McElroy, John V. oral history

              Interview John V. McElroy

[b. 7/15/23]

Recorded on 11/28/04


[Interview starts at 001 on counter, counted in seconds]

Brandon Tucker: The date is November 28, 2004.   He was born on July 15, 1923. His current address is 5235 Cornelius Avenue.  The war he was in was World War II, the rank he is Seaman, First class. [Note, John McElroy’s first interview (Oct. 2001) was published in our first anthology: Words of War: Wartime Memories from the Civil War Through the Gulf War in 2002, and there is a copy in the Library of Congress. This 2004 interview was completed by his younger grandson so that his oral history could be included in the Library of Congress Veteran History Project.]

[027]

Brandon Tucker: Were you drafted or did you enlist?

John V. McElroy: I enlisted.

[035]

BT: Where were you living at the time?

JVM: Indianapolis, Indiana

[048]

BT: Why did you decide to join the Navy?

JVM: Well I think I did fore but I joined because all of my buddies seemed to be joining the navy uh the Navy just opened up to Seaman June 1942 and I was there until December13 1945.  June July 1948 some other friends came into after and it was about six of us that went to the Navy that summer June 1942.

[082]

BT: Why did you pick this service branch to join?

JVM: I – we talked about that year it’s been so long but I think we picked it mainly because we thought the food was better, That what we use to say.

[101]

BT: Do you recall your first days in service?

JVM: The first night that I was at Great Lakes, the very first night I was at Great Lakes I thought what in the world am I doing here.  I, I began to think that I made a mistake!

BT:  What did it feel like going through the training?

JVM: You feel awful to begin with it soon it becomes apart after you get half way through your training starts becomes apart at the beginning it feels awful, awful, awfully especially, when I was 19 years old.

[152]

BT:  Tell me about the boot camp, what was that all about?

JVM: Well, at boot camp, it was eight weeks of boot camp at Great Lakes Illinois right out of Chicago. And uh uh it just like any other training I think training is similar only differences is we had to sleep in hammocks. And I don’t think they use hammocks anymore, and we had to get up early in the morning we had a brutal day a brutal day everyday, but for the first four weeks and then after that the next four weeks seemed to let you go in town once a week and we did have some entertainment after the first four weeks, because we went to the theater, saw a band, we went to a good football game at Northwestern. I remember that it was good brutal eight weeks which now that I think it might be more then eight weeks of training.

BT:  What time did you wake up at?

JVM: Oh, we had to wake up at five o’clock every morning Yea, the bugle woke us up at five o’clock we had to hit the deck so when we choose we had to hit the deck.

BT:  So how did you manage of not thinking of quitting?

JVM: I don’t think I ever thought about quitting I thought it was I thought the training the eight weeks of training. I had moments when I was disgusted but after eight weeks of training over then you went on a nine day leave, and then when I was not dying I just thought about life I knew that I knew everything I had then because we were end for to call back in those days, we were in for the duration, that meant we going to be in the duration of the war plus six months. So that what we were talking about right there.  So we had to adjust, in the eight weeks of training I think any even in peacetime we going to have eight weeks or twelve weeks of whatever you had training its it’s a thing or two that your gonna adjust to. Just like you were going into football, basketball you have to adjust to that type of training that takes to become a football player.

BT:  You said, that you served in the WWII and you started at the Great Lakes.

JVM: Great Lakes.

[310]

BT:  Ok, do you remember arriving, what was it like arriving?

JVM: Well, like I say I don’t remember the moment I got off the train up there, but I don’t remember the moment I just remember thinking at night that that night it was weird, but then uh the training, is that what’s pretty much everybody thinks when they first get go go to some like experience like that but then it all gets different when as you come home on your nine day lead.  And then I was, my first assignment was to St. Julian Street in [Little] Creek, Virginia.  That’s when I began to yell and also keep mood without having a experience.

[351]

BT:  What was your job assignment?

