Mr. Kesler was standing on deck of the USS Hulbert talking with the cook when he saw planes. One was so close he could clearly see its pilot. The ship's alarm didn't work and he ran below to alert the men eating breakfast who didn't believe him. They said, "You're crazy. Go get us more hash browns and eggs."
The cook, Wally Martenson, manned the 50-caliber machine gun and shot down a Japanese bomber.
Marion Kesler was born September 21, 1919 in Parowin and was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps before enlisting in the U.S. Navy for six years to avoid being drafted into the Army. After Pearl Harbor, he remained on the Hulbert for the rest of the war, including the Aleutian Islands.
He was a cook's helper and a cook. A train trip while home on leave from Delta to Tooele enabled him to meet his wife, Viola, and they married September 10, 1944 in Los Angeles. Viola was a Rosie the Riveter and placed control panels on aircraft being manufactured in South Dakota.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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