William Currier was born in Westbrook, Maine in 1926. He grew up with two brothers and was raised by his parents. Currier's father was a house painter by trade and his mother took care of the home. Currier does not remember being affected by the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945] because he felt like he was the same as all his neighbors. Life was good as far as he knew. He ate very well because his mother had a garden and kept chickens. Currier's father was an infantry veteran of World War 1, so they often discussed the current events of Europe and Japan. His father thought Germany and Japan had much stronger militaries than the United States and that the country was not forward thinking in preparing for war. His family was in a state of shock when they heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Currier was very angry and was ready to fight that day. For six months, he worked in a shipyard, but Currier soon joined the military in part because of the influence of his father. He felt needed but also joined because he and his brother, Arthur, were inseparable. They did everything together. To his mother's dismay, Currier left high school to enlist in the Navy at 17 years old. His father supported his decision to join and signed Currier's papers to enlist. He was then sent to Newport, Rhode Island for basic training. Currier grew up in one day. At home, he had the support of his family, school, and church, but when he got to boot camp, he was nothing but a Navy recruit. After he completed training, he was sent to Boston [Annotator's Note: Boston, Massachusetts] and assigned to the USS Hall (DD-583). When the Navy found out he knew Morse Code, they sent him to test in radar. He was sent to radar school and graduated after the year he was assigned to the USS Hall. The ship would go on shakedowns [Annotator's Note: a cruise to evaluate the performance of a naval vessel and its crew] off the coast of Maine [Annotator's Note: 11 August 1943]. During this time, the Navy men had to qualify for guns. Sometime in October 1943, they joined a fleet.

William Currier's first seagoing engagement was aboard the USS Hall (DD-583) as part of a task group that escorted Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] across the Atlantic [Annotator's Note: Atlantic Ocean] to the Tehran Conference [Annotator's Note: a meeting of Roosevelt; Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; and Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, Prime Minister, United Kingdom; 28 November to 1 December 1943, Tehran, Persia; now Tehran, Iran]. His ship then docked in Sierra Leone, Africa. The people there were very friendly and welcoming. Then they left to perform antisubmarine duties off the coast of West Africa. They escorted President Roosevelt on the return to the United States after the completion of the conference [Annotator's Note: 6 December 1943]. They docked in Charleston, South Carolina. Not long after, the USS Hall received orders to proceed to the Pacific [Annotator's Note: 21 December 1943]. The loneliest moment of Currier's life was Christmas 1943 because he was away from his family. The day after Christmas his ship went through the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: Panama Canal, Panama]. Going to the Pacific was a new experience for him. He knew he was going into combat but did not know what to expect. The first captain of the ship, John Delaney [Annotator's Note: US Navy Commander John Francis Delaney, Jr.], was a great guy and a war hero. Currier respected him very much because he got down and dirty with everyone else. Daily life on board for Currier was waking up early in the morning and going to general quarters [Annotator's Note: battle stations]. They were not required to salute the officers but had to call them "sir." They did not wear a specific uniform unless they were in port. They were required to do four hour watch rotations and were given work assignments. His assignment was to assist the radio technician. Their first duty in the Pacific was the Marshall Islands. Since they were the command ship of their squadron, they had a one-star [Annotator's Note: US Navy Rear Admiral] commodore on board. They were part of the bombardment group that bombarded the island [Annotator's Note: Taroa Island, Maloelap Atoll, Marshall Islands, 30 January 1944]. By the time they were done, not one tree was standing on the island. Currier would be working in the radar room trying to keep track of enemy planes. He had never been so busy trying to keep up with the signals. During serious combat they would rotate the radar duties to give everyone a break from their jobs. Their mission at the Marshall Islands completed after a week.

