Curtis Wayne Banks joined the US Navy on May 19 1943. He did training at Farragut, Idaho and Moscow Idaho for radio training. The University of Idaho at Moscow had turned their facilities over to the Navy for this training. Banks left there and was sent to Seattle, WA where he boarded the newly commissioned ship Yakutat. This was a small ship used as a "seaplane tender." From there Banks headed towards Japan stopping at various islands. He was at Okinawa when the Atom Bomb was dropped. Tow months later he was a t Hiroshima where he saw the devastation first hand. He was discharged form the service on the 5th day of March, 1946 at Bremerton, WA. Courtesy of Talmage, Kansas Historical Museum and Library.