us13

January 29, 2008 History

My great grandfather, Ralph Roller served in the navy during World War Two. He was born in 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Buffalo, Missouri. As a young man, when he was 17, he went off to the navy. He recently passed away this past October, but through out his life he told us his interesting stories and memories from his time in the navy. My dad remembers these stories clearly, and as I ask him questions about his fascinating grandfather’s life, he is happy to answer in great detail. Here are some of the stories that my dad remembers from his grandfather, Ralph Roller. As a boy, and in his teenage years, my great grandfather spent a lot of his time building planes in Kansas City, and once the war started he found that these planes that he had helped build were not going to take him very far in life. He felt a route though the navy was safest place for him to go at this time. At the age 17 he boarded the ship, and was off to serve his country in the navy. My great grandfather was on the navy ship called the U.S.S Honolulu, in the Pacific. He came aboard this ship just two months after the attack at Pearl Harbor. The boat that he was on was that boat that carried to admiral of the war. He says that for a while he felt was though he was just cruising along the Pacific. But something that he specifically remembers is that he would always know when a big battle was coming because that day they would be fed a huge breakfast; usually eggs, bacon, and fruit. During his time on the U.S.S Honolulu his boat was torpedoed three times. The first time that it got torpedoed it blew off the bow and the second time, they were in the Philippines and it hit mid ship, he says that he was lucky to remain alive after that attack. My dad recalls on a third time but cannot remember it in detail. He got off the boat after serving in the navy for four years. My great grandfather says that he made life long friends, and these people are friends that he will never forget. He will never forget his time in the navy, and he states that he is thankful for it because it taught him self-discipline. Being in that navy is not just something that my great grandfather did with is life but it was truly part of who he was.
 * WWII Interview **