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[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Charles Rocoff
Oral history interview conducted by Jennifer Egan
July 24, 2006
Call number: 2010.003.038
0:00 - Daily wages and coming to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
1:25 - Pipefitter work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
2:11 - Jobs before and after World War II
3:30 - Location of job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
6:27 - British and American ship repairs
7:26 - Ship repair jobs and asbestos exposure
9:27 - Sixty years of marriage to wife
10:36 - Daily routine and coworkers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
12:31 - Working conditions on the ships
14:48 - Working with carpenters, welders, and riveters
16:39 - Living in Williamsburg close to the Brooklyn Navy Yard
17:09 - Recollections of the Brooklyn Navy Yard
20:08 - Safety Awareness at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
21:27 - Working on ships in cold weather, aircraft carriers navigating under bridges
23:17 - Work routine, wages, and weekly schedule at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
25:02 - Awareness at the Brooklyn Navy Yard of World War II events
26:11 - Leaving the Brooklyn Navy Yard, getting drafted into the Air Force
28:25 - Repairing airplanes and life in the Air Force
30:01 - Length of employment at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
31:35 - Current thoughts about the changes at Brooklyn Navy Yard and Brooklyn
33:00 - Growing up and living in Williamsburg
34:24 - Life in the Air Force World War II
35:53 - Coworkers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
36:38 - Traveling to and around the Brooklyn Navy Yard
37:38 - Supervisors at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
38:14 - Occupational training
38:59 - Opinion of pipefitter job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
39:40 - Real Estate work and teaching at Brooklyn College
42:58 - Changes in Brooklyn since 1929
47:59 - The Sands Street entrance at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Flushing Avenue
49:20 - Changes in Brooklyn since the 1930s
51:00 - Interview conclusion
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Charles Rocoff
Charles Rocoff (1923- ) began working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1942 shortly after finishing high school in Brooklyn. He worked for about one year as a pipefitter before going into the service in 1943.
In his interview, Charles Rocoff (1923- ) explains his job as a pipefitter (plumber) for the ships at the Navy Yard, for which he primarily worked on repairs. He noticed that the British ships that he worked on were much dirtier than the American ships he repaired. Rocoff also talks about working with asbestos, training, security at the Yard and his coworkers. Interview conducted by Jennifer Egan.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard oral history collection is comprised of over fifty interviews of men and women who worked in or around the Brooklyn Navy Yard, primarily during World War II. The narrators discuss growing up in New York, their work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, their relationships with others at the Yard, gender relations and transportation to and from work. Many narrators bring up issues of ethnicity, race, and religion at the Yard or in their neighborhoods. Several people describe the launching of the USS Missouri battleship and recall in detail their daily tasks at the Yard (as welders, office workers and ship fitters). While the interviews focus primarily on experiences in and around the Yard, many narrators go on to discuss their lives after the Navy Yard, relating stories about their careers, dating and marriage, children, social activities, living conditions and the changes that took place in Manhattan and Brooklyn during their lifetimes.
Citation
Rocoff, Charles, 1923-, Oral history interview conducted by Jennifer Egan, July 24, 2006, Brooklyn Navy Yard oral history collection, 2010.003.038; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- New York Naval Shipyard
- Rocoff, Charles, 1923-
Topics
- Asbestos
- Draft
- Naval ships
- Plumbers
- Plumbing systems
- Security systems
- Shipbuilding
- Shipyards
- Work environment
- World War, 1939-1945
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Brooklyn Navy Yard oral history collection