Interviewer(s): E. Bernier. Bayou Vista, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I accidentally found Mr. Burgess. There was a Leroy Burgess on the contact list who was a friend of Julie Delaune's. When I looked up the number this is whom I found. Leroy's son answered the phone and was excited to hear that someone might want to talk to his father who had worked at McDermott for 25 years. Leroy is an extremely soft spoken but polite man. He offered to get me water and made sure that I was comfortable at the kitchen table. He answered my questions to the best of his ability but did not tend to elaborate on any points. He also had a difficult time remembering names of people he'd worked with.

Leroy was born in 1944 and grew up in Verdunville, Louisiana. He served in the Army in Vietnam and began work with McDermott when he returned to Louisiana in 1966. He began with no experience but worked his way up to the position of welder. He was laid off in 1984 and again in 1986. On both occasions he worked odd jobs to make ends meet. He returned to McDermott when things picked up again and retired in 1998.