[Annotator's Note: Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. and the interviewer informally chat for a few minutes prior to the start of the interview.] Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in May 1920. In 1925, the family moved to Waveland, Mississippi where his father commuted to his insurance job in New Orleans. Hammer had a brother and a sister. The family raised food in a garden and fruit trees as well as raising chickens and ducks. Hammer graduated from high school in 1936. He subsequently obtained a degree in geology from Mississippi State [Annotator's Note: in Starkville, Mississippi] in May 1940. As an ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] member, he trained for coastal defense on World War 1 French artillery. Following receipt of his college diploma, Hammer could not find work. He did find employment with the New Orleans Public Services Department. The draft had not yet been instituted. Hammer tried to enlist in the Air Forces. Not being successful in those attempts, he was drafted in July 1942 and sworn in as an apprentice seaman in New Orleans. It was four months later before he was called up for service. Hammer had been out of town as a match company representative when Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Things changed for him at work and in the manner that people viewed him. They considered him a draft dodger even though he had a card showing he was officially in the Navy after being sworn in July 1942. That changed when he was called up four months later.

Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. started his Navy service on 30 October 1942 at Columbia University [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York]. He attended midshipman school there. The studies were rigorous at Columbia and kept Hammer highly engaged. He excelled at gunnery but also learned seamanship and navigation. He was commissioned as an ensign in February 1943. Johnny Carson [Annotator's Note: John William Carson; American entertainer] attended the school the next year. Hammer helped friends gain entry into the school. While he was in New York, he enjoyed his time on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in the city entertainment venues. He saw Gary Cooper [Annotator's Note: Frank James Cooper; American actor], Ernest Hemingway [Annotator's Note: Ernest Miller Hemingway; American journalist and writer] and Milton Berle [Annotator's Note: Mendel Berlinger; American actor] while in the city. He also saw Jack Dempsey, the fighter. He requested that Dempsey punch him. Hammer liked the city and the celebrities he met. It came to an end when he received orders on 15 February 1943 to joined the USS Tippecanoe [Annotator'Note: USS Tippecanoe (AO-21)].

Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. was assigned to the USS Tippecanoe (AO-21) tanker. Most individuals were wary of serving on a tanker because of the risk of survivability on those type fuel carrying ships. He reported to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] and then Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington]. On to Anchorage, Alaska, he joined up with the ship at Kodiak [Annotator's Note: Kodiak, Alaska]. As a new ensign, he joined the other 19 officers and 200 enlisted on the Tippecanoe. Allocated a bunk in the ward room, it had to be stowed during the day. Hammer had to share a bunk with another officer if he wanted to nap during the day. The ship had been built in 1920. It was laid up during the interwar years so it was virtually a new ship when it was recommissioned in 1940. It ran between San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] and Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. During the Battle of Coral Sea, the Tippecanoe and USS Neosho (AO-23) serviced the American task force. When the Neosho was lost to Japanese aerial attack, the Tippecanoe was urged to protect itself as it was the only source of fuel remaining for those ships. Later, faster tankers would be constructed and join the Pacific fleet. When those ships arrived, the Tippecanoe was routed to the Alaskan waters. The Kaiser [Annotator's Note: Kaiser Shipyards] built Liberty ships [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] were breaking up in the rough waters in the northern seaways. The Tippecanoe ran mainly between Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington] and the Aleutian Islands. The fuel carried by the tanker would usually be pumped into tanks on land. No refueling at sea was done because of the hazards and complexity of the operation in rough waters. The Japanese had taken Kiska [Annotator's Note: Kiska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska] and Attu [Annotator's Note: Attu, Aleutian Islands, Alaska] previously. Hammer's ship worked with the Allied ships retaking Attu. It was a bloody battle. The troops suffered with foot problems from the mud and weather. Two destroyers collided off Attu. The Tippecanoe did not approach close to Attu but towed one of the damaged ships back to San Francisco.

Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. had a good life aboard his ship [Annotator's Note: USS Tippecanoe (AO-21)]. He had multiple responsibilities over time but enjoyed his time on the ship. The food was good and danger was limited in the Alaskan waters. Before he boarded the first time, he was assured that the ship sailing between Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington] and the Aleutians was safe from Japanese submarine attack. The tanker did discover a Japanese aerial balloon off the west coast that carried explosives with detonators as its cargo. Some of the enemy balloons from Japan managed to sail far inland off the Pacific Ocean deep into the United States. As a new officer, he was positioned on lookout above the wheelhouse in the open. It was the coldest and wettest time he had ever experienced. The ship was well armed with two five inch guns [Annotator's Note: five inch 38 caliber naval gun] plus four three inch guns [Annotator's Note: five inch 25 caliber naval gun] and eight 20mm machine guns [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon]. The guns were not modern at first but were replaced with five inch 38 caliber guns [Annotator's Note: five inch 38 caliber naval gun] with brass shells and more automation than the original gun. The bad weather seemed to occur frequently. When Russian ships entered Dutch Harbor, Alaska, they made excessive resupply requests. They were rerouted to another location manned by Norwegians. The Tippecanoe helped supply fuel oil for that location since it was mainly a coal resupply station. Hammer found the location interesting. Russians and some Tippecanoe crew manned two whaling boats and caught a great mass of fish. The area had a 2,500 foot mountain nearby. On one voyage, a whale was mistaken for a submarine and fired upon. Many of them could be observed during various passages. Seeing a dolphin at night was disconcerting because it looked like a torpedo. Hammer left the Tippecanoe in May 1945 and went to new construction.

Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. served on the Tippecanoe [Annotator's Note: USS Tippecanoe (AO-21)] which was 480 feet long and 65 feet wide. It sometimes hauled aircraft with their wings folded. Army trucks could be carried. The tanker mostly carried fuel and diesel oil. Aircraft fuel in barrels could be cargo. Heavy weather had to be avoided when aviation fuel was onboard. The ship's captain was very good. The Tippecanoe was always ready to take on any role. Hammer was never involved in refueling at sea. The ship's force participated in training Russian seamen on operation of newly transferred United States ships provided to them. The crew stayed busy with hours on duty and at general quarters. The ship did run aground once. The tanker also carried passengers which some of the sister ships refused to do. Those individuals made for interesting conversations. Captains of the ship varied between those not wanting to engage with the crew and those that thought it important to do so. Hammer maintained the educational records for the crewmen on the ship. He had multiple duties including gunnery officer on the Tippecanoe for 15 months which was followed by gunnery officer on the USS Cohocton (AO-101) after it was built as the last tanker of the war. He was in the Navy as the war ended in September 1945. Duty continued in the Pacific. The captain took a leisurely attitude toward his crew as they sailed to Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands], , Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands], and the Philippines providing water to various ports. The ship rescued a truck being hauled in a large Landing Craft. The vehicle carried many cases of liquor bound for officers clubs. The truck was pulled aboard the tanker using a cargo net and then the foundering landing craft was purposely scuttled. The liquor inventory had to be secured and constantly watched. Nevertheless, some bottles disappeared until the captain said no one went ashore until the liquor was returned. Some of the liquor managed to be returned to the inventory. The ship's officers then got a couple of bottles each. The crew resented the officers because of the preferential treatment shown to them.

Richard Antoine Hammer, Sr. sailed to many ports in the Japanese islands after the war. Following three months there, he sailed to destination ports in China for three more months. At that juncture, he had enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to return home for discharge. In Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington], he was introduced to a young lady who was married to an airman. She was very interesting to him. When her husband was killed in an air accident, she became available. Hammer was happy that she was widowed and their relationship began. Hammer enjoyed the ladies. He had no problem readjusting to civilian life. He became personnel director of a mental hospital. Afterward, he ran a Negro trade school. He got married and then went into the insurance business. After Hurricane Betsy, he went to work for the City of New Orleans [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] for 20 years prior to his retirement. He held other jobs along the way including chemical analyst for cargo arriving at the Port of New Orleans. He enjoyed his time in the Navy. It almost felt like he was not in the war. [Annotator's Note: Hammer commented early in the interview that he never heard a shot fired during the war.]