Interviewed by:

Andrew Chartier and Dylan Kaeselau

"I was lucky, God was on my side."

~ Basil Santos

Basil Santos' Story:

Basil Santos was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts during the great depression. He worked all of his childhood to put food on the table. He worked many different jobs ranging from fishing on the pier to shoveling coal, never leaving Provincetown until he joined the Navy Air Force at the age of 18. Although in today's world the Navy no longer has an Air Force, in 1942 it was a strong part of the Navy. He was sent off to Miami Florida to be trained. After his training there, he was sent to Poland to conduct sub patrols in the Atlantic. He served as a tail gunner who had a life expectancy of 7 seconds if the plane were to be shot at. The tail gunner would be the first one to die in the event of an attack because of their position in the plane. He then went on to be stationed on the Midway air craft carrier fussing mines and charges. He was traveling all around the atlantic making stops in such places as Cuba and England. After his duty in the Navy he went into the restaurant business for 63 years. Today he is retired and still living in Provincetown Massachusetts. He is married and has children of his own with grandchildren. He never kept in touch with any of the men he met in the service.