I was born and raised in the small town of
Bryce, Arizona. I went thru my first 8 grades at Bryce Elementary School. I was well aware of the world thru a battery radio we had in our home and the news reels they ran at the movie in Pima on family night, Thursdays.
I had attended high school in Pima my freshman year among a lot of strangers and some were really strange.
Mid way thru my sophomore year the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Sunday, December 7, 1941. I was riding a horse when a neighbor told me about it so I went home and kept my ear to the radio. They declared war on Japan right away. I felt badly because they started a war and I had just turned 15 years old. Little did I realize they would keep it going until I got old enough to go fight the Japs.
Right away many of my friends who were old enough joined a branch of the service. Many of the girls got married before their boyfriends left for the war. A lot of the families that had been struggling to make a living on their small farms would sell to neighbors who became big farmers. They would move to Phoenix or California to do war work. We were faced with all kinds of rationing because of the war, like sugar, gas and tires. We were fortunate on the farm because we had our own meat, milk, eggs, ect. Our school sports were curtailed so much that we played the local schools of Safford, Thatcher and Fort Thomas in football and basketball.
I stayed in school until I graduated in may 1944. I had gone to Phoenix with two of my buddies from Eden to join the service in June 1943. My buddies Pete Nelson was old enough to go into the army and Newt Kempton the navy. I tried to join but they wouldn’t take me without my parents’ permission and they wouldn’t give it until I finished High School.The summer between my sophomore and junior year was a very busy time for me. The river had flooded that spring so most of the dam that forced the water into the Graham Canal had washed away. My dad was the ditch boss so as soon as school was out Dad would take me to the dam each day where I worked with our team and was on hauling car bodies, brush and rocks to rebuild the dam. Some other men were working on the dam but it was mostly Cal Parker and I.
Cal lived on the Safford road north of the river bridge on the Bill Wansley farm which he share
cropped for many years. For lunch dad would take me to Cal Parker's where his wife Lavona always had a good feed prepared.
We would go back to Bryce and and do chores and clean up then even though I was only 14 dad would let me drive back up the 10 miles to Parker's as long as I stayed on the road on the north side of the river thru Hubbard. We only had a 1936 Chevrolet pickup. Melba and I would sit in the pickup talk, hug, and kiss til after midnight. I would go home and sleep a couple of hours then get up and go work on the dam all day. The noon meal with Melba was very big for me. I don't know how I was able to drive on that crooked gravel road and not fall asleep or wreck.
Late on that summer my cousin Ray Hancock and his cousin Hollis Hancock offered to take me to an out door church dance one Saturday in Safford.
funeral in 2006. we had 18 graduates in May 1944.
rubbed and I had to get rid of it. It took me over a month before I was able to go. This ruined our plans of being together in boot camp. helped run this large warehouse of all sort of airplane parts. I worked with an old gentleman from Pima, Clarence Davis and a man who was a neighbor of my Uncle Raymond Lamoreaux in Mesa, Walter Johnson. We made quite a team.
By mid August Ted McBride one of my best pals and close mates and Nile Coons who was a class behind us but our age got together and went to Phoenix to join the U.S. Navy. I had always wanted to be a US Marine but all my friends have joined the Navy, so I did too, I never regretted this decision. They took Niles Coons and sent him to San Diego the day we e
nlisted but Jed had
My grandmother Mabel Lamoreaux had made sure that I received my Patriarchal Blessing before I went away
The camp was set up where eight barracks surrounded an area where we
washed our clothes regularly in long troughs.
younger sister that lived in San Diego, Marie Broomes. She and her husband owned a Greek café in downtown San Diego. I was able to go visit a few times. This helped me in being away from home. When I gave blood I would see my cousin Ray Hancock at the hospital for a short visit. Ray spent a lot of time with Aunt Marie. marched, more movies and
The only time we got out of the long grueling daily routine was when we went to church, to give blood, or when we played football. I went to church regularly, gave blood as often as possible, and played right guard on the company football team. We played flag football on the blacktop. We sure tried hard not to fall down.
My grandfather Ray Lamoreaux had a
and downtown San Francisco. in the evening I went into a place where they were holding any US dance just like in the movies, it wasn't much fun.
Hawaii. I never saw the sun and we revert just waiting in the San Francisco Bay. I went ashore one day spent in sightseeing in San Francisco, the trolley cars, fisherman's wharf, Olivera street,
In a short time we were all seasick and there were gobs of spaghetti all over the deck. We were all on the rail throwing up.
We slept in bunks welded to the walls just a couple of feet above the other. This wasn't a good situation for a claustrophobic person such as I
. there was a lot of spaghetti in the bunk area to.
Once we got away from land the ship
When we weren't on assignment escorting we would work with the full-time guards. I met lots of people from Pima doing this duty. one day Newt Kempton came in. I found where his ship was and went to see him on his ship that night. He was from Eden and I had gone with him to enlist when I was too young. Also on his ship was Robert Gaona who had went through boot camp with me.
Newt Kempton and I have been close buddies all through our life. He settled in Mesa and is still there. I take him to Pima high school games when they play in the Phoenix area.
When our ship finally arrived I moved aboard it. We had to chip and paint through old rusty tanker that was our new home. A partial crew that had come from Boston remained on the ship. They included a chief signal man and a signal man, a pharmacist mate first class, and a radio man. The rest of the crew were men that had waited here in Hawaii for the ship to arrive.
We were almost happy when after being at sea a day or two the chief Boatsman became very sick. the corpseman checked him out and decided he had an acute appendix problem either burst or just swollen. He needed a real doctor.
