During the interview, Leonard Beck (1928- ) focuses on his father's work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a tailor. Beck also discusses his own childhood in Brooklyn and how his father made an Eisenhower jacket [military uniform shortened coat] for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also mentions American sentiment towards Japanese Americans during the war, the decommissioning of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Roosevelt's visit to Ebbets Field, and American patriotism. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During the interview, Solomon Brodksy (ca. 1905- ) recalls his work as a packer in the supply depot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was called to service but was given 4F status due to an earlier operation. During his interview, he recalls working long hours, seven days a week, even on Jewish holidays. Brodsky also remembers the launch of the USS Missouri, boxing matches during lunch and the presence of Marine guards for security. He describes the items he packed, including automobiles, the equal treatment of men and women workers and his wages. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

In this interview, Ellen Hanlin Bulzone (1923- ) details her various duties at the receiving station near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She also talks about her life before joining the Navy, her uniform, her and her husband's first date at Ebbets Field, her family and in-laws and her marriage inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital's chapel. She explains how Catholic churches refused to marry them because her husband was Catholic and she was Protestant. She also discusses her feelings about moving from a small town in Indiana to New York City. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

In her interview, Eleanor Beiler Capson (1922- ) explains her work in the materials testing laboratory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where she tested the strength of materials used on ships and how to insulate wires used on the ships so they did not mold. She worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard from January to September of 1943 and was paid a yearly wage, rather than by the hour. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In this interview, Bettie Virginia Emory Chase (1922- ) describes how she came to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and her experiences as a tack welder and working in the tool room over the next few years. She thinks she was chosen because of her small size, which allowed her to get into small spaces that needed welding. Chase explains that she did not receive much training but was good at tack welding because she has a steady hand. She describes the role of tack welding as similar to a basting stitch in sewing. After six months, Chase was transferred to the Tool Room because of throat problems caused by welding smoke. She goes into detail about her work and coworkers in the Tool Room, including her clothes, time cards, tools, interactions between men and working the night shift (10pm-6am). She also discusses issues and events that took place in the Yard, such as interactions between men and women, sexual assaults, safety concerns, and the overall war effort, which she knew contributed to the deaths of her friends and neighbors. At the end of the interview, Chase talks about her life after the Yard and describes her role as organist and choir director for the Evening Star Baptist Church. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During his interview, Clayton Colefield (1921- ) gave detailed accounts of the construction of carriers, destroyers and cruisers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as repairs made on damaged warships. Because he was able to read blueprints, Colefield was soon promoted to quarterman shipfitter, overseeing other supervisors. Colefield recalls the fatal fire that took place on the USS Constellation (CV-64) when a drum of oil was knocked over into a shaft where welders were working. He also discusses his work on the USS Missouri, the USS Iowa and the USS Wisconsin, for which he was sent to Bayonne, New Jersey to repair. Colefield fondly remembers testing catapults, where the launching pads on the carriers were tested with large weights to see if they could reach a certain speed. He also recollects being invited by a ship captain for a sea trial, when the ship's speed and breaks were tested, as well as and the launching of the USS Missouri. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In this interview, Donald Richard Condrill (1921- ) mostly discusses spending time with the marines and soldiers in the Navy Yard and on Sands Street when he was growing up. He explains that he stopped selling newspapers after less than a year because marines did not want to spend their money on newspapers. He also talks about the neighborhood and the changes that took place during the twenty years that he lived there. Condrill goes on to describe his experience in the Army and his difficulty with color blindness. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan and Daniella Romano.

