Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:07 | Clyde Milam was assigned to a brand new ship, a destroyer escort named USS Crowley. Tonsilitis put him in the hospital at Pearl Harbor, and by the time he got out, his ship was gone. Soon, he was on another destroyer escort, the USS Straus, with the same job, signalman striker. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
Keywords : Clyde Milam Bainbridge MD Norfolk VA Tuskegee Airmen Vallejo CA Mare Island USS Crowley (DE-303) shakedown cruise San Francisco CA battle stations Golden Gate Bridge Treasure Island Chester Nimitz Honolulu HI Aleutian Islands tonsils Pearl City HI Pearl Harbor USS Straus (DE-408) signalman striker
On a visit to Miami, Clyde Milam saw Navy personnel training and immediately sought out a recruiter. He was very young, but he was ready. It was 1943 and he was eager to contribute. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
What were the responsibilities of a signalman striker on a destroyer escort? Clyde Milam gives the rundown, along with some other jobs on the bridge. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
Clyde Milam was a signalman, but his battle station was on a 40mm gun, part of a 10 man crew. His destroyer was once host to some Japanese officers who were picked up from a life raft. This led to the captain getting quite frustrated with holding prisoners. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
The men of the destroyer escort USS Straus were very busy. It was their job to spread smokescreens to protect the fleet from kamikazes and they were credited with one shoot down of a suicide plane. Bombarding coastlines was another important job. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
Clyde Milam's ship was off Okinawa when the atomic bombs were used on Japan. Three days after the Nagasaki blast, he was off shore there for a few days, then at Sasebo, where he went ashore and mingled with the Japanese people. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
The streamer was flying from the bridge. It was the heading home streamer and the men of the USS Straus were overjoyed, including Clyde Milam. He was soon to discover that his short stop at Nagasaki had left him with a terrible problem. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.)
