Perry Strait was born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi in April 1923. He grew up in a rural setting where his father was a farmer. He had three brothers and a sister. Times were bad during the Depression. It was so bad that Strait joined the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, when he was 15 years old. The age limit was 16 but Strait changed his birth year from 1924 to 1923. Strait likened the CCC to Hitler's Youth Corps [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. The CCC got youngsters off the streets and prepared them for more disciplined service. He learned to weld and went to work in a shipyard when he was 18 or 19 years old. He then decided to join the Merchant Marine.

Perry Strait saw he had signed up for the USMS [Annotator's Note: United States Maritime Service] but was assured if he went to St. Petersburg, Florida he would be in the Merchant Marine. He was trained and given a uniform and told to report to San Francisco. He was assigned to the SS Hamakua as a civilian employee. He was advised to get rid of his uniform which he promptly did. The ship had a rowdy and unskilled crew. Strait saw some of them jailed in Hawaii for breaking into the ship's cargo of beer. Strait had partaken of some of the brew but was considered by the authorities to be too inexperienced to be actively involved in the theft. The voyage from San Francisco to Hawaii took 14 days and that ended his optimism about staying a seaman. He went to the Army recruiter to enlist. The only openings were in the infantry. Strait did not favor that option. He decided to try for the Merchant Marines again. He took a long train trip to New Orleans and boarded the SS Utahn. It was a good ship with a good crew. The Utahn began its voyage with over 40 ships in the convoy. It reached its destination with only 20 remaining vessels. The escorting British corvettes were largely ineffective against German submarines. The u-boats were more interested in tankers than freighters. The Utahn docked in Liverpool with its cargo of war supplies. The returning convoy had about 100 ships bound for New York. Strait returned to New Orleans after docking. He then boarded the SS Hawaiian. The cargo was Navy DUKWs [Annotator's Note: wheeled amphibious vehicles also known as a Duck] bound for Mindanao. Strait went ashore on one of them. The ship then went to New Guinea and Australia. Loaded with ore in Australia, the Hawaiian returned to Seattle, Washington. Strait then returned by train to New Orleans. He next served on a new Liberty ship, the SS Fisher Ames. It was loaded with a cargo of ammunition bound for New Guinea. Strait called it a "Kaiser coffin" [Annotator's Note: nickname for a Liberty ship]. There were boiler and drinking water issues en route. The ship only made four knots until it reached New Guinea for repair. The crew was stranded onboard during that time. After repairs, the Fisher Ames made its way to New Hollandia, New Guinea and then Subic Bay in the Philippines. There was still no shore leave but Strait managed to find a boat to shore. His problem was the small boat was swamped and sank. He was returned to his Liberty ship. He only had a few scratches as a result. The boat was unloaded over the course of 105 days with the risk of sitting on a powder keg load of ammunition with enemy air raids attacking on a predictable schedule. Finally completing the unloading, the ship returned to Seattle. Strait rode first class on the train back to New Orleans after previously experiencing a rough trip on a basic fare ticket. He felt he could not take going back to sea. He was diagnosed with convoy fatigue. He elected to return with a promotion as a Chief in the Maritime Service. He was sent to Galveston to board the SS Lewiston Victory. The Victory ship sailed to Brooklyn to be converted to a troop carrier. While there, three men were assigned to the vessel to provide access to others into secured compartments. The other two men did not stay on the ship so Strait decided to tour New York during the day. He was a country boy wandering around New York for a month. [Annotator's Note: Strait laughs.] After the conversion, the ship took on German prisoners bound for England. It made several trips where it would bring American veterans back to the United States. It was a good ship and fast for crossing the ocean at 18 knots. The ship was damaged severely during a storm. Strait liked the Victory ships and the quick voyages to and from Europe. He lost track of the crew of his former ship when he returned to New Orleans. He signed on with the SS Eldridge Victory and found that the crew was multi-ethnic. They were prone to bloody conflicts with one another. Strait even became involved in some altercations. He decided to use his service points in order to exit the military. He made one more trip and then left his wartime service behind.