Among the many topics Helen Robertson David (1923- ) discusses during this interview are the work she did in the Sound and Optics Lab, memorable events in the Yard such as the building of the USS Missouri and another ship (the Bonhomme Richard), an explosion in the power station, and D-Day. She explains that people were not allowed to quit working in the Yard because it was war time and in order to leave to pursue a teaching career, she had to get permission from the Admiral. She remembers smelling the chocolate factory in the neighborhood while working at the Yard. David discusses gender relations within the Yard and the Lab, telling one story about keeping milk in the Lab's refrigerator; she and the other women would label their milk as if it contained bacteria cultures to keep the men from drinking it. She also talks about her life after the Navy Yard as a woman science teacher in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Valley Stream (Long Island). Davis is friends with two other interviewees in this collection: Eleanor Capson (2010.003.006) and Mimi (Mildred) Leipzig (2010.003.016). Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During his interview, Angelo DeSalvo (1931- ) talks about enjoying the work he did, especially sea trials, and the camaraderie (and playful pranks) felt among coworkers. At the time of the USS Constellation fire, he recalls, he was home sick and saw it on TV. When he returned to the Navy Yard, he found his toolbox had "melted into one lump." DeSalvo also discusses the feeling in the Yard when its closing was announced and what happened to him and his coworkers afterward. At the end of the interview he remembers hearing of John F. Kennedy's assassination with his coworkers onboard a ship. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In the interview with Shirleyann Mansdorf Dramer (1925- ), she remembers stories about living and working in Brooklyn, with many additions from her two daughters, Kim and Brooke Dramer. Dramer remembers riding horses in Brooklyn on Ocean Parkway and taking hikes in the country after crossing the George Washington Bridge. She was on the bridge when she first heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Dramer recalls writing letters and sending food to soldiers overseas, as well as helping her mother drive an ambulance to pick up wounded soldiers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and bring them to New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She remembers the security she encountered at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and interacting with injured soldiers at the Hospital. Dramer also reflects on the significant changes that took place in Brooklyn in the 1960s. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In this interview, Wesley Fagan (1910- ) talks about his youth and education, including his time at Clark College, The Julliard School, and Jermaine Photography School. Fagan goes into detail about his life as a musician, his work and colleagues at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, his family, marriages, raising four foster children, and his life in Brooklyn since the 1950s. At the Navy Yard, he photographed ships, damages and repairs, visiting dignitaries, ship christenings and launches, and the fire on the USS Constellation. During this time, he received many commendations for his work. Fagan also details the process of developing the photographs and the Navy's reluctance to catalog and store negatives and photographs, which were eventually discarded. He spent time as the lab photographer for the Materials Lab, which required a high level of clearance. Fagan often brings up ethnicity and race, including how this affected his work at the Navy Yard, and wishing that he had done more for Civil Rights. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In his interview, Michael Faiella (1928- ) describes how Reliable Naval Tailoring, Co. changed over its 60 years tenure. The store sold uniforms to sailors, not the workers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Faiella also describes the important relationship between the Navy Yard and the Brooklyn community, and how much the neighborhood deteriorated after the Navy Yard was decommissioned. As the bars, restaurants and other uniform stores closed around Faiella, they were able to maintain business by diversifying their products and clientele. Faiella was also interviewed in 2007. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

In this joint interview, Michael (1928- ) and Vincent Faiella (1960- ) look back on the Reliable Naval Tailoring, Co.'s history in Brooklyn before Vincent Faiella moved the business to Red Hook, New Jersey in 2006. Michael Faiella talks about his Italian background, growing up in Brooklyn close to his extended family, and his fondness for the area around the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Michael and Vincent Faiella also discuss the commercial and social activities on Sands Street and how much the neighborhood changed after the Navy Yard was decommissioned and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was built. Michael Faiella was also interviewed in 1987. Interview conducted by Daniella Romano.

Anthony Ferrara (1915- ) began working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1941, after meeting a Navy Yard supervisor at the restaurant he worked at on Sands Street. During his interview, he discusses his duties as a fire warden and how the cleanliness of his job often separated him from the other workers. He also expresses his disappointment and embarrassment about being unable to serve overseas due to his 4F status. Ferrara's position allowed him to observe many of the things happening in the yard, including the progress of the USS Missouri, the USS Iowa and several Landing Ship Tanks. Ferrara also describes security at the Navy Yard, and how on one cold day, a security guard's nose dripped into the lunch container he was inspecting for alcohol. He left the yard after a little over a year and after attempting to get rid of his 4F status, he returned to working in restaurants. Ferrara remained in Brooklyn until 1996 when he moved in with family on Long Island, New York. An excerpt of this interview is used on a tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

Lucille Butler Ford (1922- ) began working as a messenger at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was soon trained as a clerk typist in Building 77. The interview focuses on social life at the Navy Yard and the close friendships that Ford formed during the three years she worked there. She also discusses the ethnic backgrounds and interaction between the female workers in Building 77, sharing a story about a Jewish friend wanting to visit Harlem and how her mother made greens when she visited. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

