Additional events experienced by Dr. Kurre during WWII:
The first big event occurred on January 29, 1944 in New York Harbor. At that time, I was finishing my Navy training and getting ready to be sent overseas. My wife and I were invited to attend the launching of the U.S.S. Missouri. At that time, she was considered the largest and finest battleship to ever float the Seven Seas. Because he was a US Senator from Missouri, Harry S. Truman and his family were present. After a speech by Sen. Truman, his daughter Margaret struck the bow with the ceremonial bottle of champaign. In addition to playing a role in major sea and land battles in the Pacific, the Japanese government signed its full and unconditional surrender on her deck on September 2, 1945. I find it more than just a little bit ironic that by then, he was President Truman.
While I was in New York, I learned that I was going to be assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 34. The civilian term for them was PT boat. I am sure that many of you remember the story of PT-109 that served in the Pacific and how its Captain would one day be known as President John F. Kennedy. We had been initially told that we would be serving in the Pacific. However, as often happens in the military, plans were changed. How many of you knew that PT boats participated in D-Day? After that day, PT boats patrolled the English Channel and were involved in multiple sea battles with many different types of German vessels.
The man in charge of all of the PT and minesweeper boats in the Channel was Commander John D. Bulkeley. His nickname was “Sea Wolf.” In March of 1942, he was the man in charge when four PT boats helped General Douglas MacArthur escape the Philippine island of Corregidor just before it was overrun by the Japanese. MacArthur did not want to leave his troops. President Roosevelt had to give him a direct order to leave. He felt that if MacArthur had been captured and made a Japanese Prisoner of War so soon after Pearl Harbor it would have been a major blow to our Country’s moral. Bulkeley was awarded the “Medal of Honor” for his brilliant execution of the escape. Before his assignment in Europe, Bulkeley had been put in charge of the training school for PT boats. He was instrumental in getting JFK into the school and his eventual assignment as Captain of PT-109.
June 5th was my second wedding anniversary. Originally, it was supposed to have been D-Day but this was delayed by bad weather. However, that night, many of our planes took off after dark headed for France. They were dropping our paratroopers behind enemy lines. This part of D-Day has been well documented in the, what is it called today? Oh yes, a “mini-series.” I am referring to “Band of Brothers.” This is the story of Easy Company of the 506th Regiment of the “Screaming Eagles,” which is also known as the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. I am sure that all of you are aware that the 101st is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky!
On June 16th, we had another air raid. This one was different in that we noticed Jerry was using “pilotless planes!” We soon learned that these were “flying bombs.” Because of the sound of their motors, we called the “buzz bombs.” Their official designation was the V-1 rocket. Jerry considered these to be a revenge weapon for D-Day. On a later leave to London, I would see the terrible destruction they created.
After that, I was sent wherever the military needed me. It might be somewhere on the Continent or back in England. Twice I was told that I was being sent home only to have those orders cancelled a few days later. I hate to admit it, but one of our coping mechanisms (similar to the still used by the docs in the movie and TV show MASH) was “Torpedo Juice.” How many of you knew that during WWII, torpedoes were fueled by pure grain alcohol?? So, it wasn’t that hard to “acquire” some of this fuel, mix it with pineapple juice, and Voilà, one has “Torpedo Juice!”
One of the towns we stayed in was Verden, Germany. As they left, the SS placed booby traps everywhere. Slave laborers had been kept in the basements of the larger buildings. There were still whips hanging on the walls in some of them. We even found a small but obviously used gas chamber.
July 2, 1944 is a day that I will never forget: I set sail for home! However, it was a long slow trip as we were traveling on LST-515. That’s right, an LST just like the 325 in Evansville. But don’t get me wrong. I was happy to use any ship available as long as it got me back home!