National Museum of the Pacific War Nimitz Education and Research

National Museum of the Pacific War Nimitz Education and Research Center Fredericksburg, Texas Interview with Mr. Edward Fournier Date of Interview: December 2, 2009 National Museum of the Pacific War Fredericksburg, Texas Interview with Mr. Edward Fournier Interview in progress. Ed Metzler: This is Ed Metzler and today is the 2nd of December, 2009. I am at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas; I am interviewing Mr. Ed Fournier. Mr. Fournier: Fournier (corrected pronunciation). Ed Metzler: Fournier. Sorry, I’m sorry, Ed, I got it right...finally! And this interview is in support of the Center of Pacific War Studies, archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Historical Commission, for the preservation of historical information related to this site. Okay, Ed, let me turn it over to you. Why don’t introduce yourself and when and where you were born and we’ll take it from there. Mr. Fournier: My name is Ed Fournier. I was born in Youngstown, Ohio and I grew up in a little village not too far from Youngstown called Poland, Ohio; went to Poland High School. Ed Metzler: What was your birth date? Mr. Fournier: I was born 28th of July, 1926. Ed Metzler: Okay. Mr. Fournier: And...I guess I wasn’t really a bad kid, but...after looking like kids today in high school, well...they didn’t have drive by shootings in my day, but there was other things that took the place, and I was one of these guys who...I Page 1 of 83 learned how to forge the principal’s name real well and I had class admit slips coming and going; people were coming and going out of that school like a Greyhound bus station. Ed Metzler: Now what did your dad do for a living? Mr. Fournier: My dad was in manufacture; he owned a...a company in Youngstown, Needrope (sp?) Industrial Handling Equipment. Uh, his statement to me for many times was, “Yes, you can come to work for us as soon as you show that you have ten thousand dollars in the bank.” And my answer was, “If I got ten thousand dollars in the bank, you ain’t going to see me!” (chuckles) Ed Metzler: Why work?! If you got that...(laughter). Mr. Fournier: That’s right, in those days, why work? Ed Metzler: Now did you have brothers and sisters? Mr. Fournier: Two younger brothers. Ed Metzler: Okay. Mr. Fournier: And both of who...managed to get their butt into the Coast Guard Academy; both graduated from the Academy; both are retired; both had thirty years service...uh, twenty years service. Ed Metzler: Hmm! So anyhow, let’s go back to your high school days now. So you’re not...you’re not the...the model student and... Mr. Fournier: No, no, I wasn’t a model student, but I wasn’t their worst. Ed Metzler: ...and the model citizen. Mr. Fournier: But, after...passing out a number of admit slips, why, the principal called me in the office and said that...since the...the school’s not big enough for both of Page 2 of 83 us and he had seniority, I guessed who was leaving, and he was right, I left. I had thirty days to go for graduation; my parents had sent out all the graduation invitations... Ed Metzler: (Chuckles). Mr. Fournier: ...and they weren’t too happy about the situation. Ed Metzler: Well, you got some gifts anyhow (chuckles). Mr. Fournier: Yeah, I did. Ed Metzler: (Chuckles). Mr. Fournier: But, the thing was that...my father decided that I would meet with him for lunch and...and we would determine what my future was going to be. Ed Metzler: Now what year is this, Ed? Mr. Fournier: 1944. Ed Metzler: Alright, so this is ’44. Mr. Fournier: And at that particular time, I went down before I met him for lunch...went down and enlisted in the Navy, and asked him to sign the papers at lunchtime which he did. I don’t think he was really shocked; he was probably at that point glad to get rid of me. But anyway... Ed Metzler: Why the Navy? Mr. Fournier: I wasn’t going to walk! Ed Metzler: (Laughter), you were going to float! Mr. Fournier: That’s right. Well I...I’m a sailor from way back when, rag sailor, and I...I built a nineteen foot Lightning innovation (sp?), (unintelligible) I didn’t know Lightning was a manufactured boat at the time; I got the plans and built it, and Page 3 of 83 I used to sail up Lake Erie and I’d go from Cleveland