Warren R. Schmitt was born in May 1921 in the Irish Channel [Annotator's Note: a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana]. After eight years, his family moved to Hammond, Louisiana due to his father's health. His father worked on carriages until the onset of automobiles. He became an automobile trimmer until the Depression. His father then worked for the WPA [Annotator's Note: Works Progress Administration]. Money was scarce during the Depression. Warren Schmitt attended grammar school but did not attend high school. Schmitt went to work early in life and held multiple jobs. In October 1941, he became an entry level shipyard welder. He was promoted to leader-man and received a deferment because of the significance of his work to the war effort. That deferment continued until he was drafted into the Navy. At that point, the draft took many men who had previously been allowed to have a deferment. Schmitt was at a baby Christening when he heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He worked with the air raid warden during that time. Before the draft, Schmitt had worked with the Coast Guard protecting the river front wharves and the raw materials coming in from Central and South America. He was trained on a cold night to use a .38 special caliber pistol. He carried it as his sidearm while on guard duty. He was prepared to use it if the situation demanded. He still has his Coast Guard uniform.

Warren Schmitt was sent to San Diego after he was drafted. He had six weeks of training. Some of the young men could not take the discipline, but Schmitt had no problem with it. His prior Coast Guard training provided some help. Perhaps his German ancestry helped him too. He knew he had to serve during the war. He used his welding skills while in the Navy. He worked with his hands all his life. He became an Aviation Metalsmith 3rd class. He went aboard the USS Savo Island (CVE-78) in May 1944. The first assignment was a shakedown cruise from San Diego to San Francisco. The ship ferried planes to Pearl Harbor. A change out of some of the planes occurred prior to shipping out to Guadalcanal. From there it was back to Pearl Harbor to take on more planes needing repair stateside. During the voyage, Schmitt manufactured a model of a P-38 Lightning [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft] out of spent ammunition casings. Having returned to San Diego, some corrections were made on the ship prior to picking up the squadron of flyers who had trained in Seattle. The runway on the escort carrier was much shorter than that of the larger carriers. The pilots had to practice on the ground before qualifying to fly off the Savo Island. Prior to deployment, the carrier went to San Francisco. En route, the swells in the ocean nearly made Schmitt seasick. Daily duty for Schmitt involved making fire bombs for the planes to drop on the beach to burn up brush. Schmitt also had mess hall duty. His duty station as a metalsmith was near the stern of the ship.

Warren Schmitt and the USS Savo Island (CVE-78) sailed for their first enemy encounter at Peleliu Island. Despite advanced aerial bombardment of the island by carrier planes, the Japanese had heavy artillery hidden in caves that decimated the assaulting Marines. The Savo Island contributed planes for bombing and strafing runs. When the aircraft returned, they required servicing and sometimes repair to get back into the air. The torpedo bombers had to use the inadequate hydraulic operated catapults to aid them during takeoff. The British steam operated catapults were far more efficient than the American hydraulic equipment. Schmitt helped launch the planes and also repaired damage on some of the returning shot up aircraft. The Savo Island and its planes were prime targets for the enemy. Planes had to be defueled and inert gas or seawater pumped into the fuel tanks prior to striking down into the hanger deck. That process aided in preventing catastrophic vapor explosions below the flight deck. The heavy load of aviation gasoline onboard the carrier gave Schmitt concerns about being hit by a kamikaze.

Warren Schmitt witnessed a kamikaze attack on his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Savo Island (CVE-78)}. The attacker received a significant amount of fire from the carrier's defensive weapons. That caused the pilot to miss his main target. He passed closely over Schmitt's position and ultimately crashed into the topside of the ship. The ship's radar was disabled as a result. The ship's side shell plating was punctured by shrapnel above the waterline and refueling lines were damaged. That action occurred during the time Savo Island was in the Inland Sea of the Philippines. There was a feeling of helplessness when the attacker bore down on the carrier. Schmitt's shipboard group was broken down to prevent one hit from taking them all out. The decision was made to not allow more than one quarter of the ship to take R&R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation] in case an emergency required the ship to leave hastily. The ship could still function properly under those conditions.

