Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
1:57 | Phillip Gow, who served aboard the USS Menard during the Invasion of Okinawa reflects on the overall horror of war and the unimaginable bravery of men during intense battle.
Keywords : Gow Boot Camp Nagasaki Okinanwa Pacific USS Menard
Naval Officer Phillip Gow went to boot camp in the Great Lakes and from there went to Kodiak and Cold Bay, Alaska where the long hours of daylight created strange circumstances for the men.
Naval Officer Phillip Gow recalls the massive air and sea combat in the South China Sea during the invasion of Okinawa. Gow was a gunner aboard the USS Menard. His boat shot down one enemy plane, but they also lost several men.
Phillip Gow was aboard the USS Menard when his ship was sent to Saipan for just a day. He remembers the horrible scene that awaited them upon arrival.
Soon after the war ended, Phillip Gow was sent back to the Pacific to continue transporting crews and supplies, including the 1st Marines occupation force in Nagasaki. He particularly remembers what Nagasaki looked like soon after the atomic bomb.
Down in the hold of the USS Menard, Naval Officer Phillip Gow remembers a funny invitation he received and an interesting use for the five-gallon milk jugs aboard the ship.
