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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLawrence "Larry" Huet, Brazos Valley HeroesOne in a series of tributes to members of "The Greatest Generation" By Bill You ngkin Special to The Eagle PartOne Recently while watching a PBS special entitled Victory in the Pacific Lawrence "Larry" Huet of College Station saw on his television screen events he witnessed firsthand during World War H.Thevideo even showsthe launch of planes from hisship, the USS Bunker Hill, and the subsequent fight for its Tde from attacking Japanese planes. According to Huet, "I called my son after seeing that and told him I knew what he could get me for my next birthday. He did and that video is something I watch from time to time. I think it helped my family to understand something about what we went through in World War II" Huef was born in McCook, Neb. on Oct 3,1924. As recalled by Huet, "We lived in town where my dad worked for the railroad but both parents came from large farming families in the area. I had a cousin who wanted to attend high school as he had gone as far as he could in his one -room country school. He moved in with my parents and I moved to his farm. I helped his parents on the farm and went to the one -room school until the eighth grade. Then, I returned home for high school. It was a good swap for both families" "When the war started, a friend of mine from McCook, Harold Day, and I joined the Navy. I was 17 years old and weighed the grand total of 103 pounds. I think they had to fudge a little on my records on my weight so I could enlist. We were sent to Chicago for boot training. From boot training I was sent to Boston where I became part of the initial crew of a new aircraft carrier, the USS Bunker Hill." "We headed south, going through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific for out first battle of the war. On Nov. 11, 1943, our planes took off to deliver strikes against Japanese forces located at Rabaul . From that day forward to the day I left the Bunker Hill in June 1944, we were engaged in pretty much constant action in the South Pacific until Truk in the Caroline Islands. I participated in a lot of battle, but Rabaul was not only the first but also our toughest fight while I was aboard the Bunker Hill" "Myjob aboard the Bunker Hill was serving as part of the launch crew. The planes would be lined up one behind the other on the deck with their engines revved up. My job was to removed the chock blocks so they could taxi down and off the runway. You had to watch what you were doing so that you weren't blown into or walked into any of the props on the planes. I saw.two guys do that and it is not a good memory. When the planes took off you had to grab the tie downs in the deck with your fingers so you would not be blown back into the propellers behind you" "When we attacked Rabaul the planes only had enough fuel to get to their targets and return to the ship. The problem occurred when they returned to the ship. When they returned, the Japanese planes followed them. We fought off wave after wave of the Jap planes, zig zagging around the sea, firing everything we had at them. We often had bombs dropping and exploding on both sides of the ship at the same time. Our planes had to stay up high out of range while the battle raged on. Whenever one ran low on fuel, they would head to the sea through the Jap planes and try to locate a destroyer before ditching in the ocean. If they could find a destroyer they would hit the sea ahead of the destroyer and the destroyer would pick them up." "We lost almost every plane we launched that day. After it was over, I remember thinking,'while they didn't kill me this time, they probably would the next time: I said a prayer that night and promised the good Lord that if he allowed me to make it through, I was going to do the very best I could to make something out of my life. Somehow I made it through and I have tried to live up to what I promised the good Lord that night" "The same scenario was pretty much replayed anytime we were involved in the attacks launched on the Japanese- held islands in the South Pacific. The Japanese would also send out scouts at night to locate us so when we launched the next morning, they would be on us as soon as our planes were gone. On one occasion, a Japanese torpedo plane came in just above the waves and dropped his torpedo. You could see the wake of the torpedoes coming right at us. It was like watching a snake eat a frog. Somehow our captain was able to turn our ship just in time for the torpedo to pass just behind us. The Japanese pilot thought he could get away if he headed out in front of our ship and avoid the guns on either side. What he didn't know was we had guns just under the deck and we shot him down" "There were three in the crew of the Japanese torpedo plane. When they hit the water, they exited the plane into a rubber raft. As we approached their raft, they pulled their pistols and began king at our aircraft carrier which was about as effective as a gnat attacking an elephant. The captain told us to hold our fire but when the Japanese raft was near the rear, the rear gunner cut loose. He said he didn't hear the order. Today sallors would get in trouble for that but not back then" Next week part two of Larry Huet's story. If you want to have a name added to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, tamake a contribution, orifyou