to Canada in my (unintelligible) using my Boy Scout (unintelligible) compass. You know, if it pointed north, I was in the right direction to Canada. And...but that started probably my career; I’ve always liked the water. But anyway, I...got all the way through the...the introduction of joining the Navy and got to a point where they made a statement that...asked a question, and this is kind of unique because I’ve never heard it since. The psychiatrist said, “Well look, tell me young man, have you ever been down on a sheet?” I had no idea what the hell he was talking about! What he was talking about had I ever had a girl in the sack. Ed Metzler: Ohhh, I have never heard that term! Mr. Fournier: Neither have I! Ed Metzler: Thought I’d heard of them all (laughter)! Mr. Fournier: I...I thought I did, too, and I’ve worked with stevedores and I have never heard that expression. Anyway, he said, “Well, why don’t you come back in a couple of years from now,” he said, “you’re just too young.” So...okay. So I left there...so... Ed Metzler: So they rejected you?! Mr. Fournier: Yeah, at that point they did. So I got on a bus and immediately went to Pittsburgh (chuckles), because I knew they had a Naval office up there, and walked in and went through the whole thing and...and got to their psychiatrist he said...he said, “What are you looking for?” I said, “I’d like to go aboard a submarine.” “Well,” he says, “now, we don’t have any submarines.” he said, Page 4 of 83 “Tell you what, you come back next year when you’ve got a little age on you.” And I was kind of naïve for seventeen years old and I said, “Okay.” So I went back and told my uncle; he said, “What do you mean; they threw you out?” I said, “Well, they don’t want me now.” “You come with me.” Now you have to understand, I have an uncle in Pittsburgh that was the largest Ford dealer in the...Pennsylvania and he wouldn’t take no for an answer on anything, so the two of us went down to the Pittsburgh recruiting office; walked in; it’s the old post office building, and he...first thing out of his mouth was, “Who’s in charge here?” And that was a gentleman by the name of Commander Geckler (sp?). Ed Metzler: Geckler? Mr. Fournier: Geckler, and he says, “Where’s his office?” And the shore patrolman pointed over there, you know. My uncle took me over and he says, “You sit here and wait,” and he didn’t even knock on the door; he just opened the door and walked in and closed the door. And, of course, at that point, anybody that came by me pointed to me and talked to the shore patrolman and...nobody seemed to know what was going on. The next thing I knew...out comes my uncle and Commander Geckler, arm in arm, old buddies. And Commander comes over, he says, “You really want to go in the Navy, son?” I said, “Yes, sir.” He said, “Good; let me see your papers,” and he put “passed” on and I was on my way. Ed Metzler: It depends on who you know not what you know! (laughter) Page 5 of 83 Mr. Fournier: That’s right! And...what my uncle told him, I have no idea. I still think he gave him a car. Ed Metzler: (Laughter). Mr. Fournier: Really...I...I think he probably found a...a... Ed Metzler: A good used car (unintelligible words). Mr. Fournier: A convertible or something; I mean...he was that kind of a person. And...right up to the time he died, I would ask him, periodically, “What the hell did you tell this guy?” He says, “Hey, you got in the service; that’s what you wanted; let it go!” (Laughter) So I did. But...at any event, they wanted to know what I wanted and I said, “Well, I’d like a submarine.” “(Unintelligible) oh naw, can’t...can’t put you on a submarine,” he said, “but how about...how about a minesweeper?” He says, “You know, that’s the next best things to submarines,” and he said, “they get...if there’s fresh food brought into an area and no subs pick it up...minesweepers get it.” Ed Metzler: Oh, that’s not too bad! Mr. Fournier: (Chuckles), not knowing what the life of a minesweeper was. (chuckles) Ed Metzler: Yeah. Yeah, not knowing anything more than the name, huh? Mr. Fournier: Yeah, or how they were built. In the meantime, I went through Diesel School and all sorts of mechanical engineering type schools that the Navy could find.

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