In her interview, Helen Sullivan Gagliardi (1925- ) talks about her parents' marriage (Catholic - Protestant) and how both her mother and grandmother were strong, independent women who raised children on their own. She discusses the often limited opportunities available for women when she was in college, especially in her field of chemistry. She describes in great detail her work environment at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, including her coworkers and the lab in which she worked. The lab was trying to discover a method for creating synthetic rubber, which was much needed during WWII. When the war was over, the Navy discontinued the project, but private industry went on to use similar techniques to eventually discover hard and soft plastics that are abundant today. Gagliardi also discusses her recent experience visiting the Navy Yard, comparing the congestion of workers in the 1940s with the emptiness and open space she saw in her recent visit. She also recounts her experiences as a science teacher at PS208 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In his interview, Jack Grossman (1923- ) talks about growing up in Brooklyn in a Jewish family and his experience working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He describes in detail the Mold Loft at the Navy Yard, where balsawood models were made from the blueprints and then steel was heated in large ovens and shaped to match the models, forming the curved pieces that would become part of the hull of the ships. He says that ships are known as "she" because of their womanly curves. Grossman explains that the master shipfitters were Irish and had learned the skills in the United Kingdom. Grossman worked on the USS Missouri and was one of four "kids" on a platform for the christening and launch. In addition, Grossman talks about his father's interactions with the Mafia while selling pickles, the founding of Las Vegas, and other jobs he has had including driving a taxi cab in New York and running a catering truck in California. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

Frances Haber (1923- 2010) worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for several years, until she was laid off just after the end of WWII. In her interview, she recalls many details about her life in Brooklyn and the short time she spent in California, recollecting specific names, job titles, addresses and dates. Haber talks about growing up during the Depression, listening to the radio, her relationship with her mother and sister and local foods and restaurants. She also describes the ethnic makeup of her neighborhood and school and often brings up her Jewish background. Haber also describes the work she did at the Navy Yard as a clerk typist for the pipefitter supervisors, where she was often the only woman and fondly remembers eating lunch with the friendly supervisors. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During his interview, Robert S. Hammond (1926- ) discusses his experiences working for the Navy in Brooklyn and North Carolina. He mentions that he did not experience much racism until he spent some time in South Carolina when he was a teenager and talks about his shock and anger during these experiences. He explains that the Navy training at the time was segregated and that he experienced racism from some of the commanding officers. Navy hospitals were also segregated at the time and, Hammond explains, that black men in the military were not receiving equal health care. He describes his experiences at the New York Naval Hospital in the Brooklyn Navy Yard where he received further training before being transferred to the Montford Point Marine base in North Carolina. At Montford, Hammond took on many healthcare initiatives for the thousands of black Marines whose health was neglected because of the segregation and discrimination in southern healthcare. These initiatives included education and awareness about vaccinations, parasites, venereal disease, hygiene, and many other public health missions. While on leave, Hammond came down with appendicitis and was taken to the New York Naval Hospital where he had trained. While he was at the Hospital, a curtain was pulled around his bed to segregate him from the rest of the (white) ward and he recalls the hospital staff's reaction to his mother's visit since she looks white. He also describes visits from Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, and the actor Frederic March. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In her interview, Pearl Margolis Hill (1923- ) details her work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a shipfitter in Building 4 and her later work in the mold loft after an injury. She fondly remembers her friends at the Navy Yard, seeing them in passing on Sands Street and working alongside other married and unmarried women as welders. She also talks about working the graveyard shift, writing to her husband, what she wore to work and her longtime friendship with Sidonia Levine (2010.003.035, shipfitter). Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.

The interview with Mary Hannigan Hogan (1923- ) and Anne Mastron Hannigan (1922) also includes their niece, Maureen Hawkins and Mary Hogan's daughter, Debbie Hogan Russ. The women discuss their upbringing in Brooklyn, getting jobs at the Navy Yard, commuting to work, safety issues, uniforms, salaries and marriage. While Mary Hogan began working as a welder and Anne Hannigan as a lathe operator, both women began doing office work shortly after they started. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

During his interview, Clarence Irving (1924- ) talks about his family and educational background before coming to work at the Navy Yard. He says that the best option at the time for African Americans was to work for the federal government because there was less discrimination and more protection for minority employees. He also talks about his work as a machinist, describing the facilities he worked in and the tools he used, as well as working conditions, yard safety, accidents and security. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

The interview with Richard (1919- ) and Geraldine Johnson (1925- ) focuses on Richard Johnson's work with the US Navy and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as James Eugene Kiernan's work as a naval officer and a supervisor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Johnsons talk about their family history and lives before they moved to Brooklyn. Geraldine Johnson describes her life growing up at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Richard Johnson describes the layout and organization of the shipyard, his day to day activities, how materials were moved around the yard, wood storage, promotions within the US Navy, his education and the launch of the USS Missouri. Richard Johnson also describes books and other materials he has collected about the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Daniella Romano.

