Joe Itson was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. Born in Cedar City, Utah, in 1928, Joe Itson moved to Long Beach, California, at just two months old. His early years were spent around the San Pedro harbor, where sold newspapers and shined shoes on the Navy ships during the 1930s. He describes how he pestered his parents to allow him to go to sea, eventually joining the Merchant Marine during World War II.

Joe Marino was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. Joe Marino was born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1927.  In 1941, invited by his childhood friend Mr. LaPenta, Joe’s father decided to move to San Pedro. Joe Marino immediately began working in San Pedro as a newspaper boy, where he sold newspapers on the corner of Sixth and Beacon Street. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He worked as a Fisherman for a few years after his military service. Joe decided to go to college and major in education.

Joe Radisich was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. Joe Radisich, born and raised in San Pedro, California, comes from a family deeply rooted in the maritime industry. His father was a longshoreman, his paternal grandfather was a fisherman, and his maternal grandfather was a merchant marine. The interview explores Radisich’s childhood memories of growing up in San Pedro, highlighting the close-knit, blue-collar nature of the community, and the port’s central role in the town’s identity.

John Ara was born in Brooklyn in 1922 and raised in Spain until the age of sixteen. He returned to the United States and faced challenges in proving his American citizenship due to the destruction of his birth documents during the Spanish Civil War. Ara's journey to establish his citizenship involved a series of encounters, including a fortuitous meeting with a doctor who had delivered him as a child. Ara's first job in the U.S. was in the fish canneries. He then joined the Merchant Marine and served for about four years before joining the Navy during World War II.

John Di Bernardo was born in 1947 in San Pedro, California. His parents emigrated from Ischia, Italy, to San Pedro. His father was a fisherman who owned several boats. Eventually, his father worked on his uncle's boat, the Santa Maria, until retiring when John was nine years old. John's mother worked in the canneries and the harbor on Terminal Island during World War II. In 1985, John began working for Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), starting as a superintendent and later managing the Indies Terminal and overseeing its expansion into the YTI Terminal.

John Guest was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. John Guest, a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, was born in San Pedro, California, in 1926. Although he did not grow up in San Pedro, he returned to the area after getting married in 1955 and made a significant career with the Coast Guard in the Los Angeles Harbor area. The interview begins with Guest recounting his early years and the reason his family moved back to San Pedro.

John Maramoto was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. John Maramoto was born on June 24, 1927, in San Pedro, California, and grew up in the close-knit Japanese American fishing community on Terminal Island. His family had a deep connection to the fishing industry, with his father and grandfather both working as fishermen. Maramoto describes his childhood experiences, such as playing sports with other Japanese children, learning to swim, and the rough language developed by the fishermen, which was a mix of Japanese and English.

Oral history interview with John Olguin. 

Oral history interview with John Papadakis.

John Royal was interviewed for the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project. Born on June 24, 1922, in Wolf Creek, Colorado, Royal moved to San Pedro, California, with his family in 1928, where his father found work on the waterfront during a time of economic hardship. The interview covers Royal’s early life, highlighting his experiences growing up in San Pedro during the Great Depression.