As a young geography student I had n
oticed a small dot in the Pacific ocean named Johnston Island. Little did I ever imagined I would ever be there. We veered off course enough to get to Johnston Island. One of my permanent jobs was to go on any trip the ship's boat went. We took the chief to Johnston Island basically just a small airstrip on a small island. I got off the boat to tie us up to th
ck so I was actually on Johnston Island. We returned to the ship and proceeded south west to the Marshall Islands.
We went into Atoll center and became a service station. We single men were busy giving instructions to ships wanting to refuel. One of our first customers was a large ship from Britain loaded with Australians being returned from Europe where that part of the war was over.
Everyone on our ship got real seasick except me and our chief cook. I didn't suffer a bit. No ships were lost due to the storm and once it was over we regained our formation proceeded to Tokyo. A day or two
I had attended high school in Pima my freshman year among a lot of strangers and some were really strange.
The news reels helped us to feel a great hatred for the dirty Japs. Films of the raid on Pearl Harbor Navy showed how treacherous the attack was on that beautiful island of ours.
I stayed in school until I graduated in may 1944. I had gone to Phoenix with two of my buddies from Eden to join the service in June 1943. My buddies Pete Nelson was old enough to go into the army and Newt Kempton the navy. I tried to join but they wouldn’t take me without my parents’ permission and they wouldn’t give it until I finished High School.The summer between my sophomore and junior year was a very busy time for me. The river had flooded that spring so most of the dam that forced the water into the Graham Canal had washed away. My dad was the ditch boss so as soon as school was out Dad would take me to the dam each day where I worked with our team and was on hauling car bodies, brush and rocks to rebuild the dam. Some other men were working on the dam but it was mostly Cal Parker and I.
Cal lived on the Safford road north of the river bridge on the Bill Wansley farm which he share
cropped for many years. For lunch dad would take me to Cal Parker's where his wife Lavona always had a good feed prepared.
I had eaten at Parker's a couple of years before and his oldest daughter who was a few months
younger than me seemed to be very homely. Melba had grown by this summer and she stole my heart sitting across the table from her. I had never dated or really had a girlfriend but I found the courage to talk sanely to Melba.
We would go back to Bryce and and do chores and clean up then even though I was only 14 dad would let me drive back up the 10 miles to Parker's as long as I stayed on the road on the north side of the river thru Hubbard. We only had a 1936 Chevrolet pickup. Melba and I would sit in the pickup talk, hug, and kiss til after midnight. I would go home and sleep a couple of hours then get up and go work on the dam all day. The noon meal with Melba was very big for me. I don't know how I was able to drive on that crooked gravel road and not fall asleep or wreck.
I told them I didn't need to go dance cause I found my love and told them about Melba. Hollis made fun of me saying Melba was Marshall Lee's girlfriend. Marshall was an older rich kid from Thatcher who drove a red convertible and he had a bad reputation with his women. This really broke my heart and I let my love affair cool down. I did take Melba to the Pima Junior-Senior
Prom the following spring but things were not the same as they had been.
At about the same time that my love for Melba cooled off we had some special company come to
At about the same time that my love for Melba cooled off we had some special company come to
Bryce. My grandmother Lamoreaux's mother had moved to Florida years ago and she had some half brothers that lived in Florida. Uncle Lonzo McGrath had came to Arizona to marry his wife in the Mesa Temple. They had two children that were sealed to them in the Temple. Faye was a few months younger than me and her brother Joe was a couple of years younger. They had stayed at Grandma Lamoreaux's home in Mesa. They stayed at Aunt Annie Cosper's and her sister's too.
My cousin John Cosper, Ray Hancock and I tried to make Fay have a good time here. We took her to the church dances and on picnics in the Graham Mountains. Ray and I went with part of the family to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The caverns were incredible but
I sensed my extreme claustrophobia. Carlsbad Caverns includes a large cave chamber, the Big Room,
My cousin John Cosper, Ray Hancock and I tried to make Fay have a good time here. We took her to the church dances and on picnics in the Graham Mountains. Ray and I went with part of the family to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The caverns were incredible but
I sensed my extreme claustrophobia. Carlsbad Caverns includes a large cave chamber, the Big Room,a natural
limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 350 feet high at the highest point. It is the third largest chamber in North America and the seventh
largest in the world. In the Big Room they turned off the lights completely and played a rendition of a choir singing "Rock of Ages". It didn't feel so Big to me! It felt like the rocks were about to start tumblin' down.
My High School class continued to dwindle in number. One of our class mates, Nash Lamb had been a casualty of the war. Kent Larsen had been reported lost after a sea battle in which his ship went down. I remember we held a funeral service for Kent in the spring of 1944. I never knew he actually was later found and survived until I cam home from the Navy. I was able to attend Kent's real
My High School class continued to dwindle in number. One of our class mates, Nash Lamb had been a casualty of the war. Kent Larsen had been reported lost after a sea battle in which his ship went down. I remember we held a funeral service for Kent in the spring of 1944. I never knew he actually was later found and survived until I cam home from the Navy. I was able to attend Kent's real
My parents had moved to Mesa and my parents both worked at W
illiams Air Force Base. They moved at Christmas of 1943. I stayed with Aunt Lela and Uncle
Laurence so I could graduate from Pima High School. All the boys who graduated with me left for the service before the summer was over, mostly the Navy.
I moved down to Mesa and got a good job at Williams Air Force Base in Warehouse #1. I
I moved down to Mesa and got a good job at Williams Air Force Base in Warehouse #1. I
rubbed and I had to get rid of it. It took me over a month before I was able to go. This ruined our plans of being together in boot camp. helped run this large warehouse of all sort of airplane parts. I worked with an old gentleman from Pima, Clarence Davis and a man who was a neighbor of my Uncle Raymond Lamoreaux in Mesa, Walter Johnson. We made quite a team.
