"From there, we cruised about looking for more trouble…" (Video interview, 13:49)

Harold E. Ward

Harold Ward at time of interview War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Navy Unit: USS San Francisco (CA 38); USS Wabash (AOG 4); USS Giansar (AK 111); USS Charles H. Roan (Chas Roan) (DD 853) Service Location: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Great Lakes, Illinois; Pacific; Atlantic; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands), New Guinea, Alaska Rank: Petty Officer First Class

For Harold Ward, a self-described skinny kid from Atlantic City, life in the Navy seemed to offer not only a steady paycheck and an escape from a difficult family situation, but also a life of travel and intrigue. Enlisting in 1940, the USS San Francisco became home. Aboard the cruiser, he weathered the attack on Pearl Harbor and got “tangled up” in Guadalcanal. During a night attack by the Japanese on November 13, 1942, off the coast of Guadalcanal, the San Francisco suffered serious damage--and Ward earned a Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained. In his oral history interview, he comments on the importance of asking veterans about their service, to offer a chance to break the usual silence surrounding stories of war.