JVM: Well, to start off in Virginia my first job I was I well I what we mainly did in those days was we were suppliers we supplied the front line or cause I, I went to the ammunition depot the first time I went there and I was there for two or three weeks before I got the assignment on the Seaman Guard.  Then when I became a Seaman Guard that’s a picture that I that you just brought back.  That’s was taken in Virginia and Seaman Guard photo I did brigade guarding the brigade? and guarding the gate and, and the fence guard the fence. So all that and then later on became a Yeoman striker cause I was tight back in those days and I did Yeoman work was I was there in Virginia maybe 7 or 8 months something like that and I did Yeoman work then they transferred they split up……. they sent part of us to different sections they sent me to California.  And then in California I did Yeoman work and then I went over seas, and over seas I had the three jobs I had over seas was supplied admiral “Bulldog” Halsey 25 fifth fleet, so we what we were doing was loading we used about five Inches six Inches shells um loading we had some bigger one’s then that it been so long now I can’t remember what the longest one was.  But anyway we loaded LCVM’s which was a landing crafts vehicle mechanizes and you take them out to the ship and we put the ammunition in.  And from there I went to driving a truck that the quartermaster the army there was short handed and they sent three of us over there to do that Rudy and Christian. I do remember those two guys and we were driving the trucks and then after that the amount part of the time I was guarding Japanese prisoners.  I got through driving the truck they had me normally guarding Japanese prisoners I did I did get up until the last war ended.  The one thing that I remember that the most memorable during my thing over there was my lead man when I was guarding Japanese prisoners was a boy named Tubuchi that was my lead man, and I remember him reading We had little pamphlet the pamphlets were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki telling them about the dropping of the atomic bomb telling the people and He read that to me it was written in Japanese he read that to me and I remember that it was a warning to the people.  I thought that was pretty nice warning people that this devastating bomb was going to be dropped so I remember that very well they actually did had lethals to drop one on Hiroshima and Nagasaki I remember that very well that my most memorable and we had so many airways? some airways were big airways, little airways some airways you very paid much attention too.  Mainly the bomb Isley field the airport for the B-29 going from Saipan to Japan to bomb. So some airways were fairly close to the airports and some of them weren’t but air ways always at night time was a little scary and airways in the daytime but I can’t say why that is that just the way it was.

[553]

BT:  Ok, um so were there many casualties in your unit?

JVM: I don’t know but three or four maybe five guessing now about five………. but he didn’t die he was just sent home……… I still think about the Marines the first time the Marines went into Saipan the report we got was that they lost every Marine either shot or killed or all wounded.  When you get a report like that everybody thinks you I don’t know how many men were in but if you take a LCVM carrier you take 20 men attended the LCMV is a shore about 200 men. We were just 200 men that’s still a lot of men……. Going on 1944 the same time this was still going on at Normandy was going on.  I talked to old G.I. just a few weeks ago that was at Normandy he talked about the bodies the German bodies that were laying on both sides of the roads well over were I talked about the bodies just laying on one side of the road on at the Saipan.  So these wars going on at the same time so there was a lot of killing going on in 1944.

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BT:  Can you tell me a couple of your most memorable moments?

JVM: Well, the there’s that one of my most memorable moments. The fact that the the Hiroshima and Nagasaki just blew out fine got to try and remember what the world is like. See, you don’t know? What the world was before you had this type of catastrophe. It’s different war then it is now the war you have now is much more devastating then and all of those plenty devastating…….. You can just do so much with such a much a littler these days one bomb can kill many people if you think about that atomic bomb.  I’ll tell you one of the most memorable nights I had I really liked watching on TV. Before television was invented um, um, a Japanese bomber which I think was Betty or Zekes of this Betty was bombing Isley field one plane he was there to bombed he didn’t get to drop the bomb, but the shell were hitting so close to the plane and that he would get over near the Isley, Isley Air field and he pulled way and that went on for quite a while because actually sent P-61 up there after him and that P-61 brought him down that was just bout like watching uh like you watching a T.V. show this was before television see I was watching that and uh this at night time too and this P-61 was called a night bomb It had a B-38 ….. P-61 was a night job that went up there.  That was interesting to watching what can bring that big old “betty” down and I mean he brought it down but that was one of the most interesting parts of the war cause there was no casualties with us and in the air it was a one evening victory it was a victory.

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BT:  So were you awarded any medals?

JVM: No…. I did nothing, I did nothing to be awarded I did my job I did my job but I went down there at the APALCO when they had those fellows who were uh actually some of these I talked to some of those guys from the USS Indianapolis also I go down there when they meet meet ever two years’ cause, some of them been some places I think they thought a bout even discussing in telling and some of those guys been through something the guys from the USS Indianapolis plus the people that were that got their medals when they had that thing down at the canal a few years ago the IPALC the Indianapolis lighting company put on.  I talked to some of those guys. Those guys don’t want to be called heroes they don’t want to be called heroes and they were right in the mix of more so then I was I look like a fool calling myself a hero.

[854]

BT: How did you stay in touch with your family?

JVM: Through V-mail, V-mail that’s what everybody did back then now you can get so that you can talk on the phone……. We did ours through email, um hum.

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BT:  You mention that the food in the Navy was good, what was the food like?

