Theodore Vallas was born in March 1921 in a small town in Idaho [Annotator's Note: Pocatello, Idaho]. His father died in an accident in 1932 leaving his mother to raise her seven children alone. She never remarried. Vallas' father had been an entrepreneur. Consequently, the family was left with assets to sell for income after his death. His survivors lived a comfortable life even though it was during the Great Depression. The family members all pitched in to help pay expenses. Vallas went to work at ten years of age and never stopped. The children never approved of potential suitors for their mother so she never remarried. She wore black for decades after her husband's death. The family moved by train to New Hampshire to live with relatives. Vallas attended school in New Hampshire but did not enjoy the experience. He has lived through many different periods in United States history. World War 1 and World War 2 were similar in many ways to each other.

Theodore Vallas joined the Navy in 1939 when students in college were being prepared to go to the anticipated war. Vallas was sent to flight school in Pensacola [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida]. Before completing the training, he was put on a newly completed aircraft carrier for a shakedown cruise [Annotator's Note: a series of at sea trials intended to assure a ship's construction compliance with ship specifications]. Vallas was expecting to be on the carrier for only three weeks but remained on carriers for three years. He flew initially in the rear seat of an SB2U-2 [Annotator's Note: Vought SB2U-2 Vindicator dive bomber] and then in a plane like the model behind Vallas [Annotator's Note: Vallas points to a model of a Douglas SBD dive bomber positioned on a desk behind him]. The SBD was a dive bomber and scout plane which was responsible for Navy victories in the war. While with Squadron VS-72 [Annotator's Note: Scouting Squadron 72 (VS-72)], his fellow trainees were split with half going to torpedo squadrons and the other going to the dive bombers. The torpedo planes were slow and crews often met fatal results on their missions. While establishing Torpedo Squadrons 7 and 8, Vallas was selected to stay in Torpedo Squadron 7. Torpedo Squadron 8 had a mission of 12 aircraft where the planes and all crewmen were lost [Annotator's Note: during the Battle of Midway in June 1942]. Vallas first served in the Atlantic, scouting for German submarines. The American Navy protected cargo ships carrying equipment to Europe to help England and other countries. A large Navy battle resulted in the loss of the Hood [Annotator's Note: HMS Hood] after it was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck. The former was the pride of the British Navy but the Bismarck was the largest battleship in the world at the time. Vallas' ship [Annotator's Note: USS Wasp (CV-7)] joined the effort to locate the Bismarck. A United States Navy PBY [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] spotted the German ship and reported the position to the British Navy. The British dispatched multiple ships to sink the German battlewagon. The United States had not yet officially joined the war as it was prior to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] so its ships did not give chase. Vallas wanted to get in the war and Pearl Harbor gave the country the excuse to join the effort. Wasp loaded British Spitfire fighters [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] to transport to Malta for its defense. Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945] recognized the carrier for its efforts and for not being sunk as the Germans claimed it had. The Germans destroyed the first load of Spitfires so another voyage with the planes loaded with guns and ammunition had to be undertaken. Rommel [Annotator's Note: German Army Generalfeldmarschall, or Field Marshal, Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel] had controlled the action in the Mediterranean until the Spitfires arrived. The new fighters destroyed more German aircraft in one day than had been shot down in the prior six or seven months. The Wasp stayed at sea another six or seven months protecting the Merchant Marine cargo vessels. The crewmen on those ships were subjected to dangerous duty as a result of the German submarines plying the ocean. While on liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and playing golf in Bermuda, Vallas was called back to his ship on that Sunday morning when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The Wasp was headed to the West Coast.

Theodore Vallas was happy to know that his ship [Annotator's Note: USS Wasp (CV-7)] was going into battle and that he had been called back to serve on her [Annotator's Note: Vallas was called back from liberty following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. While the ship went through the Canal [Annotator's Note: Panama Canal], the Wasp's air squadrons disembarked in Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia] and flew across the country. Reaching San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], the air crews reboarded their ship. The carrier would go on to fight at Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. Vallas was lucky to stay in Torpedo Squadron 7 and not be assigned to 8. [Annotator's Note: The airmen in Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) off the carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) were annihilated by the Japanese during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Only one of those airmen survived the battle.] The torpedo aircraft changed from a TBD [Annotator's Note: Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber] to a TBF [Annotator's Note: Grumman TBF or TBM Avenger torpedo bomber] which was a very strong aircraft. George Bush [Annotator's Note: George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States] was a pilot in a TBF and was shot down. He was one of the youngest pilots in the Navy and should have been honored much more. Vallas returned to the United States to train in the new aircraft with its advanced Norden bombsight. The new TBF had a crew of three instead of two. A crew of four could even be flown in the improved aircraft. After receipt of his new plane, he was to board a jeep carrier [Annotator's Note: a small aircraft carrier used to transport aircraft or provide aircover for other vessels]. The Wasp was sunk prior to him rejoining it. Vallas had missed sailing with his ship because of his stateside training. Before missions, he had always been told to shave and get a good meal in the event that something happened. Kamikaze planes attempted to sink the carriers. After Wasp, Vallas was assigned to beautiful Kaneohe [Annotator's Note: Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station in Kaneohe, Hawaii]. He was a chief petty officer at the time and considered the youngest chief in the Navy. He preferred being with the younger enlisted men rather than the aged chief petty officers. During liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], he borrowed a sailor suit and went to town with the younger men. He met younger women that way. College females were particularly plentiful in Pensacola [Annotator's Note: Pensacola, Florida].

