Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson was born in April 1919. He was called "Little Robbie" on his PT Boat [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] because there were other Robinsons on the vessel. He was born in Seattle, Washington. His father had been vice president of the Grace Steamship Lines [Annotator's Note: The Grace Line, 1882 to 1969]. He was going to become president of the largest steamship company but died during the Spanish Flu epidemic [Annotator's Note: also called the 1918 influenza pandemic, February 1918 to April 1920]. His mother had been a hostess at Carnegie Hall [Annotator's Note: music hall in New York, New York], but had to become a door-to-door saleswoman so the family could eat [Annotator's Note: Robinson shows emotion]. The family was very poor and ended up living in the park in New York. His grandfather did his best to feed the family and was Robinson's hero. Robinson graduated from high school in 1936 and decided to attend Duke University [Annotator's Note: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina] because it was the cheapest option. His family slept on the floor for four years so Robinson to go to the school. He studied business engineering. Later in life, Robinson became a trustee of the university. While attending, he played tennis. At age 12, he played in the New York Boys Final for tennis. Robinson attended Duke from 1936 to 1940. After graduating, he decided to work for a bank in Manhattan [Annotator's Note: Manhattan is one of the five boroughs in New York, New York]. His father's friend was the president of that bank. Another family friend was the president of another company and offered him a job, but Robinson did not want to move to Buffalo [Annotator's Note: Buffalo, New York]. Robinson belonged to an active church group. Everyone in New England attended the Congregational Church. Robinson was playing touch football when he was told about the attack at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was mad knowing he had a career waiting for him and instead he would have to fight in a war. He wanted to fight the Japanese immediately.

Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson enlisted in the Navy and was sent to a ship in the Hudson River to train on. He was supposed to be trained in 90 days. He graduated number one in his class. The ship was anchored in Harlem [Annotator's Note: Harlem is a neighborhood in New York, New York]. When he would walk around the area, prostitutes would invite him and other sailors into their houses. When he graduated, there was a big parade. Robinson was vice flotilla commander and was a part of the men marching. People would run up and kiss him. From there, Robinson decided to go into PT Boats [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] because he knew they were being sent to fight at Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Other ships were being sent to England and were not fighting much. Robinson wanted to get at the enemy. He knew the Japanese would try to attack the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: Panama Canal, Panama]. PT Squadron 6 [Annotator's Note: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 6 (MTBRon 6)] was sent to the west coast of the canal to wait for the Japanese to arrive. He would have to have faced the whole Japanese fleet with 12 boats. One group of 12 P-40 [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft] airplanes were supposed to show up, but never did. That gave the men time to think about how to attack planes. The Japanese never showed up. Robinson watched American ships move through the canal. Ten of those ships were sunk immediately after arriving at Guadalcanal. The American ships did not practice night fighting, which is why they were sunk. Robinson met a girl in Panama and became friends with her. He was stationed on the island of Taboga [Annotator's Note: Taboga Island, Panama], but at night, he would do things with his girlfriend. He kept in touch with her for years after the war. When he came back through the canal a few years later, he met up with her at their favorite dance hall. She thought Robinson might have died because he never contacted her. She got engaged the day before he returned. Robinson did not mention he had already met his future wife.

After a year, Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson's flotilla [Annotator's Note: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 6 (MTBRon 6)] was put on a large tanker so it could be transported to the Pacific. On the tanker, each PT Boat [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] had its own cradle. It was thought that if a submarine sank the tanker, the PT Boat would float, which did happen to a squadron. He was sent to Noumea [Annotator's Note: Noumea, New Caledonia, Overseas France], which was the closest port to Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] that had the equipment that could lift a PT Boat out of a tanker. From there, the boat would sail 1,000 miles to Guadalcanal. Robinson's squadron used Elco [Annotator's Note: Elco, Electric Launch Company, later named Elco Motor Yachts] PT Boats. There were three factories making PT Boats. Some were sent to Alaska, which is where Robinson wound up eventually. Robinson could only use one engine to get to Guadalcanal to save gas. There were two other squadrons at Guadalcanal, but most of those boats had been sunk. The 1st Marine Division had landed on Guadalcanal in August 1942, but Robinson's squadron did not arrive until around Christmas of 1942. The first scare Robinson had was near the first island in the Solomon Island chain. It was nighttime and he could not see anything. An American destroyer passed right by his ship, which made Robinson realize how quiet everyone had to be at night. The destroyer escorted him the next day. As he approached Guadalcanal, a P-40 [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft] sent him a message telling him to run for cover. Robinson did not want to hide, but his boat had to hide near a small village. He got there at night and the Americans would not let the boat through the submarine gates. The following day, Robinson entered the village. He saw Dick Richards [Annotator's Note: unable to identify] being escorted down the pier. His boat was sunk, and all of his men were killed by sharks. Richards had gone out of his mind. Everything was taken off of Robinson's boat except the guns. He was told he would need to be as fast as possible to survive. After eight weeks, all but four men on Robinson's boat were killed or wounded. Every eight weeks the PT Boats had to leave their base to go to the dry dock and headquarters. People would die there because the Japanese would attack the floating dry dock and the base. Robinson's skipper [Annotator's Note: captain, or commander] was killed along with a few other men. Robinson was the executive officer and became the commanding officer of the boat. [Annotator's Note: Robinson gets emotional.] In his PT Boat, Robinson was called "little Robbie" because he was small. After the skipper died, Robinson got the boat moving slowly towards the mother boat Jamestown [Annotator's Note: USS Jamestown PG-55]. He was trying to get his wounded men to a hospital, but some of them died on the journey. He went ashore and got a doctor to the boat. He wanted to bring the doctor back to the base to help the other wounded men but was told he would never make it back. He was given a drink with something in it to make him sleep. He spent the night on the Jamestown.

Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson became the skipper [Annotator's Note: captain, or commander] of his boat. A graduate of Annapolis [Annotator's Note: United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland] was put in charge of the boat, but only lasted three patrols before returning to the States. This happened a couple of times. Eventually, Robinson became the permanent skipper until an Annapolis graduate from New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] took over. Robinson's boat [Annotator's Note: PT-118, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 6 (MTBRon 6)] had several holes that needed to be fixed. A year later, his boat was sunk off Vella Lavella [Annotator's Note: Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands on 7 September 1943]. Robinson thinks the bravest men in World War 2 were the Coast Watchers [Annotator's Note: Australians who worked with indigenous peoples on islands in the South Pacific to locate and report on Japanese forces]. They had been the operators of coconut plantations before the war. They started spying on the Japanese for the Allies. Robinson would put them near shore knowing they had a life expectancy of three months. [Annotator's Note: Robinson shows emotion.] They would give him letters to get back to their wives. Those men would live with the natives, who helped the Allies. The Japanese treated the natives badly, much like the Germans did in the Soviet Union. The squadron started moving up the islands. They moved to the Russell Islands and he moved into a native cottage Japanese officers had occupied. Robinson had 40mm [Annotator's Note: Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] guns in front of his boat. The enlisted men slept in the woods, but Robinson and the officers slept in a hut. The Japanese always attacked the hut first. The Marines and soldiers had 40mm guns as well. While patrolling up a river, Robinson heard people singing hymns in English. He was called Safari Robinson because he traded for a canoe. Robinson did not like to gamble. Some Marines accidentally hid 1,000 dollars in his coat and he sent it home to his mother. He was sent to New Georgia [Annotator's Note: New Georgia, Solomon Islands], where a bigger base was located. The Marines had to capture the base for the Air Force.

While moving towards New Georgia [Annotator's Note: New Georgia, Solomon Islands], Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson's boat [Annotator's Note: PT-118, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 6 (MTBRon 6)] hit a reef and had to return to the dry dock at Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. Robinson remained at a Russell Islands base until another boat could bring him to New Georgia. They sent a message that a boat could not be sent to get them because there was an attack happening. A Navy commander on the boat ordered a boat to get him. After Robinson and the commander got onto the new boat, the old boat exploded, killing all aboard. After getting ashore, he reported to the acting commander of the base. The commander told him the Japanese were bringing troops to the base the Marines were assaulting. A squadron was sent to attack the convoy. Robinson and the commander joined PT-159 with Robinson on radar duty. His charts were from the 1800s and the Japanese had up to date charts. While working the radar, Robinson saw four of the five destroyers. His boat was going to make the first run against the destroyers, and if he failed, PT-109 with Kennedy [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future 35th President of the United States] in it, and another boat would try to attack. There were about 14 boats in the attack, but only 12 made it through. Float planes tried to sink the PT Boats. During an attack, the boat would start slowing so it would not make a wake and keep the muffler closed to keep quiet. Once discovered, the boats would open the mufflers and start moving. He closed to 1,400 yards and then he saw all the ships turn to ram the boats. The Japanese knew torpedoes were in the water, but they did not know they were not very good. The torpedoes were made in Newport, Rhode Island, where his wife worked. The Americans used World War 1-era torpedoes. When the Japanese turned towards the boats, they turned and fled. The destroyers got through and unloaded their troops. All the Americans all made it back alive. The Japanese troops were thrown overboard. The enemy troops were coming from an unexpected direction. Not long before this attack, a PT Boat accidentally sank an American ship. They were told not to attack anything coming from the south. Robinson returned to his base because he had no more torpedoes.