JVM: If you like beans it’s good. You better like bean don’t go into the Navy if you don’t like beans.  When uh I was Yeoman in Virginia I used to type up the uh the menu and I remember one week we had beans eight times. Cause you always had beans for, for breakfast on Saturdays some days you had it on Saturdays and Wednesday and then we had beans for dinner six time so we had beans eight time in a week.  But if you like beans the navy good for if you don’t like beans don’t go into the navy.

[909]

BT:  Uh, did you have plenty of supplies?

JVM: O yea….. yep you know are service was very big back then I don’t think I don’t think we were shortage of anything because people sacrifice back then…. It’s been so long ago I haven’t remember it I changed the M1...... I don’t remember making any exchange matter I can only remember one pay day and I was in the service for three years and four months and I remember can actually remember one pay day I can only I can’t remember the other pay day I know I was a paid service guy I can remember one pay day.

[959]

BT:  Did you feel pressure or stress?

JVM: No, I don’t think I was under any pressure sometimes my commander might have been pushing a little pushy I may have though he was pushy sometimes.

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BT: Was there something special that gave you good luck?

JVM: No, no my mother did all the praying. She prayed for me she prayed for me she prayed for me even when I was going on that draft…… I was suppose to go over seas she was coming to California to see me I got scratch, in the navy when you from one base to another they call it a draft.  So when I was getting ready to go over seas, the first time I got scratch my mother was coming but to see me she was sorry that I was going but I didn’t go I stayed there she came out to visit me then she left but the next time I went on to the draf……

[1030]

BT:  How did people entertain themselves?

JVM:  We had now we had some entertainment cause uh Betty Hutton was a big star back then she came home and did a show for us uh who else did a show for us uh Danny Kaye did a show for us he was a from California, Mickey Rooney did a show for us. He’s still living the other ones I mention are dead but Mickey Rooney still living him and Phil Silvers are still living and uh did uh …. They had a outdoor theatre …….I remember one night we was in the outdoor theatre and the Japs shot down ….but we uh we had a little baseball after... we had a soft ball wasn’t baseball it was a softball team.

[1092]

BT: Ok, um what do you do when on leave?

JVM: Well, it’s been so long ago when I was in Virginia I had a girl friend when I was in California I had met some real nice people they were friends of mine until they died.  That would of made California …….. well I, I took uh nine day leave when uh the Great Lakes I had a fourteen day leave when I was over in Virginia. I just came home …… I don’t remember I remember…..I don’t remember to much of what we did during that fourteen days I can remember walking across to greet my sister she said “you know get me surrender” I said “yea that one of them out of there but he’s the weakest one” I remembered that so I , I can pin point from that fourteen day lead because …… every time.

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BT:  Where did you travel while in service?

JVM: Well I, I told you about all of them now from here to Great Lakes form Great Lakes to St. Julian creek in Virginia which is at uh Portsmouth Virginia right across from Norfolk and then from there, to California, Shoemaker, California ……. Port Chicago was there but Port Chicago is no more that pretty much …… that went on there it sometime made the History Channel too and then when I went over seas my first stop was at New Melia [New Caledonia] I think I wrote that out on your paper and we come up to a place Vanuatu which is called Vanuatu today it used to be called New Hebrides that ….. We went up form there up to uh Eniwetok we stayed there about 3 days and but we, we didn’t get of the ship now but we picked up are convoy at Eniwetok in the Marshall island and then we went from there to Saipan, Saipan …. When I got there the USS Colorado was there on the port side……and the USS the I thought that back then the story was ..... shelling a valley and I been saying that all these times but uh destroyers …… fellows at the canal and that was uh USS Indianapolis actually doing that shell at the Saipan …. Cause I thought that was the USS Indianapolis but I been calling it the destroyer but it was a light cruiser the USS Indianapolis was a light cruiser you know it was the last ship sunk in the war it was sunk right after right before the war ended so I talked to the fellows down there they we have some pretty interesting conversation ..... Our age everybody I talk to the you know relates that we all are in are 80’s you almost have to be in 80’s to be apart of the second war so…. In fact I think the year before that I when I talked they be meeting again this coming summer all go down there summer again shoot the breeze with them talk about old days I still feel so now they they been they been through a lot they were out there in that water a long time when that ship was sunk it cause a lot of them got killed and those that survived the they went through something I felt sorry for them even ………then again be honest with you I mean when I think about uh twelve of the summers ……… I had uh easy breeze

[1320]

BT: Ok do you recall any particular or humorous events?

JVM:  Well, I can think about being up being up on that USS Mormon when those guys telling jokes I was young back then remember these guys had me dying laughing telling jokes I could remember the words to the jokes you see you make your own fun you sit around when when you’re nineteen and twenty years I guess I was about twenty years old then cause I was about to be twenty-one ……. So about that time that some of the most interesting days when some of the guys was telling jokes and discussing things.

