As with many families and their history and stories, the stories change over years, assumptions made, that sort of thing. Thus far, that is the military story of Bert. We know prior to joining, he was working for the State Department of Transportation in Ephrata, WA. Depending on who you talk to, he may or may not have been drafted. A likely scenario, as with others of the time, he likely received his draft notice and hurried to enlist in his choice branch rather than having no say. According his his eldest sister my grandmother “the Johnson’s didn’t need to be drafted, we ALL volunteered”.
Bert didn’t talk much about his service if at all. Around 1995 I asked Uncle Bert to speak as a Veteran of WWII for my school assembly. I will never forget the conversation though short it was – He became very quiet and cold looking, after taking a deep breath he said “NO”. It was the most stern he had ever spoken to me. I remember nodding, giving him a hug, and walking away. It was at that point, I realized time doesn’t heal all wounds.
What I can tell you is that his siblings didn’t know he was at the battle of Pearl Harbor until they were notified by the Navy he was safe. They said he didn’t say anything about it, just nodded. Rumors and assumptions were made. Bert had a USS Nevada tattoo on his arm which likely lead to the story he was on the Nevada during Pearl Harbor. What I can tell you is that during the battle of Pearl Harbor he was assigned to the destroyer tender USS Whitney moored behind the torpedo nets. Reviewing the after action report, it is unclear if Bert was on board at the time of the attack. Most accounts recorded from sailors on board indicate they were preparing to head to church and the after action report indicates 90% were on board, making it likely he was as well. My favorite line from the after action report is the proud claim “The personnel on board were calm and unexcited throughout the engagement. They manned their battle stations efficiently and carried out all orders promptly and without confusion. All officers and men of the Whitney are deserving of the highest praise for their conduct during the engagement.”
There was no damage or loss of personnel aboard the Whitney. A fellow sailor, Jim Leavelle was interviewed in 2015 and talked about their role in the Pear Harbor attack. Their ship was positioned away from the main point of attack, and although they shot at planes as they came near, they were not able to have much impact. Orders came to the USS Whitney and the others moored near by to maintain their positions to prevent allowing the Japanese to block the shallow waters of the harbor. Leavelle comments “We had a real good view of everything that was going on but there’s nothing we could do about it. Our guns shot 30 miles, that would be down into Honolulu. We got orders to stay put, because commanders were getting orders to get their ships out of the harbor”.
Bert Likely chose the tattoo as a symbol of Navy strength, remembrance and battle cry similar to “remember the Alamo”. The USS Nevada was called by many “the Cheer Up Ship” or “The Ship That Wouldn’t Sink”. It was the one boat to make progress to leave the harbor and once it endured too much damage the crew grounded the ship rather than block the harbor or sink.
During Bert’s time in the navy he served on a handful of different ships and sailed to numerous regions. A common statement among his fellow sailors and service men was “you did what had to be done”, and this seemed to have been true for Bert as well. The Whitney was later involved in a typhoon injuring some of the crew.
The man I knew was a playful “old man” who didn’t know what it was to be old but had some great sailor tattoos and could still make his girl on his arm dance.
Farm Land Love 