In 1941 Evansville converted many of its industries to war-product-producing factories. Emma’s first job was at Faultless Caster, a company that built rifle grenade parts. Her part of the job was the “half block,” which entailed getting the burrs off it. She was the timekeeper and supervisor, with ten girls working under
Once, Emma said, “I heard a girl scream!” Emma went to check on her and found a girl was working on a machine. “Her long hair was going around the wheel. I looked at her, turned the wheel backward, and got her out of it.” Emma’s quick thinking saved the girl’s life, or at least her hair.
Emma was in charge of the time the girls started, how much work they did, and the time they quit, using time cards. She stated that “everybody got along.”
Eventually she was laid off at Faultless and had to find a new job. Her next job was also in the war-product industry of Evansville, at a company called Briggs, located at Columbia and Evans Street. Briggs had a contract for parts for the F-4U Corsair plane. Emma worked on the wings. Three girls would take turns drilling and bucking the rivets. She worked up the next wing for the next girl to work on. Every two hours the girls would switch jobs, so they got the wings done. She thought they were parts for the P-47, but research seems to show they were for the F-4U Corsair or F-4F Wildcat.
She said the fuselage was built on the other side of the plant. Emma didn’t like the idea of building war materials, but made the best of it. Later she had a job at Deaconess Hospital for eighteen years, as a housekeeper. She loved spending time with the patients. Her other jobs were at Swift packing house and a local restaurant.
Did you have any other family in the war?
Emma had several family members who helped with the war effort as well. Her dad, Ed Owen, worked at the shipyard as a pipe fitter. He wouldn’t talk about it at home. She had an uncle who was in the marines. He said he walked over many dead bodies. He was at Iwo Jima, and her uncle was next in line to go if the soldiers raising the flag were shot. He was glad they made it!
Her brother, Estil Owen, was an aerial photographer. He rode in planes to get pictures and even crawled out on the wings to get better pictures. One time he even opened the hatch below the plane to take a photo. The pictures indicated when bombs were dropped from the plane, where the bombs hit, and when they blew up. Other pictures showed where the bombs were supposed to go before they went down. The picture would be enlarged to show where to drop the bombs.
In 1951 Emma met a man named Harold on a blind date. A friend she worked with at Swift wanted her to meet him. Their first date was at the VFW. They have been married for fifty-four years as of this writing. Emma and WWII veteran Harold Weber live in Evansville.
Part 6
USS Indianapolis
USS Indianapolis Reunion, 2016
The seventy-first USS Indianapolis reunion was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 9, 2016. Edgar Harrell, a USS Indianapolis survivor, spoke about his experiences after the ship sunk. He has written a book, Out of the Depths, describing the events that unfolded after the ship went down.
Ed outlined the events of the four days he spent in the Pacific. He said, “There are times when you pray. I poured my heart out to the Lord. I don’t want to die. I am seeing what I think is eternity out there.” Many years after his survival, he reflected on this nightmarish time spent in dangerous shark-infested water: “I don’t know what all I promised Him, but probably much more than I have lived up to.”
Another survivor, Cleatus Lebow, was at this reunion. There were fourteen fewer survivors in 2016 than were at the previous year’s reunion, age and disease being the killers this time. As Cleatus was on his way to get a milkshake at the reunion, I asked what was his favorite flavor was. He said, “All of them.”
How many sailors did not survive?
There were 1,196 aboard the USS Indianapolis. About nine hundred made it into the cold Pacific water. Of them, only 317 survived.
Although there are many stories and lots of heartbroken families, there are two sailors who are highlighted here. One, Paul Ross Feeney, was remembered at the USS Indianapolis Memorial on the canal in downtown Indianapolis in 2015. Paul’s grandson, Mike, brought his wife, Kim, and baby daughter, Kayla, to honor the grandfather he had never seen. Mike’s grandmother had been pregnant with Mike’s father while Paul was in the navy. When the USS Indianapolis was dry docked for repairs, he saw his son only once.