During her interview, Veronica Marino Kieffer discusses her relationships with the other workers and her supervisors, her work cleaning and repairing binoculars, her Italian background, her family and the work she did before coming to the Navy Yard. In one instance, Kieffer was sent home for not wearing her hat while working on a drill press because of the danger of getting het hair caught in the machine. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

During his interview, Alfred Kolkin (1918- ) discusses his life growing up in New York and trying to find a job after graduating from high school during the Depression. At the Navy Yard, Kolkin worked as a machinist in Building 128, where he made ship parts and used a horizontal boring mill to finish the surfaces on castings for ship artillery. Later, he was promoted into a managerial position. During his time at the Navy Yard, Kolkin was also an editor of a local union newspaper. Kolkin joined the army in 1944, and relates his experience on a repair ship in the Pacific at the end of WWII, where he witnessed Japan surrendering aboard the USS Missouri. During the interview, he also speaks about his various jobs after the end of WWII, working in machine shops, a tool and dye factory and a printing factory. Kolkin discusses his union involvement, and the difficulties of getting by with a family during union strikes (something that his wife also discusses during her interview). Also present during the interview was Alfred and Lucille Kolkin's daughter, Judy Kaplan. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

n the interview, Lucille Gerwitz Kolkin (1919-1997) discusses the dangers and uncomfortable conditions she faced working as a welder, the camaraderie she felt with the other workers, her wages, her union involvement and her relationships with the other workers and her supervisors. She also describes the clothing she wore to work, vacations she took and her Jewish background. After leaving the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Kolkin talks about her experiences as a mother and wife, and about returning to work after her kids had grown up. Interview conducted by Diane Esses.

In her interview, Helen Kuhner (1918- ) discusses her work as a stenographer at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and life as a mother during WWII while her husband was at war. She talks about interactions between men and women working at the Yard and how she dealt with the whistles and attention from the men. Kuhner tells a story about staying home sick and remembers someone from the Navy Yard coming to check and make sure she was at home. She also remembers a woman who would check the bathroom stalls to make sure workers were not smoking or resting while on the job. Her interview brings up working conditions for women, her Irish-American background, and being a working mother. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.

Mildred (Mimi) Levin Leipzig (1923- ) remembers many detailed stories about her childhood and life in Brooklyn, New York, as well as the experiences of her sisters and parents. She describes her and her two sisters helping her father at his pharmacy and tells stories about visiting the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the Botanic Garden and Prospect Park with her father and sisters. Leipzig discusses growing up in a Jewish family in an Italian Catholic neighborhood, where her father often distributed medicines for free to families who could not afford them. Leipzig took a mechanical aptitude test for the Navy Yard shortly after finishing high school, and began working as a shipfitter's assistant where her main job was as an arc welder. There, she recalls using an asbestos blanket while welding as protection from burns. She also discusses her unique role as a woman at the Navy Yard and that men were often uncomfortable doing the same work as the women. More specifically, she discusses issues with the women's bathroom in her shop and an instance when a woman offered to give her a skirt while she was on her way to work in her coveralls (implying that Leipzig was dressed inappropriately). Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In this interview, Sidonia Kessler Levine (1919- ) talks about how she came to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard after spending some time at Western Electric. She mentions that she did very well on the Navy Yard test, on which she received the 15th best score out of 500 participants. While at the Navy Yard, Levine had her picture taken for the Shipworker and did an interview with the Brooklyn Eagle. She talks a lot about the camaraderie in the yard and the lasting friendships she made with the women she worked with in Building 4. She also details her job where she converted blueprints into wooden templates and attended extra school at Pratt for blueprint reading. She made her work uniform herself. Levine describes her visit to the Navy Yard in the 1990s as "sterile" compared to the liveliness of the atmosphere while she worked there. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.

