Embedded Files
Transcript of Interview
:03 BE - State your name
:05 J - John T. Twohig
:08 BE - What was your rank?
:11 J - Bosom Mate First Class
:13 BE - For someone who hasn’t been to war, could you describe what that was like for us?
:21 J - You had to be on your guard at all times.
:26 BE - What was it like being on that boat every day?
:29 J - Water,…. you don’t call it a boat, it’s a ship.
:41 BE - What was your darkest memory?
:51 J - Leaving your home.
:56 BE - How did your family feel about you leaving?
1:00 J - They felt bad about it.
1:06 BC - What was your role in the war?
1:10 J -The boats are made first class, as I told you.
1:14 BE - What did that entail?
1:18 J - It’s simple if you had a book on it, you’ve got to run the crew.
1:29 BC - How did you keep in contact with family and friends?
1:35 J - I wrote them letters.
1:39 BE - What were the things you’d write, I miss you..?
1:50 J - Miss you, love you.
1:58 BC - What injuries did you sustain while on the ship?
2:04 J - Eyesight.
2:06 BE - How did that happen?
2:08 J - I don’t know. It just came on me.
2:14 BC - Did your family have any opinions of you going to war?
2:19 J - They didn’t like the war…. But it had to be one that we had to do it.
2:33 BC - What were the conditions like on the ship? Rough? Calm?
2:36 J - Good.
2:42 BC - What was your first initial thought going to war on that ship?
2:49 J - I never gave it much of an initial, I just went and did my job.
2:54 BE - Did you enlist or were you drafted or conscripted?
2:58 J - I enlisted.
3:04 BC - If so, what was your happiest moment in the war?
3:09 J - When I discharged.
3:16 BE - For someone going into the war today, would you give them any advice?
3:21 J - Keep your nose clean and do what you’re told.
3:33 BE - What was an important lesson you learned going into the war? To follow orders?
3:42 J - Follow orders.
4:00 BE - How do you feel now looking back at that experience? How do you feel now?
4:05 J - I’m sorry to see so many men got killed.
4:10 BE - What was that like?
4:15 BC - Was that hard for you?
4:18 J - It was bad, I’ll say that.
4:26 BE - Were any of your closer friends taken?
4:30 J - My friends were what?
4:35 BE - Were any of them killed in action?
4:38 J - No, thank god.
5:00 BE - Did you make a lot of friendships joining the war, or did your friends at home join with you?
5:08 J - No I made a lot of friends joining the war?
5:11 BE - So they were mostly just stationed on your ship?
5:13 J - Yes.
5:16 BE - Was that kind of one big community there?
5:18 J - Yes.
5:25 BE - My uncle was in the navy once and he said it was just one big town on a boat.
5:40 BC - What was a typical day like on the ship?
5:45 J - Same as the one we just had.
5:54 BC - What was the most important lesson you learned during your service?
6:00 J - Do what I was told.
6:08 BC - How did u feel when u came home from the war?
6:11 J - Happy.
6:14 BE - What was the first thing you really did, just see your family?
6:17 J - Hug my wife.
6:20 BE - That’s great.
6:26 BC - What were your meals like in the service?
6:29 J – Just ordinary meals.
6:35 BE – Did they give you your favorite hamburger and baked macaroni?
6:38 J – The baked macaroni I used to like.
6:48 BC – If you could go back in time what would you do differently?
6:55 J – I’d keep the country’s defense ready to fight a war, and I wouldn’t be lackadaisical and let things slip.
7:10 BE – OK.
7:22 BC – If your children wanted to go to war, how would you feel about that?
7:27 J – My children wouldn’t want to go to war. I had all girls.
7:35 BE – What if they just randomly told you Dad I want to go off and fight how would you feel about that would you approve of that?
7:45 J – No, I wouldn’t approve of it.
7:53 BC – Overall how has the war affected or changed your life?
7:59 J – It hasn’t changed my life any, I just go on the same as I was before. I went to work as an American and did my job. OK? Do you like the interview so far?
8:20 BE – Oh yeah.
8:27 BC – Did you feel that the overall experience was a positive or negative one?
8:33 J – What’s that again?
8:29 BC – Did you feel that your experience on the ship was a positive or negative experience?
8:42 J – Positive.
8:45 BC – How come?
8:49 J – Well, there was always something to look forward to.
8:54 BC – Did you bring back any souvenirs from the war?
9:00 J – Yeah I brought back a coconut that fell out of a tree that I picked up on the shore.
9:08 BC - Oh really?
9:12 BE – While you were on the ship were you ever attacked?
9:22 J – We were lucky we were never attacked.
