William Paulus, World War II, Part 1
William Paulus was born in Tiffin in a family of three boys and three girls. When Bill was in the second grade, his father left the family and Tiffin. The family had little financial support and became dependent on relief. The children on relief in those days were given green and white plaid shirts and blouses. Bill worked after school and on Saturdays at the Tiffin Livestock Sales at the Fairgrounds. His pay of four dollars a week helped support the family. In those days the family had no car.
Bill Attended St. Marys, then West Junior High School. At the age of 17 while he was a junior at Columbian, after receiving permission from his parents, he joined the U. S. Navy. His older brother John joined the army and his younger brother James joined the marines. Both brothers were assigned state-side duty. James spent most of his time marching in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In March, l942, Bill attended Boot Camp at the Great Lakes Naval Base. While at sea in l945 he was informed by the chaplain that his dad had died about six months earlier.
Four oil tankers were converted to escort carriers at the Newport News Shipyard at Norfolk, Virginia. His ship, the CVE 27, was commissioned September 24, l942. Its hull was 583 feet long, and its flight deck was 502 feet by 85 feet. Since it was a converted oil tanker, it was to be used for refueling other ships at sea, and as an escort carrier for supporting landings. In the beginning it was not thought of as a ship to be directly involved in battles.
Bill was assigned as a signalman on CVE 27. He was known as a skivvy waver and received and sent messages. The ship first went to Africa where it was involved in the first sea battle of World War II The planes from CVE 27 helped sink the French battleship Jeanne Bart, manned by Germans, before it could leave Casa Blanca Harbor. The CVE 27, now known as the USS Suwannee, was involved in the landings at Casa Blanca and helped sink a submarine there.
Suwannee was then assigned to the Pacific Theater by way of the Panama Canal. In the Pacific the Suwannee supported more landings than any other ship in the U. S. Navy. She was awarded l3 official battlestars, participating in the battles of Guadacanal, New Georgia, Tarawa, Kwazalein, Eniwetok, Palau, West New Guinea, Marianas, Halmahera, the Philippines, Okinawa, and Borneo. The ship participated in the first landing of American forces at Balikpapen, Borneo.
The Suwannee crossed the equator 54 times. One of the crossings occurred at the 180th dateline and at the same time as the midday sun. The crew was initiated with an elaborate ceremony into the “Order of the Purple Porpoise”.
The first commander of the Suwannee, a graduate of the Naval Academy, was J. J. Clark, known to his crew as “Jocko”. He was the executive officer of the Yorktown when it went down. He later commanded Task Force 77 of the Korean Conflict, and in l952 became commander of the 7th fleet. He finally commanded the new USS Yorktown, a super carrier.
In June l944 on Saipan, the Suwannee crew witnessed 8,000 Japanese men, women, and children jumping off a 300 foot high cliff to their instant death on the rocks below. The chose their own honorable way out when they knew their capture was imminent. They would walk up to the cliff, go through a ceremony, clasp hands and then jump. A few survived when they landed on the bodies of others.
During the Okinawa campaign, the Suwannee was involved for twelve weeks in continuous combat. Its air group with 40 fighter pilots averaged 75 missions each, made 3,000 sorties and were in the air for 10,000 hours. By this time, the CVE’s had received some F6F’s, the only aircraft conceived, built and put into service during WW II. They could carry 1,000 lb. bombs and had wing guns that could fire 2,400 rounds of .50 caliber shells.
Not only was the Suwannee involved in the first naval action of WW II, but it probably was involved in the last. Her planes bombed Kyushu, Japan. She entered the harbor of Nagasaki shortly after the “Bomb” was dropped and stayed for the occupation of Japan until December 24, l945.
In the next column Bill Paulus’ story will conclude with the greatest naval engagement of all times at Leyte Gulf , the Kamikazi attacks and his medical discharge and activities after the war.
- Percy