Milton W. Pehl
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Milton W. Pehl served in World War II in the Pacific Theater. He served in the U.S. Navy. He enlisted on May 22, 1943.
After boot camp, he was assigned to the destroyer USS Johnston, which was being launched at Bremerton, Washington. It was hit and sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.
His rank was Storekeeper 2nd Class.
Source: Veteran’s account (see below)
“The Johnson was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines on October 25, 1943. We were involved in six battles retaking islands in the Pacific. We protected carriers with smokescreens, sank a Jap destroyer with our 5-inch guns, put a cruiser and battle wagon out of commission. Both sank later.
“A shell hit an ammunition magazine, and that’s when word came to abandon ship. When we were going to jump, one of my buddies from Duluth thought he was blind and said, ‘I’m not going home blind.’ At this point, I threw him over. We were only about 5 feet above the water. Someone cut a raft loose at the same time and helped us both into it. That’s when I noticed I was hit. The blood was shooting out. This person tied a tourniquet on my arm. I did not feel anything.
“The ship took over 300 hits. After 10 minutes, we managed to pick up ten or twelve men on our way to getting some distance from the ship before it went down.
“A few hours later, after abandoning ship, a Jap destroyer came within 75 feet of us. At this time we had about 25 people together in one bunch. We watched to see if the Japs were going to shoot us or ram us. All they did is yell and turn handsprings and somersaults. About an hour later a Jap cruiser did the same thing, which made us very lucky. Also, the Jap skipper saluted our ship when it went down.
“The next two days took its toll, as we had many wounded among the survivors. Only seven or eight hadn’t been wounded. There were sharks to contend with plus no food or water. Some tried drinking the salt water and that was not good.
“On the third day, in the water, I recall us sighting the rescue ships, which were mostly LCIs (landing craft infantry). I also recall doing a rather stupid thing as the LCI came closer. I took off swimming toward the ships. As I reached the side of the ship, the crew helped me aboard. I recall that I didn’t have any of my clothing on. I have no idea where I lost my clothing. When I abandoned ship, I did have my dungarees on.
“After being taken aboard the LCI I must have passed out, and when I awoke I was receiving blood plasma.”
Mr. Pehl was awarded the: Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Service Medal with seven battle stars, American Campaign Service Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal with two Bronze stars and the World War II Victory Medal.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 243.
