Pete Brock was born in April 1926 in Columbia, South Carolina. He grew up with a twin brother and two sisters. His father, a druggist, lost his store 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] which forced the family to move to North Carolina. Brock was nine when his father died and the family moved once again, this time to Sanford, Florida which Brock considers his hometown. He attended school and graduated from high school in Sanford. Brock was very close to his twin brother, so much that they even wore the same clothes. Even though life was tough at times, he never felt deprived because his mother supported the family by teaching, and his uncles helped raise his family. Because Sanford had a Naval Station, and his uncle was head of the Florida National Guard, Brock was somewhat aware of the uprising hostilities in Europe and Asia. He was playing touch football with some friends when he first heard the news of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He did not fully appreciate the impact of the attack until later in life. Brock’s brother-in-law enlisted right away and was a gunner on a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. Brock’s sister received a telegram from her husband, and since Sanford was such a small community, everyone thought it was a death notice. However, it was a message that he was coming home on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. Brock also had an uncle that was called to service and fought in the Philippines.

Pete Brock and his twin brother enlisted in the Navy together on 27 April 1944 and were called to active duty on 6 June of that year upon graduating high school. Brock was influenced by members of his family to join the service, in addition to the fact that he lived in Sanford, Florida which was a large naval training station. They initially wanted to go into the V5 program [Annotator's Note: V-5 US Navy Aviation Cadet Program, 1939 to 1943]. Both brothers passed the mental exam, but Brock’s brother failed the medical exam due to an undiagnosed heart murmur. Brock decided not to pursue the V5 program without his brother and they both joined the regular Navy. [Annotator’s Note: Telephone rings in the background at 0:18:41.000.] After basic training in Williamsburg [Annotator’s Note: Williamsburg, Virginia], the brothers were separated. Brock was sent to signal school in Newport, Rhode Island and his brother was sent to quartermaster’s training. Their separation was traumatic because they were always together and they were very close, but it ultimately made him more independent and mature. The weather in Newport was very cold. After his signal training, Brock was sent to New York [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York] where he was assigned to the USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) in late 1944. The crew was large because the ship was big, but he was close to his signalmen. The USS Bon Homme Richard shipped out into the Pacific following a shakedown cruise [Annotator's Note: a cruise to evaluate the performance of a naval vessel and its crew] around Trinidad. The ship returned to the United States at Norfolk [Annotator’s Note: Norfolk, Virginia] before being deployed to the Pacific to join the 3rd Fleet at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. His ship participated in the Okinawa campaign [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan] and prepared for the invasion of Japan before the war came to an end. He ship was also in the port of Tokyo [Annotator’s Note: Tokyo, Japan] when the peace treaty was signed.

On the USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31), Pete Brock saw combat in the late stages of the Okinawa campaign [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan]. His ship participated in shooting down one kamikaze attack. There was one instance when the ground crew were on the top of the deck and saw one of the crewmen getting his legs cut off when a plane came in to land. Being a signalman, Brock’s battle station was on the bridge of the ship. Even though he understood the seriousness of war and the dangers that could occur, Brock did not ever worry that he was not going to return home. He wanted to fight because he knew the threat of Germany and Japan. He did, however, think about his twin brother often, who was serving on an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. The enemy was fanatical. Brock had a good friend who was killed on the USS Franklin (CV-13), and another was killed on Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal, codenamed Operation Watchtower; 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Because he feared an invasion of Japan, Brock views the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] as the ultimate lifesaver for both the United States and Japan. After the war ended, Brock spent the subsequent 10 months on troop transport duty as part of Operation Magic Carpet [Annotator’s Note: the post-World War II operation to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from all theaters] until he had enough points to go home [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. They picked up Marines who were battle-fatigued. Brock was finally discharged in June 1946. He had friends who were injured during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. His mother worked in a parachute factory during the war. His ship went through a typhoon and that was the only time he got seasick.

Pete Brock was discharged from the Navy in Seattle, Washington in June 1946 with the rating of signalman third class. He took a train back home to Sanford, Florida. He was influenced by his uncle to work in agriculture. Under 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], Brock attended the University of Florida [Annotator’s Note: in Gainesville, Florida] and received an agricultural degree in 1951. He worked with his uncle for one year and then moved into the citrus industry.

Pete Brock's most memorable experience of World War 2 was the surrender of the Japanese in 1945 and when his crew helped shoot down a kamikaze. The sky was full of flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. He fought in the war because he loved his country and did not like what happened at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His experience in the service matured him, and he believes that military training should be required for all American men and women. It gives individuals an educational advantage for serving. Being in the service teaches one how to work in a team, accept orders, and be responsible. Brock is proud to have served his country. He thinks the country is so polarized. Some understand the importance of World War 2 and the major efforts that were taken to keep our freedom. Brock believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations so they understand how close this country came to losing its freedom. It also gives the country a lesson of how citizens pulled together to accomplish the impossible. There was a possibility that he was going to be called up for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953], but since he was accepted into officer candidate school, he did not have to go.