Walter (Wally) Reustle's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

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Catalog number: VIS 201.0809
In this interview, Wally Reustle recalls his experiences serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He remembers growing up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Three of his siblings, including two sisters, joined the military and served during the war. He describes how and why he enlisted in the Navy; his early training; transiting the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines; and being assigned to the USS Greene (APD-36). He was assigned to the firemen's group on the ship and describes the ship's engines; how they worked; and his later duty as a "loader" for the ship's guns. He remembers Navy "frogmen" that were assigned to the Greene and how they were able to dismantle obstructions the enemy left on the beaches. He experienced three different typhoons while on the Greene, including the last storm in which the ship ran aground. The Greene was tasked with rescuing American POWs used as slave labor in the coal mines around Nagasaki after the atomic bombing of the city and he describes in great detail what he saw and experienced there. He remembers seeing nothing left in Nagasaki but the images of metal-working machinery that were burned into the concrete pads on which they were installed as a result of the atomic blast. He describes in detail finding several groups of American POWs including their physical condition and appearance. He recalls a particularly moving moment when the former prisoners cheered as they were loaded onto LSTs for transport to a hospital ship. He comments on the officers and men with whom he served, including the captain of the USS Greene, Joseph W. Roosevelt, grandson of former President Theodore Roosevelt. He recalls several humorous incidents from his time in service, including making use of debris that washed ashore from sunken ships, such as medical alcohol, K-rations, and cigarettes. He describes his post-military careers and family and reflects on the war and the need for elected officials to understand the dangers of the atomic age.