By mid August Ted McBride one of my best pals and close mates and Nile Coons who was a class behind us but our age got together and went to Phoenix to join the U.S. Navy. I had always wanted to be a US Marine but all my friends have joined the Navy, so I did too, I never regretted this decision. They took Niles Coons and sent him to San Diego the day we e
nlisted but Jed hadsome physical problem that kept him out for a couple of weeks. I had a big nasty boil on my rump where my wallet
My grandmother Mabel Lamoreaux had made sure that I received my Patriarchal Blessing before I went away
. Joseph Lines, an old Pima resident, now living in Mesa gave it to me.
Since Pearl Harbor my dad's two younger brothers Orville and Doyle had entered the service. Both were stationed in Florida. My mother's younger brother Max Lamoreaux, was in the Navy in Hawaii and my cousin Ray Hancock was
a Navy Corpsman at the Balboa Park Navy hospital in San Diego.
I was sent on a Greyhound bus from Phoenix with three others, Robert Gaona of Mesa, Jack
I was sent on a Greyhound bus from Phoenix with three others, Robert Gaona of Mesa, Jack
Wagner, and Paul Smith of Phoenix. Smith and Wagner were classmates through North Phoenix high school. We were all placed into the same company at boot camp. The San Diego boot camp was quite an experience to a small-town Arizona boy.
We had a neat company commander; he was about 6'6" tall and real husky. He played in professional football after the war. He was like the movie camp commander in Gomer Pyle. I got along fine with him because I played on the company football team.
We had a neat company commander; he was about 6'6" tall and real husky. He played in professional football after the war. He was like the movie camp commander in Gomer Pyle. I got along fine with him because I played on the company football team.
The camp was set up where eight barracks surrounded an area where we
washed our clothes regularly in long troughs.We had clothes lines but had to mark our clothes well. For two months we marched, saw movies,
younger sister that lived in San Diego, Marie Broomes. She and her husband owned a Greek café in downtown San Diego. I was able to go visit a few times. This helped me in being away from home. When I gave blood I would see my cousin Ray Hancock at the hospital for a short visit. Ray spent a lot of time with Aunt Marie. marched, more movies and
more marching. We even went on a long hike up the beach to the north. Gene Kelly, the dancer
and the movie star, was in the company behind ours. He went through boot camp like the rest of us then I understood he was to entertain at the USO shows. I would see him and his company as they marched next to us every day. I also washed my shirts with him several times. He was a really nice guy.
The only time we got out of the long grueling daily routine was when we went to church, to give blood, or when we played football. I went to church regularly, gave blood as often as possible, and played right guard on the company football team. We played flag football on the blacktop. We sure tried hard not to fall down.
I had a short leave a week before Christmas so I went to be with my family in Mesa, Arizona. Dad let me use their car for to visit aunt Leila in Pima. I dated a couple of girls, Jo Cluff and Delta Peck while I was there. I had to return to San Diego just before Christmas. I was assigned to go to a signalman school on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. I spent Christmas day on a slow moving train in route to San Francisco from San Diego, what Christmas.
we were bussed to treasure Island from the train station. The old world fair site was now a naval property. We were to stay there several days til a true ship was ready to depart for
we were bussed to treasure Island from the train station. The old world fair site was now a naval property. We were to stay there several days til a true ship was ready to depart for
and downtown San Francisco. in the evening I went into a place where they were holding any US dance just like in the movies, it wasn't much fun.
Hawaii. I never saw the sun and we revert just waiting in the San Francisco Bay. I went ashore one day spent in sightseeing in San Francisco, the trolley cars, fisherman's wharf, Olivera street,There was a group of us that were being sent to start a signalman school in Hawaii. Who kind of hung around together there in
Treasure Island. we always lined up by alphabetical last names so it was Tom Johnson was in front of me and Carl Keller was behind me. Tom and I became real pals. He was from Beaumont Texas and had gone to Texas A&M for school. Keller was from the mid-West but we didn't relate very well.
Right after lunch one day they loaded us into a bus took us to a dock in San Francisco where we boarded a liberty ship. We got settled in and had supper, spaghetti meatballs, just before we set sail. We could see Alcatraz Island from where we were at dock. we sailed under the Golden gate
Right after lunch one day they loaded us into a bus took us to a dock in San Francisco where we boarded a liberty ship. We got settled in and had supper, spaghetti meatballs, just before we set sail. We could see Alcatraz Island from where we were at dock. we sailed under the Golden gate
Bridge than we were on our way. The land swells the first 20 miles or
so had our ship bouncing around like a cork.
In a short time we were all seasick and there were gobs of spaghetti all over the deck. We were all on the rail throwing up.
We slept in bunks welded to the walls just a couple of feet above the other. This wasn't a good situation for a claustrophobic person such as I
. there was a lot of spaghetti in the bunk area to.Once we got away from land the ship
was smooth so we all got over our seasickness. We were at several days
than all at once there was Oahu Island
Diamondhead, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu and then we entered Pearl Harbor. Damage from the Japanese attack was still very evident. We could see sunken ships and damaged building.
We were taken from Pearl Harbor to a place called Camp Catlin about half way between Honolulu and Pearl Harbor and a mile or so above the main highway. we were to spend the next couple of months billeted in this US Marine camp. we would sleep and eat there then each day we would march to an open field of 40 acres where we proceeded to establish a signalman school facility. We took sack lunches to the field everyday.
The Navy Seabees did the construction work as we built to simulate a ships bridge on opposite corners of the field we would have students in each branch to signal back and forth and practice lights semi-and seeking flag signals. Each bridge had a big light with which we could send signals. Each had two masts and lanyards on which we would hang flags to signal all kinds of situations.