Theodore Vallas was a member of Torpedo Squadron 7 serving as a navigator and bombardier [Annotator's Note: flying from the USS Wasp (CV-7)]. The ship's captain [Annotator's Note: US Navy Captain John Walter Reeves, Jr.] was very mean. Any mistake resulted in an individual being berated in front of others. Liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] was restricted for any infraction. Officers were treated terribly. [Annotator's Note: A telephone call momentarily interrupts the interview.] The Captain's nickname was "Black Jack Reeves". Chief petty officers were the pride of the Navy and respected for their tenure and knowledge. As a chief, Vallas' quarters were fine. It was an honor for an officer to be invited to the chief's quarters for a meal. There was special food and chefs for the chiefs. The Wasp was sunk early. Squadrons were sent to other carriers but Vallas was sent to Kaneohe [Annotator's Note: Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station in Kaneohe, Hawaii] where he flew scouting missions over the waters around the islands. He bought a home in Kaneohe. A tidal wave hit the beach destroying homes adjacent to his home but not his. He felt he was a lucky sailor. A typical day on Kaneohe was beautiful. A golf course and yachts were there. He would fly a ten hour patrol flight over the Pacific trying to spot enemy carriers or other ships. The enemy had few ships other than Navy ships. His squadron located some enemy vessels. Some individuals were undeservedly awarded the Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor]. It helped sell bonds in the factories making war products. Women became part of a new life with the war effort.

Theodore Vallas left the Navy after the war in order to play professional sports. He enrolled in college to play football, baseball and basketball. Basketball players were much shorter during his years playing the sport. He attended college with the G.I. Bill and sports scholarships. He majored in business administration and received his masters in industrial development. He went into land development. He opened a business that dealt with air testing aircraft and automobiles. When Sputnik [Annotator's Note: the first satellite to orbit the Earth.; launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957] was launched, Vallas' business took off. He established resort operations in Southern California and throughout Europe and four golf courses in Morocco. He lost one golf course due to the design competition having more connections. He received his commercial license in fixed wing aircraft. He acquired helicopters for Hughes [Annotator's Note: Hughes Aircraft Company] and improved them with new designs. He built instruments for aircraft. He bought a DC-3 [Annotator's Note: Douglas DC-3 commercial airliner] that had been converted from military use. It was his toy. He hired someone to fly it for him. That person convinced him to buy more planes and start Air Resorts Airlines. The planes were to service his resorts. Vallas bought into government and sports contracts and developed inter-island flights in the Caribbean. He built several of the buildings but not the terminal at Palomar [Annotator's Note: Palomar is near Carlsbad, California]. He started his airline business at the age of 89 and at 95 years of age is close to flying. His story is in his book "Life is an Opportunity."

Theodore Vallas was one of the first pilots to be catapulted off an aircraft carrier. There was risk in the water ahead of the carrier. It was dangerous landing at night on a carrier. Radio silence missions were tough when the planes flew into cloud cover. Submarines posed a threat for the carrier but the young men did not care that much. Vallas served in the Navy because everyone knew the country would be drawn into the war. He enlisted in order to avoid the draft and being placed in a branch he did not preferred. He enjoyed Navy sports which involved playing against various colleges. The Great Depression had been a bad period for the country and the war brought the nation out of it. The war changed his life by giving him an opportunity to help support his widowed mother who took care of seven children on her own. The money from the estate eventually ran out [Annotator's Note: Vallas' father had been an entrepreneur and accumulated assets prior to his early death in an accident in 1932]. World War 2 was fought for a cause and pride came with that. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] would have had the world otherwise. There would not have been a New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana]. The world appreciates what the veterans did during that conflict. The wars afterward were not appreciated because they were so different. It is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. It is necessary to teach that history. Historians from the Museum help carry on that story. He has nothing to be ashamed of due to his service. It is good for the oral histories to be left behind for future generations.