Please Note: This blog post is an account of World War II, including violence, illness, death, and other themes that may not be suitable for younger readers. While these stories are an integral part of history, some of the following content may be slightly graphic in nature.
This is the fourth and final part of Gerald Anderson’s story. Use the links below to catch up on Parts 1-3.
The following is an excerpt from “Never Forgotten: Stories by Scott County, Minnesota, WWII Veterans” by Tom Melchior. This is the story of Navy veteran Gerald Anderson, who earned a Baker Third Class ranking. As part of the Commissary Branch, bakers were responsible for all kinds of baking, operating ovens and other baking equipment, and setting up field ovens when ashore.
Gerald shipped out to the South Pacific, namely the Solomon Islands and what is now Papua New Guinea, aboard the USS Perida.
Assigned to the USS Kent
I went back to Bremerton. I feared I would be assigned to the Bunker Hill. Instead, I was assigned to the USS New Kent, a troop ship. It held 175 men as ship’s company and took on 2500 troops at any one time. This life was so different than the islands. I was finally NAVY! By comparison, it was paradise!
We had hammocks to sleep in. They rolled with the ocean swells and I loved it. The ship had a real bakery with electric ovens. The bakery measured about four feet to walk in and the length was about 18 feet. It was fully equipped. We could bake bread and stay ahead and feed 2500 men. We made one pound loaves of bread. We could not make things like cake when the water was a little rough. The batter would spill out of the tins before it was baked. We tried cobblers, bear claws, cinnamon rolls, etc. The bakery was made of stainless steel and was always clean. We always had supplies to work with. The only time we used C-rations was in really rough water.
The war was still going on. The Japanese suicide planes were dive bombing our ships. We could see the “dog fights.” None of the Japanese planes dove for our ship. They seemed to be trying to sink the aircraft carriers, destroyers, and cruisers.
On board ship we ate standing up with trays at a narrow counter. They fit into a grove to keep them from sliding away. The sleeping quarters were hammocks. Clothing and all personals were kept in a sea bag that was at one end of the hammock. At the other end was a pillow. I took my hammock out, when we were below the equator and hung it under the gun turrets. It was beautiful at night. The ocean just glistened and sparkled like millions of diamonds. The ship rocked easy and steady. I loved it!
Life on board ship was good. I was given a Baking I class rating as soon as I was on board my ship. I was the only Baking I class, but there were always two shifts. The chief commissary steward’s name was Jenson. He was a thorn in my side until they put him off the ship. He was not a creative person and was jealous of my ability to come up with new ways of baking and serving food, which the ship’s company always enjoyed. Finally, Lieutenant Davis, a supply officer, had Jenson transferred and did not replace him.
The Islands
The only time I remember getting off the ship was at Manila. That was because after a certain length of time at sea, they had to let you walk on land to get your legs adjusted again. It was here that the natives climbed the trees and got bananas for us. We think they may have been green or something because we all got severe cramps and really sick. We also drank the two warm beers we were given. To this day I cannot stand the smell of bananas.
We stopped at American Samoa at Pago Pago, Tonga, Iwo Jima, Enivetok, and Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, Guam in the Marianna Islands, Bora Bora, New Caledonia, Truk (this island was an area just full of sunken ships – a real graveyard), New Zealand, and Australia.
On one of the islands where we picked up supplies, there were little weevils in the flour. They ate the glutton in the flour so the flour would raise up but then fall flat. It looked like we had poppy seeds in the bread. The men complained but we told them we didn’t know what happened even though we did.
Typhoon
I will never forget is the typhoon we went through. We had gotten word that it was in our path. We were as well prepared as possible. The ship had become my home, so I felt safe, but it really moaned and groaned. The waves were so high that you could look up and see water. The ship was in the low of a swell. The typhoon lasted for a couple of days. We dropped all anchors and kept the engines going, heading the ship into the swells. Several ships did not make it. If they were too small, they rolled over or capsized. This was the area where the convoy of ships that were to be used to invade Japan was forming. We were near the Philippines at the time. The convoy had so many ships that as far as you could see, you saw only ships. They were like stepping stones all over the ocean. It was massive! This convoy is where I was on August 14, 1945, the day the war ended. The peace treaty was signed on board the USS Missouri, which was in the convoy.
End of the War
I am sure if that invasion had taken place, I would never have made it back alive. When we would have sailed into Japan, we were scheduled to land at Wakayama, Honshu, Japan. The gun emplacements dug into the hills were innumerable. The Japanese were prepared to “fight to the last man.” I have heard the estimates of over a million lives would have been lost if the invasion had taken place. I am so thankful that this war ended and that horrible event never happened. I realize the loss of lives when we dropped those atom bombs in Japan. I don’t think their lives were any less valuable, but war is without sanity.
I did witness the effects of those bombs because I was with a group allowed to tour the damage at Hiroshima. I can’t begin to try to put into words what I saw there. Devastation was as far as you could see. On one of the trips to Japan, we pulled into another seaport. We saw sunken, half submerged Japanese ships. We took our small landing craft and went from ship to ship. From the parts above water we took souvenirs. When we got back to our own ship, all the souvenirs were taken from us. I’m sure the officers kept them for their collections.
On one of the trips out of Japan, we were loaded with confiscated Japanese rifles. We brought them out into the ocean and dumped them. I kept one of the rifles and sent it home. It is hanging on the wall at the cabin. Anyone in ships company could keep a rifle. My key ring with the bakery tag that also hangs on the cabin wall is from the USS New Kent.
Coming Home
Gerry docked in San Francisco in March of 1946. He and Ione planned to be married, but the ship was given orders to head for Norfolk, where the ship would be put in the mothball fleet. However, the ship had boiler problems and had to be towed back.
When we transferred to the landing craft that took us to shore, we all looked back at our ship. I know I had feelings of “it’s over.” The ship had become my home and I really loved her. I had earned enough points and so it was goodbye to the USS New Kent.
The only plan I had in my mind as I began my journey home was to marry Ione, my constant companion who was to help me for the 50 plus years to untangle and soothe the hurts, the fears, the confusion and the loyalties that were me.
Reflections
I don’t know how these horrors affected the way I lived my life. I only know that they were always “right there.” I had nightmares of them over and over again and would wake up drenched in sweat. Sometimes the dream was an actual event, and sometimes a new twist, but always horrible and frightening. I still can’t explain how fear feels. There are some things that happened that I still can’t talk about now and maybe never will be able to talk about. They are personal and horrible beyond belief. I have had such a wonderful life since then, that I believe those memories should stay buried in my mind. They don’t cause the terrifying dreams/nightmares anymore like they did for over 50 years. Ione and I have talked about this so much lately. It seems like when the war was “50 years ago,” then I was finally able to start talking about my experiences. It is still just as real and just as horrible, but it seems more distant and not quite as threatening. I feel very good about being able to finally allow my mind to spill it out, much like the volcanoes on Bougainville.
Our sons were never allowed to whistle or scream, and they didn’t know why. I told them why after 50 years. I reminded me of the bombing. Tom Brokow’s book, The Greatest Generation, freed me to talk about it. This is the last dream/nightmare I remember having: I was on a sinking ship. It seemed black everywhere, like it was all burned out. I crawled to safety and the ship sunk. I had this dream only about one year ago. I have no regrets, no bitterness, no anger and I am proud of my part in what was called World War II.
Gerry Anderson was awarded 4 battle ribbons with 4 gold stars. He finished his Navy career as a First Class Baker.