Warren Schmitt and his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Savo Island (CVE-78)] participated in five invasions from Peleliu through the Philippines campaign. The carrier was on standby for the Iwo Jima invasion. A different squadron had to be taken aboard to replace pilots lost in the prior battles. Okinawa was the last battle for the ship and the war. Schmitt did his work as assigned. He and his unit had to often work late into the night to prepare the planes for the action the next day. Japanese rifle fire on the carrier aircraft could be quite heavy sometimes. MacArthur [Annotator's Note: US Army General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] entered Leyte when the area was well secured. At Leyte, the carrier was chased by a Japanese fleet on 24 October 1944. Its planes had sortied to the beach to provide ground support to the troops prior to the carrier being pursued by the Japanese. Savo Island withdrew as quickly as it could. A smokescreen shielded the carriers as they recovered their planes. The rearmed planes attacked the Japanese fleet which withdrew after six hours. Savo Island was caught in a typhoon. A torpedo bomber attempted to land during the rough seas. It bounded over the carrier's protective barrier. Two planes were pushed over the side by the errant bomber. It damaged a total of 11 planes. Schmitt witnessed other dramatic landings while aboard the carrier. When a destroyer picked up a pilot and brought him back to the carrier, it would be rewarded with a supply of ice cream. When Schmitt had downtime, he tried to catch up on his rest because of his long work hours. Food consisted of Australian mutton. The men disliked it. Fresh potatoes were stored on the fantail. When they started rotting, it smelled horrible. A five inch gun fired on the fantail would shake the whole ship. Spent shells were dropped overboard just like excessively damaged airplanes. Schmitt corresponded with family back home as well as a young lady he met on a train. Schmitt was not a drinker during his service, but the war did have its share of alcoholics.

When Warren Schmitt returned from Okinawa, he had to be sent to San Diego for hospitalization. By the time he recovered, his ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Savo Island (CVE-78)] had gone to Alaska for preparation for the invasion of Japan. The Savo Island was in Japan for the signing of the peace treaty. It received the Presidential Unit Citation. Schmitt was on leave during that time. He ultimately had the opportunity to be assigned to the 8th Naval District in New Orleans. He transferred to Norfolk, Virginia and then Newport, Rhode Island. There was little for him to do in either billet. He volunteered for fire station assignment in the latter. He went to New York for entertainment. During this time, he had surgery and obtained recovery leave. He stayed in New York during that leave. He was discharged in May 1946 after being sent to the Naval Air Station on the Lakefront [Annotator's Note: New Orleans Lakefront, Louisiana]. Schmitt spent four years in the Weekend Warrior [Annotator's Notes: the Naval Reserve] program. In 1950, he was sent overseas to Guam. Living conditions were very bad. He worked maintenance and fire department duties. He went on to service aircraft on the flight line. The assignment of personnel was rather random. Schmitt obtained his third and final discharge in 1954.

Warren Schmitt had negative feelings about the Japanese before and during the war. The kamikazes had no respect for their own life. The Japanese guards for the Philippine and American prisoners had no respect for their captives. Information aboard Schmitt's ship [Annotator's Note: the USS Savo Island (CVE-78)] was limited during the war. Schmitt felt what the Nazis did to the Jews was terrible. The dropping of the atomic bombs was justified. He was recently discharged from a hospital and remembers the huge celebrations. Schmitt did not have any flight time until he was in the Reserves or "Weekend Warriors." His most memorable event of World War 2 was when the kamikaze attacked his ship. He served because he was drafted. The war changed his life by making him more risk averse. If the war had been lost, things would have been different in the United States. The blacks would have been put back into slavery. The foreigners today are entering the country in too many numbers. They do not learn the English language like immigrants had to learn in previous generations. Schmitt's father was the 17th child and had to conform to the standards of the country. World War 2 helped make this country prosperous. Another war like it would not see the manufacturing capability in this country. The United States has given away most of its technological advantages. Institutions like The National WWII Museum are important. Education of young people about the war is necessary so they understand the sacrifices made by the country at that time. Schmitt gave his youth to the war effort.