Utah World War II Stories; Interview with World War II Veteran 222

Why. Don't you walk. But I want to quit. Ok bye. You're OK. OK glad. Right again. You know before but how do you spell your name. It's it with two and. I have a brother in law that only use one. And they are always kid and make quite a bit for use and so much ink. He was kind of a conservative type person. And maybe that's why he wanted to use the one hand. Even my mother on my on my birth certificate. Made a cross and put to left and so when I thought of that. So were you bored and Bountiful Utah. I have no third generation viable. About Why yes bountiful junior high the only high school they had was up at Davis about it. Kids

fail and we used to ride the old Bamberger train light rail etc.. Apparently the kid just let it get in more trouble when there was you know I mean it's whatever when you know the place where you got water for you. OK thank you. All right and so you go to the high school how did you get the name. Well there was three of us young kids. When seen all of the movies for but Abbott Lucas away etc. you know and as formations as they may be I always felt like that would be wonderful to get in the Navy but the Navy was a little extra special. You had to make sure that you was in top basic physical condition. Because we had heard that only take the top 10 percent. And

yes it was rather hard on me in the two other fellows we went down and joined the Army. And incidentally they couldn't pass a physical. And I could in a way. And that was for four years. Anyway I called them up that evening and told them No I didn't want to go. For some reason anyway about three weeks later we decided all what the heck let's go down and join the Navy. So we went down and joined the Navy and and it rather surprised me that I was physically and mentally. Fit for that. And when I went out to do. The lobby after my introduction to the Navy my two buddies are still there and they could not pass a physical again. And. What year 1941 February

1941. And. The investment for the Navy was for six years instead of four. And I made up my mind then that I was gone. And of course my main thoughts when I went in the service I wanted to scrub those decks and fire those guns. And. As you all know it didn't take very long for me to get adjusted to that. And I I've enjoyed so much. Were you said. Yeah I I I had my boot training in San Diego yes. And then I went aboard ship I was on a draft and this draft was for the North Hampton the night before that this big warship come in San Diego harbor. And of course we all went down to the pier that evening and seen it and figured man would it be be something

if we he'd get aboard that thing. And my name was on the on the draft the following morning. And as we went out to that ship you get in preparation for your seabag and etc.. It had to be packed an awful tight awful awful tight in order to pack it because the seabag actually weighed more than I did. I at that time I weighed a hundred thirty two pounds. That. As And as we got out of the out of the line of the Liberty launch walking up the gangway. I couldn't. I feel so proud of her. You know of doing something something like this because I'm a little farm boy from Donna or Utah.

You know doing something you know something like this. And and it made me so I'm so proud of myself. And of course when I ponder on the quarterdeck and saluted the ship and asked permission to come aboard Neo Dan he granted it you want to over there and put your seabag down. And that taken in the sights of the ship an exciter of the sounds of the ship will scare the hell out of you because you've always got your Belgian your buddy bugle etc. and you wasn't used to it. And then all of a sudden when we did get aboard. One of the boats a mates and I Mendoza nans and he was a Portugee. And he had tattoos all over his body. And he brought us back to reality he says fellow insiders. And

that brought us back into reality. That for the next especially we place a scrub index. Just scrubbing the date we slap in Aramic for about three weeks. I think it was more of initiation than anything else but I wish it was for a slip and our antics but I was assigned to second division. It's Dec division and I enjoyed it. We had control of 2 5 ancient old findings 25 guns done on the flight deck. And the number 2 turret with the eight inch guns. My first assignment was down in the handling rooms in the ammunition. Area. And when you go to your

battle station for a drill would you go down through a hatch and you come to the third deck down and you go through an armor piercing hatch which is about four to six inches thick steel and they lock in and you figured I want to hear what's going to happen now. But that and after all it was a drought and you weathered out it kind of ties a kind of a knot in your stomach because you don't know what to expect and one that where you first heard we were going to see oh yeah or yes or yes we was only on my feet. In San Diego there for until the next morning we want to say when do ho IEEE and I fit in man. What a lot of wonderful. Crews. At this age I was 19 at the time. I had been in Hawaii

wonderful. I don't harbor. Yes yes yes. Well it was it was just excitement no excitement. What what a wonderful adventure for you. I didn't care too much about what the world's problems were at that particular time and as things went on during during the summer of 1940 9 1941. We had heard talk about the Japanese and except when and of course we didn't worry too much about it. But about the 15th of June June 1941. The heavy cruiser Northampton and the Salt Lake City with three destroyers were Nazi. And this is unusual because we always went out with the carrier Enterprise. Well we started steaming due south.