We had a classroom at Camp Catlin where we did a lot of learning of the Morse code and semi-door positions. We worked very hard and got pretty good at signaling.
We were off on weekends and had an occasional USO show to attend to at night.
Two of my old classmates were stationed here in Oahu. Lamel Pollock, whom I had gone to school with in Bryce and Benny Lofgreen. Lamel ran the laundry at Aiea barracks near Pearl Harbor. Benny Lofgreen was a classmate at Pima high school from Glenbar was a storekeeper at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor. Then he had lied about his age and skipped his senior school year. the three of us got together on most weekends.
From our fault signal bridge we had a great view of the Oahu coast. we watched two wounded aircraft carriers come to Pearl Harbor from battle where they had received that damage. One of them had taken a suicide plane down their smokestack and had no bridge left on it. The landing deck was the highest part remaining on the ship. The war was very real.
After we graduated from the school we each were given separate assignments. I was sent to
Diamondhead, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu and then we entered Pearl Harbor. Damage from the Japanese attack was still very evident. We could see sunken ships and damaged building.
We were taken from Pearl Harbor to a place called Camp Catlin about half way between Honolulu and Pearl Harbor and a mile or so above the main highway. we were to spend the next couple of months billeted in this US Marine camp. we would sleep and eat there then each day we would march to an open field of 40 acres where we proceeded to establish a signalman school facility. We took sack lunches to the field everyday.
We had a classroom at Camp Catlin where we did a lot of learning of the Morse code and semi-door positions. We worked very hard and got pretty good at signaling.
We were off on weekends and had an occasional USO show to attend to at night.
Two of my old classmates were stationed here in Oahu. Lamel Pollock, whom I had gone to school with in Bryce and Benny Lofgreen. Lamel ran the laundry at Aiea barracks near Pearl Harbor. Benny Lofgreen was a classmate at Pima high school from Glenbar was a storekeeper at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor. Then he had lied about his age and skipped his senior school year. the three of us got together on most weekends.
From our fault signal bridge we had a great view of the Oahu coast. we watched two wounded aircraft carriers come to Pearl Harbor from battle where they had received that damage. One of them had taken a suicide plane down their smokestack and had no bridge left on it. The landing deck was the highest part remaining on the ship. The war was very real.
After we graduated from the school we each were given separate assignments. I was sent to
train for the amphibious landing of troops on enemy shores. I was at Barberas points station on the other side of Pearl Harbor. It was a tent city but pretty comfortable. We mostly trained at night with a red light. Some of us would stay on shore while others were in a small landing craft out from shore a short distance. I was here when Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt died. For some
reason our assignment was canceled so I was sent to the Aeia barracks to wait for a new assignment. I spent a lot of time with Lamel and his laundry office or with Benny at this submarine base. Then he would travel all over Oahu collecting produce and milk for his submarines we often went to a dairy in Kaimuki, a farming area up the slope above Waikiki Beach. We had a cute girlfriend that made good milkshakes in a drugstore there.
The girl was LDS and told us that dances were held at her ward each week. We attended a couple of the dances but they wouldn't let us dance close! Ben and I went to a ward located on Main street in Honolulu. The bus went past it.
I checked each weekday to see if I
got my new assignment, very irritating. While waiting I got an abscessed wisdom tooth. The dentist wouldn't pull it while it was abscess
The girl was LDS and told us that dances were held at her ward each week. We attended a couple of the dances but they wouldn't let us dance close! Ben and I went to a ward located on Main street in Honolulu. The bus went past it.
got my new assignment, very irritating. While waiting I got an abscessed wisdom tooth. The dentist wouldn't pull it while it was abscessed. It was miserable.
I finally got assigned to be a signal man on a tanker that had just left Boston, Massachusetts and would come through Panama Canal to Hawaii. It was manned by merchant Marines with a small Navy crew for protection.
I was given temporary duty at the main gate of Pearl Harbor. I moved into a large building next to the main gate. The building had banking areas but had barbershops, drugstore and all kinds of services like a small town. I would be at the main gate for an eight hour shift each day except my day off. My specific duty was to escort merchant marine personnel through the Pearl Harbor
I finally got assigned to be a signal man on a tanker that had just left Boston, Massachusetts and would come through Panama Canal to Hawaii. It was manned by merchant Marines with a small Navy crew for protection.
I was given temporary duty at the main gate of Pearl Harbor. I moved into a large building next to the main gate. The building had banking areas but had barbershops, drugstore and all kinds of services like a small town. I would be at the main gate for an eight hour shift each day except my day off. My specific duty was to escort merchant marine personnel through the Pearl Harbor
base when they were to go ashore or when they returned to their ships. They were required to stay on the ship while it was docked there to load or unload unless they were escorted. This was a safety move to avoid espionage.
When we weren't on assignment escorting we would work with the full-time guards. I met lots of people from Pima doing this duty. one day Newt Kempton came in. I found where his ship was and went to see him on his ship that night. He was from Eden and I had gone with him to enlist when I was too young. Also on his ship was Robert Gaona who had went through boot camp with me.
Newt Kempton and I have been close buddies all through our life. He settled in Mesa and is still there. I take him to Pima high school games when they play in the Phoenix area.
When our ship finally arrived I moved aboard it. We had to chip and paint through old rusty tanker that was our new home. A partial crew that had come from Boston remained on the ship. They included a chief signal man and a signal man, a pharmacist mate first class, and a radio man. The rest of the crew were men that had waited here in Hawaii for the ship to arrive.We were docked there while we made the ship liveable, loaded supplies, and made sure the diesel engine was in top shape.
