Rodney D. Peterson

Rodney D. Peterson enlisted in the Navy on Nov. 3, 1942. He was a radioman 2nd class and served in the Pacific Theater. He was assigned to Fleet Air Wing 17, flying the PBY Catalina "Black Cat" aircraft. He says: "These planes were long-range and could stay in the air 15 to 20 hours and ranged up the New Guinea coast and the Bismarck Sea area to search and destroy enemy shipping. The operated at night, painted black. The Japs at that time didn''t have very good radar and the planes were almost impossible to see. These ships...sank hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping and combat vessels in the next 18 months. As radiomen we maintained contact with these planes while they were out, and with the 5th Air Force.

"In May 1944 I was transferred to the USS Half Moon (AVP 26), a small seaplane tender about the size of a destroyer at Finschafen, New Guinea. We could not lift the planes aboard for maintenance so all repairs, refueling, bomb and torpedo loading was done from boats, specially equipped while the sea planes were tied to buoys....We operated out of Finschafen, Hollandia, in the Admiralty Islands (Manus), Green Island (Solomons) and Morotai.On Oct. 21, 1944, the day after the initial invasion of Leyte, we entered Leyte Gulf.

"We anchored in Hunumangan Bay and called in our planes to begin operating again. this turned out to be a hot spot and the Japs were using it as a rendezvous area for their air raids into Leyte Gulf. We had numerous attacks while there....The only support we had was from carriers out at sea and by the time we could call for help the attackers had moved on....We had a ringside seat for the Battle of Surigao Straits without a shot being fired at us or firing a shot ourselves. We could see the red hot projectiles arching back and forth and observed the hits on the Japanese ships.

"On Dec. 27, 1944, we joined a convoy to relieve the forces at Mindoro Island where a landing had been made 12 days previously. Our first morning out of Leyte, six Jap planes attacked and three immediately suicide-dived. A tanker was hit and set afire....The enemy tried everything from bombs, Kamikazes, strafing, torpedoes and, at night, dropping floating mines ahead of the ships. Numerous ships were hit and a large number of enemy planes were shot down." At Mangarin Bay at Mindoro: "During this time the Half Moon was credited with four enemy planes shot down and three probables -- and two destroyed themselves trying to suicide dive us.

"In March at Manus, Admiralty islands, the ship was in a floating drydock for repairs. A lone Jap plane came in...and torpedoed the dock. We were not damaged but the blast opened a large hole in the drydock and there were casualties among the dock workers....On July 17 I was relieved of duty and with 15 other shipmates left the ship for Zamboanga by plane. There we were given our service records and told to find our way back to the States and report to the nearest Naval command on the Pacific Coast. Several of us bummed a ride on an Army plane to Zamboanga and reported to the Navy base there. A short time later we boarded a troop transport for the States.

"While we were at sea the atomic bombs were dropped. We landed in San Francisco and left the ship." He enlisted in the inactive Reserve and was recalled to active duty in May 1951 during the Korean War and spent 16 months aboard a seaplane tender in the Caribbean.

Mr. Peterson received the: Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Service Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars, American Campaign Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

He was discharged on Jan. 4, 1946.

Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 249.

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