[Annotator’s Note: The interviewee and interviewer are conversing at the beginning and go off subject frequently during this clip.] O’Hearn “Duffy” Vincent Dufour was born in Plaucheville, Louisiana in May 1920. He was the oldest of six children. He and his family experienced the Flood of 1927. He recalled the Coast Guard picking people up, but his father got his family into a wooden boat and moved them out of the town. His family moved to Opelousas [Annotator’s Note: Opelousas, Louisiana] when Dufour’s father found a job working in a drugstore. Dufour would eventually work at the store as a soda jerk when he was 13 years old. His father lost his job 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]. Dufour attended a Catholic high school and played football. He lost his job as a soda jerk when he was a senior because all the other employees had families. He found another job working as a night manager of a restaurant and drugstore until he graduated high school. He befriended Tony Chachere [Annotator’s Note: American businessman and chef best known as the founder of his eponymous Tony Chachere's Creole Foods seasonings and ingredients brand and its original product, Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning] while working at the drugstore. Chachere eventually asked Dufour to work for him after he graduated high school, which Dufour did. In 1937, Dufour moved back to Plaucheville to help his father on the farm. In 1938, Dufour joined the National Youth Administration [Annotator’s Note: President Roosevelt created the National Youth Administration, or NYA, on June 26, 1935 with Executive Order No. 7086, under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935]. Through the program, he was able to attend college and work at a dairy. He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana].

O’Hearn “Duffy” Vincent Dufour joined the Navy [Annotator’s Note: in 1940] in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] because he was young and athletic. He and the rest of the recruits were shipped to San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] for boot camp by way of train. His company commanders were chief petty officers. After boot camp, he was sent to Mare Island base [Annotator’s Note: Vallejo, California]. Dufour recalled visiting the San Diego Zoo. He was then assigned to a transport ship and had patrol duty. He remembered the weather was so cold and rainy. He could not wait for his four-hour duty to come to an end. His ship was sent out to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. There, he was assigned to the USS Preston (DD-379) in January 1941. The ship operated out of Pearl Harbor and Dufour practiced various maneuvers on the ship. He was promoted through the ranks to become a Seaman First Class and worked on the deck force. In August 1941, his ship came to Mare Island Navy Yard [Annotator's Note: Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California] to be outfitted. One day, the chief torpedoman asked Dufour if he wanted to go to torpedo school, which he did. Dufour arrived at the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island on the evening of 6 December 1941. The next morning, he was writing a note to his mother when a sailor came in the room and told him that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was at torpedo school for four months and returned to his ship in May. When Dufour returned to Pearl Harbor, he could not believe all the damage that was done. Dufour remarked how they snuck alcohol aboard the ship and all the sailors would consume it.

O’Hearn “Duffy” Vincent Dufour, assigned to the USS Preston (DD-379), met the fleet in the Pacific [Annotator’s Note: in June 1942]. His ship was with the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and the USS Lexington (CV-2) when they were sunk. The Preston acted as the plane guard. He also witnessed when the USS Hornet (CV-8) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) were hit. His ship operated off of Guadalcanal [Annotator’s Note: in November 1942; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] and landed troops, and patrolled Savo Island [Annotator’s Note: Savo Island, Solomon Islands]. The Preston was hit on both sides and sank in about two minutes, losing 117 men. Dufour was on the port side of the bridge when the Preston was hit. He was wearing his life vest and the ship sank. Dufour received an award for saving the life of another. He put him in a life raft. The survivors were picked up in the afternoon by the Marines. Dufour boarded the USS Meade (DD-602) with the rest of the men rescued from the sinking. Dufour was not injured during the sinking of the Preston and escaped drowning three times. While he was in the mess hall of the USS Meade, Japanese planes flew over and strafed the ship. The ship took Dufour and the rest of the survivors to Tulagi [Annotator’s Note: Tulagi Island, Solomon Islands] where they stayed with the Marines for two weeks. Dufour boarded a French tugboat with large drums of gasoline to take to Guadalcanal. He was then taken to New Caledonia for several weeks.

After getting back to the United States [Annotator’s Note: after surviving the sinking of the USS Preston (DD-379) in the Pacific Theater], O’Hearn “Duffy” Vincent Dufour reported to the Torpedo Naval Station at Treasure Island, California where he was assigned to work in the office. He also trained shakedown crews of small aircraft carriers. The ship was transferred to England, which was a historical event. He also trained carrier pilots. Around 1943, Dufour was out to sea again to take planes to Karachi, India, which is today part of Pakistan, without an escort. Everything went smoothly except for one time when they heard that there were German submarines in the water. The ship harbored at an inlet for a few days until it was safe to travel again. After the ship completed its mission, they made their way back, stopping in Cape Town, South Africa and Durban, South Africa. When he returned to the United States, he was transferred to Long Beach, California to put a destroyer tender in commission. He was promoted to Petty Officer First Class. His grandfather died in early 1945 and he was given permission to attend his funeral. Upon his return, he was stuck in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] because of foggy weather. When he returned to his ship, he learned that he had been promoted to senior torpedoman because his commander slipped and broke his leg. Not long after, he was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. He was transferred to an APA [Annotator’s Note: attack transport ship] ship. Dufour made friends with some of the civilians so they could help with preparing the ship. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:58.51.000-0:59:25.000.] Dufour was in Long Beach when he learned that the Japanese surrendered in August 1945. He recalled he went out and celebrated the conclusion of the war. He was discharged from the Navy in October 1946. He was offered a commission if he reenlisted in the Navy. He went to New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] planning to reenlist in the Navy. His father died in 1947, so he decided to enroll in school and support his mother for some time. He was persuaded by an old friend in the Navy to join the Navy Reserves, which he did because the salary was higher than receiving checks from the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He stayed in the Navy Reserves for 32 years. He helped with recruiting all over the state of Louisiana for four years. He then took over an educational program for the Seabees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions].

O’Hearn “Duffy” Vincent Dufour hopes that he can be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He did not suffer from post traumatic stress [Annotator's Note: post traumatic stress disorder; a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event either experienced or witnessed] from the sinking of USS Preston (DD-379). He mentioned how his commander allowed the sailors to wear dungarees, but also worked them hard. Many of the sailors drank and he did not care if work was being done. Dufour did not talk about his experience in World War 2 with his family and children, but would sometimes discuss it with other military men. Dufour remarks about the different locations he was stationed during postwar and reuniting with some people from before the war. He enjoyed being part of the Navy and thought it was a lot of fun. He got to see parts of the world he never thought he would see. He wished that he had more time on destroyers, but he probably would not be alive today if he did. He does not think of himself as a hero, only those who did not come back are the heroes. Many sailors did not return to their families after the sinking of the USS Preston. He feels fortunate that he survived.