Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
TOM DECARLO, of Ironwood, holds a picture of the USS Thetis Bay and part of its crew, above. Born and raised in Hurley, DeCarlo served aboard the ship during World War II and witnessed history from it when it was nearby the USS Missouri in Toyko Bay during the Japanese surrender ceremony that formally ended the war.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood - Seventy-five years ago today, representatives from the Japanese government signed surrender documents, formally ending World War II. Hurley native Tom DeCarlo had a front-row seat to this moment in history.
DeCarlo served aboard the USS Thetis Bay, which was anchored close to the USS Missouri where the surrender ceremony was held.
DeCarlo recalls leaving the ship's engine room on the way to eat and seeing the Missouri in Toyko Bay.
"I could have thrown a football on it," he said.
Arriving in Toyko Bay two days before the ceremony, DeCarlo said he and the others aboard the ship had to wear dress uniforms on deck leading up to the ceremony. He remembers watching the delegation of Japanese officials travel to the USS Missouri, saying he didn't initially realize who they were.
"I (saw) little boats coming up the delta and I thought they were fishermen, because they fished a lot in that area," DeCarlo said. "I see them coming up to the Missouri and they were climbing up (to the ship's deck)."
He said it remembers the sun shining and it being a beautiful day.
From his vantage point aboard the Thetis Bay, DeCarlo said he could see Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the representatives from the various Allied powers sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.
"I (saw) him sign the treaty, you bet I did," DeCarlo said. "I (saw) MacArthur with his big hat and his pipe."
Although the proximity to the USS Missouri gave those aboard the USS Thetis Bay an incredible view of the historic moment, DeCarlo also recalls it meant leaving the harbor wound up being a complex operation as there were so many ships behind them.
The Thetis Bay was an escort aircraft carrier and one of the 365 ships DeCarlo said were in William "Bull" Halsey's 3rd Fleet.
DeCarlo joined the Navy in the summer of 1944 at the age of 19, enlisting to avoid being drafted. He initially worked as an oiler in the engine room before becoming a throttle man, working shifts of four hours on duty and four hours off around the clock.
Prior to heading toward Japan, DeCarlo said the ship participated in the battle of Okinawa.
"That was the last island to take. From there, we ... headed for Toyko," he said.
He said the ship was 200 miles from Japan when they learned the first atomic bomb was dropped and were on the way to Toyko when they heard the news that the Japanese were surrendering. Although the Japanese government's announcement the war was over sparked celebrations across the U.S., DeCarlo said it didn't immediately seem like a return to peace aboard the ship.
"You know they said the war was over, but you know what, we were getting attacked by kamikazes (still) and the destroyers and the whole fleet were shooting them down," he said, adding many of the attackers were young boys because Japan didn't have enough trained pilots left.
DeCarlo returned to Toyko in November 1945 following the end of the war, as the ship had been fitted with bunk beds and was used to transport 2,500 soldiers home.
It was during this stop in Toyko Bay that DeCarlo was able to go ashore for liberty.
DeCarlo remembers seeing very few people at first before he was swarmed by young kids still in diapers begging for cigarettes for their relatives.
He eventually went to a canteen and bought candy and cans of juice to hand out to the kids.
"Those kids are 75 now," DeCarlo said.
Although DeCarlo was at sea for the celebrations around the announcement of the end of the war, he still remembers the reception when the ship reached the West Coast.
"We got to the Golden Gate Bridge, you should have seen the people there - throwing big bouquets of flowers, bands playing - and then we got to San Diego, they were so happy. They had bands and people - thousands," he said.
Every one of the soldiers onboard got on their knees and kissed the ground after arriving in the U.S., DeCarlo said, because they were so thankful to be back.
Now 75 years after that day in Japan, DeCarlo said he is still looking for others who were in the harbor during the surrender ceremony and thinks he may be one of the few people still alive.
"I was one of the younger ones, I was just ... 19 when I went aboard ship," DeCarlo said.
