Oral History Interview with James Olson, October 29, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Olson. Olson was born in Lindsborg, Kansas on 14 April 1922. He grew up on a farm during the Dust Bowl days during the Great Depression years. He worked various jobs after graduating from high school in Cheyenne, Wyoming and on 26 October 1942, he joined the Navy. Upon enlisting, he was sent to Farragut, Idaho for boot training and fire control school. Upon completion of his schooling, he was sent to San Diego where he went aboard Patrol Craft 780 (PC-780) as the damage control officer with the responsibility of repairing anything that might be damaged aboard ship. The boat then sailed to Attu where they performed patrol duties for eleven months. The boat was then sent to Bremerton, Washington for supplies prior to sailing to Pearl Harbor where they performed escort duties until the end of the war. Olson received his discharge November 1945