[Annotator’s Note: Sound and video are not in sync throughout segment.] Wallace Johnson was born in April 1925 in Taft, California. When he was six months old, his family returned to Havana, Cuba. His father brought his mother to California because she was having a difficult pregnancy and she could get better treatment there. About 10 years later, his father, working for Standard Oil Company, moved his family to Houston, Texas to avoid the Cuban Revolution [Annotator’s Note: an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government between 1953 and 1959]. Johnson’s father died when he was 11 years old and he became the man of the household. He helped his mother with his sister and brother. His family had lost most of their wealth due to their father’s death, and his mother went to work as a seamstress for the WPA [Annotator's Note: the Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression] during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. She was making dresses out of flour sacks. Johnson became socially conscious and got a job shining shoes, selling newspapers, and had a paper route. Johnson was aware of the Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] rising to power and the unrest in Europe because he sold newspapers. He knew that America would be going to war soon after Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939. When Johnson lived in Havana, he enjoyed his life there. He cried when he boarded the boat to America. He watched his car being loaded onto the boat. When he came to America, his life soon changed from a comfortable living to a situational living where he did not know when they would eat next. Life was not easy, but he thinks it made him a better man. While living in Texas, he attended Sam Houston High School. Many of the students were in the lower income group. His family moved to another ward and he had to attend a different school where most of the students came from upper class families. He was accepted right away anyhow, and was well-liked. He joined the newspaper club, debating society, and orchestra. He had a friend that drove his father’s car and took him to a drive-in where the servers were girls on roller skates. His friends always bought him food because he could not afford it. He felt like a moocher and begged his mother to join the military because he did not want to live poorly anymore. His mother signed a paper saying her son was 17 and she gave permission for him to join the Navy. Johnson was actually only 16 years old.

[Annotator’s Note: Sound and video are not in sync throughout segment.] Wallace Johnson’s mother signed a paper stating that her son was 17 years old to give him permission to join the Navy. In reality, Johnson was only 16 years old. He went to a recruiting office and signed up for the Navy. When he got there, he was denied because he weighed one pound less than the standard weight for his size. Johnson went to a farmer’s market and bout two pounds of bananas. He ate the bananas in one sitting and went back to the recruiting office a few hours later. He was weighed again and this time he weighed 111 pounds which was enough to get him into the Navy. The recruiting officer knew that Johnson was lying about his age, but after his mother signed another form, he was accepted into the Navy in September 1941. He was sent to San Diego Naval Center [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] and war broke out. There were lots of rumors going around about where the Japanese would attack next. He was sent to communications school in Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois]. After six months, he completed his course and was assigned to the USS Jamestown (PG-55), which was the world’s largest yacht owned by Cadwallader Family, in Melville, Rhode Island. The Jamestown was outfitted with armor and antiaircraft guns. She became a motor torpedo boat tender. [Annotator’s Note: In the Summer of 1942,] Johnson and the crew sailed the Jamestown through the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: manmade canal in the country of Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in between North and South America] and onto New Caledonia. From there, they headed to Guadalcanal to land the 1st Marine Division for the invasion [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal, codenamed Operation Watchtower; 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. The Japanese put up resistance and attacked ships around the Jamestown, but for some reason, Johnson’s ship was left alone. They were able to make the landing for the invasion, then made another landing at Tulagi [Annotator’s Note: The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo, 7 to 9 August 1942; Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. The Japanese guarding Tulagi were imperial marines and they were tall, strongly built men who refused to surrender.

[Annotator’s Note: Sound and video are not in sync throughout segment.] Wallace Johnson served aboard the USS Jamestown (PG-55) as a quartermaster and signalman and took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942 [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal, codenamed Operation Watchtower; 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal and Tulagi, Solomon Islands]. There was heavy resistance on Tulagi. The Jamestown went on patrol at night carrying supplies to the island with Japanese forces lurking in the air and water. Johnson said it was a case of survival. His ship was so far onto the island that when they finally left Tulagi, they needed a tug to pull them out. The food was scarce and he ate rice with beetles in it because he was so hungry. During one battle in the Solomon Islands, the USS New Orleans (CA-32) was damaged and came up to the side of the USS Jamestown looking to take on water. The Jamestown received food in exchange for water. The Jamestown’s crew had to remove some dead bodies off of the USS New Orleans and place them in LCVPs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat]. It was a horrible experience. Johnson tried to understand the Japanese soldiers and why they did the things they did. After the war, he met some Japanese civilians and thought that they were beautiful people. After the USS New Orleans left, the USS Jamestown began to island hop to clear out the islands of the Japanese until they reached the Philippines. By that time, the war was coming to an end.

[Annotator’s Note: Sound and video are not in sync throughout segment.] Wallace Johnson served aboard the USS Jamestown (PG-55) as a quartermaster and signalman during World War 2. He remembered when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. He was glad the war was over. Johnson had enough points to go home [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home], but chose to reenlist because he knew he could receive an education through the Navy. He was already in school and wanted to complete the program. Johnson had an aspiration to become a pilot, but missed his opportunity when they changed the requirements from two years of college to four years of college. Luckily, he received G.I. Bill benefits [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] for his service in World War 2 and the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. He was a high-ranking chief petty officer by the time he was involved with the Korean War. He was able to purchase his own airplane. He also became a drill instructor and attended school for a commercial airplane license. He also learned to be an amateur radioman. During his service, he was sent to Kodiak, Alaska to be the assistant harbor master and piloted merchant ships to the bay. He was then sent to electronics school with 111 students, and only 11 passed the course, including Johnson. He became a chief electronics electrician. He then received orders to serve on the USS Hornet (CV-8). Johnson became a well certified Navy man. He retired from the Navy after 20 years of service. He then worked for North American Aviation as a civilian.

[Annotator’s Note: Sound and video are not in sync throughout segment.] After serving in the Navy for 20 years, Wallace Johnson worked for North American Aviation as a civilian. He worked with the Strategic Air Command and his job was to fly in B-52s [Annotator’s Note: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress] and instruct the bombardier navigators on the intricacy of the inertial navigation system. He was selected to be a test pilot for the Apollo program for NASA [Annotator’s Notes: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration] and helped get the astronauts on the moon. He also served on the USS Hornet (CV-8) for many years. Johnson talked a lot about the different astronauts and their various personalities. He spoke about the fire that happened on one of the Apollo 1 programs in which three astronauts were killed. Johnson then took part in emergency procedures for future Apollo programs.

After serving in the Navy for 20 years, Wallace Johnson worked for North American Aviation and NASA [Annotator’s Notes: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration] as a test pilot for the pilot program. He reflects on an Apollo 1 fire accident which killed three astronauts. He also talked about the dangers of being a flight instructor pilot when teaching students to fly. Johnson’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was the realization of the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] being dropped and war finally being over. He thanks Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] for making the right decision. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer fixes microphone on interviewee at 1:33:00.000.] Johnson believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. Students are not taught anything about civics. He said, “We must not lose outrdemocracy.” He believes America has lost its direction. He is glad to have been part of the Apollo projects.