WWII Naval Vet

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
So, this morning, I was walking through the grocery store just looking things over while my wife was picking up a few things somewhere else in the store when I noticed this gentleman with a WWII Navy Veteran cap on his head.

Well, I just had to approach him and I said, “Excuse me, sir, but I noticed your cap and I was wondering what ship you were on.” He told me that he was assigned to the Cleveland. I had never heard of that ship, so I had to ask him several more questions, not only about the ship, but also his job. He told me that he was a Machinists Mate. That brought about more questions. (He served in the South Pacific.)

Later, we got to talking about the war. We probably spoke to one another for a good 20-30 minutes. My wife found me and joined us. My wife is a retired professor, but not history, so I could tell she was becoming bored. I told him that I had one more question for him, which was,“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” He said 95. (He looked about being maybe 65.) He joined in 1942-1946. I had to tell him that he looked remarkably well. He said he felt good, except for his right arm, which has been a problem since the war and his hearing suffers from the guns being fired onboard his ship and he still drives.

Before we parted, I told him how much of a pleasure it was speaking with him. I also made the comment “Most of you guys are gone and that’s a shame. When one of you veterans die, a lot of history goes with you.” I really wanted to talk more with him and he was very willing to talk to me.

Later, I thought, darn, I should have asked him to our home for dinner one evening or maybe to have lunch.
 

I had a good friend in this town who joined the Navy in 1928 and served for 30 years. He spent his time in the Pacific aboard battleships and was in the last major battle where American Battleships slugged it out with Japanese Battleships. His battle group caught the Japanese coming through some single file in the straits of the South Pacific.
His Battle Group was able to execute the Classic Crossing of the T formation (from the days of sailing ships) where all of the American ships were able to fire their heavy guns broadside, but the Japanese were only able to fire the heavy guns of the lead ship in their formation. It was a serious loss for the Japanese.
My friend did suffer hearing loss from the 16 inch guns, but otherwise he finished his 30 year career in good health. He was married to a lovely woman for 72 years and they were really cute together. My wife and I took them to a Navy Day Ball where he was a major hit when they got him up on stage where he spoke about the War and the Navy. He looked pretty sharp in his dress blues, which had been let out a bit but still fit. He went in when he was 17 and worked his was through Chief Petty Officer to Chief Warrant Officer to Lieutenant Commander before he retired.
He was quite a fellow and really loved his wife. They cuddled in our back seat on the drive over to the ball. My wife and I were really happy see an older couple who were so in love.
After his wife died, he moved into an independent living complex where he lived until he passed. Not having his wife was really hard for him. I knew him well and still miss him.

My adopted father served in the Navy during WWII and was in the fight over Midway and the major Battle of Okinawa. Later he served with the occupation forces in mainland Japan. I have another departed friend who went ashore as a Marine when we took Okinawa. One of my uncles was in the Navy and served with the American river boat forces in Southern China. Two of my other uncles were Navy Radiomen during WWII and one of them served in Europe with Army Ground Forces.

I am actually named after one of my older Uncles who fought in the trenches of World War One and died from the effects of mustard gas poisoning after he returned to the states.

Yes, you would have enjoyed spending more time with your friend. When you can get these guys talking, they are really worth listening to. I was once able to spend a couple of hours talking to a WWII Flyer who was shot down and spent a lot of time in a German POW Camp.

By comparison, my 31 years in the Navy were really, really tame.
 
When I was a boy, my grandmother's next door neighbor was retired from the Navy. He had served in the Spanish-American war. I wish now I had talked with him more.
 

One of my sons was career Navy - 25 years. He served on 6 different carriers and was on the Enterprise twice. I was privileged to tour three different carriers. What an eye opener to go aboard these grand ships.

I can't remember exactly, but I think this is the G-Dub (U.S.S. George Washington) carrier group from one of his tours.

Stevens.ships.jpg
 
Marlene said:
One of my sons was career Navy - 25 years. He served on 6 different carriers and was on the Enterprise twice. I was privileged to tour three different carriers. What an eye opener to go aboard these grand ships.

I can't remember exactly, but I think this is the G-Dub (U.S.S. George Washington) carrier group from one of his tours.

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What you cannot see is the two or three attack submarines protecting this group.
Whenever I was sent to a carrier for temporary duty, I was always "lost" for a couple of weeks. They are even bigger than they look.
 
Pecos said:
What you cannot see is the two or three attack submarines protecting this group.
Whenever I was sent to a carrier for temporary duty, I was always "lost" for a couple of weeks. They are even bigger than they look.
Click to expand...
The ones I was on had between 5,000 and 6,000 sailors aboard. The size of the quarter deck was mind boggling with all those planes stored in there. Who knew? Well, I suppose all sailors know, but oh my what a treat.
 
Marlene said:
The ones I was on had between 5,000 and 6,000 sailors aboard. The size of the quarter deck was mind boggling with all those planes stored in there. Who knew? Well, I suppose all sailors know, but oh my what a treat.
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LOL, The Hanger Deck was where all those planes were stored.
When you first requested "permission to come aboard" from the Officer of The Day, you were on the Quarter Deck.
 
ProTruckDriver said:
Not hard to do. I served onboard the USS Nimitz CVN 68 from 78 to 82 and still got lost sometimes. An aircraft carrier is a floating city.
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I spent a couple of nights on the Nimitz when she was steaming in the Med with the South Carolina and the California in the 1976 to 1977 timeframe. Night ops all night and I did not get much sleep, but the food was good.
Then I took a helo to the California where I got to listen to that sophisticated sonar all night. But the food was good. I spent six weeks on her and tangled with a rip roaring case of dysentery when we pulled out of Alexandria.
The Russians tailed us the whole time and blew a boiler trying to keep up with the Nimitz battle group during a high speed run. I was on the fantail when it happened. I treasure the memory of seeing all that smoke when they went dead in the water.
 
My nephew retired from the Navy as a Commander on an LCAC. He would deliver Marines to their landing destination. He spent a lot of time in the Mideast, but that’s about all I could get out of him. I do know that he delivered Seal teams when they were looking for Al-Qaeda.

I think LCAC’s are armed well enough to defend themselves.
 

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