THANKS DAD!

My Dad–Jerry
March 6, 1921-October 11, 1986

I thought that this Memorial Day I would do a post that is a little more…a lot more personal, I’m thanking my Dad for his service during World War II. He joined the Army a couple of months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was 20 years old, and was sent to Camp Adair in Oregon for his training. Talking to my mom, I tried to get a time line of where he was and when, but with time, the dates were getting confused for her. The key points that she remembered was that he was in the 96th Division Signal Corps and that he was sent into the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

THE BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the “Battles for Leyte Gulf”, and formerly known as the “Second Battle of the Philippine Sea”, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and also one of the largest naval battle in history.[1]

It was fought in waters near the Philippine island of Leyte, from 23 to 26 October 1944, between naval and naval-air forces of the Allies and those of the Empire of Japan. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in South East Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy’s 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf included four major naval battles: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.

Leyte Gulf is also notable as the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. Also worth noting is the fact that Japan at this battle had fewer aircraft than the Allied Forces had sea vessels, a clear demonstration of the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The 96th then went on to Okinawa where they fought an intense battle where, according to the Buffalo Courier Express wrote:

“The 96th… ended World War II with a record crediting it with killing more of the enemy in one day than any division in U.S. Army history…In the final stages of the island fight, the 96th marked up a record for a single day’s hunting more than 1.800 Japanese were killed on the Yaeju-Dake escarpment.”

Researching information on the 96th Division Signal Corps sent chills through my spine. My father never talked about the war, he never glorified it or bragged about his part in that war. My mother said that when he returned he would often wake up in the middle of the night screaming–reliving what he had seen and been a part of. Near the end of his life when he was in the hospital and heavily drugged, the nightmares of that war returned and he again would be talking wildly as if he was re-living those final battles of World War II. During the time he was away, his mother passed away and he was unable to attend her funeral. He also suffered from contracting malaria and had to remain in the hospital in Okinawa until a few months after the war ended. He was drastically thin and weak.

My dad’s story is not much different than the stories of countless other Servicemen who have put aside their lives to protect our country.

So, to my dad I say, “Thank You, I’m so proud to be your daughter.” And for all those who have family members who are now serving or have served, a big thanks and God Bless to them on this Memorial Day.

(For those who have stories about family members who have served, please feel free to write them in the comment section,  I’d love to read them and honor them.)