1963. welcome back. thank you. what are you in town for? for the funeral of a , art ryan. we interviewed him, fortunately. and are sorry to hear about his passing, but we are glad to see you in town. tell us a little bit about your time with us, where did you grow ?p wrecks i was born in 1939. i grew up in the mountains of tennessee and north carolina come together. west of chattanooga. or east. what did your parents do? my daddy was an engineer. civil engineer. he built dams. my mother was a schoolteacher. did you have any siblings? brother, have an older two years older, and an older sister, three years older. i was and groups. an oops. tell us what it was like growing up. farm ind a seven acre the mountains. very poor, very role. nearby had more money than we did. i felt bad. why don t we make more money? he said i would but your mother won t let me. when i was in high school i rode the school bus for 25 miles 20 day twice a day. wow. yeah it was pret
reporter: what are you in town for? richard: for the funeral of a classmate, art ryan. reporter: right. we interviewed him, fortunately. and are sorry to hear about his passing, but we are glad to see you in town. tell me about your childhood, where did you grow up? richard: i was born in 1939. i grew up in the mountains of georgia where tennessee and north carolina come together. reporter: is that fairly close to chattanooga? richard: it is southwest of chattanooga. or east. reporter: what did your parents do? richard: my daddy was an engineer. civil engineer. he built dams. my mother was a schoolteacher. reporter: siblings, did you have any siblings? richard: yes, i have an older brother, two years older, and an older sister, three years older. i was an oops. reporter: tell us what it was like growing up. in a seven acre farm up in the mountains. rural, very poor. a big bootlegging county. my best friend nearby had a lot more money than we did. i told dad, the wilson s have
uss gato. he participated in three war patrols as a torpedo and gunnery officer and two war patrols as the executive officer. he was assigned duty as aid and flag lieutenant to the legendary submarine can sub marine commander of the pacific forces fleet. it was in this capacity that he was invited aboard the uss missouri to witness the surrender of japanese forces on september 2, 1945. talking to him earlier i asked where he was during the surrender. many are familiar with the pictures and it seems like every available surface was covered with marines and sailors taking in the event, and he said if you look at the picture of the admiral signing the surrender you can see behind them all of the american flag and general officers, you will see one naval officer s camp without scrabbled exotic, and take indicating the rank of lieutenant or below, and he says that is me. i will direct your attention to the upper left corner and i believe that is you, sir. i think we have the r
this event is about 25 minutes. it is now my distinct honor to tell you about a special gentleman who is joined us for the proceedings today. captain robert k kaufman, united states navy, retired. a native of pennsylvania he is a 1940 graduate of the united states naval academy. he participated in a number of north atlantic convoys and the operation torch invasion of north africa while serving aboard a heavy cruiser. after that, he applied for submarine school and upon graduation, he was assigned to the fleet submarine uss gato. he participated in three war patrols as a torpedo and gunnery officer and two war patrols as her executive officer. he was assigned duty as aid and flag lieutenant to the legendary commander submarine forces pacific fleet. it was in this capacity that he was invited aboard the uss missouri to witness the surrender of japanese forces on september 2, 1945. talking to him earlier i asked where he was during the surrender. many are familiar with the pic
veteran robert kaufman recalls his world war ii experiences including his eyewitness account of the formal japanese surrender ceremony aboard the uss missouri. the institute for the study of strategy and politics posted this event. it is about 25 minutes. it is now my distinct honor to tell you about a special gentleman who is joined us for the proceedings today. captain robert k kaufman, united states navy, retired. a native of clarion, pennsylvania he is a , 1940 graduate of the united states naval academy. he participated in a number of north atlantic convoys and the operation torch invasion of north africa while serving aboard a heavy cruiser. after that, he applied for submarine school and upon graduation, he was assigned to the fleet submarine uss gato. he participated in three war patrols as a torpedo and gunnery officer and two war patrols as her executive officer. he was assigned duty as aid and flag lieutenant to the legendary commander submarine forces pacific fl