The second seaman lost on the USS Indianapolis was John (Johnnie) Rozzano Jr. His body was never recovered, and his family had no idea if he was killed on the ship or vanished in the water after the attack. Johnnie was a very handsome eighteen-year-old man. His family made a very poignant documentary of his life. They have since had a funeral, and they have erected a monument in his honor in his hometown of Lorain, Ohio. It is very distressing to have lost such a bright young life and not have a body or any information about what happened that fateful night.
The best way to tell the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis is by letting one of the survivors, Edgar Harrell, explain what happened each day. The USS Indianapolis had just delivered to Tinian Island the components of the atomic bomb that would end the war. His account of what happened after being hit by the German sub is in the next section.
USS Indianapolis Memorial
Since the USS Indianapolis was named for the city of Indianapolis, the people of Indianapolis feel a fondness for the survivors and the lost sailors of the ship. The memorial was erected in 1995. Reunions are held on a weekend in July near the date of the sinking. There is a black and gray granite memorial on the canal in downtown Indianapolis. It lists all the men who served on the ship as well as some history of what happened to it. There is usually a wreath ceremony held at this site as well as speakers and luncheons at a nearby hotel. The survivors are treated with the honor they deserve and are featured in the local newspaper and on local TV stations. The highway that circles around Indianapolis, I-465, is named the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway.
Edgar Harrell and Cleatus Lebow, two of the twenty-three remaining survivors, were interviewed in August 2016.
Indy Honor Flights
According to the Indy Honor Flight website, “Indy Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization created solely to honor Indiana’s veterans for all their sacrifices.” Their mission is to fly veterans to Washington, DC, to see the memorials and Arlington National Cemetery at no cost. Each veteran is assigned a guardian and a wheelchair, if needed. They have mail call on the return flight home. The returning vets are greeted by lovely ladies dressed in 1940s era attire who plant a kiss on each veteran’s cheek.
One of the veterans who has been on the Indy Honor Flights expressed his feelings about the trip to Washington DC.
Max Bates: “It makes the vets feel special, and it is a way to repay them for the sacrifices that they gave for our country.”
Part 7
Indianapolis
WWII Sites in Indianapolis
Like many cities in the United States, Indianapolis converted or adjusted its prewar products to wartime materials once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and war was declared in December 1941. The following companies were involved in the war effort in the 1940s in Indianapolis.
Eli Lilly and Company
The company was founded by Colonel Eli Lilly in 1876. The company is still an important part of Indianapolis today and employs and gives back to people in the area regularly. During WWII Eli Lilly produced blood plasma, typhus and flu vaccines, and penicillin.
Naval Ordnance Plant
It has had several name changes during its history. Many people in Indianapolis still refer to it as Naval Avionics or NAFI. Whatever you call it, it was an important part of the war effort.
According to the Armed Forces Museum website, “The secret was that the Norden Bombsight was being developed and constructed for naval use by NOP [naval ordnance plant]. Indianapolis company received the Navy’s “E” flags for ex
cellence in service in 1943, 1944 and 1945.” It was important to keep this new development from the enemy. Germany and Japan did not have this technology, which enabled pilots to more accurately locate exactly where the bomb should be dropped.
Veteran Bob Pedigo worked at the Naval Ordnance Plant on the Norden bombsight before going into the air force when the war started. Bob was a bombardier and flew thirty missions over France and Germany in 1944. The Norton was on the plane to which he was assigned—Silent Yokum. In the movie Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Jimmie Doolittle told his men to drop their Norden bombsight before they arrived in Tokyo. They did not want it to fall into the hands of the enemy if their planes were captured during or after the bombing of the city.
Ft. Atterbury
Ft. Atterbury, also known as Camp Atterbury, which is just south of Indianapolis, was built in 1941 after the bombing in Hawaii. It was the home to German and Italian POWS during WWII. An article in the Indianapolis Star newspaper featured the artwork or murals that were painted by the POWS during their internment at Camp Atterbury. A small Catholic chapel was built by the Italian prisoners.
