Title
Kenneth Edwards interview with Shelby Peterson and Lindsey Peterson
Subject
World War, 1939-1945-Iowa-Oral histories
Description
Edwards was a Navy aviation electrician and served in the South Pacific. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan spared him from having to take part in active combat. He replaced generators on seaplanes and worked on machine gun turrets.
Publisher
Buena Vista University
Date
4/21/2011
Rights
These oral histories are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that a credit line reads: "Courtesy of Buena Vista University Archives, Storm Lake, IA." Prior permission from the BVU Archives is required for any commercial use.
Format
video/mp4
Language
English
Type
Moving Image
Identifier
Interviewer
Shelby Peters, Lindsey Peterson
Interviewee
Kenneth Edwards
Transcription
KENNETH EDWARDS
Shelby Peters [00:00:00] Today is April 21st and we are interviewing Kenneth Edwards, born April 26th, 1925. My name is Shelby Peters, and I will be the interviewer along with Lindsey Peterson. And where did you start your training?
Kenneth Edwards [00:00:19] At Farragut, Idaho. At Camp Brandon, and then I went on to Lafayette, Indiana, for shipboard wiring, and then I was sent on to Jacksonville, Florida, naval air station to learn aviation electrician. And then I was shipped out to San Diego, and I worked on a field where big B-24s-- pilots were training. And from there, I was sent overseas and spent the rest of my period at [unintelligible] in the Pacific theater.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:10] Now, did you enlist in the Navy or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:12] No, I was drafted.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:14] Drafted, and what year was that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:15] 1943.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:16] How did you feel about being drafted?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:18] Well, it was-- it was pretty inevitable the way the country was going. And I wasn't surprised, and I wasn't concerned as far as that was concerned. But I-- I'm glad that I was able to serve.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:38] Now, were you glad that you got the Navy? Did you get to pick the Navy or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:42] There were about 60 men [who] were sent down to Des Moines to be inducted, and they picked two for the Navy, one for the Marines, and the rest went to the Army.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:53] Are you glad you didn't go to the Army?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:55] Oh, not necessarily. I-- I was thinking that might be a good route, too, but just the way the needs were for manpower. And so that's where I started out. In the Navy.
Shelby Peters [00:02:12] And what was your feelings about the war prior to your enlistment?
Kenneth Edwards [00:02:17] Well, in that war, our country was attacked, or the people who we were protecting were attacked in Hawaii. And so I felt there was a need to go and serve. And it just happened that I didn't get called [be]fore I graduated from high school. So that was pretty good. One comment I have to make: when we left from San Diego on an LST, when we lost sight of the United States, I had a funny feeling in my stomach. [chuckles]
Shelby Peters [00:02:59] And what was training like for you?
Kenneth Edwards [00:03:02] Well, it was-- it was good. I mean, we had good instructors and-- in boot camp, you had to straighten out to get a little physically more able to do things. And so I think World War-- most of World War II veterans were-- felt that it was good training that we had.
Shelby Peters [00:03:29] Any specific memories or experiences in training?
Kenneth Edwards [00:03:34] Well, no, not especially. There were-- different ones were wiped out for physical reasons during that time period. And in Jacksonville, where we were training to be aviation electricians, the-- the field had a lot of fighter planes that pilots were training. Same time getting ready to go overseas.
Shelby Peters [00:04:04] And when you shipped out, you said you had a funny feeling when you lost sight of the United States. Was there a genu-- a genu-- a feeling like that with everybody on the ship or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:04:14] Oh, I don't-- I don't know. I didn't hear that too much. But I was an only child in [the] family and a little on the bashful order [laughs] and just--
Shelby Peters [00:04:33] How many men were on the ship with you?
Kenneth Edwards [00:04:35] Oh, goodness. I don't know. There were several groups from different places that had been in training. We had on board a landing ship. Would-- would get shoved off the LST when they got there, and it would carry so-- so many men and so much armament for an assault on a-- on a beach. Had it not been for the atomic bomb, I probably would have been one of many men that would had to have make a-- an assault on the Japanese island itself. We were-- we were given knowledge that that's probably what the route would be.
Shelby Peters [00:05:28] What was the name of the ship you were on?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:32] It was an LST 383.
