HomeMy WebLinkAboutCharles Stasny, Brazos Valley Heroes
One in a series of tributes to members of "Tile Greatest
, Generation" wl10 served our country during World War II
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By Bill Young kin
Special to The Eagle
A lot of people grow up in unique environments, but none more
unique than Charles Stasny of Bryan. who lived most of childhood
,In a fire station. .
"My dad became the first paid fireman for the City of Bryan,
and we lived in the fire station. It was on 26th street next to the
railroad tracks and across the" street from where the library is
now located. In 1929. it moved to the new City Hall, where the
children's museum is now located, where we lived in the base-
ment."
stasny attended and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High in
Bryan in 1938. He enrolled at MM as a day student that fall.
. ~I remember Peart Harbor because I was helping a friend who
was working on his Mooel A Ford. He had a radio in the car and
we had it on and heard the news about Peart Harbor.
"In February of 1942 I registered for the draft and tried to
enlist in the Navy. I went through all the tests, but because I wore
glasses - you had to read the eye chart without glasses - I failed
the eye test.
win July I received my draft notice for the Army. I went back to
the Navy with my dra~ notice in hand. They let me retake the eye
test, with the tester behind me wl)ispering under his breath what
the letters were. I passed the test and was inducted into the Navy
and entered boot camp in San Diego on July 9, 1942.
wBecause of my college background at MM, I scored well on
my tests. They wanted me to go to flight school, but I couldn't
because of my eyesight. They finally sent me to radio operator
school at the University of Colorado in' Boulder."
On December 31, 1942, Stasny sailed under the Golden Gate
Bridge at San Francisco on his way to the South Pacific. '
~When I arrived in the SOuth Pacific, I was assigned to the USS
Mccawley, an attack transport and Admiral Turner's flagship as
part of his radio communications support. In June 1943, we left
Guadalcanal and headed to Rendova Island for an invasion.
-I was assigned as the radio operator for the Boat Wave
COmmander. We headed to the beach in an inverted V formation
with us being the point of the V. I was nervous, as this was to be
my first beach landing. On the way in I received a radio transmis-
sion, but I couldn't make it out. When we landed there was no
resistance because the Japs apparently hadn't expected us.
--When 1 got back to the ship, I as~d what the message was
that they tried to send. It was: 'The Marines who were supposed
to land last night didn't make it, so expect heavy resistance.' That
was one message I'm glad 1 didn't get.
"The next day I was on the bridge of the Mccawley with
Admiral Turner when we were attacked by 25 Japanese Betty
Bombers carrying torpedoes. We were hit ~y an aerial torpedo that
detonated in the engine room, killing 15 men. It also caused the
Mccawley to go dead in the water, and it began to sink.
"Admiral Turner called the destroyer the USS Farenholt along-
side and he and his staff transferred to it. The destroyer USS
Mccalla also came alongside and took us off by rope ladders. The
McCalla, after taking us aboard, was going to turn around and
torpedo the McCawley.to complete the sinking. Before we could
turn, 4 torpedoes bracketed our ship, just missing us, but they hit
the Mccawley, sinking it.
wit was almost dark, but we picked up some small boats on
the radar. Tt1e next day Admiral Turner got a dispatch from the
Commander Kelly of President Kennedy's PT Squadron that stated
they had .sunk a Japanese cruiser. Admiral Turner sent back the
message that they had sunk the Mccawley instead. I learned later
that President Kennedy wasn't on that mission.
"The sinking of the Mccawley was announced on the news the
next day, I suppose so the world would know that Admiral Turner
was unharmed. But my folks didn't know for two weeks if I was
alive or dead. My mother, since I was an only child, was pretty
upset until she got my letter. ~ '
After the sinking of the Mccawley, Stasny was assigned to duty
on Guadalcanal as part at Admiral Wilkinson's staff.
"We were visited by 'Washing Machine Char1ie' regular1y,
which was a Japanese bomber. While I was ashore, I got my Dad
to send me some seeds for a garden I planted. I had tOmatoes,
sweet com, cantaloupe and watermelon. The tomatoes grew like
wildfire. I traded my tomatoes to the Chief Petty Officers' mess for
'eggs in the shell,' a special treat
~While on Guadalcanal, I was able to attend Aggie Muster In
1944. There were 51 Aggies present that day, and I have a coPY
of the picture that was taken. It wasn't as famous as the one held
at Corregidor, but we enjoyed mustering together. I
Stasny was aboard the USS Appalachian for the invasions of ... ....
Guam, Leyte and Ungayon Gulf and was in the Philippines prepar-
ing to invade Japan when the war ended. He was discharged in
1945 in time to see the Thanksgiving Day game. He returned to
A&M but started working full time at Lone Star Gas. He worked
there until 1966, when he went to work for the post office. He
retired in 1988.
wThe war took 41 months of my life, and It's not something
I would like to redo. But it is something I will never forget. In
1993 we held the 50th anniversary reunion of the sinking of the
McCawley with the crew that still remains. I've attended most of
the reunions since."
Charles Stasny's name can be found on the 8razos Valley
Veterans Memorial. If you know of a World War II veteran whose
story needs to be told or would like to add someone's name to
-the Brazos valley Veterans Memorial, contact 8ift Youngkin at
(979) 260-7030.
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