Mumblings - Donald Lester Dewey: World War II Years

The Technical Details

The start of World War II was considered to be September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.  Japan was already at war with China since 1937.  The U.S. did not enter the war until the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  The U.S. Congress in anticipation of entering the war, enacted "The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 on September 16, 1940.  This act "created the first peace time draft" in U.S. history.  The act required all males ages between 21 and 36 years old to register.  On October 16, 1940, Donald registered with his local draft board as required by the act.

Draft Registraton

The following information comes from Donald's separation papers from the Navy at the end of the war.  He remained a Merchant Marine until December 1941.  He entered into service in the U.S. Navy on March 13, 1942 in Boston, MA.  His first 7 weeks in the service were spent at NTS (Naval Training School) Wentworth Institute in Boston studying diesel engines.  After NTS, he held the rating of Fireman First Class for 10 months and then Motor Machinist's Mate Second Class (MoMM2/c) for 33 months (go to page 9 of the above link for the specific of duties and insignia a MoMM2/c). He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations until Japan agreed to surrender on August 15, 1945.  (Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.)  Donald was honorably discharged from service in Boston on September 23, 1945.

Separation Papers from US Navy

Honorable Discharge (front)

Honorable Discharge (back)

The War

Donald Dewey, MoMM2/

Donald fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations and in the served aboard the U.S.S. YP-420.  The YP class ship was a "district patrol craft".  The war experience aboard a YP in the Solomon Sea is described here.  Here are two brief excerpts from the web page:

      "Perhaps it was in the Solomons campaign, however, where the
      Yippees crowned themselves with glory. Although their job there has
      been little publicized, the men who fought around those bloody
      islands are free with their praise of the YP's job. Time after time,
      week after week and month after month, the Yippees ran the Jap
      blockade, thumbed their noses at the dangers from bomb and
      gunfire as they threaded their way from Tulagi to Guadalcanal
      across Torpedo Junction."

      "(Yippies) work as small reefers, cargo ships, coastal transports, and
      submarine survey ships-not to mention their intended job, district-
      patrol craft. They have carried everything that would go down the
      hatch or on the deck-frozen meat, provisions, mail, ammunition, and
      personnel."

The Crew of U.S.S. YP-420 (Donald back row on left)

U.S.S. YP-420

He crossed the equator on March 14, 1943 and was initiated into the "Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep" (the initiation is something that today would probably be considered hazing):

Donald's Certificate of Initiation (issued by "Neptunus Rex")

Donald was present in the battles took place around the islands of the Coral Sea and the Solomon Sea.  His address book/calendar that he kept during his war years list many islands where the YP-420 was present.  The links go to web sites that describe those islands during the war.  He had notations for both 1943 and 1944, so I list the year only when known.  This address book contains many names of other men, probably many of whom I'm sure served on the U.S.S. YP-420

• March 14, crossed the equator, bound for Pago Pago
• March 19, Pago Pago, Samoa
• September 3, Guadalcanal two Jap planes shot down by P-49 night fighter [June 11, 120 Jap planes air raid on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.]
• February 14, 1944, met my brother Bob on Espiritu Santo Island
• February 20, arrived Undonga in New Georgia Island, anchored Kula Gulf.  Feb. 26, ran aground on reef at Mundo, New Georgia Island.
• March 2&3, arrived at Empress Augustus Bay Bougainville, heavy fighting going on in the mainland plus plane fights
• April 22, arrived in Star Harbor, San Cristobal Island, two Jap planes went over looking for us. ["Torpedo Alley
  was the nickname for the area south-east of San Cristobal used by Allied shipping bound for Guadalcanal."]
• April 26 and May 20, air raid in Espiritu Santo Island, Jap planes dropped bombs about 200 yds off our bow
• May 1, had good contact on Jap sub, shot mouse traps - results unknown
• May 13, rescued fliers when plane crashed - two missing
• August 7, 1945 left Espiritu Santo for States
• August 22, 1945 arrived in Pearl Harbor, Oahu Island
• September 4, 1944 arrived in San Francisco, Cal - home sweet home 

The "Final Report Decommissioning" of the YP-420 was filed November 3, 1944.  The Muster Roll of The Crew on the YP-420 including were transferred to U.S. San Francisco, CA.  Donald may have stationed stateside from September 4, 1944 until September 23, 1945 when he was discharged from the service.  The Muster Rolls for the YP-420 show that Donald was one of twelve (of the original 22 men) who were on board from the conversion for Naval service, between June and August 1942 and the commissioning on July 20, 1942 until her decommissioning on November 3, 1944.

USS YP-420 Decommissioning Muster Roll (page 1)

USS YP-420 Decommissioning Muster Roll (page2)

USS YP-420 Decommissioning Muster Roll (page3)

USS YP-420 Decommissioning Muster Roll (page4)