Shelby Peters [00:05:34] And what was the specific mission of your ship at that time?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:38] Well, it was-- it was just used as a transport to take people over to the Hawaiian Islands and then they're-- they're shipped out for--
Shelby Peters [00:05:47] [crosstalk] What was your job-- on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:50] I got in a mess kitchen [chuckles] a little unique situation because aboard an LST, where they served the meals, one-- one deck, and where you wash the dishes was a deck down. And you had to carry baskets of dishes down in a basket to wash 'em and dry 'em and then carry it back up the ladder.
Shelby Peters [00:06:18] What was life on the ship like? What kind of activities did you do or pass the time?
Kenneth Edwards [00:06:24] Well, we weren't really assigned any other duties, so we spent a lot of time out on-- watching the ocean and sailfish and porpoises and things like that. It-- it was kind of-- kind of interesting. Once I got over my feelings of leaving the country, I was fine.
Lindsey Peterson [00:06:48] How long were you on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:06:50] Ten days. It took ten days. And we had a small 165-foot boat with us, and we had to-- had to fuel them up a couple of times on our trip over. And we were-- we were carrying depth charges. Had one sub alert, which everybody at the call at the station and-- and-- but there was no-- no action needed until they decide they're friend or foe, why they are fully alert, ready to go into action.
Shelby Peters [00:07:30] And were there any other close calls with submarines or pilot attacks, you know, on your ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:07:37] Not on the way over there. At one time after I was assigned to the aviation electrician shop in [unintelligible] Bay. I was-- went out on a flight to [unintelligible] generators on a plane. And we hadn't gotten up very long until they did have a sub alert and they made a-- a dive on that. But other than that, that's all the action [unintelligible] that I had.
Shelby Peters [00:08:09] When they had a sub alert called, how was-- what was the reaction of the men aboard the ship? What did you guys do?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:16] Well, I-- they-- boy, they told me to sit in a chair and not-- not do anything [laughs] until it was over. They didn't want me to interrupt their-- all their gauges and things.
Shelby Peters [00:08:31] And where was your travel destination when you were on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:36] We were headed for Pearl Harbor, Ford Island.
Shelby Peters [00:08:40] And once you got there, what did you do?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:43] Well, we were put in a barracks for the time being, and one morning we went to-- to eat breakfast. It was foggy. Came back out and saw the Saratoga and battleship Wisconsin, moored right next to us, was probably 100 yards from us. [laughter]
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:13] You said you're an electrical engineer.
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:15] Aviation electrical, yeah.
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:16] Okay. So you worked on planes, then?
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:18] Yes. Worked with-- for PBM Mariner there, a seaplane. And they were the ones that did the long patrols out in our traffic lanes to make sure that there weren't any vessels that would interfere with the vessels that were transporting things ahead to where the operations were taking place.
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:43] Did you have a specific job when you were working on those planes like radar or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:49] No, I was trained to remove and replace generators, and I was also trained to work on the 50-caliber electric machine gun turrets, and other than that, why, just whatever came up. Worked with whoever had other things they needed to do to accomplish the job that was needed.
Lindsey Peterson [00:10:23] Did you like the electrical work or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:10:25] Yes, it was interesting. Quite, quite detailed at times. But yeah, it was satisfying to be able to keep those old planes going.
Shelby Peters [00:10:40] And when you were stationed there and you lived in the barracks, what are [sic] some of you and the men around you did for entertainment?
Kenneth Edwards [00:10:48] Well, we had a PX, I guess you would call it. You-- you'd go in and get sandwiches or a milkshake or something when you were off duty. They had a theater there, and also they had a movie most every night, and it rained most every night, and the mosquitoes bit most every night. So they took a pail and a poncho and some cigarettes and make some smoke [chuckles] and watched the movie. Once in a while, they had live entertainment, too.
Shelby Peters [00:11:28] And did you get to keep in contact with your family?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:30] Oh, yes. Yeah. And mail went through pretty-- pretty rapidly from there.
Shelby Peters [00:11:37] And who did you write to?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:39] Oh, my folks and my grandparents, primarily. I was fresh out of high school, so I didn't have a girlfriend or anything, so. [chuckles]
Lindsey Peterson [00:11:50] Now you were in the Hawaiian Islands, correct?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:52] Yeah, I was in Oahu. Island of Oahu.
