Guttman, Paul Dennis, PO2

TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, WHAT INFLUENCED HIS/HER DECISION TO JOIN THE NAVY?
In 1942 Paul Guttman joined the Navy reserve in order to fight the Nazis, Naturally, he spent the entire war in the Pacific!

TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OR PATH HE/SHE TOOK IN HIS/HER MILITARY SERVICE. WHERE DID THEY GO TO BOOT CAMP AND WHAT UNITS, BASES, SHIPS OR SQUADRONS WERE THEY ASSIGNED TO? WHAT WAS HIS/HER REASON FOR LEAVING?
Due to Paul's education at Cooper Union, and his having worked as a draftsman, the Navy recruiter told him that he was eligible to join a new unit they were putting together could the "Seabees". Paul had no idea what a "Seabee" was, but the idea that he could get a rating more rapidly there appealed to him because it meant that he could send a bit more money home to help support his parents and younger sister.

Paul was always an avid photographer and he brought his camera with him when he reported to basic training. His camera was immediately impounded. However, subsequently an order came down requiring every Seabee battalion to have it's own official photographer. In typical Seabee fashion, his own camera was returned to him and he was made the official battalion photographer.

He must have been good at it because, late in 1943, he was invited to join a special combat motion picture unit being put together by Captain Edward Steichen. Paul spent the remainder of the war on "temporary detached duty" from the Seabees, filming combat with a variety of units and branches of service, from New Guinea to Okinawa. In July 1945 he was invalided home from an Army Field Hospital after being wounded (not for the first time) while serving in combat with the 77th U.S. Army Infantry Division. In October 1945 Paul was discharged from the Navy Reserve, having never rejoined his old Seabee battalion.

IF HE/SHE PARTICIPATED IN ANY MILITARY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING COMBAT, HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE DESCRIBE THOSE YOU FEEL WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO HIM/HER AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY.
Although technically a Seabee, Paul took part in practically every combat operation from New Guinea to Okinawa, with the Navy, Navy Air Force, Marines, Army Infantry, and Army Air Force. He accompanied the amphibious invasions at Hollandia, Kwajalein, Enewetok, Biak, Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Kerama Rhetto and Okinawa. He flew in carrier planes from USS Yorktoiwn (CV-10), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), and USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70). Among other operations he flew in the raids on on Truk, The Bonin Islands, The Battle of the Philippine Sea, The Battle of Leyte Gulf, raids against targets in Manila and other places in the Philippines, and was present during the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato. He completed a combat patrol in the South China Sea on board the submarine USS Spot (SS-413), for which he received the Submarine Combat Pin. He flew 28 missions in Martin Mariner flaying boats during a single month with Navy Rescue Squadron 3 (VH-3), based at Kerama Rhetto. He was among the very few Navy personnel to fly combat missions with the Army Air Force, having flown 6 missions over Japan in B-29s of the 20th Army Air Force based in Saipan. At the time he was finally invalided home after being wounded (not for the first time) he was serving on Okinawa with the 77th U.S. Army Infantry Division.

WHAT PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS DO YOU BELIEVE HE/SHE WAS MOST PROUD OF FROM HIS/HER MILITARY SERVICE?
Paul Guttman was a motion picture combat cameraman. He was undoubtedly unique in being probably the only Seabee ever awarded the Silver Star (for service with the Marines during the invasion of Saipan), the Distinguished Flying Cross (for the many combat missions he flew with both the Navy AND the Army Air Force) and the Submarine Combat Pin. He also received the Air Medal, the Purple Heart with Gold Star (for being wounded more than once), and the Navy Unit Commendation (for service with Navy Rescue Squadron VH-3). He received TWO Presidential Unit Citations, one for USS Yorktown (CV-10) and one for USS Hornet (CV-12). He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal WITH 12 STARS!

OF ALL THE MEDALS, AWARDS, FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES HE/SHE RECEIVED, WHICH WERE THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO HIM/HER AND WHY?
Paul was a motion picture combat cameraman, and was probably unique in being the only Seabee ever awarded a Silver Star from the Marines, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Submarine Combat Pin.

However, there was no question that the decoration that he valued the most highly was undoubtedly the Submarine Combat Pin, which he received for completing a combat patrol during March 1945 on board the Submarine USS Spot (SS-413) in the South China Sea. It was the only decoration that he actually received while he was in the Pacific during the war, and it was the only one he felt that he really earned. Paul also felt that the submariners on the Spot were the bravest men he ever knew. Coming from a man who flew combat missions in carrier planes and B-29s, and who landed with the Marines on islands like Peleliu and Iwo Jima, that was really saying something!

IF HE/SHE SURVIVED MILITARY SERVICE, WHAT PROFESSION(S) DID HE/SHE FOLLOW AFTER DISCHARGE?
After the war Paul worked as an industrial engineer for 30 years. Having been a Seabee in the Pacific during World War II was far from a handicap in that profession!

IF HE/SHE SURVIVED MILITARY SERVICE, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU BELIEVE HIS/HER SERVING IN THE MILITARY INFLUENCED THE WAY THEY APPROACHED THEIR PERSONAL LIFE, FAMILY LIFE AND CAREER?
All his life Paul embodied the genuine Seabee attitude of "Can Do". In the Navy he was once asked if he could operate a motion picture camera. He had never even SEEN a motion picture camera up close, and didn't even know how to load one. nevertheless, he immediately replied that he could do it, and simply taught himself how. The words "can't" and "impossible" simply weren't part of his vocabulary. There was nothing he couldn't do, whether it was fixing his car, or building his own stereo hi-fi system, or painting a portrait. In the 1950s he built his own house, practically single handed. In his 70s he taught himself how to work a computer, something most people his age couldn't mange.