9:26 BE – Did you ever have to hear anything on the radio about a friendly ship being attacked?
9:30 J – No.
9:40 BC – Did you ever see combat on your ship?
9:42 J – No we never had to.
9:49 BE – How about when you went up on shore did you ever have to?
9:55 J – I just minded my own business.
10:00 J – Is that it?
10:09 BE – No we’ve got some more.
10:19 BC – What was it like living in the war zone, was it hard for you? Was it busy?
10:23 J – What? Busy?
10:25 BC – Yeah.
10:30 J – Oh sure.
10:31 BE – What was it like in the war zone?
10:35 J – You had to be on your feet. You had to be on your toes ready for trouble. You couldn’t be sleeping and snoozing.
10:40 BE – No.
10:45 BC – When you first entered the war, what did you think it was going to be like?
11:15 J – (Pause) I just went and did my duty.
11:26 BC – What were your living conditions during the war?
11:30 J – Well it wasn’t like at home. You had to roughen up.
11:35 BC – Did you have to sleep in bunks with other men?
11:39 BE – Was it really cramped in the living space?
11:41 J – Oh yeah. It was tight, we slept in a hammock.
11:49 BE – Oh really? Do you remember an estimate of how many people were on that ship?
11:55 J – The crew or the troops we lugged?
11:55 BE – Oh, I didn’t know there were both. How about just the crew?
12:00 J – The crew, there were over 400.
12:05 BE – What was the name of the ship that you served on?
12:10 J – The USSS General HL Scott.
12:19 BC – Was your ship the more popular ship?
12:23 J – It was a troop ship.
12:25 BE – So you had to deliver troops?
12:26 J – Yep.
12:30 BC – How much sleep did you get on an average night?
12:33 J – Probably 5 hours.
12:45 BC – Did you feel that you had good enough training to engage in the war?
12:49 J – Yes I did.
12:54 BE – What was the training like? Did you have to go a lot of physical work?
12:58 J – Just do what we were told.
13:02 BC – What did you miss most while you were at war?
13:13 J – I’m glad it’s over.
13:20 BE – What was one of the first things you ate when you got back that the ship didn’t have?
13:25 J – Fresh water.
13:35 BC – What motivated you to join the army?
13:45 J – I had no motivation, I just did what I was told.
13:50 BE – Were you told to join?
13:52 J – No. I just felt that’s where I belonged. To help my country.
14:04 BC – Out of all the time you spent in service on that ship, can you describe the one event that will always pop into your head when you think of the war?
14:15 J – When we buried one of our shipmates at sea.
14:21 BE – How did you do that?
14:25 J – The sail maker would sew him up in a canvas bag and then we would put the body on top of a board and
the Captain would come down with the Chaplain and we would say prayers over him. Then they would lift the board up and the body would slide off the board and into the sea.
14:50 BE – How did that guy get killed?
14:55 J – He died of natural causes.
14:58 BC – Was that hard for you?
15:02 J – Well I felt bad for his family.
15:05 BC – Did you know the man personally?
15:09 J – No I didn’t.
15:14 BE – How did your family react when you came home from war?
15:18 J – They were happy. They were happy I was home.
15:25 BE – With endless hugs and everything?
15:30 J – Yeah. Any more questions?
15:43 BE – Yeah.
15:50 BC – Did you have any everyday thoughts or daydreams about anything?
16:00 J – I think what I did yesterday or the day before.
16:08 BE – You never thought oh, I wish I was back home right now? You just wanted to do your service?
16:15 J – I wanted to do my job and go home.
16:45 BE – Were there any days that were more busy than others or is it just continuously working and following orders?
16:52 J – Working and following orders.
16:54 BC – Really? That must have been tiring.
16:56 J – Yeah.
16:59 BE – Was it just constant fixing up the ship and preparing everything?
17:05 J – We kept the ship neat and clean every day.
17:10 BE – So every day you’d just wake up and wash it?
17:11 J – Yep. Kept it neat and clean. Whenever there was an inspection called we were ready. You following me?
17:21 BE – Yeah. Were you called into the war right when it started, or did you join midway through?
17:45 J – I joined.
17:52 BC – Were there ever points in the war that you just wanted to give up and go home?
17:58 J – No.
17:59 BC – You just kept with it?
18:02 J - I knew there was a job to be done and we had to stay there and finish it. Now that’s a foolish question.
18:10 BE – Was that everyone’s attitude?
18:12 J – Sure. We had a job to do.
18:20 BE – If we gave up, we would have lost.
18:27 J – No, we stayed there and did our job. And we went without. A lot of people back home were having everything they wanted. And we had nothing.