Lindsey Peterson [00:11:55] And did-- was there any sense of, like, Pearl Harbor or how did the people react or talk about that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:12:03] Well, when we landed, we went through-- not much of it had been cleaned up yet in 1943. And people had a lot of respect for the people who had been aboard these ships. And so you show your respect going and coming from that area. Also, when we were in Ford Island, they come in the barracks and recruited a crew to put together bulletins they were sending-- sent out further-- we were locked in and well, we were doing our job and-- and then back to the barracks. So it was highly sensitive material we were handling.
Lindsey Peterson [00:12:55] These planes you worked on, did-- did you ever get to work on any planes that had, like, battle damage, or did you just help get them up and running?
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:07] Well, any-- anything that went wrong on a flight they reported, and we would work on 'em. If the generator was bad, why we'd replace that. And they had what they called an assembly repair on the island. And they took those in, and there were other people who were trained to-- to fix them up again so they could be used.
Shelby Peters [00:13:36] And were you still stationed in the Hawaiian Islands when the war was over?
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:43] Yes, I was.
Shelby Peters [00:13:46] [crosstalk] And how did you react--
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:46] Well, there was quite a celebration. We had a chance to go to the beach and-- and have some fun out there. And it was kind of a relief.
Shelby Peters [00:14:01] And were you there when the ships started returning home with men on them?
Kenneth Edwards [00:14:06] Yes. In fact, I'd become First Class Aviation Electrician. So when we were sent over to Ford Island again, the staging area, I found out that I had a duty of taking charge of about 50 of the men that were returning from further out. Some of 'em were pretty battle-worn and very seasick. [chuckles] We came back on a transport, Lavaca, to San Francisco and then from there by rail back to Minneapolis, where we were discharged.
Shelby Peters [00:14:49] And after you were discharged, did you stay in this, or after the war was over how much longer did you stay in the-- into your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:14:57] I-- I didn't. I-- I was-- was discharged, and they weren't needing near as many men. So if you wanted to volunteer again, you had to go for four years. I was homesick enough that I wanted to get home. [laughs]
Shelby Peters [00:15:18] And what did you do after you returned home?
Kenneth Edwards [00:15:21] Well, I went to-- to your alma mater here for a couple years.
Lindsey Peterson [00:15:27] Did you do that on a GI bill?
Kenneth Edwards [00:15:28] Yes. And then I went to-- to Ames. I was heading for electrical engineering degree, and I'd been down there a quarter. And then my wife got notice from her parents that one of their farms would be available and wanted to know if we wanted to go farming. And I didn't have a choice there. She-- she wanted to do that, and that was fine.
Shelby Peters [00:15:55] And after your service, did you-- were you awarded any medals or citations?
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:00] Oh, there's some, just nothing too great. Just the fact that a Good Conduct Award and had served in the Asia-Pacific theater, and that-- that was about it.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:18] But you brought your patch for us today. Could we--
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:20] That's-- that's insignia for the Aviation Electrician, First Class.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:26] Okay.
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:27] I got three ratings while I was out in Hawaii and some of 'em didn't seem to care. I thought, Well, [if] you can make a little more money, you just as well get more training. And so that's the routes that I took.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:44] What are you most proud of-- of your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:48] Oh, just-- just the fact that I was able to be in and help whatever I was assigned to.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:59] Were there any points during your service where you-- you had doubts whether we would win the war or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:17:07] Not really. In the theater, in north theater, you could go in and see it, and they had movies of some of the activities that were going on, and that encouraged us. I had a feeling that we were in a winning battle, and like I say, had we ever gotten to the point where we had to-- had to go in in force into the Japanese islands, I think it'd been a pretty tough battle.
Lindsey Peterson [00:17:39] And what-- what did you hear while you were there? You said you watched some movies, but what did you hear from the men who were returning about stories of what was happening in Japan, what the combat was like?
