Willie Wesley Thompson was born in April 1918 in Modeste, Louisiana. His paternal grandparents were former slaves and his maternal grandfather was a minister and musician. His father was an engineer on an old locomotive and ran tugboats up and down the river [Annotator's Note:the Mississipi River]. His father was killed in an automobile accident right after World War 2 began. Thompson's mother had to care for eight of her nine children without her husband. But with the help of Thompson and his older brother, she was able to persevere. His mother was determined to give her children an upbringing that involved religion and education. Thompson is very proud of his family's accomplishments and his children's accomplishments and how they faced adversity at times. Both of his children received stellar educations and graduated with high degrees. Education is an important asset for Thompson, and he made sure to pass it to his children.

Willie Wesley Thompson's grandmother, who had been a slave, remembered when she was seven years old the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and slaves were celebrating. His family was raised to hold education as the most important thing to strive for. Thompson grew up on his family farm and worked for his neighbor for a dollar a day. His grandfather had been a slave, a skilled laborer, before the Civil War. He continued in skilled labor when he became free.

Willie Wesley Thompson was drafted into the Navy in 1941 or 1942 and became part of the 14th Special Seabee unit [Annotator's Note: 14th Special Naval Construction Battalion]. He did his basic training at Camp Peary [Annotator's Note: Williamsburg, Virginia]. His father had died while he was in training. Thompson's older brother had to help his mother raise the remaining six children. All his siblings were successful in their education and career endeavors, even through adversity. He remembered the camp was in the middle of the wilderness, and Thompson accumulated easily because he grew up in a field. He also knew a lot about ships because he worked on the docks on the riverfront [Annotator's Note: Mississippi Riverfront].

When Willie Wesley Thompson volunteered for the service, the Navy told him he did not have to go because he had bad teeth, but Thompson wanted to join anyway. He was assigned to a special naval construction battalion [Annotator's Note: 14th Special Naval Construction Battalion]. He recalled not receiving too much training because the Navy was rushing his regiment [Annotator's Note: 20th Naval Construction Regiment] to deployment. He was deployed out of California to Hawaii and stayed at an airbase for a while. Then his whole company was assigned to a barge to send them overseas. The officers on board the barge were all White men. Thompson also noticed that all the men with high ranks had more education than him, even though he was one of the older men in his company. After World War 2, he took classes at Xavier University [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] in carpentry and mechanics.

Willie Wesley Thompson recalled a time when the ship his company was on was being bombed and he was holding on for dear life, hoping the next bomb would not hit him. Thompson recalled the Whites were separated from the Blacks while stationed on the barge. He thought everyone got along fine with the exception or one or two guys. He remarked that the Blacks did not receive any stripes like the White servicemen. Thompson believes that he saw one of the Kennedy brothers while in the Pacific and he commented on the hat that Thompson was wearing. Thompson's company headquarters was on a barge, but the sailors in the company may have been put on various ships to do work for a certain amount of time, but always returned to the barge when the work was done. His duty mostly entailed loading and unloading ships. Thompson remembered seeing bombed islands with dead people on it, and it made him very sad.

Willie Wesley Thompson was presented with an American flag [Annotator's Note: The interviewee holds a flag in his hands] that flew over the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on 18 October 2004 in his honor for the heroic actions he took in the South Pacific. The D-Day Center [Annotator's Note: then The National D-Day Museum, now The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] gave him recognition as well and it was a proud day for Thompson. He believes every young person should consider the military because it can lead you into other avenues. [Annotator's Note: Thompson points to the Navy Commendation Medal on his coat] and explained that it is a commendation medal. [Annotator's Note: Thompson shows two challenge coins in his hand.] He explained that high ranking officers only have these coins and pass them out to people they think deserve the recognition of the coins.

Willie Wesley Thompson was trained on weapons and they considered making him a sharpshooter. As a Seabee [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions], his group had their own living quarters and was given good food. Thompson was assigned to the Pacific Theater and he recalled two instances when he saved a man's life. A man went overboard, and he jumped into the water and brought him to the surface. He was credited with saving his life. Another time, he was on a Higgins boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] and was waiting to transfer to a ship. As the person in front of him stepped up to board the ship, his leg got suck between the ship and landing craft. Thompson came to his rescue and picked the man up and jumped into the landing craft [Annotator's Note: The interviewer stops the interview to change tapes.] Years later, he met a young decorated Navy man and told him about his time in the Navy during World War 2. The Navy man told him he would make sure he would receive the proper medals for his actions. Thompson explained the reason he did not receive his medals is because he was a person of color. He was honored at a Navy ball and received the medals he should have been awarded years ago.