The US Naval Institutes's "Proceedings" magazine ("The Independent Forum
on National Defense) began a new series called "Answering the Call" this
month.
The first offering is from CPO Bob Feller.
Link:
http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/story.asp?print=Y&STORY_ID=1482
Text:
Answering the Call
By Bob Feller
"I'm Still a Navy Man at Heart"
Ace of the Greatest Generation
From the days of the Minutemen, America has always had its
citizen-soldiers. Over the years, their contribution to the nation's
armed forces has been enormous. Invariably, their time in uniform also
has had a lasting impact on their lives.
With this issue, we inaugurate a new feature, Answering the Call, in
which men and women who served a few years in the military, then went
back home to notable civilian careers, talk about their days in uniform
and how their experiences affected their lives.
Our first guest columnist is Bob Feller, the legendary pitcher for the
Cleveland Indians, who interrupted a stunning career in the Major
Leagues to enlist in the Navy at the start of World War II. As Navy
Chief Petty Officer Robert Feller, he participated in some of the
best-known sea battles in the Pacific. When the war was over, he
returned to the mound and resumed a straight shot to station?the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here's his account of his military service and what it has meant to him.
I never have to strain my memory to recall the day I decided to join the
Navy. It was 7 December 1941. I was driving from my home in Van Meter,
Iowa, to Chicago to discuss my next contract with the Cleveland Indians,
and I heard over the car radio that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl
Harbor. I was angry as hell.
I'd spent almost six full seasons in the major leagues by then, with a
record of 107 victories and 54 losses, and I had a family-related draft
exemption, but I knew right then that I had to answer the call. I
arrived in Chicago late that afternoon to meet Cy Slapnicka, the
Indians' general manager, who had come there to talk about my contract
for 1942, and told him about my decision. I then phoned Gene Tunney, the
former world heavyweight boxing champion and an old friend. A commander,
Gene was in charge of the Navy's physical training program. He flew out
from Wa****ngton and swore me in on Tuesday, 9 December.
After my basic training, the Navy made me a chief petty officer and
assigned me as a physical training instructor. It was valuable in its
way, but I wanted to go into combat. I'd had a lot of experience with
guns as a kid, so I applied for gunnery school and sea duty. After four
months of naval gunnery school in New****t, Rhode Island, I was assigned
to a battle****p, the USS Alabama (BB-60), as a gun-captain on a 40-mm
antiaircraft mount that had a crew of 24.
Action in the North Atlantic?and the Pacific
I got what I wanted. The Alabama spent six months escorting convoys in
the North Atlantic, and then?in August 1943?went through the Panama
Canal and headed for the central Pacific. Over the next two years, we
saw action off Tarawa, and in the Marshalls, the Carolines, and the
Philippines. We bombarded beaches to sup****t amphibious assaults, served
as escorts for aircraft carriers, and fended off kamikaze attacks. Two
enemy bombs hit the ****p during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, and we
survived a typhoon that pummeled us with 80-knot gusts off the
Philippine coast. The Alabama never lost a man to enemy action. The
people we had on the gun crews were very good shots.
In March 1945, I was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Center and
managed the baseball team there. In the third week of August, just 15
days after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiro****ma, I
went on inactive duty. It was back to baseball after that. I rejoined
the Indians on 23 August and pitched eight games. I won five and lost
three.
Serving in the military is almost always a defining moment for any young
man or woman. You're young and impressionable. You meet a lot of new
people, and you travel to new places. You learn to be on time, how to
follow and, eventually, how to lead.
You Never Forget Combat
But it makes a difference when you go through a war, no matter which
branch of the service you're in. Combat is an experience that you never
forget. A war teaches you that baseball is only a game, after all?a
minor thing, compared to the sovereignty and security of the United
States. I once told a newspaper re****ter that the bombing attack we
lived through on the Alabama had been the most exciting 13 hours of my
life. After that, I said, the pinstriped perils of Yankee Stadium seemed
trivial. That's still true today.
You and your comrades never lose touch. I've gone to my share of Alabama
reunions, and all of us treat each other as ****pmates no matter what
else we've done or accomplished?or haven't?over the years. I still
remember with pain the sailor who stopped by my compartment to talk
baseball during one of our North Atlantic convoy runs. A few minutes
later, he was missing. Apparently he'd fallen overboard into rough
seas?an accident of war.
Like anyone who has been under fire, I'm certainly not a war-booster.
But I still believe, as I did that grim Sunday afternoon in December
1941, in a strong and well-equipped military and in the values that
being in the service instills in the young men and women who don the
uniform. I'm well aware of the hard****ps that our servicemembers are
enduring right now.
Serving Your Country
For myself, I wouldn't be unhappy if they re-imposed a draft?not just
because we need more troops to meet our needs, but because going through
military training is such a character-builder for young people. Everyone
ought to serve his or her country for a couple of years or more, even in
times of peace.
I was at Great Lakes Naval Training Center a few months ago, where I'd
been invited to speak to the graduates of the Navy's basic school, and
someone asked whether I'd urge my grandson to sign up, as I had done. My
answer was a resounding yes.
I'm still a Navy man at heart. And I'm proud to have served.
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