Kenneth Edwards [00:17:50] Well, we really didn't get too much of that. Kaneohe Bay was across the island from Pearl Harbor and the general headquarters. So we didn't hear too much. It was a different feeling when you went on liberty because I would say roughly 60% of the merchants that you dealt with didn't speak English. Little-- a little sign language went on, and that was all right. We-- we realized that we were in foreign territory, so to speak. There were many Japanese people there, along with Asiatic-Pacific tribes, that had come back in the Hawaiian Islands and were in business or-- or just working there. When you went on liberty, we had a choice, taking a bus or pally (sp), they called it. It was a winding road. It went across the mountain over to Honolulu in Ford Island, in that area. Or you could take a taxi cab. If you had a little change in your pocket, you usually took a taxi cab. [chuckles] It was quicker.
Shelby Peters [00:19:09] Any other specific memories you remember from your service or anything you'd like to share with us?
Kenneth Edwards [00:19:17] Oh, right at the moment, I don't-- I don't think of anything. As long as I wasn't in, you know, active fighting, I didn't have much of anything to tell on that. We did-- we did lose one plane in the bay coming in that had been on patrol. And it was kind of a foggy afternoon, and they dropped too hard, and it split the tanks open and it burned up. And that was kind of a saddening experience.
Lindsey Peterson [00:19:56] You said earlier that you had applied for an Honor Flight. Can you tell us a little more about your plans for that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:01] Yes. It's sponsored by the Brushy Creek people out of Fort Dodge, and they're trying to get all the World War II veterans that are able to do it, to go and see the Washington, D.C. and see all the memorials that are set up there for all the servicemen. And I think that will be quite interesting as well as quite an honor.
Lindsey Peterson [00:20:31] When do you go for that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:32] May-- May 7th. We have to-- have to travel down to Fort Dodge, the fairgrounds on the 27th, I believe it is, and get more information on what is expected of us and the like.
Shelby Peters [00:20:52] And do you ever get to see any of your buddies from your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:58] I really haven't. They were all from different parts of the country. And so I didn't-- we-- we were there for a purpose, and when we got done, everybody was glad to go home, and we didn't think about that part, I don't think.
Shelby Peters [00:21:16] And is there anything-- any last, final words or anything you'd like to add?
Kenneth Edwards [00:21:22] Well, I was-- I was privileged to have served and glad that I had that opportunity.
Shelby Peters [00:21:32] We'd like to thank you very much for taking time to interview with us.
Kenneth Edwards [00:21:37] It's fine and glad-- glad to take time to do that.
Shelby Peters [00:00:00] Today is April 21st and we are interviewing Kenneth Edwards, born April 26th, 1925. My name is Shelby Peters, and I will be the interviewer along with Lindsey Peterson. And where did you start your training?
Kenneth Edwards [00:00:19] At Farragut, Idaho. At Camp Brandon, and then I went on to Lafayette, Indiana, for shipboard wiring, and then I was sent on to Jacksonville, Florida, naval air station to learn aviation electrician. And then I was shipped out to San Diego, and I worked on a field where big B-24s-- pilots were training. And from there, I was sent overseas and spent the rest of my period at [unintelligible] in the Pacific theater.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:10] Now, did you enlist in the Navy or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:12] No, I was drafted.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:14] Drafted, and what year was that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:15] 1943.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:16] How did you feel about being drafted?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:18] Well, it was-- it was pretty inevitable the way the country was going. And I wasn't surprised, and I wasn't concerned as far as that was concerned. But I-- I'm glad that I was able to serve.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:38] Now, were you glad that you got the Navy? Did you get to pick the Navy or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:42] There were about 60 men [who] were sent down to Des Moines to be inducted, and they picked two for the Navy, one for the Marines, and the rest went to the Army.
Lindsey Peterson [00:01:53] Are you glad you didn't go to the Army?
Kenneth Edwards [00:01:55] Oh, not necessarily. I-- I was thinking that might be a good route, too, but just the way the needs were for manpower. And so that's where I started out. In the Navy.
Shelby Peters [00:02:12] And what was your feelings about the war prior to your enlistment?
Kenneth Edwards [00:02:17] Well, in that war, our country was attacked, or the people who we were protecting were attacked in Hawaii. And so I felt there was a need to go and serve. And it just happened that I didn't get called [be]fore I graduated from high school. So that was pretty good. One comment I have to make: when we left from San Diego on an LST, when we lost sight of the United States, I had a funny feeling in my stomach. [chuckles]
Shelby Peters [00:02:59] And what was training like for you?
