Norman Sterrie was born and raised in the small town of St. James, Minnesota. After high school graduation, he worked for a year and then attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He graduated in 1939. A college friend told him of his previous wonderful life as a Navy aviator. It was the Depression years and jobs were few. Sterrie signed up for the Navy because of his friend's input and being intrigued in the past by flying. As a youth, Sterrie enjoyed making models of airplanes from paper and balsa wood. He ultimately became a pilot. That was a good thing once he got into it. He was called up into the Navy in October 1939 and went to Pensacola [Annotator's Note: Pensacola, Florida].

Norman Sterrie finished flight training in the summer of 1940 [Annotator's Note: Sterrie had entered the Navy in October 1939 and was sent to Pensacola, Florida for flight training.]. He trained in the Stearman biplane [Annotator's Note: Boeing-Stearman PT-13 Kaydet primary trainer aircraft], obsolete throwaways from the fleet, and the F4B-4 fighter [Annotator's Note: Boeing F4B-4 pursuit aircraft was the Navy variant of the P-12 pursuit aircraft]. His instrument qualification was in the SNJ [Annotator's Note: the Navy variant of the North American AT-6 advanced trainer aircraft]. He had no early flight training in torpedo aircraft. That did not occur until he received his wings and was transferred to North Island [Annotator's Note: North Island, San Diego, California] where he joined Torpedo Squadron 3 [Annotator's Note: Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3)] aboard the Saratoga [Annotator's Note: USS Saratoga (CV-3). He qualified for carrier service at that time. The Lexington [Annotator's Note: USS Lexington (CV-2)] was still in Hawaiian waters. The flight exercises were meaningless assignments. None of it applied to what was required later in combat. There was some gunnery practice, but his gunner had a rough time with Sterrie's flight practices. As a pilot, Sterrie enjoyed stalling his plane and allowing it to fall which tormented his gunner. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie laughs.] The Devastator [Annotator's Note: Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber] was an easy and stable plane to fly. Its only problem was that it flew low and slow. The TBD was a 100 mile per hour plane flying in a 300 mile per hour war. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie makes reference to the interviewer of a book he has off camera. No title was provided.] The plight of the torpedo pilots in the early part of the war was criminal. Sterrie did manage to practice torpedo runs while at North Island with the Saratoga but only one of those was with a live torpedo. When the smokescreen was laid by a dive bomber in way of the target, the torpedo planes dropped their ordnance which went in all different directions. The torpedoes had something wrong with them. The only accomplishment on that exercise was that the smokescreen drifted ashore and damaged paint on automobiles. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie laughs.] Sterrie was deployed to Hawaii aboard the Lexington in late 1940 or early 1941.

Norman Sterrie thought Hawaii was a nice experience for a man from the mid-west [Annotator's Note: Sterrie was from St. James, Minnesota]. He became close friends with a local family who even boarded him when his ship [Annotator's Note: USS Saratoga (CV-3)] was in port. Sterrie was not much of a golfer but enjoyed hitting the golf balls at his friend's country club. The Lexington [Annotator's Note: USS Lexington (CV-2)] and the Enterprise [Annotator's Note: USS Enterprise (CV-6)] rotated through Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] every ten days or so. When the attack occurred on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], the Lexington was off delivering aircraft to Midway [Annotator's Note: Midway Atoll, Territory of the United States]. A friend of Sterrie who flew from the Enterprise was shot down. His name was Mac McCarthy [Annotator's Note: US Navy Ensign J.R. "Mac" McCarthy]. He did manage to survive the attack and the war. Sterrie heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor while awaiting an assignment in the Lexington's wardroom. The skipper of Bombing 2 [Annotator's Note: Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2)] told the pilots about the raid and that live ammunition was being loaded in their aircraft. The tension between the United States and Japan could be seen as ships left the harbor with escorts. A pilot had reported a land plane over the Pacific. It could only be assumed that it was based on a carrier. The squadrons on the Lexington continued to fly the normal 100 to 150 mile search patterns. Sterrie spotted a submarine and was assessing the situation when the vessel fired its forward gun at him. He and others with him dropped depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] on the submerged submarine with unknown results. The Lexington was ordered south after Pearl Harbor was bombed in response to an erroneous report of a carrier sighting in that direction. The Lexington entered Pearl Harbor two or three days after the attack. All squadrons stayed aboard the aircraft carrier. Sterrie could see the wreckage and carnage in the harbor. Based on what he had heard about the enemy raid, he was not surprised at the level of damage. The Japanese torpedo planes must have had a field day that morning.

After Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Norman Sterrie was sent on a mission to attack Rabaul [Annotator's Note: Rabaul, New Guinea]. That was where Butch O'Hare [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare] shot down many enemy planes. O'Hare was a popular individual on the carrier. He was known by all. Lae and Salamaua [Annotator's Note: Salamaua-Lae campaign, 22 April to 16 September 1943 in Lae, Papua New Guinea and Salamaua, Papua New Guinea] were the first encounters with the enemy for Sterrie. The Lexington was patrolling in the Coral Sea and launched its air group while 100 miles off the coast of New Guinea. The fighters led the group. There was some question as to whether the torpedo planes could reach air group altitude carrying 2,000 pounds of ordnance under the fuselage. Sterrie was a junior ensign at the time and flew in the back of the formation. The squadron skipper had his flight circle the target to attain the proper run-up position. The harbor contained a merchant ship which most of the planes targeted. The destroyers fled the harbor. Sterrie flew low and was anxious about enemy fire being directed his way. The flight back was uneventful. The planned raid on Rabaul was discovered by a Japanese scouting plane before it could be launched. The Japanese sent defensive bomber aircraft toward the Lexington. As Sterrie and several other pilots sat at the same table on the ship, they listened to announcements about the action and heard bombs exploding close to the carrier. There were no hits on the Lexington largely due to O'Hare and his skills.

Norman Sterrie participated in the Battle of Coral Sea on 7 and 8 May. [Annotator's Note: 7 and 8 May 1942. Sterrie was a pilot in a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo plane in Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2) flying from the USS Lexington (CV-2).] The actions at Lae and Salamaua had previously occurred in March [Annotator's Note: Salamaua-Lee campaign, 22 April to 16 September 1943 in Lae, Papua New Guinea and Salamaua, Papua New Guinea]. Sterrie kept a logbook of the actions but it was lost when the Lexington was sunk at Coral Sea. He received another logbook with someone else's name scratched out after the Lexington was lost. Prior to the Battle of Coral Sea, the Lexington was patrolling off Australia providing protection. News of gathering Japanese sea forces was received. Something big was afoot. The Yorktown [Annotator's Note: USS Yorktown (CV-5)] rendezvoused with the Lexington in anticipation of a major action. The Yorktown had aroused Japanese concerned when it attacked Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. The Lexington's air group vectored to the approximate location of the Japanese forces. It was a beautiful day and smoke on the horizon was visible. As Sterrie and his squadron approached the smoke, it was obvious that the enemy carrier that had been hit was doomed. The smoke was dense, and the ship's speed had slowed. Sterrie was not sure what planes had bombed the Shoho [Annotator's Note: Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō ]. Dropping from their higher altitude, the torpedo planes reached 100 feet above the sea to make their runs. Sterrie was pursued by an enemy fighter during this time, but his gunner fought off the adversary. In the process, the gunner shot through the TBD's tail section. Sterrie did not realize the damage to his own plane until he was back onboard the Lexington. His gunner was E.V. Cosgrove who was known by Nelson [Annotator's Note: unable to identify]. Crews were assigned to planes instead of pilots, so pilots did not know their crew very well. Cosgrove flew Sterrie on both days of the battle. Both men had recent conversation after 60 years apart. Not sure of the result of his torpedo, Sterrie was focused on getting away and rejoining his squadron to return to the Lexington. Unlike his gunner and bombardier, he had little time to look about. Upon returning to the Lexington, there was elation; however, later that night, thoughts of what would be required the next day sobered those feelings. That night, a Japanese squadron attempted to land on Yorktown. That proved the enemy was nearby. Despite that, Sterrie went to sleep. He never had a problem getting a night's sleep.

On the 8th [Annotator's Note: 8 May 1942, the second day of the Battle of Coral Sea], Norman Sterrie knew it was going to be a long day. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie was a pilot in a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo plane in Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2) flying from the USS Lexington (CV-2).] There was considerable time spent waiting for the scout planes to report on the location of the enemy fleet. When Joe Smith [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant (jg) Joseph "Joe" Smith] reported the sighting, the air group hastened to take off. In fact, the fighters and dive bombers flew on without forming up with the torpedo bombers for mutual support. As a result, there was no air cover for Sterrie's squadron. After reaching the designated location, the pilots discovered the enemy was not there. The torpedo squadron skipper [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Commander James H. Brett] began an expanding search pattern to locate the Japanese. The air group commander [Annotator's Note: US Navy Commander William B. Ault] notified his squadrons that the enemy was 40 miles to the south of them. Brett's flight vectored to the location and formed up for a run at the enemy carriers. The weather was poor, but the planes pressed the attack on the enemy. Sterrie was on Brett's wing but the skipper's [Annotator's Note: captain, or commander] other wingman, Steffenhagen [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Commander Lawrence F. Steffenhagen] had returned to the Lexington with engine problems. At about 1,000 yards, Sterrie released his torpedo. Brett did not drop his fish [Annotator's Note: slang for torpedo] but rather circled for another pass at the target. Sterrie accompanied his skipper on that run despite having no torpedo to offer. There was no air opposition, but the enemy anti-aircraft fire was heavy. The squadron reformed after the attack and headed home. About 100 miles from the Lexington, two enemy fighters looked as if they would attack the TBDs but were called back to their formation. There was no fighter cover for the Devastators so those Japanese fighters could have chewed them up. Before reaching the Lexington, a plane piloted by Naval Academy [Annotator's Note: United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland] graduate Tiny Thornhill [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) Leonard W. "Tiny" Thornhill] fell out of formation after exhausting its fuel. The plane had suffered from excessive fuel consumption. The issue had never been corrected and Thornhill, a nice guy, was lost as a result. As the torpedo planes approached the American fleet, trigger happy gunners fired on them before they were ordered to stop. The pilots could tell the Lexington had been hit. Despite heavy smoke, the ship was on an even keel. The remainder of the torpedo squadron landed on the stricken carrier.

