Leroy Brashears interview with Bill Feis

Leroy Brashears interview with Bill Feis

World War, 1939-1945-Iowa-Oral histories

After he finished basic training in the Navy, Brashears attended torpedo school. He repaired seaplanes in the Mediterranean Sea near Africa. Before that, while being transported by sea, their ship picked up enemy survivors.

Buena Vista University

3/31/2011

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video/mp4

English

Moving Image

Bill Feis

Leroy Brashears

LEROY BRASHEARS

William Feis [00:00:00] Today is March 31st, 2011. We're interviewing Leroy Brashears, and we are going to ask some questions about his service. First question I have is, were you drafted or were you-- did you volunteer?

Leroy Brashears [00:00:14] I volunteered. I enlisted seven months after the-- I was-- when the Pearl Harbor was attacked, I was 17. The following May, I was 18 and July I enlisted in the Navy.

William Feis [00:00:28] Why did you join the Navy? Why the Navy?

Leroy Brashears [00:00:31] Well, it was the thing to do then. Everybody-- Everybody wanted-- [crosstalk]

William Feis [00:00:39] Did you want to be on a ship?

Leroy Brashears [00:00:40] Oh, yeah. Well, I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, so I wanted to be on the water and it worked. [Laughter]

William Feis [00:00:50] Where did you go for training?

Leroy Brashears [00:00:51] Norfolk, Virginia.

William Feis [00:00:53] OK, and that's where you met your wife?

Leroy Brashears [00:00:54] Yes. Mm hmm.

William Feis [00:00:56] Now, what was training like? What sorts of things did you do? [crosstalk] What was your specialty? What did they have you do?

Leroy Brashears [00:01:01] Well, I-- after training-- the training was routine. Then I made torpedo school. So I went to torpedo school. And after 12 weeks of that, I come out a third class petty officer, which is equivalent of sergeant. Then I was assigned to a ship.

William Feis [00:01:24] And what did you do on the ship-- What did you do on the ship once you were assigned to it?

Leroy Brashears [00:01:28] We just over-- overhaul and reworked. It was a seaplane tender, and we would leave torpedoes off at a base and then bring old ones on. And after so long, you had to go through them again. And so we just worked on them continuously.

William Feis [00:01:44] And were you in the Pacific theater? Is that where you were--

Leroy Brashears [00:01:47] No, I was in the Mediterranean, Africa, and oh, I had about ten or 12 different ports.

William Feis [00:01:59] When you were on board ship, what sorts of experiences do you recall that-- that you'd like to share with us about your time when you were on board ship and--

Leroy Brashears [00:02:10] Well, the thing I remember most was we were going from Iceland to England and we had a destroyer for escort and a-- the submarine, and we picked up the survivors. And the thing that fascinated me the most, when-- they looked just like me. I didn't know-- I was expecting to see monsters but they had uniforms like me, that I've never forgotten. I don't know what I thought they'd look like, but they were just people, just like you and I, you know?

William Feis [00:02:53] So that-- so you were on a ship and the destroyer sank a submarine?

Leroy Brashears [00:02:56] Yeah, I was on that ship for 20 months and then I got transferred to a destroyer for another ten months. So I had 30 months [of] sea duty.

William Feis [00:03:05] And were you-- where-- where-- when you were on the destroyer-- where-- where did you-- where was that destroyer? Was it in the-- in the Mediterranean?

Leroy Brashears [00:03:12] Yeah.

William Feis [00:03:13] And what sorts of-- where did you go in the Mediterranean. What sorts of [crosstalk]--

Leroy Brashears [00:03:16] Well, we went to a-- well, mostly it was towards the end of the war when I went on that destroyer. We were with carriers that were practicing all day long, taking off, and we were what they call a plane guard. If a plane went off, we had to pick up the pilot because a carrier don't stop. It just keeps going. But on the other ship, I had to-- [shakes his head] a seaplane tender-- my first voyage was-- called it the "Banana Run." We-- Hamilton, Bermuda. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Port of Spain, Trinidad. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Then after that, I went through Brazil. Panama. North Africa. Casablanca. Iceland. England. You name it.

William Feis [00:04:07] That's a lot of time at sea. [Laughter]

Leroy Brashears [00:04:08] Yeah. It's 30 months. That's two-and-a-half years.

William Feis [00:04:13] When-- how did you keep in touch with home? Were you able to-- to write letters?

Leroy Brashears [00:04:20] Yeah. And they were free. No postage. [Laughter] Yes, and we'd write quite often.