Kenneth Edwards [00:03:02] Well, it was-- it was good. I mean, we had good instructors and-- in boot camp, you had to straighten out to get a little physically more able to do things. And so I think World War-- most of World War II veterans were-- felt that it was good training that we had.
Shelby Peters [00:03:29] Any specific memories or experiences in training?
Kenneth Edwards [00:03:34] Well, no, not especially. There were-- different ones were wiped out for physical reasons during that time period. And in Jacksonville, where we were training to be aviation electricians, the-- the field had a lot of fighter planes that pilots were training. Same time getting ready to go overseas.
Shelby Peters [00:04:04] And when you shipped out, you said you had a funny feeling when you lost sight of the United States. Was there a genu-- a genu-- a feeling like that with everybody on the ship or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:04:14] Oh, I don't-- I don't know. I didn't hear that too much. But I was an only child in [the] family and a little on the bashful order [laughs] and just--
Shelby Peters [00:04:33] How many men were on the ship with you?
Kenneth Edwards [00:04:35] Oh, goodness. I don't know. There were several groups from different places that had been in training. We had on board a landing ship. Would-- would get shoved off the LST when they got there, and it would carry so-- so many men and so much armament for an assault on a-- on a beach. Had it not been for the atomic bomb, I probably would have been one of many men that would had to have make a-- an assault on the Japanese island itself. We were-- we were given knowledge that that's probably what the route would be.
Shelby Peters [00:05:28] What was the name of the ship you were on?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:32] It was an LST 383.
Shelby Peters [00:05:34] And what was the specific mission of your ship at that time?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:38] Well, it was-- it was just used as a transport to take people over to the Hawaiian Islands and then they're-- they're shipped out for--
Shelby Peters [00:05:47] [crosstalk] What was your job-- on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:05:50] I got in a mess kitchen [chuckles] a little unique situation because aboard an LST, where they served the meals, one-- one deck, and where you wash the dishes was a deck down. And you had to carry baskets of dishes down in a basket to wash 'em and dry 'em and then carry it back up the ladder.
Shelby Peters [00:06:18] What was life on the ship like? What kind of activities did you do or pass the time?
Kenneth Edwards [00:06:24] Well, we weren't really assigned any other duties, so we spent a lot of time out on-- watching the ocean and sailfish and porpoises and things like that. It-- it was kind of-- kind of interesting. Once I got over my feelings of leaving the country, I was fine.
Lindsey Peterson [00:06:48] How long were you on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:06:50] Ten days. It took ten days. And we had a small 165-foot boat with us, and we had to-- had to fuel them up a couple of times on our trip over. And we were-- we were carrying depth charges. Had one sub alert, which everybody at the call at the station and-- and-- but there was no-- no action needed until they decide they're friend or foe, why they are fully alert, ready to go into action.
Shelby Peters [00:07:30] And were there any other close calls with submarines or pilot attacks, you know, on your ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:07:37] Not on the way over there. At one time after I was assigned to the aviation electrician shop in [unintelligible] Bay. I was-- went out on a flight to [unintelligible] generators on a plane. And we hadn't gotten up very long until they did have a sub alert and they made a-- a dive on that. But other than that, that's all the action [unintelligible] that I had.
Shelby Peters [00:08:09] When they had a sub alert called, how was-- what was the reaction of the men aboard the ship? What did you guys do?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:16] Well, I-- they-- boy, they told me to sit in a chair and not-- not do anything [laughs] until it was over. They didn't want me to interrupt their-- all their gauges and things.
Shelby Peters [00:08:31] And where was your travel destination when you were on the ship?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:36] We were headed for Pearl Harbor, Ford Island.
Shelby Peters [00:08:40] And once you got there, what did you do?
Kenneth Edwards [00:08:43] Well, we were put in a barracks for the time being, and one morning we went to-- to eat breakfast. It was foggy. Came back out and saw the Saratoga and battleship Wisconsin, moored right next to us, was probably 100 yards from us. [laughter]
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:13] You said you're an electrical engineer.
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:15] Aviation electrical, yeah.
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:16] Okay. So you worked on planes, then?
