thedrifter
10-08-07, 08:53 AM
Wayne man recalls South Pacific battles
Monday, October 8, 2007
By JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM
HERALD NEWS
Iwo Jima. Okinawa. Guam.
These South Pacific islands are known for the bloody battles fought on their shores as the United States military wrested their control from Japanese troops during World War II.
But for former Navy man Edward L. Esso, those names evoke memories of ship life: bad food, cramped living conditions and working 16-hour days under the constant threat of attack.
"I've been to 28 islands in the South Pacific and I've been in five invasions," the 83-year-old said from his home in Wayne. "You never forget it. It's embedded in your brain. You dream and think you're on the ship."
Esso is one of thousands of men who left North Jersey in the early 1940s to fight halfway around the world. With the recently released 15-hour documentary "The War," which chronicles life during World War II, and other commemorations, more of its veterans are recalling their days in the service.
The south Paterson native was only 18 when he left his job at the National Rubber Machinery Factory in Clifton to earn $50 a month as a "snipe," or ship machinist.
After 12 weeks at boot camp in Rhode Island, Esso arrived by train at Burlington Navy Yard in Washington state, where he boarded the USS Lovering.
The vessel, known as a "destroyer escort" in Navy-speak, would become his home for the next two-and-a-half years. He would work for 16 hours a day repairing weapons and the ship's engine and making water by evaporating seawater. After every 16-hour shift, he was allowed four hours of rest.
"Our job was to bring the convoys (to battle) safely," Esso said. "We'd go after submarines. A lot of times, we'd hit sharks and they'd blow apart."
In March 1943, the vessel sank its first submarine at the Marianna Islands. The USS Lovering -- which was awarded five battle stars for its role in the invasions -- lost only one man during its tour to a shark attack in 1943.
But life on the Lovering, which accommodated 189 men, was tough, Esso said. He once went 65 days without seeing land. But the food made conditions almost unbearable.
"On a battleship, you'd get the best food, like ice cream," he said. "On our small ship, you'd get nothing. You got beans seven days a week. We ate powdered milk, powdered eggs. It tasted like cotton. We used to pick weevils out of the bread and throw them on the deck. It was all crap."
Esso slept on a piece of canvas draped over the third level of a bunk bed below deck, while senior officers slept in staterooms. The seas were so rough that he and his comrades had to tie themselves onto their beds so they wouldn't fall off while they slept.
Working in an engine room in a part of the world where temperatures reached 130 degrees also took its toll on Esso.
"There were times I was so exhausted, I'd sleep in my lifejacket on deck," he said.
His ship docked off the coast of Okinawa from January to May 1945, where Esso watched the Army invade the island. He saw kamikaze planes dive straight into the land and sea.
"We were shooting at them," Esso said. "There were so many Marines and sailors floating dead in the water, the sharks came."
Esso came back to New Jersey at the end of 1945. He returned to his job at the rubber factory, married and had three children. But his wartime experiences still occupy his mind 67 years on.
"It's crazy, but that's war," he said. "I was afraid, but that was your job -- to protect your country and freedom."
Reach Jennifer H. Cunningham at 973-569-7162 or Cunningham@northjersey.com.
Ellie
Monday, October 8, 2007
By JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM
HERALD NEWS
Iwo Jima. Okinawa. Guam.
These South Pacific islands are known for the bloody battles fought on their shores as the United States military wrested their control from Japanese troops during World War II.
But for former Navy man Edward L. Esso, those names evoke memories of ship life: bad food, cramped living conditions and working 16-hour days under the constant threat of attack.
"I've been to 28 islands in the South Pacific and I've been in five invasions," the 83-year-old said from his home in Wayne. "You never forget it. It's embedded in your brain. You dream and think you're on the ship."
Esso is one of thousands of men who left North Jersey in the early 1940s to fight halfway around the world. With the recently released 15-hour documentary "The War," which chronicles life during World War II, and other commemorations, more of its veterans are recalling their days in the service.
The south Paterson native was only 18 when he left his job at the National Rubber Machinery Factory in Clifton to earn $50 a month as a "snipe," or ship machinist.
After 12 weeks at boot camp in Rhode Island, Esso arrived by train at Burlington Navy Yard in Washington state, where he boarded the USS Lovering.
The vessel, known as a "destroyer escort" in Navy-speak, would become his home for the next two-and-a-half years. He would work for 16 hours a day repairing weapons and the ship's engine and making water by evaporating seawater. After every 16-hour shift, he was allowed four hours of rest.
"Our job was to bring the convoys (to battle) safely," Esso said. "We'd go after submarines. A lot of times, we'd hit sharks and they'd blow apart."
In March 1943, the vessel sank its first submarine at the Marianna Islands. The USS Lovering -- which was awarded five battle stars for its role in the invasions -- lost only one man during its tour to a shark attack in 1943.
But life on the Lovering, which accommodated 189 men, was tough, Esso said. He once went 65 days without seeing land. But the food made conditions almost unbearable.
"On a battleship, you'd get the best food, like ice cream," he said. "On our small ship, you'd get nothing. You got beans seven days a week. We ate powdered milk, powdered eggs. It tasted like cotton. We used to pick weevils out of the bread and throw them on the deck. It was all crap."
Esso slept on a piece of canvas draped over the third level of a bunk bed below deck, while senior officers slept in staterooms. The seas were so rough that he and his comrades had to tie themselves onto their beds so they wouldn't fall off while they slept.
Working in an engine room in a part of the world where temperatures reached 130 degrees also took its toll on Esso.
"There were times I was so exhausted, I'd sleep in my lifejacket on deck," he said.
His ship docked off the coast of Okinawa from January to May 1945, where Esso watched the Army invade the island. He saw kamikaze planes dive straight into the land and sea.
"We were shooting at them," Esso said. "There were so many Marines and sailors floating dead in the water, the sharks came."
Esso came back to New Jersey at the end of 1945. He returned to his job at the rubber factory, married and had three children. But his wartime experiences still occupy his mind 67 years on.
"It's crazy, but that's war," he said. "I was afraid, but that was your job -- to protect your country and freedom."
Reach Jennifer H. Cunningham at 973-569-7162 or Cunningham@northjersey.com.
Ellie