Rollins Rosenzweig was born in 1924 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His father was a prosperous man who had a grocery store, a variety store and a slaughter house. Life was very comfortable for his family during the Depression. There were no hardships at all. At 17 years old, Rosenzweig was in Lake Providence, Louisiana, just north of Tallulah, where he lived when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was in front of his father's store when he heard the news. He was not surprised by the start of the war because as a young man he was interested in public affairs and kept up with world events. In the early part of the war, Rosenzweig worked for the Army Air Corps at Selman Field [Annotator's Note: Selman Army Airfield was constructed in the summer of 1942 in north Louisiana as a training facility]. His job involved more than he was capable of handling since he was right out of high school. As assistant chief clerk at the sub depot for repair of airplanes, he was asked to take over an office in a new base in Texas. He was not comfortable with that escalation in responsibilities. It scared him so he quit his job and joined the Navy. He chose the Navy to avoid the infantry. He did not feel he was equipped for infantry duty. He volunteered for Navy service in the early part of 1943.

Rollins Rosenzweig had a rough boot camp experience in San Diego. He did not complain but rather took it as it came. It was a good experience for him even though it was tough. After boot camp, he elected to go to air crewman school in Memphis, Tennessee. He had radio training there for quite a long time. After radio school, he was sent to Hollywood, Florida for gunnery school. After gunner school he was sent to Fort Lauderdale where he had his flight training. He flew over the coast and the Bahamas dropping dummy bombs and torpedoes. Next, he was destined for San Diego for more flight training. He was there for a few months and then transferred to the Alameda Air Station near San Francisco to board the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill [Annotator's Note: USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)]. The Bunker Hill then departed for Honolulu. He was already a part of VT-84 [Annotator's Note: Torpedo Squadron 84] training in Avengers [Annotator's Note: Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber] while he was in Fort Lauderdale. He had a small cabin in the bottom back of the plane. It was a roomy area behind the bomb bays. He had his tail gun, radio and radar with him. The planes did a lot of navigation by radar. The Avenger was a slow going target since it was a big plane. Nevertheless, the Avenger did get Rosenzweig back to safety and that was very important at the time.

Following stateside training, Rollins Rosenzweig was assigned to the Bunker Hill [Annotator's Note: USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)] when he reached California. As an air crewman on a torpedo bomber, he had no duties aboard ship except to fly and take care of his guns. When not flying missions, he spent time reading, but most of his time was spent in his bunk in the crowded bunk room. The bunks were three high. Rosenzweig had a top bunk. There was ventilation, but the quarters were stuffy so he cut a hole in the air conditioner duct that ran near his bunk so that the air would directly reach him. Still, it was not very comfortable. Rosenzweig saw a few movies while onboard, but there were not many movies available. He walked the decks for something to do. Airmen did not have to do their own laundry. It was done for them. Food aboard the carrier was good. It was not a bad life except for the typical Navy intimidation of the enlisted men. There was a group shower where 15 men could clean at one time. Although Rosenzweig was not bashful, he did not particularly care about the group shower set up. There was never any caution expressed about the use of fresh water.

Rollins Rosenzweig departed California aboard the carrier [Annotator's Note: Rosenzweig was a radioman and gunner on a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomb in Torpedo Squadron 84 (VT-84) flying from USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)] and made port in Pearl Harbor and then Ulithi where food and ammunition were loaded aboard the ship. The men were given liberty and allowed to spend time on the beach. Rosenzweig was seriously sunburned at that time. After several days without much to do at Ulithi, the ship departed. Tokyo Rose announced that Task Force 58 was headed north and 1,500 Japanese fighters were awaiting them. There was nowhere near that number of enemy fighters awaiting them. The carrier went near the coast of Japan and launched air operations for the first carrier based attacks on Japan. The B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] were also hitting Japan and some of the targets had been severely hit multiple times. There were rough seas when the carrier planes took off. They had to time their take off such that the flight deck of the carrier was rising so that the planes could gain proper altitude and not crash into the sea. Even though the weather was good, take off was risky. His squadron flew over Tokyo and Mount Fujiyama. The mountain was beautiful and snow capped at the time. The target was the Mitsubishi aircraft engine factory. That is where Mitsubishi automobiles are manufactured today. Although the factory was already burning, the torpedo bomber dropped into a dive and released its ordnance. There were flames below as far as he could see. One of the squadron planes was shot down during the flight. Butch Andersow and his pilot Ensign Brothers were hit near Ota where the factory was bombed [Annotator's Note: spelling on the personnel names could not be verified]. Their plane was hit over the target, and they crash landed in a field. The pilot and the radioman were killed, but Butch, the gunner, survived only to die on the way to a Japanese hospital. This was not discovered until years later. Rosenzweig had the written report on the action. On the way back from the attack on the factory, Rosenzweig had the opportunity to fire his .30 caliber machine gun on an enemy aircraft, but a Corsair [Annotator's Note: Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft] took a dive on the enemy plane and shot him down. That was the only chance Rosenzweig had to down an enemy airplane. En route back to the carrier, Rosenzweig picked up the ship call signal about 100 miles out. The signal turned out to be his initials, RBR. There was no word from other crews about the 1,500 fighters that Tokyo Rose talked about. Some of the American aircraft had to ditch in the sea because they ran low on gas. The crews were rescued with no problem. It was an interesting trip.

