"Sure enough, the whole Harbor was smoking and on fire…" (Video interview, 9:00)

Raymond Barron Chavez

Raymond Chavez [detail from video] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Navy Unit: USS Dallas (DD 199); USS Condor (AMC 14); USS Ash (AN 7); USS LaSalle (LPD 3) Service Location: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; San Francisco, California; New Zealand; New Hebrides; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Ulithi (Caroline Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); New Caledonia; Seattle, Washington; Leyte Island (Philippines); Pacific Theater Rank: Chief Quartermaster Place of Birth: CA

Assigned to the minesweeper USS Condor, Raymond Barron Chavez spent the night of December 6th patrolling the waters just outside Pearl Harbor. Finally getting to sleep in the early hours of December 7th, Chavez awakened to find Pearl Harbor in flames. The horrific sights and sounds of the attack would repeat themselves over and over during his tour of duty on the transport ship USS La Salle, which took part in some of the fiercest action of the Pacific theater. He went on to weather the battles of Tarawa, Okinawa, and the invasion of the Philippines—as well as a resultant case of combat fatigue.