Robert Martin wanted to join the Navy because his friend had gone in before he did. He was a year or two older than him. The friend got discharged before Martin even enlisted. Most of the guys he grew up with were older than him. There was one guy, Johnny Lowe [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] who was afraid to get drafted. The guy drank a bottle of ketchup to make his blood pressure rise, but they took him anyway. Martin enlisted in the Navy because he wanted to serve his country. He would have joined earlier, but he was in high school. He did not make 17 years old until July [Annotator's Note: July 1945] and he was in summer school. He told his father he wanted to join the Navy because he wanted to go kill Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese]. It was a childish statement. Martin could have gone into the reserve, but the guy did not offer it to him. He was a radioman and went to Europe. They hit a storm and the ship was pitching. These kids were getting sick. He and a buddy were going around with a bucket, so they could puke. He went into the Navy in 1945. They sent him to boot camp. He had to go to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California]. Before this, Martin was home alone listening to the radio. The announcement came across that the Japs had unconditionally surrendered [Annotator's Note: 15 August 1945]. He was not happy because he had just joined the Navy to kill the Japs. When his father got home, he told him he did not want to go in the Navy anymore because he was going for one reason and that was to fight the Japanese. But they had quit. His father laughed at him. He went and it was the best four years of his single life. He went to San Diego the next day. His parents took him to the train. When he got to San Diego there was a Petty Officer that was mean. The officer was insulting and told them if they did not like what he had to say they could go topside and settle it like men. Most of them were 17 years old and they did not want to fight a guy who was 35 years old. One guy from Louisiana stood up, Blue Hoag [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], who was 250 to 300 pounds stood up and said he wanted to go topside with the officer. No one had told the officer that before. He took him topside. Years later, Martin saw Hoag and asked what happened. Hoag said he kicked his butt. After that Hoag never had a bad job for the rest of the three months they were there. Martin had a good deal when he was in charge of the barracks. His boot camp was interesting.

Robert Martin was taught to march and thought it was stupid [Annotator's Note: in US Navy basic training]. They went to classes. They had gunnery practice. He is left-handed and back then they did not have left-handed rifles. The officer assigned someone to cock the rifle for him each time. He never hit the target. When he took a shot he would lean the rifle over, and he had his left hand on top of the rifle. The other guy did not look to see where his thumb was. The guy cocked the rifle and it ripped open Martin's thumb. His hand started to shake. He never qualified for anything in the rifle range. They gave him 10 days leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to go home and see his family. He showed off his uniform. When he went back, they shipped him from San Diego, California to Washington, DC. to be assigned. They assigned him to teletype school which was in San Diego, California. He went to the school for a month. He has never sat at a teletype machine except when he was at school. He went to radio school in Bainbridge, Maryland for six months. He had a good time there. They taught him how to send and receive Morse Code [Annotator's Note: a method of telecommunication encoding characters in a system of dots and dashes]. He did not learn how to fix the radios. He just received and sent messages for the officers. He was in Portland, Maine when he was assigned to a ship. It was good duty because they did not have a lot to do. After that, they sent him to Washington, DC to be reassigned. He was on the USS Vulcan [Annotator's Note: USS Vulcan (AR-5)] for 15 months in the port. It was cold up there in the wintertime. When the water spray would hit their faces, the wind would freeze the water to their beards. There were girls that they met. They had to meet them at the dance and leave them at the dance. They could not go home with them. If he was 18 years old by then he was old. From there they took the USS Vulcan to Newport, Rhode Island. He stood the watches on the ship. He was sent to shore duty. He was living on shore, and the ship was out in the bay. He was running the thing. He was assigning First Class Petty Officers. One day he decided to take leave to go home. When he returned the Master-at-Arms [Annotator's Note: naval petty officer appointed to carry out or supervise police duties aboard ship] was waiting for him. He lost that assignment, and he was transferred to another ship the USS LST-515.

