James Semmelroth

Era: World War II

Military Branch: Navy

James Semmelroth served in World War II in the Pacific Theater.

He served in the U.S. Navy on the tanker Y0-171, which Mr. Semmelroth referred to as a “floating gas station.” He was mainly stationed at Ulithi but was also at Guam and Saipan. His rank was Electrician 3rd Class.

Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form; veteran’s account (below)

“Shortly after my seventeenth birthday, in November of 1944, I enlisted in the Navy. It took another two weeks to get my mother to sign for me. After boot camp and school, I was in a shipload of replacements headed for the South Pacific, where I was assigned to a small tanker. Mostly we carried diesel fuel and refueled landing craft and smaller ships. By May of 1946, we were stationed off Iwo Jima. That’s where I left the ship, came home, and was discharged.”