elsie item issue 69 - USS Landing Craft Infantry

Our final sea story is from Walt Shults, another
underage sailor. California State Director Joe
Flynn forwarded it to us as an example of the
kinds of oral history he hopes other affiliates
will be collecting.
Walt wrote:”
“I served in the US Naval Reserve, joining at
15 years of age and spent three years two
months and seven days in the service of our
beloved country. I trained at the Amphibious
Training Base, Soloman’s Island, MD, and then
sailed on LCI 484, transiting the Panama
Canal.
“Later I served aboard LCI 804 with the staff
of Commander, Group 14. My last LCI was
LCI(M) 807 participating in operations in the
Philippines, Leyte Gulf, Guam, Saipan and
Okinawa. Our role was to provide mortar support
to the troops on the beach.
“After that we were sent to Sasebo, Japan, to
clear mines. As the minesweepers would cut a
mine loose and it came to the surface we
would sink or blow up the floating mines.
Some mine explosions were very close to our
ship.. That was my scariest duty. Compared to
that, the air attacks and shore fire we had
14
endured during those invasions seemed to be a
piece of cake. In all honesty I was a scared
kid. I went the skipper and told him I was
underage. He said “Forget it. You will go
home when the same time the rest of us do!”
“LCI(M) 804 (m) was credited with shooting
down a betty Bomber. John West was the
name of the gunner to get the kill. I was the
gunner across from John. I saw the bomber but
I could not get the safe off in time. As the
plane went overhead, so close you could see
the illuminated exhausts- from the twin
engines, John followed the bomber with his
20mm. He hit the bomber with a short burst
and it crashed into a hillside across the channel
between Ie Sheima and Okinawa.
“There is a history written by the Captain of
the 807. I pulled it out of the Personnel file
and added it to the archives on LCI(M) 807.”