The ship was a huge oil tanker built by Germans early in the World War I. It was named by the U.S. Navy and commissioned
The ship was a huge oil tanker built by Germans early in the World War I. It was named by the U.S. Navy and commissioned
as IX218 the USS Guardoqui. We were sent to Eniwotok Atoll in the Marshall Islands where we would refuel fighting ships and troop ships. We would be a portable dual station hauling diesel for ships. They said that our ship was as long as the biggest aircraft carriers.
The signal men had no duties while we were docked at Pearl Harbor so Richard King and I have to work with the theme and crew to get this ship shipshape. We had a slave driver type of Chief Boatsman who made our life real miserable because he knew he'd lose our service once the ship was at sea. We toughed it out but we didn't like him.
The signal men had no duties while we were docked at Pearl Harbor so Richard King and I have to work with the theme and crew to get this ship shipshape. We had a slave driver type of Chief Boatsman who made our life real miserable because he knew he'd lose our service once the ship was at sea. We toughed it out but we didn't like him.
We were almost happy when after being at sea a day or two the chief Boatsman became very sick. the corpseman checked him out and decided he had an acute appendix problem either burst or just swollen. He needed a real doctor.
As a young geography student I had n
oticed a small dot in the Pacific ocean named Johnston Island. Little did I ever imagined I would ever be there. We veered off course enough to get to Johnston Island. One of my permanent jobs was to go on any trip the ship's boat went. We took the chief to Johnston Island basically just a small airstrip on a small island. I got off the boat to tie us up to th
ck so I was actually on Johnston Island. We returned to the ship and proceeded south west to the Marshall Islands.
We went into Atoll center and became a service station. We single men were busy giving instructions to ships wanting to refuel. One of our first customers was a large ship from Britain loaded with Australians being returned from Europe where that part of the war was over.
We were accumulating a large fleet preparing to invade Japan. We were really happy to hear that an H-bomb had caused the japs to surrender.
One shipmate was a jack Mormon in Salt Lake area, I was alone in religion. We had a man named Temple who planned on being a preacher when he got home. He held Protestant services sometimes. He would call on me for prayers because he knew I knew how to pray.
One of my best pals on the crew was a skinny kid from Los Angeles named Alvin Pete Rozelle. He was our hero on payday, because he gave us our paychecks. The corpse man, radioman, and signalman made up the bridge crew. We often spent our off time in the sick bay where our
One shipmate was a jack Mormon in Salt Lake area, I was alone in religion. We had a man named Temple who planned on being a preacher when he got home. He held Protestant services sometimes. He would call on me for prayers because he knew I knew how to pray.
One of my best pals on the crew was a skinny kid from Los Angeles named Alvin Pete Rozelle. He was our hero on payday, because he gave us our paychecks. The corpse man, radioman, and signalman made up the bridge crew. We often spent our off time in the sick bay where our
corpse men taught us to play bridge, the card game. We all got pretty skilled bridge players.
One of the engine crew was a boy from Phoenix remained Earl Somerall. We got together in Phoenix several times later. An older fellow in the engine crew from Globe, Arizona was named Lloyd, he was hard to relate to for me.
Our ship and 34 other warships headed for Japan as soon as the surrender was announced. We had battleships, cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, and even tankers. We were loaded to capacity with diesel brought to us by fast tankers.
One of the engine crew was a boy from Phoenix remained Earl Somerall. We got together in Phoenix several times later. An older fellow in the engine crew from Globe, Arizona was named Lloyd, he was hard to relate to for me.
Our ship and 34 other warships headed for Japan as soon as the surrender was announced. We had battleships, cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, and even tankers. We were loaded to capacity with diesel brought to us by fast tankers.
Our speed was just over 6 kn per hour, pretty slow
It was a beautiful sight to see all of these
ships in an assigned position in the fleet. We made good time till we had a real bad typhoon near the Iwo Jimo area.
It was a beautiful sight to see all of these
ships in an assigned position in the fleet. We made good time till we had a real bad typhoon near the Iwo Jimo area.The formation broke up and we were all on our own. The sea was so rough that at times you couldn't see another ship and at other times you could see lots of them. The typhoon caused huge troughs then you would be on top of the ridge.
Everyone on our ship got real seasick except me and our chief cook. I didn't suffer a bit. No ships were lost due to the storm and once it was over we regained our formation proceeded to Tokyo. A day or two
later the seamen on lookout on our port side hollered box off the port bow. The officer of the day put his field glasses on it. I was standing alongside him. He said,"box hell, that's a mine." He gave instructions to turn to avoid the mine. He had me send a message to a destroyer near us advising them of the mines so they could go shoot it out of the water. They looked for it but didn't find it. It had apparently broken loose from the mooring in some Japanese harbor by the typhoon. This was the closest I got to danger during the war.
We arrived at the entrance to Tokyo Bay and I signaled for someone to pilot us thru the large minefields the japs had placed in their harbor. The pilot came and let us safely through the minds.We anchored off the port of Yokusuka alongside the battleship where the surrender had been signed. We re-fueled a lot of American ships and a few Australian ships. One afternoon in a small Japanese boat came alongside and with great difficulty I communicated with the Japanese sailor by semiphore flags then gave them permission to be fueled from us. It was a Japanese mi
We arrived at the entrance to Tokyo Bay and I signaled for someone to pilot us thru the large minefields the japs had placed in their harbor. The pilot came and let us safely through the minds.We anchored off the port of Yokusuka alongside the battleship where the surrender had been signed. We re-fueled a lot of American ships and a few Australian ships. One afternoon in a small Japanese boat came alongside and with great difficulty I communicated with the Japanese sailor by semiphore flags then gave them permission to be fueled from us. It was a Japanese mi
nesweeper that was trying to remove the mines. He was a totally wooden ship.
