Oral History Interview with Merrill Hofer, September 21, 2007

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Merrill Hofer. Hofer joined the Navy in April 1941. He received basic training at Great Lakes and attended aviation radio school at Sand Point. Upon completion, he was assigned to the communications center of the USS Enterprise (CV-6). Hofer lists the many campaigns he participated in aboard the Enterprise, making special note of the Battle of the Stewart Islands. In December 1942 he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 10 as a TBF radio gunner. His next assignment was with VF-72 at the Farallon Islands, where, due to heavy losses, the OS3Cs were replaced by SBDs. He applied for Naval Aviation Pilot Training and graduated in 1947. Hofer flew atomic weapons testing surveillance missions and later received financial compensation for complications potentially arising from radiation exposure. He was discharged in 1964 and spent 30 years as a flight instructor for United Airlines