Frank Stroud recalls his WWII Service in the Navy
“The ship would jump three feet in the water when we fired the guns,” said Frank Stroud, Jr., a Navy veteran of World War Two. “We never fires two guns side by side. You could see the fourteen inch shells in the air as they were headed towards the target.” Stroud was the guest speaker at the Cambridge Lions Club.
Pictured left, Lion Mike Upton and Frank Stroud.
Stroud told of the history of the battleship U. S. S. Mississippi. The Mississippi was commissioned on December 18, 1917. During gunnery practice on June 12, 1924, forty eight men were killed by an explosion of a gun turret. The ship was sent to patrol the Atlantic protecting shipping. Two days after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor the ship was sent to the Pacific.
Stroud told about his experiences aboard the ship. “One day we were going through a fog bank near Iceland. When we got out of the fog bank there was a German sub right in front of us. The men were sunning themselves on the deck of the sub. You never heard so many bells and whistles! We sailed in one direction and they went the opposite way.”
“I was watching a movie on the quarter deck when we heard about Pearl Harbor,” Stroud said. “I was watching a movie on the quarter deck when we heard about the end of the war. It might have been the same movie since they were passed back and forth from ship to ship.”
“We participated in the Battle of Suriago Strait on October 25, 1944. We would fire the shells. They had a range of fifteen miles. This battle destroyed a large part of the Japanese navy.” This battle was a serious blow to the Japanese and their navy was ineffective for the rest of the war.
“We took two kamikaze hits. Twenty six men were killed. They were buried at sea. That was a sad occasion,” Stroud said.
“The battle in the Pacific had stalled at Shuri Castle on Okinawa,” Stroud said. “Out of sixty shells we made fifty nine direct hits on the castle.”
“I was a trainer. The trainer is the one who moves the guns from left to right. The pointer is the one who moves the guns up and down.”
“After the war I helped mothball ships,” Stroud said. The Mississippi received eight battle stars for its service in World War Two. It was refitted with guided missiles in the 1950’s and used as a training ship.”
Stroud displayed a pair of candle holders he had made from three different sizes of shell casings to keep as a memento of his service. He also showed his cap showing the dates he served on the Mississippi. “I would recommend (joining the Navy) to anyone. I really enjoyed it.”
Pictured left, Lion Mike Upton and Frank Stroud.
Stroud told of the history of the battleship U. S. S. Mississippi. The Mississippi was commissioned on December 18, 1917. During gunnery practice on June 12, 1924, forty eight men were killed by an explosion of a gun turret. The ship was sent to patrol the Atlantic protecting shipping. Two days after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor the ship was sent to the Pacific.
Stroud told about his experiences aboard the ship. “One day we were going through a fog bank near Iceland. When we got out of the fog bank there was a German sub right in front of us. The men were sunning themselves on the deck of the sub. You never heard so many bells and whistles! We sailed in one direction and they went the opposite way.”
“I was watching a movie on the quarter deck when we heard about Pearl Harbor,” Stroud said. “I was watching a movie on the quarter deck when we heard about the end of the war. It might have been the same movie since they were passed back and forth from ship to ship.”
“We participated in the Battle of Suriago Strait on October 25, 1944. We would fire the shells. They had a range of fifteen miles. This battle destroyed a large part of the Japanese navy.” This battle was a serious blow to the Japanese and their navy was ineffective for the rest of the war.
“We took two kamikaze hits. Twenty six men were killed. They were buried at sea. That was a sad occasion,” Stroud said.
“The battle in the Pacific had stalled at Shuri Castle on Okinawa,” Stroud said. “Out of sixty shells we made fifty nine direct hits on the castle.”
“I was a trainer. The trainer is the one who moves the guns from left to right. The pointer is the one who moves the guns up and down.”
“After the war I helped mothball ships,” Stroud said. The Mississippi received eight battle stars for its service in World War Two. It was refitted with guided missiles in the 1950’s and used as a training ship.”
Stroud displayed a pair of candle holders he had made from three different sizes of shell casings to keep as a memento of his service. He also showed his cap showing the dates he served on the Mississippi. “I would recommend (joining the Navy) to anyone. I really enjoyed it.”
posted by Mane Lion at
11:21 AM
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