Oral History Interview with Edward Duran, June 11, 2003 Page: 2
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Introduction
Edward Martin Duran was probably the only active duty, U.S. Navy sailor to
have witnessed the beginning and the end of World War II, with the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1941, and then rode in his bouncing jeep with
three armed U.S. Marines through what was left of the city of Nagasaki, Japan,
several days following the city's destruction on 9 August 1945.
While living in Dixon, Illinois, Ed Duran was a grade school classmate of
President Ronald Reagan and he stayed in touch with Ronald and Nancy
through the years. Two years ago, when Commander Duran was 92 years of
age, he donated $10,000 to the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of President
Reagan.
But, Commander Duran's most compelling stories are about World War II.
Enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1927, he watched Japanese war planes use the
portside porthole of his amidships stateroom on board the battleship, USS WEST
VIRGINIA (BB 48), as a bull's-eye to sink it in shallow water at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, killing over 100 sailors, including the Captain. This is but one of the
many stories from his incredibly interesting thirty year naval career.
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Duran, Edward. Oral History Interview with Edward Duran, June 11, 2003, text, June 11, 2003; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1606422/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.