Sam Hamilton - U.S. Naval Cadet 1952
Sam Hamilton - U.S. Naval Cadet 1952
Sam Hamilton joined the Navy as a Naval Air Cadet in 1952 near the end of the Korean Conflict. He says he wanted the Navy because as a child he was interned, with his family, by the Japanese in Manila during WWII, “I was 11 years old,” he explains. “We were interned for three years and a month. It was tough. An experience and really an adventure for a kid my age, but for my parents it was very humiliating more than anything else. At the end of our internment, because of our starvation diet, we were down to the equivalent of a slice of bread per day.” When he saw the American planes fly overhead to liberate Manila, he knew he wanted to become a pilot.
This video was produced by The Rowlinson Media Group, VERO BEACH, FL.
Watch more
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1945, USAWS is showcasing a WWII Veteran each month. Jim was born on November 7, 1927 in Brooklyn NY, he was orphaned at the age of 13 years old, and has been on his own ever since. With the country at war at that time he joined the Merchant Marine at the age of 16. He started in the engine room of a coal burning ship as a coal passer. Then transferred to the deck department. He was on ships during the North African campaign. Later he continued on ships bringing supplies in support of the D-Day Invasion and liberation of France.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1945, USAWS is showcasing a WWII Veteran each month. Claude Perasso was born in San Francisco on May 31, 1926 attending St. Ignatius and leaving before graduation to serve in the Merchant Marine during WW2 in the South Pacific at age 17. After the war Claude returned to San Francisco, attended U.S.F both undergrad and law school eventually serving in the San Francisco Public Defenders Office for sixteen years before being appointed as a judge.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1945, USAWS is showcasing a WWII Veteran each month. "It was my honor to serve my country. But it wasn't just me, I would say my whole generation, the spirit in those days, the spirit in the barracks, the spirit. Nobody ever complained. It was just a wonderful, wonderful thing the way the whole country came together." - Justin Kawaler, Making 103 Years Old Look Good
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1945, USAWS is showcasing a WWII Veteran each month.