Rollins Rosenzweig was part of the aircraft carrier naval air cover for the invasion of Iwo Jima. [Annotator's Note: Rosenzweig was a radioman and gunner on a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomb in Torpedo Squadron 84 (VT-84) flying from USS Bunker Hill (CV-17).] The ship stayed there for a few days while the Marines landed on the beach. The American aircraft flew over the beaches covering the Marines and received fire from the left where Mount Suribachi was located. The airplanes were out of range of the enemy fire. The tracers fell short before coming near the aircraft. The Americans dropped their bombs on the enemy positions near the beach and then went inland. Passing over a trench, Rosenzweig was going to strafe it with his small machine gun. An enemy soldier fired his .22 caliber rifle on the American airplane and hit the plane's gas line. The spewing gas looked like smoke and Rosenzweig thought the plane was on fire. He began to prepare to bail out, but his pilot told him to stay put because it was only a gas leak. The plane was not on fire. The damaged aircraft landed on the ship low on gas, but, nevertheless, it made it. When the plane hit the deck of the carrier, the engine cut out immediately. There may have been more gas in another tank but the pilot did not switch over to the other tank. If timing had been slightly off, the plane could have expended its fuel and hit the aft end of the carrier and crashed. The aircraft crew had a procedure for abandoning the plane if it was fatally damaged. Rosenzweig had a small exit door adjacent to his position that he was to jettison. He had a designated life raft for his use. The gunner above him had a larger raft to release from the side of the aircraft after he was outside and on the wing. The pilot had a one man raft below his parachute. The crew never had to use the procedure. There were multiple aircraft the crew used. There were the 305, 311, and 309. Rosenzweig has a torpedo plane model with 306 on it. That was actually his plane. After Iwo Jima, the Bunker Hill sailed to Kure Harbor in Japan in search of the Yamato [Annotator's Note: the Japanese battleship Yamato was one of the two heaviest battleships ever built and sported 18.1 inch main guns] but it wasn't there. While crossing the inland sea, American fighter aircraft were fired upon, but there was no firing on torpedo aircraft. No losses were experienced. After supporting the Marines on Iwo Jima, the Bunker Hill went on to cover the Marines on Okinawa. Ernie Pyle was killed on Ie Shima offshore of the main island of Okinawa. Pyle was a famous war correspondent at the time. The men of the aircrews were not told much by their officers. They were just expected to fly and attack the enemy. While fighting over Okinawa, the planes were loaded with 100 pound bombs and given a concrete bridge used by the enemy as their target. Out of the 12 planes in his squadron that unloaded their ordnance on the bridge, there was not a single hit. The torpedo planes in his squadron made only one torpedo run and that was against the Yamato. For the most part, they would take a 45 degree glide approach on a target to drop their bombs instead of a near vertical dive on the enemy as dive bombers did.

Rollins Rosenzweig and his fellow Navy airmen were told ahead of the attack that they would be going to the South China Sea for an attack on the Yamato [Annotator's Note: the Japanese battleship Yamato was one of the two heaviest battleships ever built and sported 18.1 inch main battery guns]. There were several hundred other airplanes that participated on this attack from other carriers in the task force. The airplane manned by Rosenzweig and other crewmen started its rather steep dive on the enemy ship at 12,000 feet. [Annotator's Note: Rosenzweig was a radioman and gunner on a Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bomb in Torpedo Squadron 84 (VT-84) flying from USS Bunker Hill (CV-17).] The diving airplane leveled off between 75 and 100 feet off the water. Rosenzweig kept the Yamato in view on his radar during this time. The Yamato was kept dead on until about 1,000 yards when the torpedo was dropped. As Rosenzweig and his aircraft passed over the fantail of the ship, no one was observed on the deck of the ship. As the aircraft used evasive tactics, the enemy big guns started firing at them. There were dozens of tracers observed on each side of his aircraft. Some of the other attacking aircraft were hit. Rosenzweig had a best friend in the squadron at the time by the name of Tom Kelley. Kelley was a radioman in another aircraft and was hit in the shoulder. The extent of the damage done to the Yamato was not apparent at the time of the attack, but Rosenzweig could tell she seemed to be dead in the water. There was not much movement as Rosenzweig observed her on the radar. There was a feeling of excitement as he participated in the attack on the huge Japanese battleship. He wished that his father could see him in action with all the tracers whizzing by the wings of his aircraft. It was an interesting flight. After returning safely to the aircraft carrier, Rosenzweig went back to his bunk and went to sleep.

