Oral history interview with Donald F. Townsend [sound recording], 2000.

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Oral history interview with Donald F. Townsend [sound recording], 2000.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56910075

Donald F. Townsend, a Montfort, Wisconsin native, discusses his World War II service with the Coast Guard and his Korean War service with the Navy. Townsend talks about having difficulty enlisting in the Coast Guard because he was too short, limited preliminary training in Michigan, and armed guard duty on oil tankers using guns that he had not been trained to use. After attending Quartermaster school at Manhattan Beach (New Jersey), he touches upon assignment to the new Coast Guard cutter Buttonwood, rescuing men from a damaged ship on the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, and escorting ships along the east coast of the United States. Townsend portrays his duties and the capabilities of the Buttonwood. Sent to the South Pacific via Galapagos, he mentions escorting oiler ships, R&R in Brisbane (Australia), and requesting a transfer to improve his prospects for promotion. Assigned to the PC-590, he states he spent weeks waiting on Navy bases because the ship could not be located, and he finally caught up to it in the Solomon Islands, where they escorted convoys. Townsend addresses riding the small ship through rough seas and its use of depth charges. At Saipan and Tinian, he describes doing air/sea rescue of B-29 crews, escorting a convoy to Iwo Jima, where they could see fire from flamethrowers, and returning to the United States. Townsend discusses going over the head of a personnel officer to get leave home, brief reassignment to overseas duty on the Cor Caroli (AK-91) as retribution for his actions, and transfer to Miami (Florida), where he kept track of ships returning from Europe. Sent to Key West, Townsend mentions doing air sea rescue aboard the Coast Guard cutter Ariadne between Florida and Cuba until his discharge. He expresses regret that he didn't know enough mathematics to pass the Coast Guard Academy exam. After the war, Townsend talks about looking for work, using the "52-20" GI Bill unemployment benefits, and joining the Naval Reserve while working at Oscar Meyer in Green Bay (Wisconsin). Called to active duty in 1950 for the Korean War, he talks about assignment to the newly recommissioned USS New Jersey as a quartermaster. He comments on taking aboard Vice Admiral Martin and becoming flagship of the Seventh Fleet, based in Yokosuka (Japan). Townsend describes patrol duty, supporting the Marines with Naval gunfire, and closing shutters over the glass windows so the gun's concussion would not break them. He comments on the excellent food aboard ship and entering ship positions and casualties in a logbook. Townsend discusses the short- and long-term damage to his health from being on the bridge when the guns were fired and his failed attempts to get financial support from the Veterans Administration for hearing aids. He speaks of being discharged, attending PC-590 reunions, and hearing about a situation when his ship's gunfire fell short and prevented the retrieval of a Marine friend's body.

Sound recording : 2 sound cassettes (ca. 70 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.Master sound recording : 1 sound cassette (ca. 70 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.Transcript : 27 p.

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

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SNAC Resource ID: 7758035

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

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