earl3 Earl C. Humphrey recounts the sinking of the USS Houston CA-30

Jay’s grandfather, Earl C. Humphrey, served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was serving aboard the USS Houston CA-30, out to sea, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In this special edition episode, Earl recounts the sinking of the USS Houston CA-30.

earl3.mp3 (48m 23MB)

Timeline:

• 1920 Earl was born near Glasgow, Iowa.
• 1942 March 1st, the USS Houston CA-30 was sunk by the Japanese Navy. This episode is that story.
• 1946 Earl married Macil Marine Stark, Jay’s grandmother. You’ll hear Marine occasionally in the background. Fact checking, adding some dates and names, washing dishes, occasionally vacuuming. :)
• 1980 Earl suffered his first stroke. His speech eventually mostly recovered, but you’ll hear some slurring in these recordings.
• 1982 Jay’s father (Jim Hannah) interviewed Earl. You’re listening to those recordings.
• 2000 Earl passed away in Independence, Missouri. We all miss him. <3
• 2006 Marine passed away in Independence, Missouri. We all miss her. <3

Misc links:

• Earl C. Humphrey memorial page on the USS Houston CA-30 dive team website.
• USS Houston CA-30 on wikipedia

Intro script:

Hello and welcome to a special episode of Jay Flaunts His Ignorance, the podcast. In this episode, you’ll hear my grandfather recount a story from World War II. In 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor Hawaii, my grandfather Earl C. Humphrey was in the United States Navy, serving aboard the USS Houston CA-30. Most of the US Navy’s Pacific fleet was destroyed, but the Houston was out to sea, with my grandfather aboard.

In 1980 my grandfather Earl had a stroke which effected his speech. His speech mostly recovered, but you’ll hear some slurring in these recordings. In 1982 my father Jim Hannah sat down with him and recorded 11 audio tapes, capturing his oral history.

This is one of those tapes. This tape is labelled “Earl 3”. It’s the tape where he describes the sinking of the USS Houston, and the beginning of his 3 1/2 years as a Prisoner of War.

Fortunately for me, my grandfather Earl survived the war, married my grandmother, raised my mother, and then helped raise me on our frequent visits to their farm is southeast Iowa. My grandfather died in 2000. We all miss him.

You’ll also hear my grandmother Marine in the background occasionally. Fact checking, adding some dates and names, washing dishes, occasionally vacuuming. Grandma died in 2006. She was an amazing grandmother. We miss her terribly.

I hope you enjoy hearing my grandfather tell his story. In his own words. If you like this episode, there are many more I can post. Let us know on twitter.com/jayflaunts. Thank you.

So, here it is. My father interviewing my grandfather in 1982. Thanks dad, for preserving Earl’s voice. Enjoy.

Outro script:

And that’s it. That’s where the tape labelled “Earl 3” ends. Thanks for listening. If you’d like to hear more, let us know on twitter.com/jayflaunts. Bye for now.