Nobody knew anything about what to ask Scott about it cetera. And. The next morning right after daylight we seen a ship out on the horizon. Well nobody knew what it was. Nobody. The radio man and the quartermaster people wouldn't say anything to because they knew but they wouldn't say anything. But we did find out later that it was a Dutch freighter. I can't pronounce the name because it's the Dutch names. It's in the book You Are you never know to pronounce it I can't. But anyway we heard that it was loaded with it with planes. Supplies an exciter for generation out for the Flying Tigers over in China. Well at that particular

time we didn't care too much about that because we said SK still kept hidden due south. And we know that eventually he was going to have to cross in quatre. And now we have heard that. They had a ceremony that they was going to beat the hell out of you. Well as that time approached they started building some equipment on the quarterdeck. And. To our surprise it was a holding tank a big one. And. With kind of a box in chair on top for you for your court system. Well it was really really. I missed it. An education for us. Very surprising to me because I wouldn't know what to expect from that from the Shellback Shellback says the man. Been across the equator and the pollywogs was the new man.

And then throw a little bit of fare into you because it was of the unknown. But the day that we cross in equator they had quite a ceremony. I we had the royal doctor the royal baby and you'd be surprised what he looked like. Old dog always I have even seen him smoking a cigar taking a shower. And you see some of those guys with some debt douches you can even explain what they are. And it's rather embarrassing at times even look at him. But we did drive across the equator and then we started heading south by southwest. Knowing that a few days was going to cross international made line. While we have heard through the grapevine and the scuttlebutt aboard ship that. You cross an international dateline you're going

to have to notify the Japanese. The Japanese was a very shrewd people. They had an agreement with the US and probably with Britain as well so that we could not have any battleships in the Asiatic fleet and bands that the English had had or conquered that part of the world at one time or another did have the Prince of Wales in the Asiatic way and they. Was able to retain that. This is why we didn't have any in the in that area. Well what the what the treaty was that any time that we supplied the Philippines with a warship that warship. Gunny armament had to go through the Indian Ocean or to the Indian Ocean. So we wouldn't overpower that part of the

world. And apparently this didn't happen because they didn't want us to know we're sad and I have read a different transcripts and different books that the Japanese knew were down there but they said they will never get through. But we did. We took our. Our material over to Jabba. And we did have a little bit of a problem going over to Java. One morning we about three o'clock in the morning General Quarters were out. And this was very very unusual. We went to our general quarters sation and and started sending up live ammunition. And at that time I was assigned and rammer in number two gun in number two target. So I was up where

some of the action was going on and on but we still didn't know anything about. Why. As as the day wore on apparently these ships out there would not would not give us the IAF F and then for a den of fire themselves. And of course we wouldn't identify ourselves. Well I'm sure they got a hold of him a win in Pearl Harbor and Admiral Kimmel would probably have to notify Washington and accept a while about four hours later we did get. The message that who they were they happen to be three Australian cruisers out on maneuvers. But this is fine but what are you doing down here in this part of the world and you shouldn't be here. So you see the tension was certainly was certainly because we knew that we had landed the action of the

Japanese or anyway. After we left there then we didn't. Like I said before we didn't worry too much about world affairs. We was going to Australia. And we went down the Great Barrier Reef and northeastern coast of Australia and went to Brisbane Australia was down there for five days. We had a wonderful time. The people in Australia was. That part. Very nice but you didn't have to pay me. We paid half fare for taxis. We did and pay any fare on the trams on the road systems and. As most sailors that always go into a bar and you was very lucky if you get out of there without paying anything at all and we just enjoyed it so much.