Perry Strait received no benefits from his service in the Merchant Marines or the Maritime Service. It was difficult to obtain a job without veteran status. He finally got a job with the railroad and worked there for years. In 1988, legislation was approved naming him and others with similar service to be World War 2 veterans eligible for all the benefits. After four decades, Louisiana sent him a bonus check for his service. Since then, he also has been provided with a free trip with a parade and recognition of his and other Merchant Mariners wartime efforts. Before the war, Strait was working in a shipyard in Mississippi when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He had no idea where it was located. People began to stand in lines more and more. Automobile headlights had to be painted to reduce the glare. A few years later after his parents passed, he decided to enlist in the Merchant Marines. His service was good for him financially. He has no regrets. It helped him see the world.

Perry Strait found the training he was given by the Maritime Service [Annotator's Note: United States Maritime Service or USMS] at St. Petersburg to be lacking. As a Merchant Mariner, the drilling and saluting was unnecessary. The drills concerning abandoning ship were very important. Jumps off towers into the water below were good to experience. His first voyage was on the SS Hamakua. The crew was rough and rowdy and harassed Strait unmercifully. They smoked marijuana and some crewmen even slept together. The Matson Company which operated the ship largely managed cruise ships. The company preferred homosexuals since they would not bother the female passengers on their liners. Service on the Hamakua made Strait lose his desire to voyage on ships again. The next ship, the SS Utahn was a far better experience for Strait. The ships had Navy crews to man the defensive guns, but the civilian crew had little to do with them. Strait did become a back-up gunner on the SS Fisher Ames. While in convoy, Strait witnessed ships being sunk and men abandoning ships. His view toward the threat of submarines was somewhat fatalistic. If it happened, he just wanted it to get over with. Rescue ships would pick up what survivors it could. Convoys in the Pacific were unnecessary because Japan did not pose a threat of submarine attack on merchant ships. A seaman carried his gear according to the prevailing weather conditions at the time. Food was good and Strait enjoyed working in the galley. Strait passed through the Panama Canal twice. When he was on an ammunition ship, there were armed guards onboard to protect the ship. If a person did not have proper passport identification, he was not allowed to traverse the Canal. Running in a convoy was amazing considering the evasive moves it had to perform. Other than the first and last ship he sailed on, crews were made up of Merchant Mariners who were good to serve with. The last ship, SS Eldridge Victory, had a vicious multi-ethnic crew. It was dangerous. The Merchant Mariners were not necessarily welcome in the USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations] facilities unless, like Strait, they wore their USMS uniform. Strait was diagnosed with convoy fatigue, particularly after his 105 days on the SS Fisher Ames ammunition ship with persistent enemy air raids while he was aboard. Sounds he heard after the war would bring back stress he experienced during the course of the war.

Perry Strait found the local population in England to be nice. He even was entertained in some of their homes. By contrast, Honolulu had so many soldiers that it was not too attractive. Australia reminded him of a country town back home. After the war in Europe ended, his ship, the SS Lewiston Victory, picked up German prisoners and took them back to Bremen, Germany. They were converted to believe in democracy. One was a nice man who was a musician. Strait's ship also brought a load of POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] to England. Strait had no ill will toward the Germans or the Japanese. His son even married a Japanese girl. The veterans he transported back from Europe knew that they were going to train for the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombs ended the need for that invasion. As a cook on the ship, he would be aided by passengers because of the food quality improvement they received onboard. Strait devised means to feed the vast numbers of troops in a manner that satisfied them. Strait heard about the end of the European war while on a train bound for New Orleans. It was announced over a public address system. He was in New York City when the war with Japan ended. There was massive chaos. His service with the Merchant Marine ended on 4 June 1946. The service was good for him. He probably would never have left Mississippi otherwise. He and his wife extensively traveled as a result. He felt relieved when his service was finally recognized by Congress in 1988. There is not that much glory in the benefits afforded to him as a veteran. Some bad propaganda came out about the Merchant Marine, but it was ultimately retracted. It is important for young people to know about what happened during World War 2. Wars seem to continue through the years. There has been Korea, Vietnam and others since the war he served in. The National WWII Museum is important for the education of the public on the events of the war and the meanings behind the wartime effort. Strait is disappointed that the Museum does not showcase the Merchant Marines. [Annotator's Note: Since the interview, a permanent exhibit highlighting the Merchant Marine has been dedicated at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.] The Merchant Marines had a high casualty rate. Strait feels for the ones who did not make it back home. He has not sustained long-term relationships with his shipmates. He hopes future generations have peace and good will toward each other.