Hi,

I have a story to tell about my grandfather. When the war started, he was living in Cheyenne, Wyoming. At this point in his life he was delivering coal to homes(coal fired still being the method of warmth in most homes). My Grandfather was eventually drafted, first to the army. He did not pass the physical due to his small size (5'5" and 92 pounds soaking wet), the marines likewise rejected him. He COULD have shirked his duty, but he insisted that he be allowed to serve, so he went into the navy. After completing basic training he was assigned to the USS Colorado(BB-45, I have the cruise book, its quite treasured). His position was that of Lookout and fire-control. (Mostly lookout though). My grandfather was with the Colorado throughout its entire tour. He told me about all of the island operations. Some were far more dramatic and intense than others. I was young at the time(7 to 12 is when I spent the most time with him), and he'd give me the non-censored version of events(maybe to impart the horror of war).

One story that he shared with me:

They were supporting the landings as Tinian, and the Colorado pulled in Close to shore to pour on the fire. The Colorado was pumping 16" shells, 5" shells, 40mm, and 20mm onto the beach in front of the Marines as fast as the ship could fire. The Colorado was doing this in order to destroy the defending units and help the Marines. All of a sudden a hidden shore battery(5" to 8") found their range and started to hit the Colorado. The Captain sent word out that they would not pull away from shore because of this, they simply would not leave their friends in the lurch. My grandfather said it would be impossible to describe the terror of having a shell hit the ship and take out an entire 20mm tub(There were 3 or 4 20mms grouped together). They stuck it out, found out where the battery was and as my granddad said, 'were repaid in kind'. The Colorado was hit 22 times. My grandfather and many others helped pick up the remains of the men in those positions.

I have many more stories that he shared with me. If you'd like to hear them I'll try to post one a week.


Yours,

Bill

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