Audrey Garbers Lyons (1924- ) worked as a parts inspector at the Navy Yard for the federal government from 1943 until WWII ended in 1945. Lyons used a micrometer to measure ship parts. During her interview, she remembers that the women mostly tested the smaller parts. She also recalls talking and singing with the women she worked with, who were mostly college educated, and many of whom were married and worried about their husbands in the War. Lyons described her section of the Navy Yard as a little village, explaining that she recognized everyone in her own building, but no one else at the Navy Yard. She also remembers the christening of the USS Missouri, smells from a nearby chocolate factory and the jumpsuit she wore at work. Also present at the time of the interview was Susan Lyons, Audrey Lyons' daughter. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

In his interview, George Martinez (1933- ) discusses his own experience growing up during the war, as well as what he remembers of his sister's work as a welder at the Navy Yard. He remembers collecting scraps for the war effort and his sister returning home with a burned uniform or eye injuries. George Martinez explains that many people who could not get jobs before the war, because of disabilities or race, were able to get jobs at the Navy Yard during this time. He also recalls the block party with his neighbors to celebrate the end of the war. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In her interview, Antoinette Irrera Mauro (ca. 1925- ) details the work she did as a draughtswoman in the electrical department at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She emphasizes how nice her coworkers were, even though there were only two women working in her department of 27 workers. Mauro started working in Building 3 and later in Building 77 when her department was moved. She also discusses her commute, Yard security, friendships with coworkers and watching various ship launchings. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.

In this interview, Obitz primarily discusses his experiences aboard the USS Missouri, where he was a deckhand, mess cook and gunner from 1944 through the end of World War II. While on the Missouri, he witnessed a kamikaze plane attack. Other topics covered include his upbringing on a Pennsylvania farm; his enlistment and training in the Navy; his time at the Brooklyn Navy Yard preparing the Missouri for deployment; and how he met his wife. Interview conducted at the U.S.S. Missouri Reunion in Virginia on May 18, 2009. Interview conducted by Daniella Romano.

Ida Pollack (1922- ) married in 1941 and began working at the Navy Yard shortly after her husband went into the service in 1942. During her interview, she discusses how she chose to be a welder in order to help the war effort, her training at the Navy Yard, working conditions and injuries, welding equipment, her fear of heights, and wages. Pollack remembers how her friend Sylvia [Honigsman Everitt] found out about her husbands death during their shift at the Navy Yard. Everitt was interviewed along with Pollack in 2008 (2010.003.019). During the interview, Pollack also recalls the death of another woman worker who fell into the dry dock. Pollack was laid off at the end of WWII and moved to Troy, New York for a few years where Pollack attempted to be a welder for again but had trouble because of her gender. Pollack later returned to New York City where she and her husband were very active in political organizations. Interview conducted by Diane Esses.

During their interview, Ida Pollack (1922- ) and Sylvia Honigman Everitt (1921- ) share stories about growing up in the Bronx and working together as welders at the Navy Yard. The two women discuss their long commute, socializing on Sands Street, union involvement and antagonism towards union organizers, uniforms, wages and working conditions. Pollack mentions getting a foot injury when a coated rod used for fusing metal accidentally dropped onto her shoe. She also discusses having to sign a loyalty oath, which was likely due to her involvement in radical political organizations. Both women discuss what it felt like to be a woman working at the Navy Yard and having to leave at the end of WWII. Also present at the time of the interview were Al Kolkin, Judy Kaplan (the daughter of Al Kolkin and Everitt and Honigman's good friend Lucy Kolkin) and Penny Lathars (Ida Pollack's daughter). Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, Jennifer Egan and Daniella Romano.

In his interview, Leo Reitman (ca. 1910s) discusses his work issuing stationary and hardware supplies to naval ships and shops at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He also talks about his supervisors, wages, and gender relations and camaraderie within the Yard. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

In his interview, Charles Rocoff (1923- ) explains his job as a pipefitter (plumber) for the ships at the Navy Yard, for which he primarily worked on repairs. He noticed that the British ships that he worked on were much dirtier than the American ships he repaired. Rocoff also talks about working with asbestos, training, security at the Yard and his coworkers. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.

Rubena Rhodes Ross (1918- ) worked as a seamstress in a few factories before beginning work at the Navy Yard. During her interview, Ross describes the process of sewing the flags and her work environment. She remembers enjoying her work at the Navy Yard, relating that her supervisors did not just see her as a just worker, which was a different experience from her previous factory jobs. She also talks about her family, including her brother who was in the Airforce with the Tuskegee Airmen and her husband, who spent some time as a photographer for the Army. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan and Jennifer Egan.