[Annotator's Note: Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson served in the Navy in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 6 (MTBRon 6) and took part in naval operations in the Solomon Islands.] Japanese destroyers started coming in where Jack Kennedy [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future 35th President of the United States] was located. Kennedy had his mufflers closed so he would not be detected. When he saw the ships coming in from the south, he figured they were Americans. The mufflers did not open, and Kennedy's boat was split in half when a destroyer [Annotator's Note: the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Amagiri] hit it. Another PT Boat [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] was almost hit at the same time. Robinson had returned to his base. The next day, everyone realized Kennedy did not return. PT-162 returned and told the men what happened. That night, almost every boat in the water was rammed or attacked. They had funerals every day, including one for Kennedy. The Air Force was sent out and reported they saw the hull of a PT Boat, but no survivors. The planes could not fly low enough to see the men floating around. About one month later, two Melanesian natives [Annotator's Note: the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, a subregion of Oceania, in the South Pacific] paddled to the base and gave Robinson a coconut that had a message from Kennedy on it. The natives told him where Kennedy was hiding. The Americans radioed the Coast Watchers [Annotator's Note: Australians who worked with indigenous peoples on islands in the South Pacific to locate and report on Japanese forces] on the nearest islands to tell them the news. They set up a plan to let Kennedy know the Americans were on their way to get him. Robinson was on PT-157, which was on the rescue mission. The commander of the base told him to go as his representative. Robinson fired one shot from a rifle, instead of the three shots he was supposed to shoot. Kennedy came out to make sure it was the Americans, then went back to get the enlisted men. He could barely walk or talk. Kennedy asked where they had been. The men were loaded aboard, some were dead. The men were in bad shape. Kennedy could not stand. Some of the men died on the journey back to the base. Japanese Bettys [Annotator's Note: Mistubishi G4M medium bomber, known as the Betty] were in the air, so they had to move fast. When they returned to the base, the men that were still alive were sent to Tulagi [Annotator's Note: Tulagi, Solomon Islands], where the Jamestown [Annotator's Note: USS Jamestown PG-55] was located.

Theodore M. "Ted" Robinson kept moving north until he made it to Vella Lavella [Annotator's Note: Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands]. The whole time, the Americans were trying to capture air bases. Four boats, including Robinson's, were sent 70 miles behind enemy lines. The first two boats stopped 60 miles north of the American lines. Robinson was on one of the boats that went the full distance. He saw Japanese barges sailing around, but no destroyers. The barges started moving towards their base, which had shore batteries. The Americans gave chase, and it started raining. Eventually, they ran into the same reef the Japanese were on. They could hear the Japanese talking. Both American vessels got stuck on a reef. The Japanese were wading ashore to avoid the shore battery fire. Robinson's crew radioed to the Navy asking for a pickup, but the larger ships would not help them. The other two PT Boats [Annotator's Note: patrol torpedo boat] came up to get them. The Americans took the radios and some other equipment and returned to base. That was one month after rescuing Kennedy [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future 35th President of the United States]. Kennedy and Robinson were sent to the Jamestown [Annotator's Note: USS Jamestown PG-55] and they lived in the same quarters. Robinson wrote a book about his experience with Kennedy. Kennedy was going to be sent home, but he wanted to go back to the front line. By that time, the Americans were capturing an airfield. Robinson was sent to a safer island because 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 go home. The flotilla commander of the air base [Annotator's Note: Barakoma Airfield] at Vella Lavella was supposed to be Richard Nixon. Nixon [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Richard M. Nixon, future 37th President of the United States] and Kennedy were on the same island, but Robinson does not know if they met. At Vella Lavella, they realized they were close to the float plane base. Some Marines were sent to take the air base. The following morning, the Marines reported there were a large number of Japanese and asked for an evacuation. The Navy could not send anyone until night. Apparently, that made the Marine commander cry. Half his men had already been killed and he did not think they would survive to night. Kennedy volunteered to get the Marines and was able to rescue the remainder. Years later, Robinson gave a talk about it. A black Marine called him up to tell him he was one of those rescued. [Annotator's Note: Robinson shows emotion.] Eventually, Kennedy was sent home. Robinson thinks Kennedy was fantastic.