii [Annotator's Note: Carraway was aboard the USS Hulbert (AVD-6) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], there was free time. Free time was minimal afterward. While in the Aleutians, a Japanese destroyer was spotted, but it did not see the Hulbert. Carraway’s ship was commissioned prior to his birth [Annotator’s Note: He was born in March 1922, the Hulbert was commissioned in 1920.]. The ship helped free a beached ship and later relocated 50 to 60 indigenous people to Kodiak away from Japanese advances. On victory in Europe day [Annotator's Note: VE-Day, or Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], he was in Clearfield, Utah leading security at a supply depot as a chief. After the Aleutians, he commissioned the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) and returned to the Pacific. During that year, he experienced no action. He then went to the small craft training school in Miami, Florida. Subsequently, he went on to commission a DE [Annotator’s Note: destroyer escort] and escorted convoys in the Mediterranean and performed North Atlantic submarine patrols. From there, he was transferred to the supply depot in Clearfield. After the war in the Pacific, he served transporting troops back to the east coast, mainly New York and Boston [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York and Boston, Massachusetts, respectively]. On victory over Japan day [Annotator's Note: VJ-Day, or Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], Carraway was in Salt Lake City [Annotator’s Note: Salt Lake City, Utah]. He oversaw all the shore patrol there. It was quite a celebration at the final end of the war. Carraway served 20 years and four days in the Navy.

Myron J. Carraway remembers Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Carraway was aboard the USS Hulbert (AVD-6) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] plus the Aleutians and a Japanese destroyer there [Annotator’s Note: on patrol, the Hulbert observed but was not sighted by an enemy destroyer]. He remembers escorting over 100 cargo ships through the Mediterranean with the risk of submarine attack. He was married after the war in 1946. His wife died in 1988. His brothers served in the military during the war [Annotator’s Note: two brothers were in the Army and one was in the Navy]. His military training and dedication to service taught him a lot of lessons. After his discharge, he went to work as a training specialist in the electronics field. While in the Navy, he had advanced from signalman to electronics. He oversaw the curriculum for all Navy electronics schools before he retired. Carraway would like for the next generation to remember history and be taught that in school and college. Carraway attended conventions and the 70th anniversary commemoration in Pearl Harbor. He collected buttons that he wears on his side cap. Carraway returned to Hawaii numerous times and even went back to the submarine base where his ship was moored during the attack. He has several decorations for his service. He served in China for a period. Hawaii was his favorite location during his service. In 1949, Carraway visited Nagasaki and in 1994 he visited Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. He visited the museum at Hiroshima.