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:18] Yes. Worked with-- for PBM Mariner there, a seaplane. And they were the ones that did the long patrols out in our traffic lanes to make sure that there weren't any vessels that would interfere with the vessels that were transporting things ahead to where the operations were taking place.
Lindsey Peterson [00:09:43] Did you have a specific job when you were working on those planes like radar or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:09:49] No, I was trained to remove and replace generators, and I was also trained to work on the 50-caliber electric machine gun turrets, and other than that, why, just whatever came up. Worked with whoever had other things they needed to do to accomplish the job that was needed.
Lindsey Peterson [00:10:23] Did you like the electrical work or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:10:25] Yes, it was interesting. Quite, quite detailed at times. But yeah, it was satisfying to be able to keep those old planes going.
Shelby Peters [00:10:40] And when you were stationed there and you lived in the barracks, what are [sic] some of you and the men around you did for entertainment?
Kenneth Edwards [00:10:48] Well, we had a PX, I guess you would call it. You-- you'd go in and get sandwiches or a milkshake or something when you were off duty. They had a theater there, and also they had a movie most every night, and it rained most every night, and the mosquitoes bit most every night. So they took a pail and a poncho and some cigarettes and make some smoke [chuckles] and watched the movie. Once in a while, they had live entertainment, too.
Shelby Peters [00:11:28] And did you get to keep in contact with your family?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:30] Oh, yes. Yeah. And mail went through pretty-- pretty rapidly from there.
Shelby Peters [00:11:37] And who did you write to?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:39] Oh, my folks and my grandparents, primarily. I was fresh out of high school, so I didn't have a girlfriend or anything, so. [chuckles]
Lindsey Peterson [00:11:50] Now you were in the Hawaiian Islands, correct?
Kenneth Edwards [00:11:52] Yeah, I was in Oahu. Island of Oahu.
Lindsey Peterson [00:11:55] And did-- was there any sense of, like, Pearl Harbor or how did the people react or talk about that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:12:03] Well, when we landed, we went through-- not much of it had been cleaned up yet in 1943. And people had a lot of respect for the people who had been aboard these ships. And so you show your respect going and coming from that area. Also, when we were in Ford Island, they come in the barracks and recruited a crew to put together bulletins they were sending-- sent out further-- we were locked in and well, we were doing our job and-- and then back to the barracks. So it was highly sensitive material we were handling.
Lindsey Peterson [00:12:55] These planes you worked on, did-- did you ever get to work on any planes that had, like, battle damage, or did you just help get them up and running?
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:07] Well, any-- anything that went wrong on a flight they reported, and we would work on 'em. If the generator was bad, why we'd replace that. And they had what they called an assembly repair on the island. And they took those in, and there were other people who were trained to-- to fix them up again so they could be used.
Shelby Peters [00:13:36] And were you still stationed in the Hawaiian Islands when the war was over?
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:43] Yes, I was.
Shelby Peters [00:13:46] [crosstalk] And how did you react--
Kenneth Edwards [00:13:46] Well, there was quite a celebration. We had a chance to go to the beach and-- and have some fun out there. And it was kind of a relief.
Shelby Peters [00:14:01] And were you there when the ships started returning home with men on them?
Kenneth Edwards [00:14:06] Yes. In fact, I'd become First Class Aviation Electrician. So when we were sent over to Ford Island again, the staging area, I found out that I had a duty of taking charge of about 50 of the men that were returning from further out. Some of 'em were pretty battle-worn and very seasick. [chuckles] We came back on a transport, Lavaca, to San Francisco and then from there by rail back to Minneapolis, where we were discharged.
Shelby Peters [00:14:49] And after you were discharged, did you stay in this, or after the war was over how much longer did you stay in the-- into your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:14:57] I-- I didn't. I-- I was-- was discharged, and they weren't needing near as many men. So if you wanted to volunteer again, you had to go for four years. I was homesick enough that I wanted to get home. [laughs]
Shelby Peters [00:15:18] And what did you do after you returned home?
Kenneth Edwards [00:15:21] Well, I went to-- to your alma mater here for a couple years.
Lindsey Peterson [00:15:27] Did you do that on a GI bill?
