About this episode

Floyd Brantley shares his experiences as a Navy corpsman during World War II and his subsequent service in Korea and Vietnam.

Floyd Brantley was born in Texas in 1925. He was 16 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Unlike many Americans, Brantley knew exactly where Pearl Harbor was. His brother was already serving in the U.S. Navy and had served there. A year later, Brantley received devastating news: his brother, Charles, had been killed in the waters off Guadalcanal. Not long after that, Brantley was ordered into service, became a Navy corpsman, and was deployed to the South Pacific, not far from Guadalcanal. In this edition of Veterans Chronicles , Brantley tells us the story of how his brother was killed and how he spent years trying to find out more about what happened that day and how respected his brother was. Brantley also takes us inside the fleet hospital where he worked in the Russell Islands. He explains his role there and the types of injuries he treated. Plus, he shares fascinating stories of dealing with a Japanese prisoner/patient and a teenage native from the island. Later, Brantley tells us just how abruptly the Navy left the Russell Islands once Japan surrendered and how he got a painful early ticket home. He also shares his service from Korea and…

People in this episode

Guest: Floyd Brantley

Topics covered

• World War II
• Korea
• Vietnam
• military service
• personal stories
• Navy corpsman
• historical accounts

Keywords

• Floyd Brantley
• U.S. Navy
• World War II
• Korea
• Vietnam
• military history
• Pearl Harbor
• Russell Islands
• corpsman
• personal narrative

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Navy, USAF

Places: Texas, Guadalcanal, South Pacific, Russell Islands, Korea, Vietnam

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