While serving aboard the USS Hall (DD-583) in the Marshall Islands, William Currier helped search for a downed Marine flyer near Wotje [Annotator's Note: Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands], the USS Hall received two six inch shells close aboard from an enemy shore battery, even though they were told there were no major batteries. Suffering one sailor killed, the USS Hall returned the fire, continued her search, and finally rescued the airman. His ship was patched up by tender ships and they were back for duty in a matter of days. Hall next joined the escort for a group of supply ships to the Mariana Islands. The Japanese would send out observer planes, who would then spot them. By the following day, Japanese battleships would be in the area causing trouble. The next major mission was to the Philippines. They arrived at Leyte Gulf [Annotator's Note: Leyte Gulf, Philippines] and his ship was with the assault group. They were responsible for supporting the troops and covering them with the initial shore bombardments. Then the Hall would sail around to protect the troop ships and supply ships. When the troops needed more support, the Hall came in with fire support. Currier's duty was to work in the radar room. The first ship he saw sunk was due to a kamikaze plane. Currier's ship was ordered to stay with that ship until it was completely submerged because they did not want the Japanese to take it. It was difficult to track kamikazes by radar because they would come over land at 250 miles per hour. This gave ships less than a minute to respond. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Currier how he felt at the time of kamikazes.] He just did not realize the big picture of everything in the moment. He was given a duty to perform, and he did his duty. He did not know the full effect of what was going on until after the event was over. His ship was part of the attacks on Mindoro [Annotator's Note: Mindoro, Philippines] and Luzon [Annotator's Note: Luzon, Philippines]. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea [Annotator's Note: 19 to 20 June 1944], they assisted the troops with fire support and were also on standby but never had to make any major assaults.

William Currier [Annotator's Note: while serving as a radarman aboard the USS Hall (DD-583)] headed to Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] to assist troops with fire support. Minesweepers were called in because the waters were full of mines. The Japanese planes would fly out of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] about 40 at a time. There was shrapnel flying everywhere because the ship just open fired on the planes. His ship's guns hit a plane so close by that the wing landed on their deck. Currier knew that the Marines were going through a tough time. The Hall was responsible for providing an antiaircraft screen around the troopships and supply ships. His duty was to monitor the radar screen, so he did not see what was going on outside. His ship was at general quarters [Annotator's Note: battle stations] for four solid days. The Japanese flew their planes in constant relays that would keep them awake. Currier would not have traded places with the Marines on the land. [Annotator's Note: There is a break in the video at 0:55:42.000.] After their mission at Iwo Jima was completed, they went to Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands] to resupply and rest before heading to Okinawa. While at Ulithi, they received a good meal, watched a movie, and got mail. Currier corresponded with a girlfriend, mother, and brother, Arthur. When they reached Okinawa, their mission was to assist troops with fire support during the invasion. The island was bigger than Iwo Jima with a larger civilian population. During the invasion, his squadron lost two ships. His squadron was assigned to go into Naha Bay [Annotator's Note: Naha, Okinawa] as gunnery support ships when the USS Halligan (DD-584) hit a mine and the ship was totaled [Annotator's Note: 26 March 1945]. Half the crew was killed. On the last day at Okinawa before they would return to the United States, the USS Hall was hit by a kamikaze plane. Several Navy men perished after an explosion.

William Currier [Annotator's Note: while serving as a radarman aboard the USS Hall (DD-583)] headed back to the United States after completing a mission at Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He was able to take leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] while they were stationed at San Pedro [Annotator's Note: San Pedro, California], and the ship was being repaired. His ship had fired so much that the guns had to be replaced. Currier got a plane ticket to Boston [Annotator's Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. While at the airport, he asked a girl to give him a kiss because he had not had one in three years. The girl obliged. When he returned to San Pedro after a 30 day leave, the war had ended. He was relieved to hear that the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] because he was slated to take part in the invasion of Japan. The ship was decommissioned in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] in 1946. Currier was discharged from the Navy in February 1946 in Boston. He decided not to stay in the Navy because he other plans with his life. He got his GED [Annotator's Note: General Education Diploma] and went to work at a paper mill for over 40 years. For years, he harbored animosity towards the Japanese. Currier feels blessed to have come home, meet the love of his life, start a family, and continue to have good health into his 90s. He considers himself old-fashioned because he and his wife had only the support of each other to be successful. Today people need government programs to be successful, and he thinks it is wrong.

William Currier's most memorable experience of World War 2 was his first day at boot camp. He grew up in one day. He served because he thought he was needed and wanted to fight for his country. The war changed his life because he learned to appreciate other cultures. Also, it matured him because after the war he wanted to get married and settle down. The war has become a major part of his life in his later years. He believes America would not exist today if the military did not fight in World War 2. He believes it is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] to teach future generations because there are strong lessons to learn. Currier met nice people while serving in the Navy and kept up with some of them. There was an officer who was a tap dancer by profession. He asked Currier to box with him and Currier did not last very long because the officer moved his feet so fast. Currier's hometown [Annotator's Note: Westbrook, Maine] was greatly affected by the war due to rationing and several of the boys were killed in combat.