Everett L. Jenkins
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Everett L. Jenkins served during World War II in the U.S. Navy from June 4, 1944, until June 6, 1946.
He did basic training in Farragut, Idaho and did amphibious training in Shoemaker, California, for three weeks. He was sent to New Guinea for five weeks, then to the Admiralty Islands, where they supported the 7th Fleet as a repair unit. They had three dry docks. He spent two years on Los Negros island.
He returned to San Francisco for discharge. His rank was Yeoman 2nd Class.
Mr. Jenkins was born in 1926 in Trommald, Michigan, the son of Cecil and Pearl Jenkins. He graduated from high school I 1944.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall Veteran History Form; veteran’s account (see below)
1. Enlisted in March 1944, inactive duty ‘til I graduated in June 1944.
2. Five weeks intensive training at Farragut, Idaho.
3. Short leave before reporting to Shoemaker, California, for three weeks’ amphibious training.
4. Shipped out early September for a receiving station in New Guinea. After 5 weeks we were sent to the Admiralty Islands, a huge repair unit for the 7th Fleet. The unit had three dry docks that could lift the Missouri out of the water.
5. Spent two years on Los Negros, one of many small islands that made up the harbor.
6. Left the island for San Francisco with a stop at Truk. After a 30-day leave, we were sent to Great Lakes to await discharge.
"Seven of my high school classmates and myself enlisted in the Navy in March of 1944. We were placed on inactive duty until we graduated. After five weeks of intensive training in Farragut, Idaho, we were sent to Shoemaker, California, for five weeks of amphibious training.
"In early September, we started our trip to New Guinea aboard a troop transport ship. We had no escort. To provide as much safety as possible, the ship zigzagged all the way trying to avoid torpedo attacks. We were told after landing to be very careful—headhunters were a bigger threat than the Japanese.
"After five weeks we received our orders to proceed to Manus in the Admiralties. This was a 600-mile trip, 120 men with full gear. K&C rations were our meals, and we slept on the open deck of a LCI [landing craft infantry]—again no escort. The Admiralty Islands are made up of a circle of small islands, all protected with submarine nets stretched between the islands. This is the largest natural harbor in the world. It had hundreds of small dry docks to handle LSTs-LCIs [landing ship, tanks] and three big dry docks that could handle the largest battleships.
"I was working on Los Negros, which handled supplies for the fleet. The ammunition ship Mt. Hood, which was anchored at Manus, about two miles from us, blew up! We thought that it was an air raid and dashed out to our air raid shelters made out of 50-gallon drums filled with sand with a 1” steel plate on top and a lot of sand over that. History books state the explosion was due to enemy action, but no planes or subs were ever sighted. The Mt. Hood was destroyed, and ships on both sides received extensive damage—several hundred seamen lost their lives.
"I was sitting at my teletype when the news came in that the Japanese had surrendered. The war was over, and we could finally look forward to going home. We were sent home according to how many points you had. Points were given for length of service, overseas duty, and combat zones. Mine came up in March 1946.
"I remember standing on the fantail watching the Admiralties fade out of sight. Our ship, the USS Navarro, made one stop at Truk to pick up home-going sailors. They were delivered to the Navarro by small boats operated by Japanese! Over and back before my 21st birthday."
