Brier Hill grad, 2 brothers served in war

WHO: Gerald D. Outman, 83, Heuvelton, a World War II Navy veteran who served aboard the attack transport USS George Clymer.

When did you join the service?

"I graduated from Brier Hill High School in 1943 shortly after my 17th birthday. My big ambition was to join the Marines. My two brothers were already in the service, one in the Army Air Corps and the other in the Navy.

Being under 18 years old, my father or mother had to sign my enlistment papers. They refused. Just before my 18th birthday, my father agreed to sign for me to go in the Navy. I enlisted in Watertown in May of 1944.

He wouldn't sign the papers for me at first because I'd been wanting to join the Marines. He knew how dangerous that would be. He was an ambulance driver in World War I and had seen war up close."

Did you sense any nervousness on the part of your parents to have three sons in harm's way?

"I have no doubt they were nervous!

When I was getting ready to leave, my father gave me a piece of advice: 'Whatever you do, don't go and get yourself a tattoo.' Well, all the sailors had tattoos. So of course, I waited until after the war ended and then I just had to get one.

While I was in boot camp, my oldest brother, Don, was killed in action by anti aircraft fire while flying a mission over Romania. My other brother, Durwood, survived the war but had his ship badly damaged by a German warship in the English Channel."

Describe your ship's mission.

"The ship (489 feet long) carried about 25 smaller boats that the troops would take when we dropped them off for invasions. Years later, it was in the Korean War.

It was at Admiralty Islands (north of New Guinea in the South Pacific) where I joined shipmates. After loading Army troops and supplies, we were on our way for the invasion of the Philippines at Leyte.

The invasion was Oct. 20, 1944. After completing our mission there, we sailed back to the states for some shipboard changes and then back to the South Pacific for training and preparations for our next invasion which was to be Okinawa. We participated in that invasion on April 1, 1945.

For the invasion of the Philippines, we carried Army troops, but for Okinawa we carried Marines. This was the last action I was involved in.

We carried troops back to the states and I was given a 10-day leave and I came home. My ship was sent back out, probably for the assault on Japan if needed. The two atom bombs dropped on Japan fortunately ended the war. My ship and shipmates came through unscathed. I was discharged in May, 1946."

What were your exact duties aboard the ship?

"I found out soon the Navy always makes sure you've got plenty of work to do. Sometimes I'd be on look-out; sometimes I'd even be chipping off deck paint and then repainting. One of my favorite duties was being the helmsman. I really liked that. After the war was over, I became a laundryman.

After the war ended, we continued to transport troops. I saw a lot of the world, many of the (Pacific) islands, and was ashore on Japan for a few hours. Every sailor on my ship was given a Japanese rifle that I still have."

Any close calls?

"I remember our ship being shot at. We would have five or six guys in a gun tub. One would load and the other would shoot. We were lucky, though. We never took a hit ourselves.

One of the scariest times (Nov. 10, 1944) was when we stopped at the Admiralty Islands. We were anchored there, just resting. The weather was nice; a beautiful day. Suddenly, there was this huge boom! The air filled with heavy, black smoke. We saw it. We smelled it. I remember saying to myself, 'Where the hell did that come from?' There weren't any enemy planes or ships.

We later learned it was the USS Mount Hood, an ammunition ship. It exploded and there was nothing left to it. The only survivors were a handful of sailors who had gone ashore. You never knew what was going to happen. I learned to expect anything."

You noted after the war you were assigned to an atomic bomb test?

"When our ship got back to California after the war, we were informed that everyone was leaving the ship except for me and one other guy. The two of us were laundrymen and were told that we couldn't be replaced so we'd be going with the ship to do the nuclear testing. We didn't have a choice.

I was probably more scared about this than I'd been at other times during the war. I was awfully relieved when our ship went to Hawaii, and I was told I wouldn't be going on the ship after all.

I suppose they found another laundryman."

What did you do after the war?

I was honorably discharged on May 27, 1946 — the day before my 20th birthday. My rank was petty officer third class.

After the war, I tried a few different jobs. I farmed a little, I bought and drove a couple of milk trucks and I worked for the local veterinarian until I got a welding apprenticeship at Alcoa in Massena. I was there five years. Later, I worked as a maintenance welder at General Motors in Massena for more than 25 years. I retired on May 30, 1987.

I married Jeanne Chambers on Oct. 24, 1947. We celebrated our 62nd wedding anniversary last fall. We settled in Heuvelton and raised four daughters: Ellen, Myrna, Patricia and Gina.

If you know of a war veteran who would agree to be a topic of a Duty & Devotion Q&A, contact Times staff writer Chris Brock at cbrock@wdt.net or write to him at the Watertown Daily Times, 260 Washington St., Watertown, N.Y., 13601.