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StoryCorps: Frank Curre

From: StoryCorps
Length: 00:02:23

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88-year-old Frank Curre remembers serving on the U.S.S. Tennessee during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Read the full description.
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Curre_small 88-year-old Frank Curre remembers serving on the U.S.S. Tennessee during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

StoryCorps: Frank Curre | 00:02:23

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Piece Description

88-year-old Frank Curre remembers serving on the U.S.S. Tennessee during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Transcript

Frank Curre (FC): When I got out of high school I went looking for a job. Couldn't find it, so I told Mama, "I'm joining the Navy and you have to sign the papers because I'm only 17." I said, "If you don't sign the papers for me, Mama, I'll go downtown and get a hobo to sign 'em."

I finally convinced her. And I went aboard the battleship in August. We headed for Pearl Harbor. I'd never even heard of it. I didn't even know what it was.

The day of the attacks I was mess cooking.  We hear this big blast, instantaneously another blast, and we come up there topside.  I saw the first god-awful sight I witnessed that day. That's when the bomb come down that hit the ARIZONA. 

That ship come 12 to 15 foot in the air, broke in two and settled back down. If you'd a had a bag of popcorn, and you'd a went out here in the breeze and threw it up in the air -- that was bodies that went out all over t...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

On this Veterans Day from StoryCorps -- memories from Pearl Harbor.

It was attacked 70 years ago next month.

Thousands of people were killed -- today: we're going to hear from a veteran who SURVIVED.

And we should warn you that parts of his story, which is going to last two minutes, may be very difficult to hear.

Frank Curre <> (1) came to StoryCorps in Waco, Texas (2) to talk about how he ended up on the U-S-S Tennessee. (3)

OUTRO:

Frank Curre at StoryCorps in Waco, Texas.
His recording and alll the others are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

And you can find the project's PODCAST at NPR-dot-ORG.

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Vladmir's Blues Max Richter The Blue Notebooks. Fat Cat Records 2004 00:23

Additional Credits

NPR, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

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