[Annotator’s Note: chit chat for the first 13 seconds of the interview] Robert Brant was born 10 October 1924 in Denver, Colorado. During the Great Depression, he worked at a drugstore from the age of twelve until he graduated from high school at age 18. His father worked as a mechanic for the government but was crippled and lost his job. Brant recalled that he was working at the drugstore when he heard that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He wanted to join the United States Navy because his brother was already in the service. In 1942 Brant joined the Navy and was sent to Farragut, Idaho for basic training. He recalled the weather being very cold and training to be strenuous. After a short leave, he was sent to signal school in Illinois for six months. After completing training Brant became a 3rd Class Signalman. He shipped out to the Pacific with the 71st Naval Construction Battalion intending to build an airstrip. Brant spent four days in Guadalcanal [Annotator’s Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] before being transferred, along with fifteen others, to the 1st Marine Signal Battalion for the invasion of Bougainville [Annotator’s Note: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea]. He spent six weeks in combat and then was transferred back with the United States Seabees who had finished the airstrip.

Robert Brant and his unit [Annotator's Note: 71st Naval Construction Battalion] invaded Bougainville [Annotator's Note: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea]. He recalled climbing down the cargo nets and then hitting the beaches while the enemy was firing upon them. They slept in foxholes the first night. He remembered that it rained for most of the time he was on the island. After leaving the island, Brant was an Air Traffic Controller for three months and saw many airplane crashes. He requested a transfer and was stationed on Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. On the fist night, he was in a truck accident but came out unscathed. He became the skipper on crash boat 9478. He enjoyed his duty on the crash boat and served for 11 months. They changed up duties every day and enjoyed standby duty. He helped supply the Navy fleet. He also recalled rescuing a lot of downed pilots and witnessed many crashes.

Robert Brant wanted to be transferred to new duties on an escort ship going to the Philippines after spending 11 months on Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. However, he was not successful. He later found out that the escort carriers he tried to get on, were sunk or damaged very badly in the Battle of the Philippines. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee pauses to look up ship names from 0:26:44.000 to 0:27:45.000.] Brant reached the end of his service time while on the island and was sent home on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in September 1944. He had to stay in the hospital for six days because he developed strep throat. When he was in the United States, he recalled eating steak and drinking milk. After his leave was up, he was assigned back to the Philippines aboard an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] Flotilla flagship as a signal man. The war ended soon after his new assignment. He recalled feeling happy when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. The LST Flotilla was ordered to go to Japan shortly after the surrender. They ran into a typhoon and he saw many sunken ships along the route to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan].

Robert Brant and his ship made it to Kyushu, Japan after hitting a typhoon in the Pacific. Brant recalled having ill feelings toward the Japanese during the war and sometime after. He witnessed kamikaze attacks on ships but there was never an attempt on his boat. After spending one day in Japan, he was ordered to return to the Philippines and wait to be sent back to the United States. In 1946, Brant was discharged and joined the reserves and stayed in until 1950. Brant had a desire to start a family with his wife as soon as he returned home. He recalled that his wife would send him packages while he was serving in World War 2. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes at 0:48:13.000.] Brant talks about the type of enemy fire he experienced, along with the tragedy of accidental death and friendly fire.

While Robert Brant was an Air Traffic Controller, he witnesses many plane crashes on Bougainville [Annotator's Note: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea]. Brant suffered from Post Traumatic Stress after the conclusion of the war. He most memorable experience was seeing the Golden Gate Bridge the morning he returned to the United States after the war. He fought in World War 2 because he wanted to join the Navy and because of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He believes the war changed his life completely because he did not have a life before the war. He believes its important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to teach future generations how to respect their neighbor. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee looks through a book for one minutes of tape.] Brant shares an experience where a plane was trying to take off and almost ran into him, but hit the traffic tower instead.