Kenneth Edwards [00:15:28] Yes. And then I went to-- to Ames. I was heading for electrical engineering degree, and I'd been down there a quarter. And then my wife got notice from her parents that one of their farms would be available and wanted to know if we wanted to go farming. And I didn't have a choice there. She-- she wanted to do that, and that was fine.
Shelby Peters [00:15:55] And after your service, did you-- were you awarded any medals or citations?
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:00] Oh, there's some, just nothing too great. Just the fact that a Good Conduct Award and had served in the Asia-Pacific theater, and that-- that was about it.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:18] But you brought your patch for us today. Could we--
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:20] That's-- that's insignia for the Aviation Electrician, First Class.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:26] Okay.
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:27] I got three ratings while I was out in Hawaii and some of 'em didn't seem to care. I thought, Well, [if] you can make a little more money, you just as well get more training. And so that's the routes that I took.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:44] What are you most proud of-- of your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:16:48] Oh, just-- just the fact that I was able to be in and help whatever I was assigned to.
Lindsey Peterson [00:16:59] Were there any points during your service where you-- you had doubts whether we would win the war or--
Kenneth Edwards [00:17:07] Not really. In the theater, in north theater, you could go in and see it, and they had movies of some of the activities that were going on, and that encouraged us. I had a feeling that we were in a winning battle, and like I say, had we ever gotten to the point where we had to-- had to go in in force into the Japanese islands, I think it'd been a pretty tough battle.
Lindsey Peterson [00:17:39] And what-- what did you hear while you were there? You said you watched some movies, but what did you hear from the men who were returning about stories of what was happening in Japan, what the combat was like?
Kenneth Edwards [00:17:50] Well, we really didn't get too much of that. Kaneohe Bay was across the island from Pearl Harbor and the general headquarters. So we didn't hear too much. It was a different feeling when you went on liberty because I would say roughly 60% of the merchants that you dealt with didn't speak English. Little-- a little sign language went on, and that was all right. We-- we realized that we were in foreign territory, so to speak. There were many Japanese people there, along with Asiatic-Pacific tribes, that had come back in the Hawaiian Islands and were in business or-- or just working there. When you went on liberty, we had a choice, taking a bus or pally (sp), they called it. It was a winding road. It went across the mountain over to Honolulu in Ford Island, in that area. Or you could take a taxi cab. If you had a little change in your pocket, you usually took a taxi cab. [chuckles] It was quicker.
Shelby Peters [00:19:09] Any other specific memories you remember from your service or anything you'd like to share with us?
Kenneth Edwards [00:19:17] Oh, right at the moment, I don't-- I don't think of anything. As long as I wasn't in, you know, active fighting, I didn't have much of anything to tell on that. We did-- we did lose one plane in the bay coming in that had been on patrol. And it was kind of a foggy afternoon, and they dropped too hard, and it split the tanks open and it burned up. And that was kind of a saddening experience.
Lindsey Peterson [00:19:56] You said earlier that you had applied for an Honor Flight. Can you tell us a little more about your plans for that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:01] Yes. It's sponsored by the Brushy Creek people out of Fort Dodge, and they're trying to get all the World War II veterans that are able to do it, to go and see the Washington, D.C. and see all the memorials that are set up there for all the servicemen. And I think that will be quite interesting as well as quite an honor.
Lindsey Peterson [00:20:31] When do you go for that?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:32] May-- May 7th. We have to-- have to travel down to Fort Dodge, the fairgrounds on the 27th, I believe it is, and get more information on what is expected of us and the like.
Shelby Peters [00:20:52] And do you ever get to see any of your buddies from your service?
Kenneth Edwards [00:20:58] I really haven't. They were all from different parts of the country. And so I didn't-- we-- we were there for a purpose, and when we got done, everybody was glad to go home, and we didn't think about that part, I don't think.
Shelby Peters [00:21:16] And is there anything-- any last, final words or anything you'd like to add?
Kenneth Edwards [00:21:22] Well, I was-- I was privileged to have served and glad that I had that opportunity.
Shelby Peters [00:21:32] We'd like to thank you very much for taking time to interview with us.
Kenneth Edwards [00:21:37] It's fine and glad-- glad to take time to do that.
Original Format
DVCAM
Duration
0:21:29
Bit Rate/Frequency
80 kbps