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George Edward Milbourne Sea.2c USN USS West Virginia 1941-1941 |
Hello There-- I had no idea that a place like this existed !!!
Being Memorial Day Week-end, I
decided to dig out my Dad's discharge papers and old photo's. And
low and behold--The USS West Virginia jumped out at me from the
page. I remember hearing stories as a child--of him being on deck the
morning of the attack. Just about to go ashore, when he was thrown
into the water by the force of the bomb blasts. He said the water was on
fire and that he was forced to swim under the flames. Another bomb
was dropped in close and he suffered an underwater
concussion. I don't know how he made it to shore but he was treated
at the Naval Hospital there in Oahu and then transferred to Navy
Hospital San Diego. Sometime following the attack the doctors removed
two thirds of his stomach, stress I suppose. He then
developed an ulcer in what was left of his stomach and when it spread to
his pancreas it killed him. It took 18 years He was 36
and I was 7 years old. I miss him everyday. My biggest
regret is that his only Grandson and Great-Granddaughter.missed out
on the pleasure of knowing him.
Thank you for this opportunity to share. I'd sure be
happy to hear from anyone who might be around to fill in some of the
gaps that I was too young to hear about while he was alive.
Sincerely yours,
Debbi Lynne (Milbourne) Anderson
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