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Independence, MO —
Veteran Salute: Elbert Dempsey – U.S. Navy, World War II
BRANCH OF SERVICE: U.S. Navy, Electronic Technician 1st Class
YEARS SERVED: 1943-1946
HOMETOWN: Independence
JOINING UP
Elbert Dempsey was born in Logan, Iowa, in 1922, but grew up in Independence. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1940. Elbert was involved in public speaking in high school and college and won several State Championships.
Elbert’s dad had a talk with him and told him there was a war under way. He was going to get drafted, so he selected the Navy and enlisted.
Elbert was a member of the Navy R-12 program which gave him the opportunity to finish his junior year of college before going to active duty. At end of his junior year in college, Elbert reported to the Navy Depot in Minnesota where they discovered his eyesight had deteriorated and he was no longer eligible to be a pilot as he had hoped. Elbert went through boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. Elbert was informed that he would be assigned as an electronics technician. There was a vast array of new sophisticated equipment coming out, and the Navy needed a large number of fellows trained to master it.
Elbert got basic electrical theory training at the Bliss Electrical School in Washington, D.C., and then was transferred to Treasure Island in San Francisco where he continued to learn about the new technology the Navy was putting out to the fleet. Elbert arrived in the Pacific and was assigned to the USS Foreman, a destroyer escort ship, and a senior escort vessel in the western Pacific.
AT SEA
The USS Foreman was at sea for 14 months with no stops at any ports. They were under attack two times and Elbert hoped the gunners would get the kamikazes before they got them. The ship was at the battle for Okinawa, which was the largest barrage of Navy power that was ever assembled at that time. The USS Foreman was patrolling from the beach 2 miles out and patrolled back and forth. They witnessed millions of dollars in ammunition being fired at the fields adjacent to the shore. When their crew went ashore, they discovered the Japanese had fled to the hills.
At the end of the land action, the Japanese had been pushed to the southern tip of Okinawa. There was fortified bunker that was still fighting. They could see the smoke getting closer; they didn’t realize it at the time, but what they were witnessing was the final land action of WWII.
Veteran Salute: Elbert Dempsey – U.S. Navy, World War II
BRANCH OF SERVICE: U.S. Navy, Electronic Technician 1st Class
YEARS SERVED: 1943-1946
HOMETOWN: Independence
JOINING UP
Elbert Dempsey was born in Logan, Iowa, in 1922, but grew up in Independence. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1940. Elbert was involved in public speaking in high school and college and won several State Championships.
Elbert’s dad had a talk with him and told him there was a war under way. He was going to get drafted, so he selected the Navy and enlisted.
Elbert was a member of the Navy R-12 program which gave him the opportunity to finish his junior year of college before going to active duty. At end of his junior year in college, Elbert reported to the Navy Depot in Minnesota where they discovered his eyesight had deteriorated and he was no longer eligible to be a pilot as he had hoped. Elbert went through boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. Elbert was informed that he would be assigned as an electronics technician. There was a vast array of new sophisticated equipment coming out, and the Navy needed a large number of fellows trained to master it.
Elbert got basic electrical theory training at the Bliss Electrical School in Washington, D.C., and then was transferred to Treasure Island in San Francisco where he continued to learn about the new technology the Navy was putting out to the fleet. Elbert arrived in the Pacific and was assigned to the USS Foreman, a destroyer escort ship, and a senior escort vessel in the western Pacific.
AT SEA
The USS Foreman was at sea for 14 months with no stops at any ports. They were under attack two times and Elbert hoped the gunners would get the kamikazes before they got them. The ship was at the battle for Okinawa, which was the largest barrage of Navy power that was ever assembled at that time. The USS Foreman was patrolling from the beach 2 miles out and patrolled back and forth. They witnessed millions of dollars in ammunition being fired at the fields adjacent to the shore. When their crew went ashore, they discovered the Japanese had fled to the hills.
At the end of the land action, the Japanese had been pushed to the southern tip of Okinawa. There was fortified bunker that was still fighting. They could see the smoke getting closer; they didn’t realize it at the time, but what they were witnessing was the final land action of WWII.
One day, Elbert had to go to another supply ship to get equipment. The captain of the ship came over the intercom and told the crew that the U.S. had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He remembers that he and the crew knew it meant that in six months they would all still be alive. An announcement on his own ship from the captain saying that because they were the oldest destroyer escort in terms of continuous duty, they were to be the first to be returned the U.S.
Elbert’s brother joined the Army and was chosen for a special unit that was created to spearhead the allied breakthrough at Normandy. His brother was killed in France. Elbert had another younger brother who wanted to go fight the Germans for what they did to his brother. His parents would not sign the papers for him to enlist. His younger brother wrote Elbert a letter and pleaded with him to talk his parents into giving him permission to go fight. Elbert wrote him back supporting his parents’ point of view and told his brother that he needed to finish school.
BACK HOME
Elbert did not have any difficulty adjusting to being home, he was eager to get back into school. He met his wife, Esther, and they married in 1949. Elbert’s ambition was to be a marketing product manager. Since that profession did not really exist then, he had to rely on the industry for the required training. Elbert took early retirement to work for his church. One of his duties was Director of Ministry to the Armed Forces. He wrote a monthly magazine that was sent to the Armed Forces all over the world.
Elbert and Esther have three children and seven grandchildren who they are very proud of. Elbert says that his military experience was rewarding from the human point of view; as well as, a valued service to our country.
