I gotta tell you this story and I may tear
up saying it. It was on a Sunday, a Sunday afternoon. We just got through with our Sunday lunch
and then we heard it on the radio: that we’d been attacked by the Japanese
at Pearl Harbor. “Since the unprovoked and dastardly attack
by Japan…” I said, “Well, they can’t do that to us. We’ve got to go whip them.” “…a state of war has existed between the
United States and the Japanese Empire.” With the attack of Pearl Harbor, Harry Robin
Ledecker joined the millions of Americans fixated on defending their country from the
Axis Forces’ quest for global domination. Though he was underage at the time, Robin
was ready for the day when the draft would call his name. He wouldn’t have long to wait. I was young. I was still eighteen. I graduated from high school in May, turned
eighteen in May, was drafted in May, was on active duty in July, 1943. I was in the Navy and took bootcamp in Farragut,
Idaho. I did a lot of marching and went on the water
and rode a boat. We were there for a little bit and then they
assigned me to the Hospital Corps School. I was a hospital corpsman. After that, they broke us up and sent us overseas. And we sailed to the South Pacific. We sailed to the Fiji Islands. As we were coming into Fiji, I thought, “This
is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen!” The mountains came right down to the ocean,
and it was beautiful. We got down on the dock and I thought, “Boy,
this is gonna be nice!” We walked down the gangplank, walked straight
down the gangplank to another ship, got aboard it, and then we went to Guadalcanal. Now a major base in the Ally’s campaign
to combat Japan’s Pacific conquest, Guadalcanal had been a hard-fought victory, especially
for the United States Marines. The brutal, six-month-long battle was the
Marines’ first encounter with the ferocity of the Imperial Japanese Army. On August 7th, 1942, the Allies landed some
11,000 Marines on the shores of Guadalcanal, who, in turn, began to make quick progress. But just two days later, before supplies and
additional troops could be deployed to the island, the Allied fleet endured a surprise
attack from the Japanese Navy. Three American cruisers were sunk, another
three ships badly damaged, and the fleet withdrew from the island. Insufficiently supplied and with no reinforcements,
the Marines were stranded, left to face an enemy who was not about to go quietly. But by February of 1943, the Japanese forces
were defeated, and the Allies had their first significant foothold in the war in the Pacific. And then I was assigned to a medical supply
facility on Guadalcanal. We were right next to a stationary hospital. We supplied them with medical supplies, and
any ship that came into the harbor, we filled their requesitions. The only thing I had close to actual combat,
when we first got there for about a week or two on Guadalcanal, there was a plane that came over - it was
a Jap plane - he would drop a bomb out in the jungle and then fly off. And the next day he would do the same thing. That went on for maybe a week or two weeks. Never heard about him anymore. Although Robin was relatively safe from harm,
he would soon experience the realities of war after a fateful encounter on Guadalcanal. I gotta tell you this story, and I may tear
up saying it. I was driving down the street one day, and
there were two guys walking along the street. And I looked at them and I thought, “Well,
I know those guys. They’re from home!” This one guy especially, Bruce Hollembeak. He lived about a half a block from me and
we were good friends in high school. I went to the Navy and I didn’t see him. But I saw him there and he was a Marine. I said, “What are you guys doing here?” He said, “Well, we’re on R and R. We’re
about ready to go back to our unit.” I said, “What can I get you? Can I get you anything?” “Well, we’d like to have a sheet. We haven’t slept under a sheet in six months.” I said, “Well, I can do that. I’ll meet you after the movie tonight.” The hospital always put on a movie and we
went to the movie usually at night. That was the entertainment. Anyway, we met at the movie, saw the movie,
and I gave him the sheet. And he said, “By the way, Robin, we’re
leaving first thing in the morning. We’re going back to our unit.” And I said, “Oh, that’s great.” I said, “When we get through this war, let’s
all meet at the drugstore, at the soda fountain.” I said, “Let’s meet there and have a cold
Coke after the war.” And Bruce looked at me and he said, “Robin,
I’m not gonna make it.” I said, “Bruce, don’t talk like that.” I said, “Yes you are.” He said, “No Robin, I’m not gonna make
it.” I looked at him and I said, “Well, God bless
you.” Shook his hand, turned around and walked off. He was killed, four days before his nineteenth
birthday. That’s part of war. War is terrible. They shouldn’t have wars. We ought to be able to figure out something
not to have wars. We were there for a year on Guadalcanal, and
we were getting so far behind the front lines that they said, “We’re going to close
your unit.” And we all had orders to go aboard ship for
the invasion of Japan. We were sleeping in tents and some guy came
along and said, “Wake up! The war’s over!” Nearly four years since the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Japan was finally defeated to the point of unconditional surrender. The war was over, and Robin was going home. Over 75 years later, the events of the Second
World War continue to have a profound effect on Robin, particularly the memory of those
who laid everything on the line. That’s another reason why I felt honored
to come to this. My brother was a prisoner of war for about
six months. He was in the Army. He was captured in the Battle of the Bulge. So, that’s one reason why I’m here today. I want to honor him and Bruce. I just think it’s a good thing to give something
to your country. I’ve never regretted being in the service. I’m proud of it. I’m proud of my service and proud of my country.
