• Total US Veteran Population 23,443,000 (Per US Dept. of Veterans Affairs 9/08)
• Army – 44.4%, Navy- 22.7%, Air Force- 18.2%, Marines- 10.3%, Non-Defense- 1%, Reserve Forces- 3% (Approx. Figures Per US Dept. of Veterans Affairs 9/08)
• Total US Female Veteran Population 1,802,000 (Per US Dept. of Veterans Affairs 9/08)
• Veterans in California account for 9% of all US Veterans (Per US Dept. of Veterans Affairs 9/08)
• Veterans make up roughly 8.6% of the civilian population 18 years and older in Fresno County (census.gov 2005) Roughly 80,075 of 931,098 in 2007
• Regardless of the day of the week, Veterans Day is observed on November 11. This day was chosen to commemorate World War I, which ended on November 11, 1918.

A WWI Story of a U.S. Navy Gunners Mate, First Class

By Russell E. Day

I was born in Riverbank, California on September 25, 1922 to Doyle and Martha Day, and moved many times in California while growing up. I joined the United States Navy in October 1940 at the age of eighteen. After boot camp, I was assigned to the battleship, USS West Virginia. I arrived in Hawaii in January 1941 where I was transferred to a light cruiser, the USS Honolulu. My ship operated out of Pearl Harbor throughout the year doing fleet maneuvers and gun practice.

Ralph Engle was my best buddy, and we went on liberties together. I still see him twice a year in La Quinta, California. Life was good on the cruiser, and I had no homesickness. On December 7, 1941, I was washing down the deck when suddenly, I heard planes overhead firing on ships in Pearl Harbor. Total confusion reigned, as one plane released the bomb that hit, only fifteen feet from where I was standing. It hit the edge of the dock and exploded under water making a large hole in our bow. I was sprayed with oily water, and everyone was running in different directions, looking for something to shoot at. We were tied to the dock, and the USS Saint Louis was tied outboard of us. We threw the line loose from us, so she could get underway. Planes were flying over our fantail with torpedoes, and our crew was firing shells, which were sometimes landing over in Honolulu. After the final attack, it appeared the enemy was planning a third run, but seeing that the carriers were gone, and assuming their planes would be over the islands, they discontinued their runs. They didn’t attack the sub base or the tankers, which probably saved many lives. During the two weeks following, we stayed in a ready position on board and helped with the wounded and dead as well as cleaning up the many damaged ships.

In January 1942, we convoyed troops to Australia, and then sailed on to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to bombard Japanese bases. The fog was dense, and it was bitter cold. We lost two scout planes in the heavy fog. I knew one pilot and one radioman on each plane. I was glad to leave Alaska in September 1942 for the Navy shipyard at Mare Island. They added new 40 mm, and 20-mm guns to our cruiser, and I had a short leave.

In November 1942, the USS Honolulu arrived in Guadalcanal and engaged in several battles with the Japanese Navy. I was gun pointer in turret one on the USS Honolulu. My first encounter with the Japanese was on November 30, 1942 in the battle of Tassafarongao, Guadalcanal. The Japanese torpedoed the cruisers USS Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pensacola, and North Hampton. The USS Honolulu was the only cruiser to survive the battle even though we lost our entire bow. Other ships in our task force suffered major damage from the Japanese enemy who used Long Lance torpedoes. One observer reported after the 20-minute battle-action was over, that the cruiser Honolulu threw lead like a built in Fourth of July.

In July of 1943, our ship was in the battle of Kolondangara, where the bow was blown off again. I didn’t have time to think during the action. I just reacted to my training on the gun turret, too busy to be scared. Afterwards, while being towed back to Pearl Harbor, I thought I might get a leave for home, but at Pearl, we pushed the ship up, replaced the bow, then set out, back to the Solomon Islands to continue operations at Guadalcanal. I earned thirteen Pacific battle stars, one for each engagement.

In 1944 I was assigned to gunnery school in San Diego, California, for four weeks. That gave my wife, Ruth, and me some special time together. I had married Ruth E. Buchanan in Palo Alto, California, on October 13, 1942. We met on New Years Eve 1940 in Long Beach California where Ruth had come to see the Rose Bowl parade. She was a beauty operator in Fresno, California, and we corresponded for two years. We were only together five days before I left for sea duty for eleven months.

My next assignment was a transfer to the USS Uvalde (AKA 88) for moving supplies and landing troops in the south seas of the Pacific, the Dutch East Indies, Philippines, and Okinawa. I was placed as Gun Captain on the 40 mm gun turret. We survived several Japanese suicide attacks.

On Easter Sunday, D-Day, April 1, 1945, we were at Okinawa. A Japanese plane hit a ship just 100 yards from us as we were firing all our anti aircraft guns. The landing of our troops was unopposed as the Japanese moved to higher ground in the hills.

In 1946, I traveled on to China, then to Japan, and back to China to aid the Chinese General in their Civil War. I came home in December 1946 and was discharged in February 1947 as a Gunner’s Mate First Class.

Since then I established, operated and retired from an agricultural pesticide business, while building two homes for my family. Ruth and I have a son, two daughters and grandchildren. My seven years of service taught me many things. First it provided me with a job and career during the Depression, and secondly, after being in battles and seeing so many lives lost, it is obvious to me that war only leads to more wars. We cannot change the world, and if we could, war is not the way!