re: Relatives that served in World War 2

My dad was in the Navy in the Pacific. He was a radar technician when radar was in its infancy.

The first thing on his agenda after getting his radar training was being sent to Guadalcanal (site of the First Battle of the Solomons) to embark on the mission to seize from the Japanese the Munda Air Base on New Georgia Island (an endeavor that became known as the Second Battle of the Solomons}. He received commendations for being instrumental in the seizing and occupation of Munda, which then became a US Naval base. He was stationed there for a year and a half, from the summer of 1943 through the end of 1944.

He then spent 1945 on the Intrepid aircraft carrier which is now a museum in New York. During March and April of 1945, the ship was involved in intense battles while launching air strikes against Okinawa and Japan. It was struck more than once by kamikaze attacks and had to go to San Francisco for repairs. It was on its way back to participate in the invasion of the Japanese mainland when news arrived that the Atomic Bomb had been dropped.

Whether dropping the bomb was the correct decision is being debated today, but on the Intrepid in 1945, the vote would have been unanimous. Harry Truman was a hero, and they were happy the war was over.