William Feis [00:04:27] Now, did you-- did you write to your-- to your wife-- was she-- she was your future wife at that time. Did you write to her?

Leroy Brashears [00:04:33] Yeah. Yes. Mm hmm.

William Feis [00:04:34] And she was able to write back.

Leroy Brashears [00:04:36] Oh, yeah.

William Feis [00:04:37] Free-- free postage. [Laughter] Oh, that-- Did you write a lot? Did you--[crosstalk]

Leroy Brashears [00:04:43] Oh. I don't know. It's hard to remember.

William Feis [00:04:49] Were you able to-- to-- when you wrote those letters-- were you able to to say-- did they tell you not to tell where you were?

Leroy Brashears [00:04:55] Yeah, we-- we-- never said nothing. And I had a-- my aunt wrote me and kind of-- in code. She was telling me about an interesting article she'd read about Port of Spain, Trinidad. And we were going there, and I found out my cousin was there. So I met him by her telling me-- when she mentioned that, I figured that's where he was, see?

William Feis [00:05:21] Is that right?

Leroy Brashears [00:05:22] But you couldn't-- you couldn't-- they-- they censored all our mail.

William Feis [00:05:28] When did-- you when did you get out of the Navy? When did you leave the service?

Leroy Brashears [00:05:32] I got out September 23rd, 1945, right at the end of the war.

William Feis [00:05:38] Where were you when the war ended with Japan? Where-- were you on the way there or were you--

Leroy Brashears [00:05:43] I was with the war with Japan. I-- This old destroyer I was on was one that they had in World War I. They had given 50 of them to England, old [unintelligible] and destroyers. Well, they decommissioned it, which means junking it. And they transferred me to San Francisco to be assigned to the Pacific. And I was in San Francisco iwhen the war ended, so I never got to the Pacific.

William Feis [00:06:14] Well, how did you feel when you heard the war ended when you were in San Francisco?

Leroy Brashears [00:06:17] Oh, you can't explain it. After three and a half years, I wanted to go home.

William Feis [00:06:29] I imagine so. Well, what did you do when you got home? What did you-- and where was home? You were from Maryland originally.

Leroy Brashears [00:06:33] Yeah, but she was from Iowa. So where do you think I got stuck?

William Feis [00:06:41] [Laughter] I think she was worth it, don't you?

Leroy Brashears [00:06:42] Yes, I do. After 66 years, yes.

William Feis [00:06:47] Oh, well, now, that had to be quite a transition from Maryland to Iowa. What did you do when you came to Iowa?

Leroy Brashears [00:06:54] Well, I was-- I was away from home for so many years that-- you know-- oh, I went to work for Fruehauf (sp) Trailer Company in Cedar Rapids and-- and then on-- I just stayed here.

William Feis [00:07:09] Did you-- [crosstalk]

Leroy Brashears [00:07:09] So I've been here longer than I lived there, but I still think of that as home because that's where I was born and raised, you know. And I have sisters and brothers there.

William Feis [00:07:19] Well, I have to ask, when you first arrived in Iowa-- when you got-- was that the first time you'd been to Iowa when you came home, when you came after the war?

Leroy Brashears [00:07:27] Oh, yes. Yes. I'd never heard of Iowa.

William Feis [00:07:30] What did you think about it when you first saw it? What was your first impression of Iowa?

Leroy Brashears [00:07:33] I wondered, what were you going to do with all that corn? [Laughter] So I don't know. So I got a job right away. And I didn't take advantage of any-- some of them took flying lessons that they never used. But I looked for work right away and--

William Feis [00:07:58] Well, when you think back on-- on your service, what-- and I asked-- I asked your wife as to-- to what sorts-- what-- how do you feel about your service and-- and what are you most proud of?

Leroy Brashears [00:08:10] Well, I'm just proud that I served and went without being asked, and so I'm just glad I done it. I mean, I wouldn't have done anything else.

William Feis [00:08:23] Did you have friends back in Maryland that also volunteered-- [crosstalk]

Leroy Brashears [00:08:27] Oh, yes, there were-- there was 107 of us. They swore us in in Baltimore-- Oriole Park, they called it. And Gene Tunney was the heavyweight champion. He swore us in, but he was on a stand out in the field, and there was 107 of us because Baltimore is a big city, you know, there was 107 of us that enlisted. All enlisted in the Navy at that time.

William Feis [00:08:56] Oh, gosh. So let me-- let me just back up a little bit. I-- I meant to ask you this. You said that you enlisted when you turned 18--

Leroy Brashears [00:09:03] Two months after.