But then back to LA to go. Back to the ship and we went to Port Moresby New Guinea. And Mirabelle New Britain time if you want to the Met you and this is in July the 1st of August of 1941 and. When I went over I wasn't I was on the less liberty boat. But I didn't go to. I didn't go on the beach but I was and in the group that took him over there and it was nothing but a bunch of headhunters in their market area marketplace. We have we have pictures of it and of course we went back. From there on you go back to Pearl Harbor. Straight back to Pearl Harbor and you have to cross to equal it or 900 need it then redeem at the same time. And that that it was a little bit special because that give us a golden dragon Shellback award which I have contacted

Mabel Institute and I asked them how many percentage of all of the world seafarers has ever been in an area before a nation's not not as high as five percent. So it gives you a kind of a special feeling to know. Yeah. What a wonderful experience. And when I got back to Pearl Harbor I had a very very good surprise because my father was back there. He had signed up for federal work and he did have a chance to go to Alameda. But then after I went over there than me he figured as long as he's over there I'm going to go over there too. So he worked in the shipyards as a ship fitter women. From from August 1941 until about 1940 four. And he was and he was at Pearl Harbor when.

When they made the attack and and one up here to him aboard ship and see if he'd do it. So when I would get together and. So where was the North Wind. Well. As strange as that might might be about November the twenty seventh of 1941. We did not have any anti-aircraft guns. Hardly aboard any of those ships cruisers. Well they did have 6 5 and 25 open gun mount switchers. Really terrible to say World War 2 standards. We had 250 caliber machine guns and that was all. All right so one of the Admirals. He realized this an E so he got two men from each ship from the cruisers and he sent them over to Fort over

to Barbara's point. Barbara's point was about five miles as the crow flies from Pearl Harbor but it was small arms ammunition firing range over there with far out sea and there was about ten or twelve of us went over there. I was over there for two days two or three days and one of the guys command from from China one morning nice and meets going on all but can't go up because we're still here. It's one of two guys from the cruiser. Yeah. Yes yes says the preacher going on because they can see the destroyers and later on they could see the cruisers and of course they could see the carriers. Well we immediately went down to administration. They were kind of shunned her shoulders a little bit and said well you just have to wait here until we get back you know. When was what happened. Admiral Kimmel dispatched Adam Housley to Wake Island. And we went to.

Of course with the screening ships with the kit with the cruisers and the destroyers we went to Wake Island and they delivered. Four or six fighter planes going it's all they had and in the end a man died by doing this. They also dispatched the carrier Lexington up at Midway and the Saratoga was going back to the States for a refit mix after Matt was the only three carriers that we have in the Pacific at that time. And they delivered the planes. And of course on the way back you went back over and out towards Johnson Island which is a little bit of an I told Radar well that radar base now but they had radio beacons out there and whatnot and you know and I'm not all the time this was going

on. Well. We we kept track of Japanese and boy that was coming to the U.S. at that particular time. Let's bring in on if they wanted to if they you know I think all of the maybe men out there. I don't know why the the higher densities of the Navy didn't realize maybe they did but they knew for sure never said nothing about it. But as we got. Past Johnson 9 and then Admiral Hodges pretty well declared that he wanted to refuel the destroyers. If you want to keep them topped up pretty happy because if you make a speed run you're going to be in trouble with those little things because they use so darn much fuel. So we went into a refueling mode the cruisers the cruisers on the destroyers and on one of the destroyers of the Northampton was due and we had a little bit of a problem

because these winds that you had refueling lines that you pass over that we had two of them at that time. Are all controlled by manual control to keep the thing from out of the water because the ships are gone. I don't think there are over 100 yards apart or a hundred feet apart and they're not going very fast. Well we had some awful rough water out there. And what happened as the ships came together. They they all them. All of the loose lines and Except I had to bring a refuelling lines in it so I drop out of the water. Then they just parted. They separated and as it did that it parted all of the lines the refuelling lines the hawsers and everything and of course the refuelling line just like an old air holes with a lot of pressure just flopping around just blowing oil all over the place just

