HomeMy WebLinkAboutHarry E. Starr, Brazos Valley HeroesBy Bill Youn,.....
Special to The Eagle
Harry E, Starr is like most of the World War II veterans:
Their service was something they just didn't discuss with
others except with those who shared their experiences. As
Starr related, "I know my position in life and I know if I don't
talk about it now, my memories will be gone forever. It is
something my family has wanted to know for a long time. It
may have been more than 60 years ago but I remember it just
like it was yesterday!
Life for Harry E. Starr, Jr. began in Keokuk, Iowa, on
April 19, 1922, more than 86 years ago. As recalled by Starr,
"I graduated in 1940 and held various jobs. When two of my
buddies decided they wanted tojoin the Army, I thought about
it and decided to join up with them. When we arrived at the
recruiting office, the Army guy was gone but the Navy guy was
there and gave his sales pitch, which I guess was convincing
enough, because I signed up for the Navy.
"I signed up for four years but it would be six years before
my enlistment would be up. I was sent to basic training at Great
Lakes Naval Station in Illinois on December 11, 1940. 1 was
then sent to San Diego in February 1941 to go aboard the USS
Holland, a sub tender headed to Hawaii. In July I transferred
ships to the USS Ortolan, a salvage vessel, to go back to San
Diego.
"On Sunday, December 7,1941,1 was about to go ashore
when one of the petty officers walked up and said,'AII leave
is cancelled. Pearl Harbor has been bombed by the Japanese.
Prepare to sail as soon as our sailing orders arrive: He also gave
me a.45 pistol and told me to stand watch on the gang plank.
"We received sailing orders that day. We loaded our
supplies, including an additional diving bell, and sailed for
Pearl. When we arrived, we were put to salvaging the sunken
vessels immediately. The water was covered in oil. We tried to
clear it as best we could but we were constantly in an oil slick.
On some vessels, we had to cut off the upper structure before
we could get floating tanks around them. It was sad work and
none of us talked very much. We worked around the clock and
were allowed to go ashore only once a week.
"We next received orders to put to sea, so we took
on supplies and headed south. We didn't stop until we hit
Auckland, New Zealand. I was very impressed with New
Zealand. It was one of the prettiest places on Earth. There, we
mounted three 50-cal. guns on our bow and machine guns
along our gunwale. They patted us on our back and said'head
that way' 'That way' ended up being Guadalcanal. The entire
trip from Hawaii to New Zealand and now to Guadalcanal was
unescorted. I guess the reasoning was the Japanese probably
wouldn't mess with one little ship like ours.
into combat.
When the invasion of Guadalcanal began, the Japanese also
attacked by ship, artillery and by air. We had just installed
the guns on our ship and all of us had little or no training. We
weren't very effective against the planes because we hadn't
learned how to lead them in our sights. There was one dive
bomber that dove on the USS Aaron Ward, a destroyer. We had
been shooting at that Jap bomber and hit him but not before
he hit the Ward.
"The Ward was badly damaged and we took it in tow. '
Another ship came over to help but hit the Ward causing the
bulkhead to collapse. The Ward started sinking so we had to cut
our lines. It was now us trying to recover the sailors who had
managed to abandon ship.
"We took some aboard whom we saved but some we took
aboard we couldn't save. Several of those sailors had been
through the screws of both ships and were really chewed up.
One guy I pulled aboard had one of his legs almost torn off. It
was just dangling and I will never forget the look on his face
and what he said. He said 'I know I'm dying but please don't
drop me. 'I didn't drop him, but he couldn't be saved either.
"We took the men who died and laid them on the hatchway
at the back of the ship and sailed across the canal to Eniwetok
Island. We ran over a sand bar and under some trees lining a
river. We put 12 bodies ashore for burial. We went back across
the canal to start salvaging the ships that sank, including some
of the Japanese ships. On the Japanese ships we took their
papers only and gave them to our intelligence guys."
Because of the service of the crew of the USS Ortolan, the
ship and men received a commendation from the Navy and
were allowed to head to San Diego for 30 days leave.
As recalled by Starr: "I headed home to Iowa as soon as I
could, arriving home on March 10, 1944. A week later I met a
girl and by March 31, 1944, the day I had to return to San Diego,
I got her to agree to marry me, which she did that day. Annalee
has been with me ever since. She made up her mind quick and
I guess it has stayed made up!
The war would end for Starr at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.
He was discharged in November 1946. He worked several years
for Montgomery Ward and was transferred to Bryan in 1981. In
1988 he retired, but he and Annalee decided that Texas was to
be their home forever. As I was leaving after the interview he
said," I hope I don't dream about all this again tonight!
Harry E Starry name will be added to the Brazos Valley
Veterans Memorial. If you want to have a name added
to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make
a contribution, or if you know a World War 11 veteran
whose story needs to be told, contact the BVVM at www.
veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 260-7030.