Robert Martin went to Europe as the radio operator on the USS LST-515. It was cold. Everyone had to stand watch. He always got the night watch because he was a Seaman First Class. He got the bad details. The water would freeze in their beards. They were in France and Portugal. They took some guys to Lisbon, Portugal, Nice, France, and then Plymouth, England. He assigned them the midnight watches. When they were heading back to the States, he was the only radioman on the ship. He got a message about a storm, and he went to ask the captain where they were going. The captain told him it was none of his business. He had a radio message to give him that was a weather report. Since the captain did not want to tell him where they were going, he crumpled up the message and put it in the garbage can. A day or two later they hit the storm. The deck was pitching. The captain then asked Martin if they had any messages about the weather. Martin told him he would find out. He got the message out of the trash, retyped it, and put a new date on it. He took it up to the skipper and the skipper said it was a fine time to tell him about a hurricane when they are in it. Once Martin was on the USS Donner [Annotator's Note: USS Donner (LSD-20)] and he had the midnight watch. They were on the flying bridge watching a movie. When it was over, he went down to his bed so he could get some rest before the midnight watch. He was running on the flying bridge. They could slide down the ladders with their feet up. He was going down and he hit a Rear Admiral in the chest with both his feet. He looked at his friend and then they bolted.

Robert Martin was transferred to the USS LST-515. It was a smaller ship than the USS Donner (LSD-20). He did not like the captain. They were going to the Caribbean. Then they went through the Panama Canal. He was the only radioman on the ship. On the LST, the radioman is also the mailman. When they docked, he was told to go get the mail. He met a bunch of his buddies from radio school. They were talking and he told them about the terrible officers. They said they could not do anything about the captain, but they could ship the ensign's [Annotator's Note: lowest rank of commissioned officer in the US Navy and Coast Guard] mail through China. He told them to do it. He spent four hours with his friends. When he went back with the mail it was four or five hours later. The Master-at-Arms [Annotator's Note: naval petty officer appointed to carry out or supervise police duties aboard ship] told him to put on his dress whites because he was going to Captain's Mast [Annotator's Note: also called Admiral's Mast; a session at which the captain of a naval ship hears and acts on the cases of enlisted personnel charged with committing offenses]. He told the captain he did not think he did anything wrong, but the captain gave him 60 hours of extra duty. He was at sea, so he did not care. He had to wire brush and paint the flying bridge. He did not tell him how to do it or when to do it, or if he could have help. He told his friends what had happened. They did not like the captain or the ensign either. His friends decided to help. Five or six of them went up there and did the deck in 20 minutes. He painted with a mop. When they got back to the United States in Florida, he was the first sailor off the ship other than the captain. When the captain saw him, he asked what he was doing off the ship because he had 60 hours of extra duty to do. Martin told him he was done with the extra duty. He was only supposed to do it every other day because they only got port and starboard liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. They had liberty every other day when they were onshore. He told the captain no one told him that and the Master-at-Arms looked at the job and confirmed it was done. He walked away from the captain. Shortly after that, he was transferred to another ship. Before he left, he took the receiver apart. He took all the pieces apart. It was a 10,000-dollar receiver. Then he went down and packed his seabag. When he went to get off the ship, they asked to inspect his bag. There were bristle brushes and things of soap. All kinds of things that a sailor is not going to steal. Someone played a joke on him. The skipper told him to get off the ship.

Robert Martin went to Europe [Annotator's Note: on the USS LST-515]. The first place they went to was [Annotator's Note: unintelligible], France. He and a Jewish boy went on liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] together. It was Bastille Day in France [Annotator's Note: national day in France celebrated on 14 July annually] which was like Independence Day [Annotator's Note: a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776] in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. They went to a carnival. It was at night. They went there and they saw a lottery for a goose. He does not know what they would want with the goose. They could take chances on the goose. He talked to the guy. The person that bought the last ticket would get the goose. They put two or three dollars together and bought all the tickets. They left with the goose under his friend's arm. They walked into a bar late at night with the goose. They then took the goose back to the ship. The Master-at-Arms [Annotator's Note: naval petty officer appointed to carry out or supervise police duties aboard ship] told them to take the goose to the cook. Martin did not like that option, so they went back to shore. They came to a woman sitting outside her perfume shop. They traded the goose for four two-ounce bottles of perfume. They picked out perfumes they knew were expensive. He sent his bottles home to his mother. Then they went to Nice, France. It was a beautiful place. He does not speak French. They went down to the barber who was from Louisiana and spoke some French. They asked for a phrase they could pick up girls with. He trusted the guy because he was from Louisiana too. It was a mistake. They went around saying the phrase. The women would give them dirty looks. After a while, they got the idea that the phrase was bad. He tried it one more time. They were asking the women to marry them or go to bed with them. They could not find "Frenchie" on the boat for six months. Years later when he was at home, he saw Blue Hoag [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling]. He was a big man. Martin asked him what happened on the top deck. Hoag kicked the captain's butt. [Annotator's Note: Martin describes this in Segment 01 – Joining the Navy of this interview series.] They had some good times.

