Alfred "Al" Kolkin oral history interview

During this oral history, Alfred speaks about his life growing up in New York and trying to find a job after graduating from high school during the Great Depression. He discusses his work as a machinist in Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Building 128, where he made ship parts and used a horizontal boring mill to finish the surfaces on castings for ship artillery. Alfred provides an overview of his union involvement and the difficulties of getting by with a family during union strikes. He further recalls his naval service and seeing Japan surrendering aboard the U.S.S. Missouri at the end of World War II. Alfred concludes this interview by reflecting on his jobs he took after the war concluded, including his work in machine shops, a tool and dye factory, and a printing factory.