Rollins Rosenzweig continued to fly missions over Okinawa after the attack on the Japanese battleship Yamato. Missions on the island included an unsuccessful bombing run on an enemy bridge. On the 11 May [Annotator's Note: 11 May 1945], Rosenzweig was cleaning up the pilot ready room. This was the day of the kamikaze attack on his aircraft carrier. While doing the cleanup, a man named Dick McDermott suggested to Rosenzweig that he would take the duty over for Rosenzweig. McDermott and Rosenzweig were not that close. They each had other buddies. Nevertheless, the offer was accepted. Afterward, while Rosenzweig was in bed, he was jarred by the impacts of the planes hitting the ship [Annotator's Note: two Japanese kamikaze aircraft crashed in the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) in short order resulting in severe damage and heavy personnel losses]. A bomb passed forward of the pilot and aircrew ready rooms. Those in the rooms, including McDermott, were all killed by the bomb or the ensuing flames. McDermott saved Rosenzweig's life by relieving him of his duty that morning. The kamikaze damage left a hole in the flight deck thereby stopping aerial operations from the carrier. Planes on the hanger deck blew up and caught fire, threatening the life of the ship. The captain of the ship turned the ship sharply to roll the gasoline off the deck. In doing so, the flaming fuel fell on crewmen in the sea below the tilted deck. These were men who had been thrown off the ship by the impact of the kamikazes. Some of those in the sea perished as a result of being blanketed by the flames. Rosenzweig was focused on getting off the ship and reaching safety. Areas were heavy with smoke so he lay prone on the deck and covered his face. When things settled down, he got up and starting moving, but the next compartment was full of smoke. He went below and through the sick bay. He did not see much action there and continued on until he reached the fantail of the ship where everything was charred. On reaching the flight deck, he walked forward and saw the large hole. The opening caused by the damage was huge. As Rosenzweig proceeded along the flight deck, he spotted the body of a Japanese pilot. No one had seen the dead pilot before him. Rosenzweig retrieved a wallet from the pocket of the dead man. He noticed the picture of a woman in the wallet. Soon, an officer came up and took charge of the body and snatched the wallet out of Rosenzweig's hands. Rosenzweig saw a fire hose and sat on it because there was no other place to sit. In subsequently reviewing photographs of the action on Bunker Hill that day, Rosenzweig observed that fire hose in the pictures. There was no food for the men after the attack. All the cooks had been killed. There was something given to the men to eat but it was not much. The ship went to Pearl Harbor and picked up food then proceeded to Bremerton [Annotator's Note: Bremerton, Washington]. There was fresh food loaded aboard the ship at Pearl. Some of the vegetables were dirty but Rosenzweig ate them anyway. At Bremerton, Rosenzweig and the men disembarked the ship and went somewhere else for a day and night. It could have been the base there at Bremerton where the men were billeted. Rosenzweig only remembers running down the ladder to get off the ship. In Bremerton, he went into the town and met with a friend who was a school teacher. He had known him at Barksdale Airbase. The friends dined together and then parted ways. Rosenzweig went back to Memphis and attended radio and gunnery schools to refresh his previous training in those skills. He was to go back overseas, but the war ended while he was in the training. He was sent home after that. It was hard to determine the psychological damage done by the kamikaze attacks on the survivors of the Bunker Hill. The men went to counseling after the event. In his interview, Rosenzweig said that it was just a great adventure for him, and that he did not have shell shock. The only time Rosenzweig was afraid was following the kamikaze attack when the rumor was circulated that enemy submarines were hunting them because the ship was wounded. Rosenzweig was just dumb enough in his youth to not be afraid.

Rollins Rosenzweig has a vivid memory of looking through his tail gun window as the Yamato was being attacked and seeing an American airplane exploding after it traversed the deck of the Japanese battleship. The plane was destroyed in a ball of fire. The radioman in the airplane was named Whitman. That was the only plane that was lost. In reflection, World War 2 changed Rosenzweig's life. He was able to use the G.I. Bill to pay for all of his education to become a dentist. He would not have been able to afford it otherwise. His father had fallen on hard times after the Depression. Rosenzweig could not have paid to attend college without the Bill. The National WWII Museum is important to educate people on the terrible war that killed millions. Some died horribly in German concentration camps or Japanese prisoner of war camps. Many died in Japan and Germany due to the Allied bombing raids. It was a devastating affair. When Franklin Roosevelt died, Rosenzweig was not affected as many people were. His family did not like the Democrats. His father was from the South and had never supported Roosevelt. When Rosenzweig expressed lack of sympathy for the death of the President, he became persona non grata to many of his fellow squadron members [Annotator's Note: Rosenzweig was a radioman and gunner on a Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bomb in Torpedo Squadron 84 (VT-84) flying from USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)]. Rosenzweig later learned to have more respect for Roosevelt as a great president.