Norman Sterrie was spotted over the forward elevator just as an explosion below lifted the elevator and him in his TBD [Annotator's Note: Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber]. It was quite a reception. A check of the fuel tanks on the TBDs showed they had expended all their fuel which made an escape to the Yorktown [Annotator's Note: USS Yorktown (CV-5)] impossible. That would have been a party to reach the Yorktown just before Midway. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie laughs because not only was the Yorktown sunk at Midway but the TBDs from the three American carriers at Midway suffered significant casualties.] When Sterrie headed toward his cabin to retrieve his clarinet and a bottle of scotch, he was struck by the extent of dead personnel. The ship was being buttoned up below. Gas fumes were in that portion of the ship. The real heroes were the men working to seal off the complex network of compartments. What they did was amazing. Sterrie and about half the crew headed to the stern of the ship to avoid the dense smoke. The announcement came to abandon ship. Tossing down a life raft, Sterrie saw it being swamped with survivors trying to get away from their stricken carrier. Getting another life raft, he had a buddy hold him a spot while he went down the rope to the raft. The survivors were picked up by a lifeboat from the New Orleans [Annotator's Note: USS New Orleans (CA-32)]. Aboard the cruiser, the Lexington survivors were treated very well by the officers. Sterrie was even given one officer's bunk and told he earned it. He slept well that night. Sterrie had observed seriously burned men from the carrier that he came to understand later likely did not survive. The New Orleans was out of the area when the Lexington [Annotator's Note: USS Lexington (CV-2)] was sunk by the American forces. After two or three days on the New Orleans, the men were transferred to a destroyer which was a seasick machine. The next stop was Tongatapu [Annotator's Note: Tongatapu Island, Tonga] where its smart queen had ordered the women to go to the hills. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie laughs.]

Norman Sterrie thought he would be going home [Annotator's Note: he was a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo plane pilot in Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2) flying from the USS Lexington (CV-2) which was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942]. Instead, half the torpedo pilots went to Fiji [Annotator's Note: also called Republic of Fiji Islands] and the other half went to New Caledonia [Annotator's Note: New Caledonia, Overseas France]. Sterrie and 80 men went to New Caledonia. He had a wonderful stay there teaching the B-26 [Annotator's Note: Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber] Air Corps pilots torpedo warfare. They had little interest in the instructions. After a couple months, he took a troopship to Sydney [Annotator's Note: Sydney, Australia]. As a former personnel officer, he was placed in charge of a contingent of men. He had a wonderful time in Sydney. He sailed back to the States aboard the USS Grant. Onboard was a chaplain and a self-important colonel who fought all the time. [Annotator's Note: Sterrie laughs.] Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] was very emotional. After a few days in San Francisco to obtain a dress blue uniform, he took a long train ride home [Annotator's Note: to St. James, Minnesota]. He took his regular leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] that was due. He had a child born in January 1944 while he was on his second deployment. He was married and received orders to Torpedo Squadron 12 [Annotator's Note: Torpedo Squadron 12 (VF-12)]. He was ordered back to Alameda [Annotator's Note: Alameda, California] and San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. After reaching San Diego, he received orders to report to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where he reported to Torpedo Squadron 16 [Annotator's Note: Torpedo Squadron 16 (VF-16), USS Lexington (CV-16)]. That was due to Bob Isely [Annotator's Note: US Navy Commander Robert Henry Isely] who had been in Torpedo 2 [Annotator's Note: Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2), USS Lexington (CV-2)] requesting him.

Norman Sterrie has come to view Coral Sea [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Coral Sea, 4 to 8 May 1942] as an important battle. The United States forces got the worse end of things with the loss of the Lexington [Annotator's Note: USS Lexington (CV-2]. The sinking of one enemy carrier and loss of two others that could have bolstered the Japanese forces at Midway may well have been a turning point in the war. Sterrie stays in contact with Cosgrove [Annotator's Note: E.V. Cosgrove] and Nelson [Annotator's Note: Walter Nelson] since they may be the last remaining individuals who flew the TBD [Annotator's Note: Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber] in combat. During the battle, all torpedo planes survived the attack through luck. There was minimal enemy fighter involvement and American fighter pilots performed well against them. At the Philippine Sea [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19 to 20 June 1944] action, American fighters downed 400 enemy planes. None of the enemy got through to the E.V. Cosgrove fleet. [Annotator's Note: Remaining time on the interview is spent viewing pages in Sterrie's flight logbook that he maintained during and after Coral Sea. Multiple battles and missions are reflected in the log all in Sterrie's original handwriting. A shadow box is viewed with Sterrie's Navy Cross with two stars, Distinguished Flying Cross and other medals.]