The Atterbury Bakalar Air Museum website states, “The Camp Atterbury stone was carved by Libero Puccino. He returned to the US after the war and became a US citizen.” Many of the veterans from Indiana were sent there for training or to be discharged from the military.
Ft. Benjamin Harrison
Ft. Harrison, named for President Benjamin Harrison, is located on E. Fifty-Sixth Street, northeast of Indianapolis. It was built in 1908 by the Army Quartermaster Corps. As stated in the Indiana Military website, “The Fort Benjamin Harrison Reception Center opened in 1941 and was the largest reception center in the United States by 1943.” Within Ft. Harrison was Camp Glenn, in which there was an MP school by early 1942. There were Italian and German prisoners housed there from 1944 through 1945. The base has been officially inactivated. However, it has now been redeveloped and is a state park. “In 1995, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.” (Indiana history.org)
Indiana World War Memorial
This beautiful limestone building of the Greek classical style is located in downtown Indianapolis and is a national historic landmark. “A museum on the lower levels portrays Hoosier involvement in every military conflict from revolutionary times to current Middle East actions.” Outside the building, “a black granite cenotaph, or ‘empty tomb,’ is located in the center of the sunken garden. Cenotaphs were built in ancient times to commemorate leaders.” The director of the memorial is Brigadier General Steward Goodwin.
The museum was built to honor the men who were killed in World War I but lists all soldiers from Indiana who were killed or missing in action through the Vietnam War. There are programs and special speakers, like WWII veteran Bob Pedigo, to honor special days throughout the year.
“Indianapolis devotes more acreage than any other U.S. city to honoring our nation’s fallen, and is second only to Washington, DC, in the number of war memorials” (visitindy.com).
Veteran’s Memorial Plaza
Located in the war memorial district of downtown Indianapolis, it has an obelisk that reaches one hundred feet, which was constructed of black granite in 1930. A hundred-foot-diameter fountain made from pink Georgia marble and terrazzo surrounds the obelisk. Its purpose is to honor all of Indiana’s veterans.
Paul Ross Feeney—US Navy
By Mike Feeney
Paul Feeney entered the Navy on April 6, 1944. He had received his training at Great Lakes training station. He achieved the rank of Seaman Second Class. His wife, (Mary) Katherine, was pregnant. After Mike was born, Paul saw his son only once when the ship, which had been hit by a kamikaze attack, was in dock for repairs. After delivering the atomic bomb parts to Tinian Island, Paul’s ship, the USS Indianapolis came under attack and sank. Paul was reported missing in action in the South Pacific since the time of the I-58 German submarine attack on the USS Indianapolis. Later it was established that he was one of the sailors killed in action when the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis was hit by enemy fire.
Seventy years later -
Paul’s grandson, Mike; Mike’s wife, Kim; and Paul’s great-granddaughter, Kayla, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were in Indianapolis for the seventieth USS Indianapolis reunion honoring the men who were lost at sea and those soldiers who survived the terrible ordeal. Mike carried a picture of his grandfather, who died before Mike was born, in his uniform and took pictures of his grandfather’s name engraved on the wall of the USS Indianapolis Memorial. Mike said his grandmother has some letters from Paul. These are some of the ways Mike can keep the memory of a lost great-grandfather alive for his daughter.
Edgar Harrell—US Marines, USS Indianapolis Survivor
“He saw more sharks than he saw boys.”
At the seventy-first USS Indianapolis reunion, Edgar Harrell was a speaker at the Saturday program. I was fortunate to be able to attend the program and chat with him before and after he spoke. He didn’t like the fact that he didn’t have an hour to talk. He said, “It’s like a sermon that you don’t get to finish.” His talk to the audience was very much like a sermon, and he mentioned God many times. As I have heard, there are no atheists in foxholes—apparently not in the Pacific Ocean either.
He started off saying, “If you have heard me before, then we will only charge you half price, and the rest of you can get in for free.” He wrote the book Out of the Depths; he gives 50 percent of the proceeds to an Indianapolis survivors organization.