making a big mess. But then what the trouble came with the hawsers. That's a three inch. Rope. OK you got drafted and drifted back and it got caught in our screws and then rammed earth and then wound around our shaft and it just bring the ship brought the ship to a screeching halt and we had to get divers. We had one diver aboard ship but we had to get other divers from other ships to come over and help them cut loose and you talk about a moment. Maybe that was an omen because it delayed the task force 24 hours otherwise. The carrier Enterprise task group would have just been tied up a Pearl Harbor when they made the attack. So maybe it was a good omen that this happened. There was only one hundred twenty five miles away from Pearl when the Japanese made your attack. In fact they

sent some of the ships are some of the planes. And to help them but of course the people at Pearl Harbor shot them down. How many how many there were I have no idea but there were some number of US planes off the carrier Hornet or off the carrier Enterprise that was sunk that was shot down. We did not or they did not know. As far as reality until one of our s o c spotter planes came back and it was shot up with withholds and. But so how did you meet her. Well they well apparently they now sent over that over the phone over the loudspeaker but what had happened. So yeah I was over at Barbers Point. OK I know the guys told me all of this after they got back into it. So what would have happened was going on with Barbara's point and we

could hear we could hear the shelling we could hear the bombs we could see the smoke but we couldn't see anything else occasionally. We might see a plane and well we were over there with the guest of the Marine Corps the Marine Corps. Though the trainees are the teachers of all of these weapons and whatnot we had one old 40 a 40 millimeter Beauford and we had 120 millimeter that was active that could be fired. We didn't fire it the Marines fired. And at that morning. One of the guys is just coming back from the chow hall and he says they're bomb Pearl Harbor or bomb the harbor. And of course we was waiting for him to come and get us to take us over to Pearl. What good would I have a dozen seamen

be to go over there anyway. They did take us over there about 9:30. And we got over there to the Liberty area liberty launch area about 9:00 about 9:30 and everything was pretty well completed then it was one hell of a mess. You know as far as Battleship Row and whatnot but that's where most of most of all of the destruction was except the dry dogs and and whatnot. We had the Pennsylvania was in dry dock with the with the destroyer Shah and maybe a couple of others and they was blown up pretty bad. Well we got over there and they didn't have anything for us to do they just told us to help out where we could and there's no sense of send us over to Fort out and so I went looking for my father. I went down the ship down to his.

Well down by the shipyards by the dry dock area is where his main shop was out but I didn't get a chance to see him he said. They told me that he was around someplace but they didn't know for sure where I am and I just told him I told the one guy that I saw a talk to. Well tell him that he sounds OK. And of course I didn't seem for about a month and a half or so. But anyway. What were you feeling when you first. Well you you get you get that kind of an empty gut feeling in your slimy that you know something's going to happen but you don't know what. Or something's bound to happen and you wish that it were would happen to that extent but it was it was kind of excitement a little bit of excitement because nothing happened to

us and I think those four guys on the Arizona In fact one of McKinney one of my friends from the school days was it was killed on the Arizona his name was Charles Wyatt from bottleful. And. But anyway the task force command the next morning right after daylight. And within a half an hour time I was back aboard ship. Of course we refueled the ship. And brought on supplies and the whole task force was back out to sea the next morning and we headed towards southeast as near as we could tell. We headed toward Panama. And you know whether the Japanese is going to hit Panama or not had been a likely place for him. But we was out for about three weeks. And then of course we went back and got resupply but we didn't stay in port very long maybe for a day damn

half and that was about all. The destroyers with no liberty hardly anything apologist. But we're going get to get back out to sea. And then the first of February. We went down and. They let the Japanese know we went down with the task force and they shelled the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. When we talk of Khwaja land we was assigned to the low island of Logan and. I believe that's where. The U.S. probably thought the Japanese would come from if they was going to attack Pearl Harbor. But we did we did. And I think our main objective was to let them know that they had not sunk the complete fleet of Pearl Harbor. They yes they they did damage a lot of old

outdated battleships but they did not sink the Pacific Fleet approver. Because we had our three carriers. I would say 15 to 20 cruisers that is light and heavy with 25 destroyers. That's pretty good. Still a pretty good force of course. Come the 1st of March.