knownWYorld War 11 veteran whose story needs to be told, tontart the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial at www.bvvm.org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 160 -7030. who served our country during World War 11 Lawrence "Larry" t Huet By Bill Youngkin Special to The Eagle Part Two Larry Huet, now of College Station but originally from McCook, Nebraska, was part of the original crew of the aircraft carder USS Bunker Hill in the South Pacific during World War I. According to Huet, "Beginning with our attack on Rabaul in November 1943 up to the time I left the Bunker Hill in June 1944, we were involved in 11 different battles to take various islands in the Pacific. During every battle, the Japanese planes would follow ours back to our ship or would try to find us at night by sending outscout planes. "If they sent out scout planes and located us the night before an attack, the Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes would be on us as soon as our planes had left ship. We used our radar each night to try to locate any Japanese scout planes. The catapult was located just above my bunk, and it was used to launch our plane that would attempt to shoot down the Japanese plane before it could report our location. Each time the catapult went off, it would awaken me and I would spend the rest of the night hoping our guys got them. If not, tomorrow would be a difficult day filled with trying to fight off Japanese planes." Huet has the records of the Bunker Hill's service and its history as a result ofship reunions and unit history buffs. it has been determined that while Huet was aboard as a member of the launch crew, the shipyard crew of the USS Bunker Hill shot down 10 Japanese planes. The planes launched by Huet and his fellow crewmen are credited with shooting down an additional 77 planes, sinking five Japanese ships and damaging nine other Japanese ships. According to Huet, "I left the Bunker Hill on June 6,1944, to go on leave. After I left, the Bunker Hill was hit by Japanese bombs and by a kamikaze plane, severally injuring the ship. "When we left the ship to go on furlough, they couldn't take us back to the States so they dropped those going on fudough on the Marshall Islands. We had to catch a ride on another ship headed home as best we could. Not many ships had room for six additional men. So as a result, we were there for about three weeks before we could catch a ride home on a supply ship. Fortunately for us, our leave did not start until we hit San Francisco. "We landed and I headed home for the first time since left to board the Bunker Hill. While home I met a girl and fated her the whole time I was home. With the leave ending, headed back to San Francisco. After we all arrived back in San Francisco we assumed we would be sent back to the Bunker Hill, but no one knew where it was or how we could catch it to go back aboard. We spent three weeks waiting for the navy to figure out what to do with us. They even sent us for a little training with a marine sergeant, who was a real spit- and - polish guy. Although very young, we were a bunch of war veterans who were no longer interested in spit, polish or marching. It got to the point where when he ordered left face, we did a right face. He finally took us back to the navy personnel officer. "I guess that officer thought'I'll show them; because he assigned all six of us as captain's and commander's orderlies aboard the USS Flint, which was a brand new light cruiser. He didn't know it, but he assigned me to the best duty I ever had in the navy. I was assigned the day shift as the captain's orderly. I spent most every day on the bridge with the captain, C.R. Will, who was a really nice older gentlemen. Captain Will had his quarters there and I was about the only one he had to talk to. We talked about our lives and we talked about life. We talked about a lot of things a young man needed to hear. "While aboard the USS Flint we would support the invasions with our firepower and we also had to fight off the Japanese pl which were now being used as suicide bombs. On one occasion a suicide plane hit the destroyer next to us. It was on fire and a lot of sailors were in the water. We went over to fight the fire and retrieve the men while still fighting off the Japanese planes, "When the war was over I went back home and married that girl I met on leave. I call Geneva my'Little House on the Prairie girl after the television show, as she grew up in a two - room home out on the bald prairie of Nebraska. We've kept a picture of-that home to remind us of where we came from and to help us appreciate the life we have had for the past 63 years" Huet worked for most of his career at TG &Y Corporation, ending his career with them, supervising 72 stores. Geneva had a career in real estate and was joined by LarryafterTG &Y SS11 In the 1980's they retired to Hilltop Lakes and now to College Station to be closer to Geneva's doctors. As stated by Huet, "We worked hard and have enjoyed life, but I have always been awful proud of being in the service. It means a lotto me. And l wil l say that prayer l prayed during that first attack on Rabaul aboard the Bunker Hill had an effect on my life." If you want to have a name added to the Veterans # Memorial, for more information, to make a contribution, or s ifyou know a World War 11 veteran whose story needs to be told, contact the 8 W at www.bvvm.org or Bill Youngkin 'f at(979)260 -7030.