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One veteran’s war: more than man vs. man

Written by Denise Freitag Burdette [Asst. News Editor]
Thursday, 30 July 2009
World War II veteran Charles “Chick” Hyde Jr., Bright, stands next to a portrait of his father, Charles Hyde, a World War I veteran. Like many young men during World War II, Charles “Chick” Hyde Jr., Bright, decided to enter military service before being drafted. He wanted to choose his branch of military service. “When the war came along I knew I was going to be drafted. ... I went down and volunteered for early service,” said Hyde. His father, Charles Hyde Sr., was in the Air Force during World War I. When WWII started, his father tried to get in the Navy, he said. But it was his son who would end up serving in the Navy- embarking on a high seas adventure that would not only lead to several battles with the Japanese, but with Mother Nature. No stranger to water Growing up in the Northeast, Hyde was familiar with sailing and boats. His family spent some of their summers in Cape Cod, Mass., said Hyde. After graduating from Newton High School in 1942 in Massachusetts, he entered prep school at Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass., graduating in 1943. The school prepared students to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., or West Point in New York. But Hyde went right into the Navy, attending boot camp in Rhode Island. He went through fire control gunnery school, becoming a petty officer third class. After boot camp he was sent to Norfolk, Va., to pick up a ship. A week later he was assigned to the destroyer, U.S.S. Blue DD744. The ship was still under construction in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Staten Island, N.Y. He worked with the precommissionary crew to get the ship ready. On March 20, 1944, the ship was commissioned. “We went on a shakedown cruise to Bermuda,” said Hyde. The brand new crew, some who were never at sea before, had a chance to become familiar with the ship while taking part in training from submarine tracking to gunnery practice, he said. After a month the ship returned to New York for some alterations and minor changes before heading out July 6, 1944, to join a fleet in the Pacific, he said. The ship went through the Panama Canal on the way to San Diego, then Pearl Harbor before heading out to Eniwetok Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, said Hyde. Soon the U.S.S. Blue joined the fighting units in the carrier Task Force 58, headed toward battles in both the Philippines and Okinawa Campaigns. Hold on tight On Dec. 19, 1944, however, the enemy came in the form of a violent storm. “We went through a typhoon. We had 90 foot waves. Three destoyers rolled over and sank,” said Hyde. A lot of airplanes blew off the destroyers, he said. “Our ship took a 54 degree roll,” said Hyde. A lot of his time on the ship was spent in a “box” located at the top, spending four hours on watch, with eight hours off, except when the crew was in battle stations, he said. “We had four men in that box. Two of us in the front of the box were on motorcycle seats with handwheels and a scope. You were strapped into the seat,” said Hyde. Under normal circumstances the assignment could be tough. “Four hours you were just hanging on to that handwheel for dear life ... and you would be just completely exhausted after four hours,” said Hyde. The day the ship rolled, he luckily was not in the box perched on top of the ship, he said. “I happened to be on watch in the plotting room,” said Hyde. He was alone in the room with a second class petty officer, he said. “We were both hanging on. ... It went over slowly it seems, though,” said Hyde. “Watching his eyes, his eyes got as big as saucers. I guess mine did too,” he said. That was a scary moment, when he was not sure if he would come back home, said Hyde. The other enemy ... or not When the weather did not take over, the crew on the Blue had its human enemies to fight, including Japanese kamikaze pilots. In their fleet of 120 destroyers, 80 were damaged by kamikazes, said Hyde. “The Blue was one of the lucky ones,” he said. Of course the first plane shot down by the Blue crew ended up a bit of a mistake. Right after the ship had entered into the Pacific for the Phillipine engagement, a U.S. pilot had been shot down, with another sent out to pick him up. As the second plane headed back, the recognition officer thought the plane was Japanese. The second plane was shot down, said Hyde. Both survived, however, to be rescued. But the first pilot “was a little bit upset to be shot down twice,” he said. Hyde remained on the ship until a message was sent that one of the three fire patrolmen third class was to be sent to advance gunnery school. The three men, including Hyde, drew cards to see who would go. The first man who won decided to stay on the ship. Hyde won the second time around and chose to go. He was transfered to a cruiser back to the U.S. After he left school the war was over and he was discharged. He decided to take advantage of the GI Bill, attending Oklahoma A & M, now Oklahoma State, to study engineering, said Hyde. After college he worked for General Electric, who asked if he would go to work in Korea, during the Korean War, under a U.S. military contract. He accepted. Under orders of the military, the workers had the rank and privleges of a field grade officer. He was issued a 45 automatic pistol and a noncombatant card, said Hyde. He was not sure, what he would have done if someone came after him- shown him the noncombatant card or the gun, Hyde laughed. After a year he returned home, married, then was sent back to do military work through GE in England for two years. Back in the U.S., his job continued to move his family every couple years to places such as Ft. Worth, Texas, or San Diego. When his kids reached school age, he decided to work somewhere more permanent, ending up with GE Aircraft in Cincinnati. He still traveled for business, however, as the sales director in Africa, said Hyde. He even traveled to Washington, D.C., but never saw much more than the inside of a hotel or meeting room, he said. Through the years he ended up with two daughters and a son, remarrying when his first wife died of cancer after over 25 years of marriage. He also has reached the 25-year milestone with this second wife, he said. Though he had heard about the Honor Flight trips, which take World War II veterans to see their national memorial in Washington, D.C., for no cost to the veteran, he was never approached to attend, he said. While attending a recent Tea Party rally, a man mentioned an Honor Flight trip for veterans from Dearborn County and Southeastern Indiana. The man put his name on the list for the Honor Flight Tri-State trip and on Wednesday, July 22, he finally saw the memorial built in honor of himself, and the many others who served during World War II. “I must say that was a fantastic experience. I was amazed at the people who put that on, the guides and helpers who took care of us,” said Hyde. Check out the Thursday, Aug. 6, Dearborn County Register for the next part in the series, leading up to a story on the trip to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 27 August 2009 )