In this brief interview, Catherine Sarnowski (ca. 1920- ) discusses her work as a welder, her long commute, working conditions at the Navy Yard, day trips and training for the job. She also talks about her experience working the night shift while going to school during the day. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

During his interview, Frank Siragusa (1928- ) remembers his six months working as a painter at the Navy Yard. When he started, he painted pipes using lead paint, which injured his hands. After he recovered, he began working with a trompe l'oeil painter, who could make iron look like wood. He talks about his friendship with this painter, and the two of them discussing philosophy, spirituality and history. Siragusa worked a few other jobs before joining the Navy, including at the Hotel New Yorker, where he saw the plane crash into the Empire State Building in 1945, shortly before he enlisted. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In his interview, Leo Skolnick (1909- ) details his job as a sketcher and supervisor of shop drawings at the Navy Yard. He also talks about several workplace accidents, working conditions, and feeling pride in his work at the Yard. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

During his interview, James H. Smith (1927- ) discusses his work at the Navy Yard as an outside machinist. He describes his job as a "gofer," running to get tools and coffee for others, and lending a hand where needed with mechanical work. Smith talks about security at the Navy Yard, seeing the progress the ships made when he left every day, and similarities between working at Grumman Aerospace and the Navy Yard. He also describes damaged ships returning from war, getting tools from the tool crib, social interactions during his lunch hour and being in awe of the size of the ships. Smith was upset with his 4-F status and explains how disappointed he was to leave the Navy Yard, where he felt he was contributing to the war effort. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In this interview, Henry Tatowicz (ca. 1920- ) goes through the different positions he had at the Navy Yard, explaining the tools, supplies and work involved in each position. He also talks about workplace safety, working the night shift, women at the Yard, his feelings about the reductions in the workforce after the war, and changes in Brooklyn his lifetime. Tatowicz remembers working at the Yard and hearing about the events at Pearl Harbor. He was able to use his skills from working on the machines at the Navy Yard in future positions after he left. Interview conducted by Benjamin Filene.

During the interview, Ernest Thompson (1917- ) talks about growing up in Georgia and why he decided to enlist in the Navy. Thompson describes the jobs his brothers did during World War II. He discusses how his work as a boiler apprentice helped his career working in engineering spaces in the Navy. He describes life at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and living and working in the engineering spaces of the Missouri. He recounts, in great detail, eating breakfast onboard the Missouri the morning of the surrender of Japan. He also recounts his experience trying to get home to southern California at the end of World War II. Interview conducted at the U.S.S. Missouri Reunion in Virginia on May 18, 2009. Interview conducted by Daniella Romano.

In this interview, Frank J. Trezza discuss his experiences as a marine electrician for Seatrain Shipbuilding in the Navy Yard in the 1970s, the injury that lost him the job, and his subsequent career at other shipyards. Through this discussion, he also touches on national and international politics of shipbuilding, his photography of the Yards, and the writing of his book. He also talks about his training at the Food and Maritime Trades Vocational High School. He tells about his family's four-generation history in Brooklyn, including several family members who worked at the Navy Yard. His wife, Millie, was also present for the interview, and she told the story of their courtship and marriage. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During his interview, Abraham Weintraub (1910-2010), explains his work as a chipper and caulker at the Navy Yard, where he made sure rivets were watertight. Along with his daughter and son (Florence and Irwin Weintraub), Weintraub talks about working on the USS Missouri, the other workers at the Navy Yard and competing in marathons and other races in New York and Massachusetts. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

In his interview, Milton Wurtzel (1919- ) gives many details and stories about his experience at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and in the US Navy. He describes the process of welding, the tools he used, his training and supervisors, the sickbay, the cafeteria and lunchtime, driving to work and theft at the yard. In one story, he explains how he made jewelry using the Hammerhead Crane. In another, he discusses the unhygienic conditions on French ships. He also discusses his Jewish background, growing up in Brooklyn and the Bronx, meeting his wife and Navy life aboard the USS Humboldt. Wurtzel's grandson Jason Wurtzel was also present at the time of the interview. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

During his interview, Howard Zinn (1922-2010) explains how he ended up working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and details his work there as an apprentice shipfitter. He says the best part of his time at the Navy Yard was organization the Apprentice Association, which was an organization of apprentices who were not allowed to be a part of the American Federation of Labor unions at the Yard. He also talks about his salary, organizing a basketball team, commuting to work from Fort Greene, uniforms, witnessing a workplace accident, and race and ethnicity. Interview conducted by Daniella Romano.

In her interview, Carmela Zuza (1924- ) discusses her experience growing up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn. She describes in detail the garden that her parents kept, the beer and wine her parents made, and other local foods. She expresses the pride she felt doing her work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and seeing the christening of the USS Missouri battle ship. Zuza also talks about transportation to and from work, security at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, discrimination, uniforms and clothing for women, gender relations, social activities and dating. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.