Laverne J. Kenyon
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Laverne J. Kenyon of Duluth, Minnesota enlisted in the Naval Reserve on March 10, 1944.
He was a Seaman 1st Class with a base ship repair unit in the Pacific Theater.
While en route to Hollandia, he relates, "ran into severe storm and I thought the ship was going to break in two. Arrived in Hollandia at night and went from ship to ship to find a place to sleep....We traveled to Leyte, Philippines, en route we were attacked by Jap planes that strafed our decks and dropped torpedoes that went beneath our ship. Shortly after we received a radio message to change course -- sea battle at Leyte Gulf.
"Next day we arrived in Leyte under siege, buildings blown up and on fire." He arrived at Manicani Island in December of 1944. He recalls, "We were brought as close to shore as possible because of coral and had to walk the rest of the distance in single file....we had our Navy bags on our shoulder, helmets and rifles. We set up a temporary mess hall and ate Spam with pineapple, oranges, you name it, dehydrated potatoes, powdered eggs, C-rations and K-rations. But, on Christmas Eve the Good Lord looked down on us and said ''You shall have a Christmas dinner'' and we did.... That evening a lone Jap plane came in and attacked two ships in the harbor....the SS Lane shot down the plane, but only after it dropped a bomb on the hold of the other ship.
"Several days later, natives reported seeing 2 Japs on the island. Our chief and 12 enlisted men, me included, went searching....There was a trail going through the palm trees. Someone spotted a Jap running. Our chief opened fire with a semi-automatic. While in this clearing, there was a bunch of palm leaves on the ground. Someone noticed a hand move and the chief opened fire and killed that Jap. Several days later we captured the other Jap...."
Mr. Kenyon was awarded the: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal with one bronze star and World War II Victory Medal.
He was honorably discharged on May 26, 1946 at Bremerton, Wash.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 143.
