Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Louie Clark

WWII | USS Haynsworth (DD-700)

At first, Louie Clark's battle station on the destroyer was on a 20mm gun. He thought that was a little too dangerous so he moved to a 5 inch gun as a loader. He describes the many weapons carried by the ship and it's role in the fleet. One duty was picking up downed fliers, which earned the crew a tasty reward. (4:52)
The pilot was ready to die. Louie Clark saw him after he crashed his kamikaze into the deck of the destroyer USS Haynsworth. There were many casualties, including a big pot of beans that caught a machine gun from the kamikaze after it crashed through the deck. Clark describes the bravery of men that day and the solemn ceremonies of the burials at sea. (9:36)
Crippled by a kamikaze attack, the USS Haynsworth limped back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The ship was sent on to California, where Ship Storekeeper Louie Clark was lucky to have a 10 day leave and he flew all the way home to Georgia. On the way back, he met some of the Iwo Jima flag raisers. By the time the ship was repaired, he had enough points to head home again. (2:54)
His ship was the destroyer USS Haynsworth. Storekeeper Louie Clark recalls the skipper, Commander Stephen Tackney and his Executive Officer Lt. Commander Scott Lothrop as very good leaders, although very strict, probably not a bad idea with 350 men on the ship. Most of the men were afraid of the Captain, but not Clark. (3:26)
If the war had not turned around, says Louie Clark, the draft age would have been lowered to 17, with the upper limit raised to 38. He hopes young people will never face that again. He also has some thoughts on the way wars have been resolved lately. (1:56)
Louis Anderson

WWII | 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group

Louis Anderson was working in a heavy equipment factory when a temporary lapse in his deferment got him a "Greetings" letter from the draft board. He left that and his deferment behind when he enlisted in the Air Corps. Flight school was a washout but he made a fine gunner so he joined a crew, picked up a new B-17 and headed for England. (2:56)
Once the B-17 crew was settled in England, the Captain replaced a couple of positions with better performers, which made them good enough to go for lead crew and lead the flights on bombing missions. Gunner Louis Anderson describes the crew shakeup and details the procedures of a bombing run. (3:54)
His first mission was memorable. B-17 gunner and Flight Engineer Louis Anderson recalls how his flight went into its bomb run at a relaxed 10,000 feet. No one knew about the new gun batteries. What had he got himself into? Later, over the Ruhr Valley, he had answered that question well enough to shoot down a German fighter. (5:44)
The guys up front had a little heat but the gunners in the back of the B-17 had none until they got heated suits. That was nice. Louis Anderson was a Flight Engineer and top turret gunner. How cold was it, Louis? (5:16)
B-17 Flight Engineer Louis Anderson relates the tale of his strange mission to Moscow. His P-51 escorts had run out of fuel and fighters from new ally Russia were scrambled to accompany them to a turnaround base. The lead fighter pilot unnerved the Americans with close passes and hot dogging. What they found when they landed was a big surprise, then vodka. (8:25)