From the Lake County (Il) Journal "World War II Navy veteran recalls days at sea" by Cassandra Dowell.
Edward Rasmussen, 88, of Gurnee, Illinois, is sure that his decision to write a letter rather to go up on deck probably saved his life. He was aboard the destroyer USS William D. Porter (DD-578) when the ship was almost hit by a kamikaze on June 10, 1945. However, the plane exploded by the ship and caused it to sink. "If I was sitting on the deck I'd probably have my spine broke," said Rasmussen.
His ship sank, but all aboard were able to get off safely.
He enlisted in the Navy on Feb. 13, 1942 and first served aboard the destroyer USS Kearny (DD-432) docked in Boston and served there until transferred to the Porter in July 1943.
ALMOST SANK THE PRESIDENT'S BATTLESHIP
Before the kamikaze, the Porter was assigned to escort the battleship USS Iowa across the Atlantic while it was carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Cairo and Teheran Conferences.
During a torpedo drill, the Porter accidentally fired one toward the Iowa on Nov. 12, 1943. No one was injured, but the Porter's captain and entire crew were put under arrest until Roosevelt intervened that it had been an accident.
More to Come. --GreGen
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
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