Paul Ignatius was born in Glendale, California in November 1920. He is very proud of his hometown because many famous people and ideas came from it. His schoolteacher took his class on field trips to see artwork around the city. He grew up with a brother, who eventually became a medical surgeon and competed in tennis. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer asked interviewee to remove his eyeglasses due to glare at 0:04:50.000.] His parents were of Armenian heritage. His mother’s family moved from England to America in the early 1900s. Ignatius’ father came over to America in 1904 and settled in the Northeast. On a trip to California, he met Ignatius’ mother. He also had a younger sister who was a pianist and later introduced Ignatius to his future wife, Nancy. 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], money was scarce. One neighbor moved with their extended family. He believed there was more of a sense of caring for one’s neighbors in those times. He is grateful for his public education and feels he was well educated. For entertainment, he went to the movies, school dances, and parties. His family often rented an apartment on the beach during the summers, and he enjoyed body surfing.

As Paul Ignatius entered his teens, he became aware of the hostilities rising in Europe and Asia. He was also aware of the isolation movement in America that did not want the country to get involved in war. His mother had pacifist feelings. Even in college, about half the students wanted to go to war, while the other half did not. However, everything changed when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Everyone had a “do your part” attitude, and there was a lot of unity and patriotism. FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] was a great leader and brought Americans together with his way of communication. After graduating high school, Ignatius attended the University of Southern California (USC) [Annotator’s Note: in Los Angeles, California] and was still a student when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. At the time, Ignatius was participating in an independent course of study in Winslow, Arizona when he got the news. When he returned to USC, he learned of a program through the Harvard University School of Business [Annotator’s Note: in Cambridge, Massachusetts] that would train him to be a naval officer. After completing the program, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve in July 1942 and was called to active duty in the fall of 1942. Ignatius was trained in ordnance in New York, then in aviation ordnance in Jacksonville [Annotator’s Note: Jacksonville, Florida]. Ignatius did not want to be a pilot, but did have interest in aviation due to the influence of his upbringing in Glendale [Annotator’s Note: Glendale, California].

Upon completing his training, Paul Ignatius was assigned to Composite Squadron 80 (VC-80) aboard the USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) as the squadron’s aviation ordnance officer. Ignatius reported aboard Manila Bay in Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] after which the ship steamed for the Philippines in October 1944. His ship hit a typhoon, which frightened Ignatius. His ship reached Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, Philippines] where it took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf [Annotator’s Note: 23-26 October 1944; Leyte Gulf, the Philippines]. During the battle, the Manila Bay came under fire by large caliber Japanese naval gunfire. Luckily, the ship was not hit and managed to survive the fight. Without the war production at home, the Americans could not have done what they did to win the war. Because the Japanese did not have the same war production as the United States, they began to run out of supplies and used anything they could to fight the enemy. That is why they began kamikaze strikes [Annotator’s Note: suicide flights]. After Leyte Gulf, Ignatius and the Manila Bay took part in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf [Annotator’s Note: the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, the Philippines; 6-9 January 1945] where the ship was hit by two kamikazes which caused a significant amount of damage. During these battles, Ignatius served on the flight deck overseeing torpedoes. When he saw a kamikaze coming in, he jumped off the flight deck and began suppressing the nearest fire. The Japanese fleet eventually retreated from the gulf to reorganize and refuel. The USS Manila Bay remained in fighting condition and stayed in the combat zone until early 1945 when she returned to the United States for repairs. Ignatius explains some of the strategies of the naval commanders, including some of their disagreements, and strategies to defend Leyte Gulf from the Japanese Navy.

Paul Ignatius was assigned to Composite Squadron 80 (VC-80) aboard the USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) as the squadron’s aviation ordnance officer and took part in took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf [Annotator’s Note: 23-26 October 1944; Leyte Gulf, the Philippines] to support the ground invasion of Leyte. His squadron was an effective group. In a later operation, his squadron covered the landings at Mindoro [Annotator’s Note: Mindoro, the Philippines], which led to the Battle of Lingayen Gulf [Annotator’s Note: the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, the Philippines; 6-9 January 1945]. When the Manila Bay took part in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf, the ship was hit by two kamikazes [Annotator’s Note: Japanese aviator suicide attacks] which caused a significant amount of damage. As Ignatius and others began cleaning up the damage, he found the wallet of the Japanese aviator who had struck his ship. In it was a picture of the aviator and his parents. Ignatius felt sympathy for the man for a moment, even though he hated him for what he had done. The Japanese could not keep up with the productivity of American industries, and that is why they resorted to kamikaze offenses. There was joy and relief when the Japanese fleet left the gulf after the battle. He was proud of his crew and how everyone did their part to protect their ship and defeat the enemy. There was much debate about where on the ship was the best place to protect one’s self from kamikaze attacks. After his ship was struck by two kamikazes during the Battle of Lingayen Gulf, the ship remained in fighting condition and stayed in the combat zone until early 1945 when she returned to the United States for repairs. When repairs were completed, Ignatius and the Manila Bay returned to the Pacific Theater and took part in operations off Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan]. Later in life, Ignatius had the opportunity to talk to a Navy audience about how great his Captain Lee was, and the decisions he made to save the USS Manila Bay. When the war ended, the Manila Bay was off the coast of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Ignatius’ planes flew several sorties to drop emergency supplies on newly liberated prisoner of war camps. The USS Manila Bay then took on troops returning home and steamed back to the United States. Ignatius was made the troop officer and managed the efforts of loading the troops. His ship made three trips. He received a great welcome home and his ship was given a party by the mayor of San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California].

