Wilbur J. Bluhm
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Wilbur J. Bluhm
Mr. Bluhm entered the Navy on November 20, 1940.
He served as a Gunner's Mate Second Class. He was wounded in action while a crewman aboard the battleship USS Nevada during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
He had both ends of his neckerchief shot away at the knot. "From that day on I figured that I was living on borrowed time." Also served aboard the destroyer USS Mullany in action in the Admiralty Islands, Philippines, and Aleutian Islands, and later on the USS John A. Bole and USS Frank E. Evans in the Pacific Theater, and shore stations in the continental U.S.
He received the following: Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Medal, American Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze battle stars, American Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal with one bronze star, and World War II Victory Medal.
Mr. Bluhm was honorably discharged on December 7, 1946, at Vallejo, California.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 40.