It was hard to read the Japanese signals because they moved the flags at greater speeds than we did. It was hard to catch their pauses between letters and words.
My old pal Ted McBride was aboard a large landing craft and I knew which one. His ship came by after Tokyo Bay one day. We got together and visited each other's ships. We went on leave in Yokusuka one day. We wandered up the hills above the town and visited some farmers up there.
Most of us had a chance to go spend a day in a large city that firebombs have pretty much destroy before the surrender, Yokohame.
It was hard to read the Japanese signals because they moved the flags at greater speeds than we did. It was hard to catch their pauses between letters and words.
My old pal Ted McBride was aboard a large landing craft and I knew which one. His ship came by after Tokyo Bay one day. We got together and visited each other's ships. We went on leave in Yokusuka one day. We wandered up the hills above the town and visited some farmers up there.
Most of us had a chance to go spend a day in a large city that firebombs have pretty much destroy before the surrender, Yokohame.
These are photos I took of Tokyo in October 1946.
In early December we left Tokyo to go home on
our slow ship. We got new supplies at Hawaii and continued on after a shortstop. We had our Christmas party between Hawaii and the Panama Canal. Temple arranged a pretty good Christmas program.
Ensign Wright, the storekeeper on the ship, was a cool guy and gave us all pictures of everywhere we went. Right got each of us a souvenir Japanese rifle from a factory in Yokusuka.
We got to Panama Canal and a pilot came out and boarded our ship. the pilot was an interesting guy. He took us to the locks up to Gatun Lake then he stayed with us til we cleared the locks on the Atlanta side. We docked a day in Christobel Colon and got fresh produce and supplies. Each half of the ship had a four-hour leave. I remember that there was a lot of poverty among the Panama people that we saw.
We were heading for where we would decommission our ship and leave it in the ship graveyard up the Mobile River from Mobile. It looked like we would get to Mobile by January 7 I would be able to surprise my mom with a phone call on her birthday on January 9.
When we got close to Mobile on January 7 we came into a heavy fog and had to drift around all night and part of the next day with our foghorn blaring periodically.
What an eerie feeling not knowing where other ships were. About noon on January 8 the fog lifted and so we were able to dock on Blakely Island on the afternoon of January 9. I was able to get to a pay phone on the day and give mom a real prize phone call.
We had a ship party at one of the big hotels in Mobile. in a few days then the older members of the crew with enough points went to bases near their homes to be discharged. Us that stayed behind had to strip our ship and prepare it to be abandoned. We were across the main branch of the mobile River from Mobile. It was a huge river and they had a tunnel connecting Blakely Island to Mobile. Buses ran regularly to and from Blakely Island. Our chief cook, an old career Navy man, came up missing a few days after we arrived. Everyone figured he probably just went home.
Ensign Wright and I were the last ones to leave and just before we were to go home the police wanted us to identify a body that had come up down the river. It was the chief cook and the police had determined that he missed the last bus one night so he had ridden a ferry that runs all night he was noticeably very drunk to witnesses and probably fell from the ferry and drown.
I was sad to go home the next Monday on Friday I boarded the bus to go to Mobile to enjoy the weekend at a Mardi Gras festival. As I boarded I noticed two young ladies sitting a few rows behind me. One of the girls looked familiar to me. I thought about her for an minute and then decided she must look like someone I have known.
I got up to go out the front door then I felt a tap on my back. I turned to face the familiar looking girl. She was a beautiful young lady with the LDS missionary name tag sister McGrath.
She said "pardon me but are you Var Hancock?"
I said, "no, but I know who you are."
I gave her a big hug and kiss we moved on out of the bus and continue to hug and kiss. We were among girls I knew from Blakely Island dances and found she had tracted out and talk. She quickly explained that I was her cousin. I don't know if they believed her. Her companion was sister Jackson from Jacksonville, Florida.
I had tried to locate a Mormon church when we first got here but none was listed in Mobile. I found out the church was located in a neighboring town. I'm sure I would have met Faye had I located the church.
The missionaries were not to work during the Mardi Gras weekend so I attended the parade that night with them. The next day we went sightseeing around Mobile. I thought beautiful places I hadn't visited before such as the Bellingraft gardens. The roads were all lined with beautiful azalea bush is in full bloom. It was a beautiful time.
We were together each night so I had to catch the midnight bus. She taught me more about the church than I had ever learned. On Sunday we had a conference at the chapel. I got to meet some nice people that were there all the time but I just didn't know them.
Sunday night was a very beautiful night we both pledged that we would get together later and get married. When I left on the train the next day day Faye and Sister Jackson were there to see me off. As the train pulled out she followed the train waving and crying. An older sailors sitting by me said ,"Man that girl sure loves you!"
Anytime I see a movie with the departing soldier or sailor on a train and a beautiful woman waving it brings tears to my eyes.
I also pledged to say that I would always attend church, serve my fellow man, and spread love where ever I go. I haven't broken those pledges.
I rode a slow train to Mesa. Going across Texas took for ever.
I got a great welcome home no ticket tape parade though streets of New York but I knew I had been missed. I visited in Mesa then spent a few days in Bryce at Aunt Lela's.
I received several beautiful love letters from Faye right away and I was so happy. I went to tell my grandmother Lamoreaux about our miraculous meeting in mobile and how we were in love with each other. Grandma threw a fit because Faye was my half first cousin once removed. She was sure if we were to get married we would have a bunch of crippled children. I had always loved my grandmother very much and I didn't want to go against her. She knew of a Haws family that were first cousins so all of their children were deformed. I can't remember what I wrote to say that I learned later that she had gone home early from permission and had a nervous breakdown. I've always felt very guilty for dropping her. We have kept in touch with each other at all of our lives but she won't talk about it. I hurt her very much, I know. They came West and attended BYU and became a teacher and then a counselor. She had five beautiful children about the same ages as mine.
