Record date:
Samuel Gevirtz Interview Transcription
Sam Gevirtz, PFC
Samuel Gevirtz, who grew up on the West Coast during the Depression, enlisted at the age of 18 and was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill where he witnessed intense fighting and the horrors of war during the invasion of Okinawa.
While on Bunker Hill, Gevirtz was assigned as a gunner to one of the 20mm guns and worked as a part-time company clerk because of his excellent typing skills. Part of his remarkable story includes the extensive journals Gevirtz kept of his experiences in the military—something that was absolutely forbidden at the time.
His actions, however, provide an insight into the mind of a young soldier experiencing the horrors of war firsthand. The journals are now a part of the Museum & Library’s growing archival collection. A transcription of the diary is available to the right, while the original is available for research purposes at the Museum & Library.
