Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008 Track: 1 of 1

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Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008 (Text)

Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Jowdy. Jowdy enlisted in the Navy in July 1942 at the age of 15, with his parents’ consent. His first assignment was pulling bodies out of sunken ships in Pearl Harbor. At Guadalcanal, his ship was torpedoed. Due to the presence of enemy subs, he could not be rescued initially and spent two weeks floating in a raft. Then he joined a rescue effort to aid the USS Wasp (CV-7), only to be torpedoed again, spending another four days in the water. Jowdy was then assigned to the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), patrolling the Bering Sea and participating in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands as a second loader on a 40-millimeter. After witnessing the Marianas Turkey Shoot and also seeing MacArthur film his famous return, Jowdy participated in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, amidst kamikazes and suicide boats. After the war, he survived a typhoon and served occupation duty in Japan, later transporting troops as part of the demobilization effort before being discharged in January 1946.

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Jowdy, Al. Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008, audio recording, September 21, 2008; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1609280/m1/1/?q=%222008~%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.

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