Veteran's History Project - Melvin E. Kella

Melvin E. Kella

Electricians Mate 2nd class

U.S. Navy

1944 - '47

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is one of many American Veteran accounts published in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph. The writer, who is from Potter, is conducting the interviews as part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.

In late summer 1944, all the people in all countries must have known about or were involved in the wars ... World War II. Certainly, the American people were fully involved.

Our "boys" were fighting overseas and in the Pacific. They were doing support work in the continental U.S. as well. Some were in Alaska, some on islands next to South America. Many of those close to the action of combat died.

The sting of the attack on Pearl Harbor was still very real. By 1944, our Army and Navy had been rebuilt. The men flying the combat aircraft were no longer rookies. The generals were focused on getting the job done. There continued to be a need for replacements. The U.S. Navy continued to take enlistees who were 17 years old.

Melvin "Mel" Kella was 17 when he joined. He was in Kansas City, Mo., where he was in a trade school. He could work on a trade for half the day and take academics the other half. He joined a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or R.O.T.C., program. He could work on broken radios, too.

Even at that tender age, he knew two things. His country was at war and he wanted in, and he needed to obtain a trade. He enlisted in the Navy so that he could accomplish both goals. His parents signed the papers and he was all set for change.

At the time, the Navy's training facilities at Great Lakes and at San Diego were filled. The next option was Camp Farragut, Idaho. Not much water there for Navy folks. They trained there though.

Lots of young men went through it. The train ride from Kansas City to the midwest, then busing on north was a different experience. Mel was trained there in the winter months. Much of the time, he and other trainees had to sleep in their clothes to stay warm.

One item slowing him down was the issue of scarlet fever. When lots of people live/eat/sleep in close proximity, the chance for sickness becomes large. Several young men were afflicted with it. He was kept quiet for 30 days and had to rejoin his training with another unit. There were no issues in basic training that he couldn't handle. He was also singled out because he was an electrician of sorts and there were things that needed fixed. He was exempted from KP duty and other chores so that he could make needed repairs at the facility. He was also an accomplished marksman because of his R.O.T.C. training. He was awarded the expert badge for his shooting skills.

Moving on to advanced training, Mel went to further classes at the Naval Reserve Training Center in St Louis. Another long commute!

In that Mel was somewhat experienced, the school was not anything he couldn't deal with and graduation came soon.

Heading for another train ride, he and others rode across the country to California. He became part of a replacement detachment at Treasure Island. Here, sailors are named to fill slots where needed. After about ten days, he was assigned to APA 83, the U.S.S. Fillmore. This was a troop carrier vessel which delivered himself and about 4,000 other sailors to the Philippine Islands.

This was a slow, zigzagging trip to get to where the war was. There were a number of ships in a convoy, doing the same. (Slow because of the ships power and load, and zigzag to avoid enemy submarines thought to be in the travel route.)

On arrival, Seaman Kella was assigned to the APD 45, the U.S.S. Lee Fox. The ship was about 300 feet long and 35 feet wide. It was a high speed transport ship that carried the landing ships which delivered troops and rolling equipment to war. It was powered by turbo electric motors.

Mel kept in touch with his family by writing letters, reading and avoiding card games played for money. He had known dire poverty and valued keeping his pay. There were movies to be watched, some, over and over. There were no entertainers stopping by. When the Fox stopped at a particular harbor, the men could go ashore on a day pass. He took no leave time. He was a member of the ship's baseball team.

The ship took the Marines and Army soldiers to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. They engaged gunboats along the way. At one point the ship had two companies of Marines aboard – about 400 men.

The ship went to Izu, an Island near Japan. There were Japanese warriors there who hadn't heard of a cease fire and were still fighting, refusing to give up. The ship dropped two LSTs (Landing Ship – Troops) near the island. During the night, when the tide was in, the marines would mine the area. In the daylight, they would return to pick up what and who was left. The marines showed the once-enemies that they could give it a rest.

Aboard the ship, when the command for "battle stations" went out, Mel had a 20mm anti-aircraft gun. When he was promoted, his next battle station was manning throttles, prepared to power the ship manually should the main system become damaged.

Fortunately, the peace was signed and the victory over Japan was declared. Mel found out about the peace being signed by observing the night sky that had been lit up by celebratory firing.

The Lee Fox sailed for home in California. Mel was re-assigned to the U.S.S. Courier DE700. This was a destroyer escort ship that was converted to a repair ship capable of fixing just about every vessel in the Navy. A ship with this mission would keep Electrician Mate 2nd class Kella very busy. The ship went back to the Philippines. His travels took him to Guam, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and other ports involved.

The last ship he served on was the destroyer escort named the U.S.S. Spangler, DE696. Navy guys always know their ship names and numbers – always.

In 1947, Mel found that his time in the Navy was going to end. He had earned Asiatic-Pacific Medal with battle stars, the American Campaign Medal, the Occupation Forces Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Expert Rifleman's Badge.

Immediately after being discharged, Mel went to work for Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego. Much of his close family had moved there. So he found work close to them. He used the Montgomery G.I. Bill and returned to school. He joined the American Legion. He took advantage of the offer to make the Honor Flight to the WWII Memorial in 2009. His long time career was with AT&T. Mel also joined the Iowa National Guard for a time.

Mel said that he was grateful for his time in the Navy. He thought it contributed to his life significantly. "those who don't know what they want after high school should go to the military" he said.

Good job, Electrician's Mate Second Class Mel Kella. Thank you for your service.