Ross Shirley - World War II History

Prior to the United States entering the war with Japan in World War II, Ross was working for Lockheed Aircraft in California, assembling P-38 airplanes. He had been trying to get a commission as an officer in one of the several branches of the military. When Pearl Harbor was attacked he went to the enlistment center again. The lines to sign up went around the block. They told him they wanted him to work on an aircraft carrier, but he said he wanted a higher rank. They told him that most anyone would jump at that their offer, but Dad held out. He was later given the commission he wanted.

He went through basic training and was stationed in New Orleans. They did not have sufficient barracks, so they gave a bunch of the enlisted men rooms on the second floor on Bourbon Street. He was then sent to the South Pacific.

Ross did not have a pretentious bone in his body. He was Chief Engineer on an ocean-going tug, which meant work was not easy. He let the crew know that he did not go for all the saluting and the use of “sir.” He told them, “We have too much work to do for all that nonsense.” One day while working on some machinery he dropped a wrench and reached down to pick it up. One of the crew said, “I could have picked that up for you, Chief.” Ross told them he could do it himself and to not worry about that kind of thing when there is so much work to be done.

Ross loved boxing. He would go down below and box with the enlisted men. One of the other officers told him that he did not think it was proper for an officer to be boxing and otherwise associating with the enlisted men. He said he would never box with the common sailors. Ross said, “Well, if you don’t know how to box, then you shouldn’t.”

One day, while anchored in harbor, sailors from another ship wanted to have a friendly boxing match. Dad’s ship accepted. One of their men had done some professional boxing and they thought it was a great opportunity to wager some odds. Ross accepted the opportunity. As they were putting on the gloves the man said, “Now, you know I’ve boxed professionally.” Dad said, “Don’t hold back on my account.” The match began badly for Dad’s opponent. It was soon obvious who was winning. Dad moved in for the knock-out but the match was stopped. One of the crew members named Yablonski was a huge man who didn’t say much. But when asked about the fight, he said, “The Chief nearly killed him.”

Dad always used to say, "Hurry up and wait." He learned that from being in the military. There were times when they had to sit and just wait. Soldiers were innovative in coming up with solutions for boredom, such as fishing and ocassional water skiing. Here Ross is seen enjoying both.

They were pulling some cargo from Manila in a convoy and having a hard time keeping up with the destroyers. Radio silence prohibited direct communication. Only light signals were flashed telling them to go faster. They were going as fast as they could. Finally one of the destroyers circled around and came up beside, bumping into the smaller tug and causing some damage. They yelled at those in the tug telling them to keep up, that Japanese submarines were in the area, then hurried back into formation. Night fell. The next morning those in the tug awoke to find themselves all alone with no way of defending themselves. They hoped they were not a worthy target for Japanese subs. Dad scanned the horizon with binoculars. Every now and then they would see the mast of a ship and simply hope it was “one of ours.”

Ross was stationed on one of the islands and had received a short “leave.” He was to go to the airport and catch a ride on one of the planes. He knew how the military operated, so he went into a store and bought a six-pack of beer. He walked into the hanger at the airport and presented his papers. The “fly-boys” were not impressed when he presented his orders. Then Ross placed the liquid refreshments on the desk and asked if that would help. The greased wheels began to turn much more rapidly. Ross soon found himself on a troop transport plane high above the Pacific. He saw the pilot slide open a small window in the side of the cockpit. Through the portal he held one of the beer bottles by the neck, allowing the cold high-altitude air to chill the brew. Welcome to the friendly skies.

Ross was in harbor when he saw a small ship pulling a huge barge out into the ocean. He radioed to see what they were carrying. A friend of his said they had a load of Japanese rifles that they were going to dump into the ocean. Dad asked him to snag him one, which he kept as a souvenir. I remember very well holding that long rifle and wondering how it might have been used.

While waiting in harbor, a cable had become looped around the propeller. They radioed for help, but it did not come. Finally Ross devised a plan. They improvised an air compressor to pump air allowing a diver to check out the damage. The report was that they were hopelessly entangled. Dad put on the mask and went down himself. He found that if he put his foot against the shaft of the propeller he could push with his shoulder and get some leverage. He soon had the cable free and the ship was on its way.

Enlisted men were given a ration of cigarettes. Ross did not smoke, but he stashed them away in his locker. When they were on long assignments and the stogies were not replenished, they became very valuable. Ross made a lot of money from those who had to have a smoke. One of the men complained that equal quantities of cigarettes were given to those who did not smoke. Dad told him to shut up, that no one had to smoke if they didn’t want to.

One day some of the men were talking about Mormons. One of them thought he was an expert and proceeded to expound. He was wrong and misinformed on many things. Dad had not said anything about religion up to this point. Finally, he interrupted and said, “You wouldn’t know a Mormon if you were standing right in front of one.” There was a slight pause, “You mean to tell me you are a Mormon! I can’t believe it. You can’t be a Mormon, you’re a regular guy. Wow, the Chief is a Mormon!” Dad told me that up to that moment he had wondered if he really had a testimony about the church. After that he thought, “I guess I really do have a testimony.”

Ross was never in any actual combat. He remembered hearing rumors about some kind of super weapon that would soon end the war. No one looked forward to a land invasion on Japan. After Nagasaki and Hiroshima were bombed he was stationed in Japan and witnessed the devastation. Years later I asked Dad if he was a hero. He just looked at me and said, “The real heroes are the ones who gave it all and didn’t come back.”