Robert Martin went to Plymouth, England [Annotator's Note: on the USS LST-515]. While they were in England went to a dance. Sailors drink a lot when they are on liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. Back then he could sing. One time he wanted to be a singer. He sang when he was in high school as well. He was not great, but he was not bad. They went to the dance loaded [Annotator's Note: they were drunk]. They were playing the song, ‘God Save the Queen' [Annotator's Note: "God Save the Queen", alternatively "God Save the King", is the national or royal anthem in most Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown dependencies], and he belted out the words to ‘God Bless America' [Annotator's Note: "God Bless America", an American patriotic song] He was getting some dirty looks. They looked like they wished they were not allies with America. He was living on five dollars a month. He was getting 30 dollars a month from the government. He sent 20 dollars a month home to his mother to save. He never saw a dime of it. His mother must have needed it. He told her if she needed it to use it. He was living off five dollars a month and his wits. He would do anything he could to make some money. He wrote love letters back to girls for some of the other guys. He would hustle things like clothes. He was a good friend to his friends on the ship. Martin had an answer for everything. Living off five dollars a month when he smoked was not a lot. That is when he found out he was a salesman. He sold a guy his own peacoat for five dollars.

Robert Martin to Jamaica and Panama [Annotator's Note: aboard the USS LST-515]. He sent his lieutenant's mail to China. The rest of the time he was on the ship that guy never got another letter. Once, he was on the ship and these guys on other boats wanted to do a deal with him. He went into town into a coffee shop and bought a carton of cigarettes. He peeled the label off of it. He went to the carpenter, and he asked him to fit something inside. They wanted to get back at the guys on the boats who were selling them stuff and then it ended up being crap. He sold a carton of cigarettes to one, but it really was a block of wood. Before he got assigned to a ship, he was in Washington, DC. He was there for several weeks. He met this guy who was obnoxious, and he did not like him. The guy did a trick on him. He knew Martin had no money or transportation. The guy invited Martin to go to this place where there were a bunch of single women. They rode in the other guy's car. When they got there the guy said he was taking a girl on a date. Martin did not have a way to get back across the river [Annotator's Note: they crossed the river from Washington, DC]. He met this girl and he explained to her his situation. She invited him over to her picnic with her friends. They had a watermelon. When the other guy came back Martin was with nine women. He made a date with one of the women. Her name was Bonnie Ridings [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling]. She was a good time girl. Cars would run off the side looking at her. He took her on a trip. She was 19 years old at the most. They were sitting on a bus, and she liked to get people's attention. He had his arm around the chair. She reached up and took his hand she started shouting stop. When everybody looked at them, she changed it to do not stop. He felt terrible. It was a good time. He had good times in the Navy.

Robert Martin was in the service from August [Annotator's Note: 14 August 1945] until the day before he was 21 years old. He was shipped to one of the Carolinas [Annotator's Note: either North Carolina or South Carolina] for discharge. He got out early. He went home and got his car. It was a piece of junk. His uncle was overhauling the motor for him. When he was on his way home in the car, he was in Florida. He came to a little hill or overpass. He was doing 60 miles per hour. In his lane, an 18-wheeler [Annotator's Note: nickname for semi-truck and trailer] was coming at him. He was almost on the overpass, and the truck was in the wrong lane. Martin stood on his brakes and the car started spinning. The truck swerved. Martin's hands were frozen on the wheel. The truck driver came over and apologized. Martin told him to move on. Martin was on three ships during his service, the USS Vulcan [Annotator's Note: USS Vulcan (AR-5)], the USS Donner [Annotator's Note: USS Donner (LSD-20)], and the LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank, the USS LST-506]. The LST was the best ship to be on, but the officers were terrible. He had a wonderful time in the navy. They asked him if he wanted to ship over [Annotator's Note: reenlist], but he did not want to join anything. He returned home in 1949. He met a man on a train one time that told him he could teach him how to gamble to where he would never lose. He told Martin his secrets. Martin followed his advice. His wife thought he was rich. He would take everybody because he was getting money for nothing. He would win 30 dollars every time he went to the gambling house. They would take other couples out and he would pay. He met his wife on a blind date on a hayride. She did not like his freckles, but she liked him. He double dated with his parents. His mother and girlfriend did not get along at all. They were sitting in the American Legion Hall [Annotator's Note: nonprofit organization of U.S. war veterans] at a dance. His mother made a comment and he told her to get over it because she was going to be her daughter-in-law. They were married for 51 years. He misses her. They never went to bed angry.