As an eighteen-year-old boy from Kentucky, Edgar volunteered for the Marine Corps. He went to Indianapolis to be sworn in. He went to San Diego for Sea School, so he knew he would be seagoing. He left from San Francisco, California. This was his first look at the big USS Indianapolis. He said, “You can imagine what this country boy thought when he saw this big ship.” It was his home for the duration of the war.
“We were delivering the components of the atomic bomb to Tinian Island.” In Okinawa they were hit by a kamikaze plane and had to make a trip back to the States to get the ship repaired. “On July 16, 1945, we look out on the deck, and we saw all kinds of navy brass that were excited about something. We saw this big crane reach over and set a box on the quarterdeck. ‘Edgar stay with that crane, and don’t allow anyone to loiter around that.’ Some men came aboard. He was told to follow them upstairs. Harold asked, ‘Who are they?’ He was told that they didn’t know. It was spot welded to the floor. It wasn’t going to get away!” Edgar said, “They weren’t air force officers; they were scientists from Los Alamos, New Mexico!”
The USS Indianapolis arrived on Tinian Island ten days later. Next was Guam. Captain McVay was told to go to the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines. He asked for an escort, but he was told he didn’t need one. Four days earlier a destroyer had been sunk in the area. “They sent us out in harm’s way, and we set sail on July 26. On the night of the twenty-ninth, we encountered the Japanese sub I-58, and it sent two torpedoes into the USS Indianapolis. A Japanese sub who had not sunk any enemy ships during the war. They spotted the Indianapolis, and it was not zigzagging. It was a good target for the sub.
That night Edgar was just coming off duty and made a bed all the way forward to sleep on the open deck, because it was so hot below. He took off his shoes and was just relaxing when a massive explosion occurred. He said, “This ship was doomed. There was twenty-five feet of the ship was cut off, not there anymore.”
The ship was still moving at seventeen knots and taking on water. The propellers were still moving and pushing the ship forward. His emergency station was midship, so he started to make his way there. He didn’t have a life jacket. Some of the men were flash burned. They were asking for help, but there wasn’t anything Edgar could do about it.
“As I got closer to the quarterdeck, I tried to cut down some of the new kapok life preservers, but the officers said, ‘Not until we get word to abandon ship.’” Ed said, “If y
ou don’t know what a kapok life preserver looks like, you know what a horse collar looks like...”
He put it on because he knew he would be leaving this ship, “or the ship would be leaving me.” Ed also said, “The water was rushing in, and we became a funnel.”
He was waiting desperately, because there was water on the quarter deck. The ship was listing. They were waiting for word to
come back from the top. Captain McVay had sent someone below to see if the ship was salvageable, but that person did not come back up. There wasn’t any electricity. The only light was from the inferno below decks. They continued to wait but faintly heard “abandon ship.” At the reunion Edgar tried on the kapok life jacket for the audience, so they could see what he’d had to wear while he was in the water.
Everyone rushed to the port side. They climbed over one another. Edgar grabbed ahold of the rail and looked out at all the oil that was on the water. He said no one measured it, but it looked like a half inch of oil. “I am hoping that I am not going to go headfirst into it. There are times when you pray. I poured my heart out to the Lord. I don’t want to die. I am seeing what I think is eternity out there.” Ed had his mom and dad, six brothers, and two sisters back home. He said, “I don’t know what all I promised Him, but probably much more than I have lived up to.
“I also told him that there is a certain brunette that said she would wait for me. And may I say, she is still waiting. We were married July 25, 1947.”
Edgar jumped into the water feet first and swam away from the ship. He had been told never to stay near a sinking ship. He saw the screws still turning. The ship sank in twelve minutes. He didn’t feel any pull. The ship was sinking, and the air was pushing the foam and water out of it. He swam for about seventy-five yards, and he and the men started to take inventory of who was out there. There were many severely injured who didn’t make it, and several were without lifejackets. They formed circles to keep his buddies together.
WWII Heroes: We Were Just Doing Our Jobs Page 23