Melvin Leroy Forseth
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
FORSETH, Melvin Leroy
Melvin Leroy Forseth was born on February 7th to Allouise E & June O. C. [Bergstrom} Forseth in Duluth, Minnesota.
Mr. Forseth enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1943 during WWII. He served as a Seaman 1st Class, battling in the Pacific, Leyte Gulf, and the Philippines, aboard the USS Gen. M.L. Hersey (AP 148).
Forseth recalled, "Our ship, The USS Gen. M.L. Hersey (AP 148) left San Francisco, California the first week in October 1944. After zig-zagging for about 2 weeks we were at Hollandia, New Guinea where we disembarked some troops and took on others, along with some nurses."
"This was our second trip to New Guinea, and being an 18 year old I thought it was beautiful. When we left New Guinea with a number of ships, the weather was nice and the water was as smooth as glass. The further Northwest we went, the more ships joined us, and soon there was a very large convoy stretched as far as the horizon."
"We arrived at Leyte on the 20th or 21st of October 1944, where we anchored off shore to disembark our troops. That night we were called to General Quarters, where my battle station was a sighter on one of our foward 5 inch 38 caliber guns."
"Soon it rained, and we all got wet. When all was clear, we went down to our compartments and hit the sack. It seemed like we no sooner got to sleep, and the same thing happened all over again. In our gun tub, we could see gun flashes, when the Japanese fired at us. During the day we were attacked by Japanese planes. It was a very scary time for all of us. For a couple of days we didn''t get any cooked food, just sandwhiches, which tasted good to us."
"When the largest Naval Battle was over we were all glad to head back to the good old USA."
S1/C Forseth also served aboard the destroyer USS Norris (DD 859) escorting other ships. He was honorably discharged in January of 1946 at Minneapolis, Minnesota. After the war, he returned home and married Lucille Mary [Gray] and they started a family.
Mr. Forseth died on April 20th 2004 at 78 years of age. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Duluth.
Source(s): Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 82, and Veteran's account.
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Page 1 WWII Draft Registration Cards - Fold3
Melvin Leroy Forseth (1926-2004) - Find a Grave Memorial
U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 - Ancestry.com