I reported back to Navy at San Pedro California. I was the master at arms over a discharging barracks. The Navy men would spend two or three days there than they would go home as civilians. We had a two-story building and I had two seamen that each kept their floor in order. I took care of the assignments and oversaw the operation.
My grandmother had given me the name and address of her cousin living near where I work so I went to see Belle and Dean Chitwood often to get away from the Navy. Bell was the daughter of my great aunt Annie Smith. They'll often had a bridge club at her house where I would play too. Bell's cousin was the widow of the man who owned the San Pedro taxi company so I rode a lot of times free. She was grandma's cousin too, Great Aunt Ella Hendricks daughter.
Some of their younger grandkids took me to Hollywood to a dance at the Palladium. Dancing to the Glenn Miller band. That was a neat experience.
I rode to Hollywood by bus one day off and it was quite an experience. I went into the Ken Murray blackouts and sat by Esther Williams her husband's band was playing. I met John Caradine on the street he was with the pretty blonde. He bought me a pop in a nightclub. Guy Maddison , the new movie star playing Wild Bill Hitchcock, was at a nearby table. He had been in the Navy as a signalman so he sent me a message with his fingers as semiphor flags. He said," watch out for him because
he is a Homo."
I excused myself and went to talk to Guy Madison. He said he had been on set with John Caradine and he was putting the make on him. I decided maybe Hollywood wasn't a good place to be.
One of my seaman helpers was from long beach nearby and he arranged for the others seaman and I to go on blind dates with him and his girlfriend and two of her friends. We met them and took them down on a Pike, a fun park.
I knew right away that I didn't like my date but Wanda Cross was the other blind date and she appealed to me. We made it through the date but I got Wanda's phone number and took her out alone, first chance I got.
It was getting close to my time to get discharged. My mom and dad and my brother Gene came to get me. After I was discharged we picked up Wanda and took her to a nightclub in Hollywood. We ate and were watching a magic show. He picked Wanda out of the crowd to help him and she did a good job at it.
We were staying in a motel out in Long Beach so I took Wanda home alone and was with her til late. She was a beautiful girl who had been through a lot of stress since she lost her mother early and her father was a lot older man. She had been raised by different aunt and her neighbor lady who basically wanted her for a babysitter. Wanda was not LDS but she had a sweet spirit. I invited her to come to Mesa and see if she could put up with my family.
I went home from the Navy in early July 19 and she came later and we were married on July 24 in grandma lamoreaux's home by grandma's bishop.
I spent 21 months in the U.S. Navy and was still 19 when I was discharged. I have often pondered just why the Lord provided me with the miracle in Mobile. I feel certain that if my grandma hadn't resisted so strongly that Faye and I would have had a very successful religious marriage. On the other hand the miracle completely turn me around religious wise. I had always took the church for granted and intended very haphazardly that said small bill I have dedicated my life to the church and of always doing service to my fellow man. After really studying my patrichial blessing I have always to do missionary work with a whole lot of success. I am certainly thankful that the Lord had me meet the two lady missionaries on the Blakely Island bus on the first day of Mardi Gras in Mobile Alabama. I was so far away from home and anyone I ever knew
.
Ensign Wright, the storekeeper on the ship, was a cool guy and gave us all pictures of everywhere we went. Right got each of us a souvenir Japanese rifle from a factory in Yokusuka.
We got to Panama Canal and a pilot came out and boarded our ship. the pilot was an interesting guy. He took us to the locks up to Gatun Lake then he stayed with us til we cleared the locks on the Atlanta side. We docked a day in Christobel Colon and got fresh produce and supplies. Each half of the ship had a four-hour leave. I remember that there was a lot of poverty among the Panama people that we saw.
We were heading for where we would decommission our ship and leave it in the ship graveyard up the Mobile River from Mobile. It looked like we would get to Mobile by January 7 I would be able to surprise my mom with a phone call on her birthday on January 9.
When we got close to Mobile on January 7 we came into a heavy fog and had to drift around all night and part of the next day with our foghorn blaring periodically.
What an eerie feeling not knowing where other ships were. About noon on January 8 the fog lifted and so we were able to dock on Blakely Island on the afternoon of January 9. I was able to get to a pay phone on the day and give mom a real prize phone call.
We had a ship party at one of the big hotels in Mobile. in a few days then the older members of the crew with enough points went to bases near their homes to be discharged. Us that stayed behind had to strip our ship and prepare it to be abandoned. We were across the main branch of the mobile River from Mobile. It was a huge river and they had a tunnel connecting Blakely Island to Mobile. Buses ran regularly to and from Blakely Island. Our chief cook, an old career Navy man, came up missing a few days after we arrived. Everyone figured he probably just went home.
Ensign Wright and I were the last ones to leave and just before we were to go home the police wanted us to identify a body that had come up down the river. It was the chief cook and the police had determined that he missed the last bus one night so he had ridden a ferry that runs all night he was noticeably very drunk to witnesses and probably fell from the ferry and drown.
I was sad to go home the next Monday on Friday I boarded the bus to go to Mobile to enjoy the weekend at a Mardi Gras festival. As I boarded I noticed two young ladies sitting a few rows behind me. One of the girls looked familiar to me. I thought about her for an minute and then decided she must look like someone I have known.
