TIlE NATIONAL MUSFUM OF I’I IF PACIFIC WAR The Nimitz Education and Research Center Fredericksburg, Texas An Interview With Caramello N. Stramcr Utica, MI March 8, 2016 U.S.S. Puffer/SS268 U.S.S. Ray/SS271 My name is Richard Misenhimer: Today is March 8, 2016. 1 am interviewing Mr. Caramello N. “Carl” Stramer by telephone. His phone number is 586-726-1802. His address is 12185 hickory West, Utica, MI 38315. This interview is in support of the National Museum of the Pacific War, the Nimitz Education and Research Center for the preservation of historical information related to World War TI. Mr. Misenhimer: Carl, I want to thank you for taking time to do this interview today and I want to thank you for your service to our country during World War II. Mr. Stramer: Yes, sir. Mr. Misenhimer: Now, the first thing I need to do is read to you this agreement with the museum to make sure this is OK with you. So let me read this to you. (agreement read) Is that OK with you? Mr. Stramer: Yes, sir. Mr. Misenhimer: Now the next thing i’d like to do is get an alternative contact. We find out that sometimes several years down the road, we try to get back in contact with a veteran, he’s moved or something. So do you have a son or daughter or some one we could contact if we needed to? Mr. Stramer: Yes, sir, my son lives in San Antonio. Mr. Misenhirner: What’s his name? 2 Mr. Stramer: Carl Wynn Stramer. his phone is 1-210-670-7071. 1-he’s got a cell phone number and this is one that he had out in Virginia: 1-757-268-6139. Mr. Misenhimer: OK, that’s his cell. Hopefully we’ll never need it but you never know. What is your birth date? Mr. Strarner: My birth date is 1-13-25. Mr. Misenhimer: Where were you born? Mr. Strarner: In Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Misenhirner: Did you have brothers and sisters? Mr. Strarner: Two brothers and one sister. There were four o[’ us. Mr. Misenhimer: Were either of your brothers in World War ii? Mr. Stramer: Yes, my older brother, I think he joined after I did and he had sort of like a, I don’t know what you call it, because he was working in industrial work. I guess then they were drafting at the end of the war and he joined me and he went through the sub training and he was on a sub tender and stationed in Guam. 3 Mr. Misenhimer: Is he still living? Mr. Stramer: No. Myself and my younger brother are the only ones that are still here. Mr. Misenhimer: Your younger brother was not in World War TI? Mr. Stramer: No. Mr. Misenhirner: What were your mother’s and father’s first names? Mr. Strarner: My father’s name was Anthony and my mother’s name was Constance. These are Italian names. Mr. Misenhimer: Now, you grew up during the Depression. How did the Depression affect you and your family? Mr. Stramer: My brothers and sister were born in Pennsylvania and my dad came up here to Detroit and started working for Chevrolet motor car company. Mr. Misenhimer: Was this during the Depression? Mr. Strainer: Yes. Well, I don’t know. 1925, when I was born, was that during the Depression or coming out of the Depression? I know that my folks bought some lots and they couldn’t pay it and they lost them. 4 Mr. Misenhimer: The Deprcssion started in 1 929. Mr. Stramer: Well, we were on the way out then. Mr. Misenhimer: Where did you go to high school? Mr. Stramer: I never went to high school. I went to grade school and went to an intermediate school to the tenth grade and then I just monkeyed around and then the war broke out. Mr. Misenhimer: So what happened? Mr. Strainer: The war broke out and just like all the warm-blooded American youth, they thought they were invincible and everybody was going so that’s the thing to do. I didn’t want the Army or anything else so I figured I’ll join the Navy. I went down to the recruiting and it looked good and I signed up and forged my parents’ names and this was right after my birthday in January and first thing I know I was on a train to Chicago. Mr. Misenhimer: What date did you go in? Mr. Stramer: It was in let’s say the end of February of 1942. Mr. Misenhimer: Then where did you go for your hoot camp’? 5 Mr. Stramer: Great Lakes. Mr. Misenhimer: Tell me about that. Mr. Stramer: Great Lakes was a training center for all of Navy personnel in the Chicago and Midwest area and we went through training and discipline. It was more of a discipline type of deal because we didn’t go into any vocational or any serious what do you want to be type training. It was the regimentation, marching, whatever things that they had to do. We were tying knots and I didn’t think that being a motor machinist down in the bilge of a ship or whatever it is had anything to do with knots. But still we tied the knots and did the rigging with the sleeping bags and one thing and another. After we got through with the basic training we went to a place called Navy Pier and that’s just outside of Chicago. That was more or less like a vocational type, what do you want to do, you can do anything. Navy air, submarines, destroyers or do you want to be an airman, do you want to be in electronics, you want to be a this or a that. So you went through some training there at Navy Pier and one of the officers came around with my name indicating that my size and physical condition was that I was prime submarine material. You know, he says you’re going to get extra pay. So I said where are we going for this training? Fle says New London, Connecticut. I says, well I’ve never been there. I signed my name and the next thing I know I was on the train to New London, Connecticut. There of course we went through other training. The thing that impressed me more than anything else was the rescue type training at the tower in the event that you were let’s say sunk or grounded and you went through the rescue of going up a rope. etc. with a lung and that exercise you had to go through. The training as far as 6 equipment was concerned was very, very, let’s say antiquated equipment at that time. They were building new boats and equipment was changing and designs were changing and every day was something new. It got down to the point where the instructors there I felt sorry for them. They said, well you’il learn as you go along. That was the common statement that they made so after the New London, Connecticut, we spent six to eight weeks in a university outside of New London where we took on some more training. This was a diesel engine training a little more than navigation and a lot of other stuff that some of us felt that was unnecessary but that was what we had to do. After the training we figured well, OK, now we’re going to get assigned to something. The majority of ships were either on the East Coast at Norfolk or whatever or out there in California at a place called Mare Island. But we were told we’re going to pick up a brand-new boat in Lake Michigan. That was a complete surprise as far as how do you build boats in fresh water and get it down to salt water. So we went. We took another train and we went to Milwaukee and from there went up to a small city of shipbuilding at Manitowoc, shipbuilding company in Wisconsin. She was launched on November 22 and commissioned on April 17, 1943. That’s when we were aboard, a green crew from all over the United States on a ship that was in fresh water and kind of wondering what are we doing on here. Now, after the commissioning and went aboard, we had civilian crew on board with us that built the boat and we took her out into Lake Michigan and certified her so that we knew it wasn’t leaking. We took her down to 250 feet and no leaks and we survived that depth and we came back on and further training. Whenever the boat was ready for transport, the Puffer was transported down the Mississippi to New Orleans on special floating dry docks. We went through Chicago at night and sort of snuck through and outside of Chicago there was a small little town called Desplains, Illinois where we put the submarine on special floating dry docks. I laying the periscope and 7 other superstructure stul’Rvas taken olT because we had to clear bridges as we floated down the Mississippi. Some fellows went ashore For leave. I stayed aboard because of maintenance and keeping the generators going supplying electricity because we had no maneuvering, we didn’t do anything with any of the boat, it was strictly for maintenance, keeping the pumps and electricity and everything else going.