Victor Befera was born April 1926 in Hibbing, Minnesota. He grew up in the small iron mining town near Canada with his parents and three siblings. Befera's father was a man of many trades and talents including some that involved developing technologies and automobiles. His father died when Befera was 15. Befera's mother supported the family with her late husband's automobile business after his death. Befera grew up in a neighborhood with many ethnicities. He assumed that was the way the whole world was. It was a wonderful, old fashioned place to mature. The town was extraordinary because of its wealth due to the mining activities and the richness that brought to the community. Befera studied drama and would have followed that pursuit had the war not interfered. Befera remembers Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] invading the Sudetenland [Annotator's Note: Germany under Hitler entered Austria's Sudetenland as part of the Anschluss in March 1938]. His father was a Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also known as il Duce] sympathizer and Fascism devotee. Mussolini brought positive things to Italy before the war broke out. The country seemed to be gaining in international respect. Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945], however, was dismissive of the Italians. Italy had been on the side of the Allies in World War 1. Ironically, Befera would enter the military with Italy being the enemy of the United States. Italian-Americans felt some pressures as a result. The Japanese-Americans suffered by being forced into internment camps after the start of the war. Many of the immigrants Befera met were rooted in the Old-World history. He never felt bias or prejudice. Instead, he was popular and well respected. His self-assurance was aided by his loving Italian mother. When Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he and his brother heard the announcement while listening to the radio in the family automobile. He and his brother realized that they would be involved in the war. Befera was 17, when he enlisted into the Navy. Enlistment in the Navy was preferred over being drafted into the Army.

Victor Befera learned of and passed the V-12 [Annotator's Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946] tests to become a naval aviator. Instead of being drafted, Befera opted to enlist instead. He attended Minot Teachers College [Annotator's Note: now Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota] in North Dakota, and later John Carroll University in Cleveland [Annotator's Note: Cleveland, Ohio]. The Navy reclassified Befera due to an excess of aviators in its V-12 program. The Navy sent Befera to Great Lakes [Annotator's Note: Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County, Illinois] with two options for reclassification. He could attend electronics school in Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] or go San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] to work in the Fleet Post Office. Befera purposely failed the electronics class so that he could be assigned to work in San Francisco. On the way to San Francisco, Befera met a future lifelong friend named Orlan Corey [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] and they bonded on the troop train over their faith, Befera a Catholic and Corey a Protestant. Befera thought his newfound friend an intellectual. Corey attended Baylor University [Annotator's Note: Baylor University in Waco, Texas]. Befera stayed friends with Corey and both men corresponded with each other after the war ended. Corey asked Befera to be the best man at his wedding, as Corey thought that his friends would try to ruin his honeymoon. Corey looked to Befera for protection from his friends potentially pranking him, ruining his wedding. Befera succeeded at protecting his friend, but this led to Befera and his mother, who accompanied him on the trip, being chased throughout the streets of Houston [Annotator's Note: Houston, Texas]. The Navy stationed Befera and Corey at the Fleet Post Office in San Francisco. The two had to find their own lodging. They rented an upstairs room, not knowing that the downstairs was occupied by a notorious San Francisco club. Their living arrangements led to some interesting situations. They later moved out of the apartment and into a private home. In 1945 during the war, Befera handled fleet mail going to the Pacific [Annotator's Note: Pacific Theater of Operations or PTO] for the Navy. Befera did not censor any mail or packages. On VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], Befera witnessed his fellow sailors celebrating on Market Street. It was the end of a national nightmare. People were reveling and drinking in the streets at four in the afternoon. An incident of a man drunkenly falling behind him sticks out in his memory.

Victor Befera was a replacement for those stationed overseas, and those stationed with the most 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] came home sooner. Befera traveled to Manila [Annotator's Note: Manila, Luzon, Philippines] on the Billy Mitchell [Annotator's Note: USS General William Mitchell (AP-114)], a troop carrier. During the journey, Befera suffered from sea sickness. Sleeping quarters were extremely cramped, with up to nine sailors high in the bunks. Befera worked as the officer messenger, taking classified documents across Manila Bay to the Cavite Naval Base [Annotator's Note: now Naval Station Pascual Ledesma, also known as Cavite Naval Base or Cavite Navy Yard, Cavite City, Philippines]. Befera carried a weapon while delivering the documents, due to the importance of his assignment. At this time, Manila was badly destroyed by both Japanese and American bombs. The city was completely devastated. In Manila, Befera lived on a Navy houseboat. Spanning the Pasig River in Manila were temporary bridges created by the Army. Befera experienced homesickness during his time in Manila, the Navy discharged him in April 1946. He never traveled before and may have stayed in Minnesota his entire life without the war. He met many new, diverse people in the service that he would not have if he stayed home. His service broadened his worldview and allowed him to go to college and study with help from the G.I. 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 could have possibly afforded college without the G.I. Bill, but many of his friends would not have had a chance to go to college without it. Befera enrolled at Michigan State University [Annotator's Note: in East Lansing, Michigan], where he earned a degree in Journalism. Befera then returned to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. Befera visited some friends who moved from Hibbing, Minnesota [Annotator's Note: Befera grew up in Hibbing] to Napa Valley, California to enter the wine business. Part of this group evolved into the famous Mondavi Vineyards. Befera loved San Francisco and loved how different it was from Hibbing. He decided to stay in San Francisco during the visit and sent his mother home alone via plane. Befera lacked connections in San Francisco and struggled to find a job in advertising. He eventually found a job at the Palo Alto Times and met his future wife there. His wife was a widow with three sons, his mother opposed his marriage to a woman with that many children. His mother persuaded his brothers to not attend the wedding in Palo Alto [Annotator's Note: Palo Alto, California]. His wife's late husband worked on the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The bomb was extremely important in Befera's life because millions of soldiers like him were going to be sent to invade Japan. The estimations for casualties exceeded one million, including hundreds of thousands of Japanese. The bomb saved Befera from having to go into combat. He viewed it as a positive for him and his fellow soldiers. In the context of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Befera supported the use of the atomic bombs, Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] had no doubts about his decision to do so.

Victor Befera looks upon himself as just a footnote of World War 2. He did not collect any medals or commendations. His friend George [Annotator's Note: no surname provided] could not enlist due to an injury but could tell which men were exaggerating their combat experiences upon returning home. For every man who was in combat, there were nine men behind him and Befera was one of those. He is honored to be a part of the Greatest Generation, as referred to in the book by Tom Brokaw [Annotator's Note: Thomas John Brokaw; American network television journalist and author; published his book The Greatest Generation in 1998]. Befera was not involved in any heroics. The experience of meeting new people and traveling to new places is what he took away from his experience in World War 2. His friend Gene [Annotator's Note: no surname provided] was shot on Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan], narrowly avoiding death. Gene flippantly refers to his injury but Befera recognizes him as a real hero. Befera's brother [Annotator's Note: no name given] served behind enemy lines in the China-Burma-India Theater and experienced death of comrades. His brother was a hero too. Befera's brother suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder [Annotator's Note: generally referred to by the acronym PTSD] because of his time in the service. Befera does not have any defining moments, and instead reflects on the benefit that it gave him and the sacrifice of his fellow Americans. He recalls the unity of Americans behind defeating Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. He speaks of Franklin Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] famous speech post-Pearl Harbor about a day that will live on in infamy [Annotator's Note: Day of Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, 8 December 1941]. He sees World War 2 as a morally and ethically right war, as opposed to the grey area of the Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] and Korean Wars [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. Befera sees the importance of institutions that are dedicated to the memory of World War 2, as the public forgets people that are of great importance to the retelling of the war.