I got up to go out the front door then I felt a tap on my back. I turned to face the familiar looking girl. She was a beautiful young lady with the LDS missionary name tag sister McGrath.
She said "pardon me but are you Var Hancock?"
I said, "no, but I know who you are."
I gave her a big hug and kiss we moved on out of the bus and continue to hug and kiss. We were among girls I knew from Blakely Island dances and found she had tracted out and talk. She quickly explained that I was her cousin. I don't know if they believed her. Her companion was sister Jackson from Jacksonville, Florida.
I had tried to locate a Mormon church when we first got here but none was listed in Mobile. I found out the church was located in a neighboring town. I'm sure I would have met Faye had I located the church.
The missionaries were not to work during the Mardi Gras weekend so I attended the parade that night with them. The next day we went sightseeing around Mobile. I thought beautiful places I hadn't visited before such as the Bellingraft gardens. The roads were all lined with beautiful azalea bush is in full bloom. It was a beautiful time.
We were together each night so I had to catch the midnight bus. She taught me more about the church than I had ever learned. On Sunday we had a conference at the chapel. I got to meet some nice people that were there all the time but I just didn't know them.
Sunday night was a very beautiful night we both pledged that we would get together later and get married. When I left on the train the next day day Faye and Sister Jackson were there to see me off. As the train pulled out she followed the train waving and crying. An older sailors sitting by me said ,"Man that girl sure loves you!"
Anytime I see a movie with the departing soldier or sailor on a train and a beautiful woman waving it brings tears to my eyes.
I also pledged to say that I would always attend church, serve my fellow man, and spread love where ever I go. I haven't broken those pledges.
I rode a slow train to Mesa. Going across Texas took for ever.
I got a great welcome home no ticket tape parade though streets of New York but I knew I had been missed. I visited in Mesa then spent a few days in Bryce at Aunt Lela's.
I received several beautiful love letters from Faye right away and I was so happy. I went to tell my grandmother Lamoreaux about our miraculous meeting in mobile and how we were in love with each other. Grandma threw a fit because Faye was my half first cousin once removed. She was sure if we were to get married we would have a bunch of crippled children. I had always loved my grandmother very much and I didn't want to go against her. She knew of a Haws family that were first cousins so all of their children were deformed. I can't remember what I wrote to say that I learned later that she had gone home early from permission and had a nervous breakdown. I've always felt very guilty for dropping her. We have kept in touch with each other at all of our lives but she won't talk about it. I hurt her very much, I know. They came West and attended BYU and became a teacher and then a counselor. She had five beautiful children about the same ages as mine.
I reported back to Navy at San Pedro California. I was the master at arms over a discharging barracks. The Navy men would spend two or three days there than they would go home as civilians. We had a two-story building and I had two seamen that each kept their floor in order. I took care of the assignments and oversaw the operation.
My grandmother had given me the name and address of her cousin living near where I work so I went to see Belle and Dean Chitwood often to get away from the Navy. Bell was the daughter of my great aunt Annie Smith. They'll often had a bridge club at her house where I would play too. Bell's cousin was the widow of the man who owned the San Pedro taxi company so I rode a lot of times free. She was grandma's cousin too, Great Aunt Ella Hendricks daughter.
Some of their younger grandkids took me to Hollywood to a dance at the Palladium. Dancing to the Glenn Miller band. That was a neat experience.
I rode to Hollywood by bus one day off and it was quite an experience. I went into the Ken Murray blackouts and sat by Esther Williams her husband's band was playing. I met John Caradine on the street he was with the pretty blonde. He bought me a pop in a nightclub. Guy Maddison , the new movie star playing Wild Bill Hitchcock, was at a nearby table. He had been in the Navy as a signalman so he sent me a message with his fingers as semiphor flags. He said," watch out for him because
he is a Homo."I excused myself and went to talk to Guy Madison. He said he had been on set with John Caradine and he was putting the make on him. I decided maybe Hollywood wasn't a good place to be.
One of my seaman helpers was from long beach nearby and he arranged for the others seaman and I to go on blind dates with him and his girlfriend and two of her friends. We met them and took them down on a Pike, a fun park.
I knew right away that I didn't like my date but Wanda Cross was the other blind date and she appealed to me. We made it through the date but I got Wanda's phone number and took her out alone, first chance I got.
It was getting close to my time to get discharged. My mom and dad and my brother Gene came to get me. After I was discharged we picked up Wanda and took her to a nightclub in Hollywood. We ate and were watching a magic show. He picked Wanda out of the crowd to help him and she did a good job at it.
We were staying in a motel out in Long Beach so I took Wanda home alone and was with her til late. She was a beautiful girl who had been through a lot of stress since she lost her mother early and her father was a lot older man. She had been raised by different aunt and her neighbor lady who basically wanted her for a babysitter. Wanda was not LDS but she had a sweet spirit. I invited her to come to Mesa and see if she could put up with my family.
I went home from the Navy in early July 19 and she came later and we were married on July 24 in grandma lamoreaux's home by grandma's bishop.
I spent 21 months in the U.S. Navy and was still 19 when I was discharged. I have often pondered just why the Lord provided me with the miracle in Mobile. I feel certain that if my grandma hadn't resisted so strongly that Faye and I would have had a very successful religious marriage. On the other hand the miracle completely turn me around religious wise. I had always took the church for granted and intended very haphazardly that said small bill I have dedicated my life to the church and of always doing service to my fellow man. After really studying my patrichial blessing I have always to do missionary work with a whole lot of success. I am certainly thankful that the Lord had me meet the two lady missionaries on the Blakely Island bus on the first day of Mardi Gras in Mobile Alabama. I was so far away from home and anyone I ever knew
.
That was so much fun to read! I can't wait for more.
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