18:50 BE – When you enlisted in the army, what was the first thing they did? Did you go right on the ship?
19:00 J – Practically right away.
19:05 BC – Did you get right to work?
19:10 J – Yeah I got right to work. I didn’t go in there to stall (?) around. Get out on the deck and under people’s feet. We had a job to do and we did it. You guys didn’t go through that.
19:25 BE – No, we didn’t. Me, I don’t know if I would go. You’re a very brave person to go to war.
19:40 J – (Coughs). I’ve got this cold I can’t get rid of. Did you see the picture of my ship on the wall?
20:08 BE – Yeah we did we actually have it right here. I like that picture a lot.
20:15 J – That’s good. Yeah, I liked it.
20:25 BC – Yeah, that’s a pretty big ship.
20:27 BE – It’s massive.
20:30 J – We also went through the Panama Canal.
20:34 BE – Oh, you did? What was it like going through there?
20:40 J – Today? Oh it would be the same thing.
21:00 BC – You mentioned the crew. Approximately how many troops were on the ship?
21:03 BE – Yeah besides the 400 crew?
21:09 J – About 5,000 troops.
21:10 BC – Really?
21:15 BE – Were you guys separated on the ship or did you all work together on the ship?
21:18 J – We all worked together.
21:22 BC – What were some of the jobs you did on the ship, besides cleaning it and keeping it ready?
21:26 J – Scraping the old paint off and putting on new paint.
21:32 BE – So that boat was just constant maintenance?
21:38 J – It was just constant maintenance.
21:43 BC – What did you do before you joined the war?
21:46 J – I worked for the State.
21:50 BE – Doing what?
21:52 J – I worked on the highways as a state engineer.
21:58 BE – And when you got back from the war, is that what you went back and did?
22:01 J – Yep. (Pause). Did you say your mother worked here at this establishment
22:25 BE – Yes.
22:50 BC – Would you rather be working for the State or saving your country?
22:53 J – I’d rather be working for my country – saving my country. My country’s more important to me.
23:20 BE – If you could describe your experiences throughout the war, the whole time in the boat, on land, in one word, what would you describe it as?
23:30 J – I had a job to do and I did it.
23:35 BE – So what would your one word be to describe it?
23:38 J – Good.
24:00 BE – How do you feel about the war going on today, how do you feel about the President sending –
24:05 J – Waste of time.
24:10 BE – So how do you feel about President Obama sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan?
24:15 J – I’m against it. Would you like to go over there?
24:23 BE – Not really for the reasons we’re doing it. So would you not enlist today if you had the opportunity to because it’s not the cause that you would like?
24:36 J – I’d enlist today if I was needed. How do you like the interview so far?
24:54 BC – Good.
24:58 J – Good?
25:00 BE – Oh yeah. How do you think you would feel if you were drafted or conscripted instead of enlisting? Would you still want to work for your country because you love it here?
25:25 J – I’d rather work for my country.
25:40 BE – Oh yeah, John, did you receive any medals or awards when you returned form your service or during?
25:50 J – Just my badge they –
25:53 BE – Were you proud when they gave that to you?
25:58 J – Yeah, it was a ribbon I had to wear that I was in the South Pacific.
26:00 BE – Do you still own that?
26:04 J – Yep.
26:15 BE – If you could go back in time would you do things differently or would you still do as you did before?
26:30 J – If I could go back in time, I’d keep the country up at full power so we wouldn’t be invaded again.
26:40 BE – Yeah, so if you had command you’d do it that way.
26:42 J – Yeah.
26:45 BE – That’s good.
26:52 J – How would you like to have to go fight for your country?
27:00 BE – I mean, today for the reasons that we’re doing it, I don’t know that I would enjoy that but back then if it was defending our country, I’d go because I’m loyal to our country. I’m not really old enough right now, but –
27:17 J – You will be. I believe in full military conscription. Every man should eventually spend a year of his life in training and help defend his country. Do you like that?
27:54 BE – Yeah. We just have a couple more questions. Did you ever get to meet any high-ranking officers in the army or was it a Captain on your boat that you take orders from?
28:35 J – Yeah it was fine. I was proud to take orders from him.
29:25 BE – John, did you ever get the chance to see the movie “Saving Private Ryan”?
29:30 J – No.
29:35 BE – It’s been told that it’s one of the most accurate depictions of war. I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten the chance to see it. That’s what some veterans have said that have seen the movie. But it was mostly based on the invasion on D-day, and I don’t think it was really aimed towards the South Pacific.
29:45 BE – John, that’s all the questions we have.
30:00 J – OK, nice having you fellows here.
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