Paul Ignatius was assigned to Composite Squadron 80 (VC-80) aboard the USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) as the squadron’s aviation ordnance officer. He only flew during his training in Jacksonville [Annotator’s Note: Jacksonville, Florida] and never during combat. He was on a training mission experimenting with torpedo bombs when his plane almost crashed. The plane was damaged badly, but he survived. While he was in Guam [Annotator’s Note: Guam, Mariana Islands], he met a New York Times correspondent, Bill Lawrence, who he thought was on the Nagasaki atomic bomb mission [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. Later he found out that it was a different person by the same name. Ignatius and the USS Manila Bay were given orders to go to the Aleutian Islands [Annotator’s Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska] and meet the Russians to escort them to Japan before the war came to an end. When the war ended, the Manila Bay was off the coast of the Japanese island of Hokkaido sweeping for mines. Ignatius believes that the atomic bombs were the right choice to end the war because the military was aware that the Japanese would defend their homeland fiercely. Ignatius was filled with joy and relief when the war ended. He wrote his parents a lengthy letter about how he felt both patriotism and relief. He is grateful to the Navy for making him a more responsible person.

In July 1946, Paul Ignatius was separated from the Navy with the rank of lieutenant in Los Angeles [Annotator’s Note: Los Angeles, California]. He returned to Harvard University [Annotator’s Note: in Cambridge, Massachusetts] in 1947 and completed his master’s degree in 1950. During his ceremonial exercises he heard General Marshall [Annotator’s Note: George Catlett Marshall, Jr. was an American Army officer and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense under President Harry S. Truman] speak about the Marshall Plan [Annotator's Note: American initiative passed in 1948 for foreign aid to Western Europe]. Ignatius did not want to stay in the Navy and become a career officer. He was more interested in public service. He then went into business with several others doing consulting work in the 1950s. In the early 1960s he was the Assistant Secretary of the Army and Undersecretary of the Army. He was then asked to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense under Robert McNamara [Annotator’s Note: United States Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson] and finally the Secretary of the Navy under President Gerald Ford. Ignatius took advantage of his 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] benefits for business school. He thought the G.I. benefits were very important to many of the veterans and a great contribution for their service.

Paul Ignatius did not have post-traumatic stress or nightmares from his experiences in World War 2. He is proud of his four children and their career successes. His wife did a great job raising their children because he often worked long hours. Ignatius served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army and Undersecretary of the Army during the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975]. He became president of the Washington Post [Annotator’s Note: an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C] after his public service. He was reluctant to get into the defense industry because he thought his training and abilities were not adequate for the field. He was then asked to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense under Robert McNamara [Annotator’s Note: Robert Strange McNamara, United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson] and finally the Secretary of the Navy under President Gerald Ford [Annotator’s Note: Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., 38th president of the United States]. He had to make some difficult decisions, including the question of scrapping a Navy plane. His job was not to make policy, but to carry it out. He had great respect for McNamara, but he made some errors in his quantitative thinking. Ignatius explains his thoughts on the complications of US strategy in Vietnam. The United States government was concerned about the spread of communism, which caused many obstacles for the country. He also respected Gerald Ford and John F. Kennedy [Annotator’s Note: John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), 35th president of the United States].

Paul Ignatius’ most memorable experience of World War 2 was getting through it, surviving and coming out to lead a normal life. He also recalled the unified effort of the American people to return to a normal way of life. His most memorable experience in public service was when General Maxwell Taylor [Annotator’s Note: Maxwell Davenport Taylor, a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century] came to his office to thank him for the good job he was doing. Ignatius felt very honored for his appreciation. He also received a distinguished civilian honor while he was in public service. Ignatius served in World War 2 because he thought it was important to defeat Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler], as Germany was a threat to the American way of life. Ignatius believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because we need to value what we had and what we aspire to be. Americans should strive to live in harmony and mutual respect.