User:Boehm, Andrew

Edward Terry Boehm's Serves in the United States Navy

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Enlisted in the Navy in 1941 & was sent to Basic Naval School in San Diego

Seven weeks after he graduated from basic the attack on Pearl Harbor took place & he was immediately assigned to the USS Blue

The USS Blue was quickly sent to Pearl Harbor from San Diego

As soon as the Blue got to Pearl Harbor it was sent toward the Cambodia/Guadalcanal area.

While it was on patrol not long after arriving in the Guadalcanal area it was hit by two Japanese submarine torpedoes. Many of the crew were killed but Edward made if off the ship will just a few small wounds. He found a dingy and tried to stay away from Japanese patrols for the next three days.

At that time he was picked up by a destroyer, the USS Selfridge.

For the next few months he went from destroyer to destroyer, including the USS Robert B. Anderson.

He was also aboard the USS Minneapolis which was severely damaged in battle but surprising stayed afloat. The ship was escorted by two ships back to Pearl Harbor.

By the end of the war he had been on around 13 to 15 different battle ships.

As the end of the war neared he started to see more action.

Involvement in the Battle of Okinawa

Just incase you did not know the Battle of Okinawa was fought on the Island of Okinawa in the Ryukuo Islands (south of the four big islands of Japan). This battle was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the largest sea-land-air battle in history, running from April through June, 1945.

Edward T. Boehm was aboard the Destroyer WATTS during the battle of Okinawa. The ship was involved in little action during the first month and a half of the battle, but as the sun rose on June 8th 1945 a lone Japanese fighter airplane (Eddy remembers it as a zero) was seen by Edward in the distance. He had been placed as a gunner aboard the WATTS and was up earlier then any other gunner cleaning his gun. The Zero saw the WATTS and made an attack run. Edward quickly realized that the pilot intended to crash into the ship. He quickly swiveled his gun around and began to fire at the fighter plane. It kept getting closer and it seemed that Edward's actions were futile. When the plane was 15 yards from the ship Edward placed a direct hit on the engine and the aircraft barely missed the ship crashing into the water.

The Silver Star

Edward Terry Boehm was decorated and awarded the Silver Star on March 11, 1946; "for service as set foth in the following citation:" "For meritorious conduct in the performance of his duties as a member of a machine gun crew aboard the United States Destroyer WATTS, while on radar picket duty off Okinawa on the 8th of June 1945. When a Japanese suicide plane made a surprise attack upon his ship, he remained at his gun and continued to deliver accurate fire into the enemy plane, causing it to fail in its suicide attempt, and crash into the water fifteen yards abreast of his ship. His complete disregard for personal danger and his unwavering devotion to duty were an inspiration to all with whom he served and at all times in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."