Robert Martin went to upholstery school with the GI 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] and learned how to upholster furniture. He made a chair for his daughter. When he got out of the Navy, he could not get a job. He wrote the paper about how they went off to fight a war and then did not have relevant experience to get a job. He got 52-20 [Annotator's Note: a government-funded program that paid unemployed veterans 20 dollars per week for 52 weeks]. Then he got a job selling hats for a good man. The manager was also the manager of a life insurance company. Martin worked to sell insurance as well. He worked in the French Quarter [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He convinced people to buy insurance by telling stories. He would tell them anything to sell the insurance. He got married in 1950. They lived in a cold water flat [Annotator's Note: apartment]. It had a bedroom, washroom, and a kitchen. If they wanted hot water, they had to put it on the stove. When he got out of the Navy he went to school. Then he went to work selling the hats.

Robert Martin moved into New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] on Saint Claude Street in a mixed-race neighborhood. His daughter would play with the little boy across the street, but neither one would cross the street. His daughter was playing behind him when he was mowing the grass. He tripped over her and cut his toe half off. They had a party line [Annotator's Note: a type of telephone line that is used by multiple people] that they shared with some Black people. He was a police officer at the time. He came home and his wife was in hysterics and crying. He asked her what was wrong. She had picked up the phone and the black woman had cursed her out for picking her own phone in her own house. He called up the operator and asked who else was on the party line. He asked for the address. He went over to her house in full uniform. He told the woman not to curse his wife out for using the phone he pays for, and if she did, he would put her in jail. He could not do that, but she did not know. The woman ran down the steps apologizing, and she wet herself. Martin wrecked three times riding motorcycles for the police department. He got hit by a woman and they had to cut his boot off. He could have arrested her, but he chose not to. He was on the motorcycles for 10 months then he went to the juvenile division. After that he went to the bicycle division. He went from the police force to National Insurance [Annotator's Note: National Insurance Company]. At first, they did not want to hire him because he was a police officer. He wrote a letter asking how they could get experience when they entered the service as a child and come out a man. The Navy made him a man. If he had a son or grandson, he would tell them to join the Navy. They would be better off in the Navy instead of in a ditch somewhere in the Army. Brothers had to be split after what happened to the Sullivan brothers [Annotator's Note: five brothers killed in action 13 November 1942 while serving together aboard the USS Juneau (CL-52)].

Robert Martin got his tattoo when he was on a ship with three other guys. They were in Boston [Annotator's Note: Boston, Massachusetts] and they all got the same tattoo. They were probably loaded [Annotator's Note: they were drunk] when they did it. He was on the 52-20 [Annotator's Note: a government-funded program that paid unemployed veterans 20 dollars per week for 52 weeks], where the government paid him 20 dollars for 52 weeks. He paid for his house. His wife worked after they got married. She wanted to work, but she did not have to. He let her work. She worked for half a day and then she never asked to work again. She worked hard in the house. The lady down the street gave him a popcorn machine one time. His wife had a good relationship with her. The house was a few years old when they bought it. He basically got his roof for free [Annotator's Note: when he built an addition onto the house]. It cost him less than three thousand dollars. He had a neighbor that thought he knew best when it came to building. He was building a new bar. The guy came over and built it for him. He was playing on the guy's ego, and he wanted him to build the doors as well. The guy messed up the doors.

Robert Martin got married in 1950. He bought his first house on the GI 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]. He convinced the people he made enough money for the house when he did not. He wanted his wife to have her own house because her parents never owned one. He would call them up to five times a day until he convinced them he could pay the bill if they lent him the money. They gave him the loan. He sold the house a couple years later. He made a doll house for his daughter in the backyard that she could and play in. He convinced a man that even though he had been a policeman, he could sell insurance. He was then always the top salesman. He was top salesman for the entire South from Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] on down. He had a good life. He was married 51 years. His daughter would bother him with who she was running around with in the French Quarter [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] during the hippie age. If he could, he would go to war again in a heartbeat. It was a good experience. He did not get shot at or have to shoot anyone. His dad was a Marine. He is left-handed and it would have been hard for him because they did not have left-handed rifles at the time. People need to try to do right. They need to put God, country, and family first. He is proud he served in the Navy. He is only sorry he was not in when the fighting was happening. He had good times in the Navy. He knocked a Rear Admiral down, kicked him right in the chest on accident.