I was so happy my daughter found your website. I had been looking for information on the SLC for my dad's 80th birthday. We wanted to put together a scrapbook. We didn't get to the site in time to use it for the scrapbook, but plan to copy as much as we can and assemble it for him soon.

My dad is Palmer K. Paulson, he served aboard the ship from 1942-45 (I believe). As soon as I can I will get you some info and photos. I thank you so much for bringing this site to us. I am still in the process of looking at all of it and am enjoying it very much.

Karen (Paulson) Jackson
Palmer K. Paulson

I just found this interview that my daughter did in 1991 as a history assignment. If you can use it, go ahead.

Karen

Interview by phone, November 14, 1991, Palmer K. Paulson

"Everybody got behind it. Everybody was supportive, even civilians." This is what my grandfather, Palmer Paulson, had to say about World War II. However, he had much more to say about "America's finest hour," especially since he participated in the effort. After signing up for the Navy in 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, he had just a short month of training in Chicago before setting off to sea in a heavy cruiser called the Salt Lake City. On the ship, he was a carpenter who was in charge of damage control, plugging holes and fighting fires. I guess you could say he kept the machine "ship shape."

When the ship reached Pearl Harbor, its waters full of sunken ships, he was assigned to dive and hunt for dead bodies. "Wasn't good, wasn't good," he mumbled, adding that he had tried to forget about the gruesome and depressing experience. From there, he was shipped to the Aleutian Islands to keep the Japanese from entering American waters. Although the Salt Lake City sent two Japanese ships plunging in the to freezing water, my Grandpa's ship did not go unscathed. It was hit seven times, one of the explosions destroying all of his belongings except the uniform on his back. Once repaired, the ship headed out to the South Pacific to once again look for Japanese ships in the Marshall Islands, even though almost none of the crew were allowed to know their destination until they got there.

Once he was transferred back to Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay, he was in charge of the maintenance on the radio building. One day, as he was getting ready for lunch, there was an announcement over the loudspeaker declaring the end of the war. He had to do Shore Patrol in San Francisco that night because of the jubilant residents who broke windows in the downtown stores. He was allowed to leave within a month to go back to his family in Long Beach, bringing along with him the feelings of relief and excitement. By the first time he had seen my mother, she was already four months old.

I learned many things from this interview, one being that almost everyone that was old enough was in one branch of the service or another. Everyone else helped out back home, even my great grandparents who worked in the aircraft factory. Also, their biggest fear on the ships was the possibility of having to abandon ship near Alaska, where they would only survive in the water for eleven minutes. I wonder what the people who were left in the water from other ships were thinking of during those eleven long minutes?

Even though I despise war, I am not naive enough to believe that world peace may ever be achieved. Since human nature won't let us give up fighting, all we can do is learn from past mistakes, remember the glories, and have respect for our veterans. I am proud to say that I have a Grandpa who has practically seen it all - the excitements, the deaths, the celebrations. From the mouth of a true American, he proudly stated, "I didn't think of it as a job; I thought of it as a duty."

by Suzanne Jackson
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