Lt. Earl Swillum is pictured in his Navy dress uniform during World War II. Photo provided
The hand-written note on the back of the framed 8 X 10-inch black and white photo on the wall of Earl Swillum’s Port Charlotte, Fla. home reads: “Iwo Jima, Day 3.” On the flip side it shows LST-121 on the beach with its bow in the island’s black volcanic sand two days before the Marines put an American flag atop Mount Suribachi. Read the rest of this entry »
Capt. Wally Weber returns from a mission in his Corsair fighter. When this picture was shot, he was flying from Peleliu Island in the Pacific. Photo provided
Wally Weber of Burnt Store Country Club didn’t have to sweat the draft during World War II. His father was the chairman of the local draft board in the little town in Oklahoma where he grew up. Read the rest of this entry »
Bill Stevens, left, and his brother, Bob, are pictured during Christmas 1942 at their home in Framingham, Mass, shortly after they joined the Coast Guard. Photo provided
Bill Stevens of Deep Creek near Port Charlotte, Fla. was a member of a four-man Coast Guard crew on a plywood “Higgins Boat” that transported Marines and soldiers to South Pacific beaches during five major invasions in World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Drennon Judy is lined up on the deck of the Battleship Pennsylvania to receive his Purple Heart along with seven other sailors. He is the third seaman from the left. Photo provided
Drennon Judy was a quartermaster who served aboard the Battleship USS Pennsylvania. He saw action during many of the major battles in the Pacific during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Earl Swillum of Port Charlotte, Fla. holds a letter he received from the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal thanking him for his service in World War II. Sun photo by Don Moore
Earl Swillum went aboard an LST as a “90-Day Wonder” third officer and sailed into the war zone at the Battle for Saipan. Before the fighting in the Pacific was over he and the LSTH-121, which also served as ahospital ship, took part in three other major battles during World War II.
