Richard's Coffee Shop - Veteran of the Month
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Ken Neff: Witness to history in the South Pacific
Ken remembers crossing the Equator for the first time and the requisite King Neptune Ceremony. His comment after that experience, "water boarding is for sissies." LST 71 first saw action at Guadalcanal in August, 1942 bringing replacements from Esprit de Santos and supplies from Purvis Bay to the island. However, their first major invasion was in November, 1943 on the first day of the invasion of Bougainville. It was here that Ken was seriously injured. The LST was attempting to land Marines and a unit of Seabees and their heavy equipment. As they approached the beech the Seabees were unable to start a large bulldozer with a new "donkey engine." The bulldozer was blocking much of the other equipment which would have increased their time on the beach. The ship's Captain ordered Ken to get things moving. He was successful but as the LST hit the beach Ken was thrown against the exhaust and his arm was seriously burned. He was evacuated and the first Doctor felt the arm should be amputated. Thankfully, a second Doctor convinced him to try the new sulfur drug and eventually Ken was returned to duty.
In July 1944 the ship returned to the war with the invasion of Guam where after the initial landing troops needed to be evacuated but were more successful on the second attempt. After Guam the ship returned to Pearl and due to Ken's length of service in the Pacific he was allowed to return stateside. During his 30 days liberty he asked Helen Turchick, his grade-school sweetheart, to marry him. She accepted. Ken, along with his new bride, was sent to Florida to train on a new diesel engine with an Air Sea Rescue Vessel. Shortly thereafter, as Ken hitched a ride home in the evening, the driver asked, "What do you think of the Big Bomb?" The war ended on September 2, 1945. When Ken was discharged he took advantage of the GI Bill and entered a four year, Mechanical Engineering, course at Pratt Institute of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York. Upon graduation, with jobs hard to find, Ken worked for several companies but finally found work with the Engineering Department of the Celanese Corp. but when they decided to move the operation to Charlotte Ken moved on and found work in West Haven, Connecticut. He was back to the love of his life. Ken was now responsible for all engineering work on the tugs, barges, yachts, construction equipment, etc. and their diesel engines. Ken and Helen eventually moved to North Carolina. |
On December 7, 1941, Ken was home doing his high school homework when the radio program he was listening to was interrupted and he heard the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. A little over a year later, when he graduated from Dewitt High School in the Bronx, Ken decided to enlist in the Navy. He already had some military training. In high school he had been involved in an auxiliary NY National Guard program and had even attended summer boot camp. But Ken had a problem when he inquired at the Naval Recruiting Station about possible advanced training. The Navy response was, "You will go where we send you." The Coast Guard was more responsive and agreed to send Ken to Motor Machinist Mate/Diesel School in Long Island. Ken excelled and along with the 9 other top graduates of the program he was sent for advanced training to the General Motors Institute of Technology in Flint, Michigan.
Upon graduation Ken reported to Curtis Bay Maryland and then to Jeffersonville, Indiana, where LST 71, his future home, was being constructed. The crew then sailed down the Mississippi to New Orleans, took on fuel, and their LST was painted for service in the North Atlantic. A few days later, another paint job, this time for the South Pacific, and after some training in the Caribbean and a short trip through the Panama Canal it was off to American Samoa with a Landing Craft Tank (LCT) lashed to their deck.
LST 71 was sent to Pearl after the invasion but on the way ran into a fierce storm which damaged the deck. Ken and the crew were able to spend some time in Pearl while the ship was in dry-dock.