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John Laster

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Naval Armed Guard John Laster was proud of his proficiency at his task of loading the deck guns on Liberty Ships. He describes the procedure and details the guns and different shells. (3:04)

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"Jawga Boy" John Laster enlisted in the Navy and was trained to be an armed guard, a member of a gunnery crew protecting vital war supplies on Liberty Ships. (6:12)

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His first ship assignment and voyage was memorable. Naval Armed Guard John Laster was knocked out by a loose firing lanyard and, later, had to help round up 500 monkeys, who were bound stateside for research, after their cage broke open. (11:45)

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As John Laster steamed into The Mediterranean aboard the SS Joseph McKenna, German soldiers tracked it through the Straits of Gibraltar from positions in the hills above. Just out of New York on the return, a ship ahead suffered a sub strike. (10:20)

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When the Liberty Ships he was guarding rode the really big waves, the entire ship would tremble, according to John Laster. He remembers being more afraid of storms than the enemy. (1:59)

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On his second trip aboard the SS Joseph MacKenna, armed guard John Laster experienced his most intense combat of the war when his convoy suffered a heavy air attack off the coast of North Africa. Part 1/2 (10:07)

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The training continued after deployment for Naval Armed Guard John Laster. He recalls gunnery training in a tent in the Iranian desert, firing mocked up guns at projected combat films. (2:58)

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The SS Arthur Dobbs had the toughest armed guards in the fleet, according to John Laster, so tough they were thrown out of Egypt after an epic bar fight with British soldiers. Assigned to the SS Glenn Curtiss, they finished war duty in Tinian. (8:11)

John Lummus

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Draftee John Lummus asked for the Air Corps but that service was full so he chose the Navy. He figured at least he would have a bed. Then he fell ill during basic training, which accidentally set his future course in the Hospital Corps. (5:19)

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Out of basic, the first assignment for John Lummus was to open a pre-radio school for Naval trainees in an old high school in Chicago. A request from his pastor back home in Georgia led to a memorable visit. (4:16)