William Feis [00:09:04] --and it was after Pearl Harbor. Where were you and what did you think when Pearl Harbor was attacked? Do you recall what you thought when you heard and where you were?

Leroy Brashears [00:09:14] Yeah, I knew exactly where I was when I read it in the paper. Then they had stands well, they still do [have] stands with newspapers in big headlines, and they had extras out then they'd-- Yeah, I can. I was 17 years old, so, at the time.

William Feis [00:09:31] And how did-- how did you feel when you saw it? Were you-- were you shocked or. did you--

Leroy Brashears [00:09:37] Yeah, I guess. At that age, you-- you know, I-- I don't know how I really felt, but I decided I wanted to go, so.

William Feis [00:09:49] Now, were-- were you living-- you were living at home with your parents?

Leroy Brashears [00:09:54] Yes.

William Feis [00:09:54] How did they feel about you enlisting when you turned 18?

Leroy Brashears [00:09:57] Well, my father was-- [nods] but I don't think my mother really went along with it right away yet. But she she took it. And then my younger brother went later on, so.

William Feis [00:10:11] Did he join the Navy as well?

Leroy Brashears [00:10:12] Yeah, hm mm.

William Feis [00:10:13] He did? You must have told him that it was great. [Laughter]

Leroy Brashears [00:10:16] Well, he got in-- he was three years younger, so he got in-- see, I went in at 18. Got out at 21, so-- so he'd been three or four years younger than me. So, he-- he wasn't in that long.

William Feis [00:10:31] Well, now I understand you have grandsons who've been very interested in-- in the service of the both of you and--

Leroy Brashears [00:10:38] Oh, yeah, yeah.

William Feis [00:10:39] So, you've been asked a lot of questions--

Leroy Brashears [00:10:41] Yeah. The question-- is kind of humorous to me, but he said to me, "Grandpa, did you ever kill anybody when you was in the service?" I said, "No." He said, "Well, you didn't help very much, did you?" [Laughter] That's exactly what that kid said to me. I said, "Well, I tried." [Laughter]

William Feis [00:11:05] Oh, well, kids will ask those questions, won't they?

Leroy Brashears [00:11:09] But he-- he's got my-- what, he's got my dog tag and all my ribbons and my med-- all my medals. You've got them in a case up in his bedroom. And he's seemed to like-- [unintelligible] is more interested than any of them, you know.

William Feis [00:11:26] Well, it's good to have someone who is. That's-- he'll keep that and preserve it. That's very good. Well, now you went on the Honor Flight.

Leroy Brashears [00:11:33] Yes, we both did.

William Feis [00:11:34] Yes. And how did you feel--

Leroy Brashears [00:11:36] Oh, I thought it was fabulous. I've never felt so important or pampered in my life as-- that was-- that was fascinating. It was-- it was a wonderful thing.

William Feis [00:11:49] Did you like the memorial? Did you think it was--

Leroy Brashears [00:11:50] Oh, yeah. Yeah, very much so.

William Feis [00:11:56] It is a neat-- a neat thing. Well, is there anything else that you-- you probably told a lot of stories to your grandsons. Anything else you--

Leroy Brashears [00:12:08] I'll-- I'll-- I'll tell you one story I've told the kids and all that. I could still remember this day, but when I was in boot camp-- [clars throat] Excuse me, I met another fellow from Baltimore, Phil Burnhart (sp)was-- I'll never forget his name. And we both got assigned to the same ship. So after we'd been on it, I don't know how long-- but anyway, our chief petty officer come down and he said, we have a transfer here for a third class petty officer. It was a 23-day delayed order, so that meant 23 days I could go home and didn't count against my leave or anything. He said, "Well, who wants it?" Well, naturally both of us want it. And he said, "Well, we'll just flip a coin, one of you call it and--" We did. He got to go on leave, and I went down on my bunk and cried. So, but anyway, we wrote back and forth. He was from Baltimore, too, and I've written to him and-- several times to each other. And then I wrote, and I didn't hear anything from him. So I come home on leave and I thought, I'll call his mother. And I called her and I asked her, could she tell me where Phil is now? She said, "Phil was killed on the carrier." She said, "One of the Japanese kamikaze." And I think of that today because I'd have been in that-- I'd have been in that same battle station he was in so-- so I've just never forgotten that, you know, it's something that's always stayed with me. So other than that, I don't know of anything else.

William Feis [00:13:49] Well, that's quite a-- that's quite story.

Leroy Brashears [00:13:50] Yeah.

William Feis [00:13:51] Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. That's-- that's quite a story.

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