[1366]

BT: Ok, uh did you pull any pranks? Um like what were some of the pranks you pulled?

JVM: Uh no I never pulled any pranks but I had a prank pulled on me my guys told me I was going into town to get a bar haircut and a guys said “ o you know I’m a barber”  …… he cut a “V” in my head so I said I thought……. He was clowning so I had to go get me a decent hair cut cause I had a “V” ….. so he beat a cool prank but I don’t think I, I don’t remember pulling any pranks on anyone.

BT: And you have those photographs and you mention that that photograph was taken in Virginia.

JVM: That was that was the one you saw that big one that was the Seaman photo.

[1410]

BT:  Um, what do you think of the officers or the fellow soldiers?

JVM: See it’s been so long ago uh I sometimes wander if one of them are still living I got along with them very well in fact ……………… he and I got along real good in fact when I was doing Yeoman work…. So I got along real good …. When I was in Virginia you know sent me over seas ………………….. you know so I got along I got along real well

[1454]

BT: Um, do you keep a personal diary?

JVM: No, sometimes I wished I had saw a long time you know.

[1468]

BT:  Ok, um now moving onto after service. So do you recall the day your service ended?

JVM: Yep, December the 13th 1945

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BT: Where were you?

JVM: Great Lakes back at the Great lakes I started a Great Lakes and I ended at Great Lakes.

[1490]

BT: Ok, what did you do in your days and weeks afterwards?

JVM: Well … I  guess soon I got on my party and go to January start working at Lilly’s and I worked there for forty-two years then I retired. That’s my whole life right there since I been retired I’ve been sitting here getting fat.

[1516]

BT: Um, so you you did work and go back to school right or anything?

JVM: Only time I went back to school, and I did go back to school uh to take a chemistry when I was working at a chemical store unit I, I wasn’t familiar with the metric system. What the name would be the metric system so, that was all I got school for that.  But I did I, I I both high school work twice and then I did one before ………… I think that high school has ………. Down in sanitary were uh went my service so I ………. You know college education …. before high school.

[1566]

BT:  Um, was your education supported by the G.I. Bill? JVM: No, I remember I remember fifty-two twenty ……….. I could have got four weeks of before I went to work I could have got two hour weeks ……..but I didn’t answer nothing for nothing yea.

[1596]

BT:  uh, did you make you did say that you made a couple of relationships while in service?

JVM: Well...we got along I remember when running buddy……..

[1616]

BT: Um, so did you join a veteran’s organization?

JVM: I used to go out…..uh when I was on peace in the 1940’s …… that was long ago well now but I go over there to the veteran place over on uh off …… I always send …. And I sent some… I still think about all them people that were killed yea I think about some of the people that have been past up over the years in Iraq now ….. know good feeling about this war.

[1664]

BT:  What did you go on to do as a career after the war? I heard my mom told me that you become a um a reverend.

JVM: [laughing] somebody said that was that was a four hour…service I went that my high school I spent two years in the seminary studying to be a priest that was before I went into service I was fourteen years old then I spent two years in …. Mississippi that was before I went into service cause I spent just two years down there studying to be a priest that was uh 1937, 38, 39 I think it 39 if it was uh even when I was in the seminary I would never get uh….. Czechoslovakia and Poland and we had one heck of a party down there right there in Mississippi cause they had a lot of German people down there …………………..united people we uh …… I thought ……. I spent two years down there that was that was uh……

BT: ok, uh did your military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general?

JVM: They may be thinking we should not have another war and I though that we were going to be ending the wars but it looks like we have nothing but war since then and I am a little bit dis disappointed yea Korean War stated after that then we had the Vietmenese war then these other little episodes of wars ……. I mean I lived to see the ending of uh ……..

BT:  Ok, um you say that you did you did attend reunions?

JVM: No, not real I just go over there ….. I don’t go to reunions …. Old guys uh they still uh I went to old timer now and ….. I never been any old timer………………………………

BT:  How did your service and experience affect your life?

JVM: I, I kinda am grateful for having had the uh the experience but uh………………..and your service helps you ………….. bad shape thinking about …… I felt lucky……


BT: Um, is there any thing that you would like to add that we have not covered in this interview?

JVM: Well, that’s about it ….. I think you know about all you need to know about an old man and old just one old soldier ……………………still alright …………

BT: Ok, thank you.


{Not said on tape}

BT: I asked the happiest moment without putting it on tape.

JVM: I When Harry Truman announced the cease-fire August 14, which was my most happiness moment.