Veteran's History Project - Richard F. Ament

Richard F. Ament

Machinist Mate 2nd Class

U.S. Navy

World War II

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.

Richard "Dick" Ament was on the verge of high school graduation in Marcus, Iowa.

He knew the country was at war in several different parts of the world. He also knew that once he left school, the Selective Service System could quickly snatch him up.

He had three uncles who served in the U.S. Navy so he sought out the Navy recruiter first. He was initially inducted into the service in March 1944. The Navy offered to wait for him until after graduation.

As June arrived, Dick was soon on a train headed for the Great Lakes Navy Training Center in northern Illinois. It was his first train ride. He noticed many other young men aboard that were probably going to the same place he was.

On arrival at the actual training site, he got the usual treatment that thousands had received before him ... haircut, clothes and plenty of not-so-quiet instruction!

There was some standing in line, doing not so much. He said that boot camp was great! He liked the fact that they could sleep in until 0600. "This farm boy was used to having the cows milked before then," he said.

The food was presented at a "chow hall," where the meal often consisted of beans. He liked the marching and close-order drill and the rifle marksmanship presented to problems for him. His view about boot camp was that since a lot of men had gone through it before, he could do it too.

One item he recalled was the process of pay for the basic trainee.

Allotments for family and insurance and bonds were made and what was left amounted to the individual's pay. Dick still has the original pay he received, that being a $2 bill – a silver certificate – and a silver quarter.

After graduating "Boot Camp," he was ordered to the rank of Seaman. There were also orders sending him to his next duty station for further training. The new site was Fort Pierce, Florida. This installation is in the middle of the east coast of Florida. This facility taught new sailors about many subjects but his training was amphibious classes on the Landing Craft, Vehicle/Personnel or LCVP.

The training consisted of getting enough men – four – to operate a boat capable of hauling trucks, jeeps, half-tracks, artillery pieces and/or 36 Marines-with-gear. (The Navy always reminds listeners that they were the delivery means for the USMC.) The LCVP was carried aboard larger ships and was deployed when it was time to get the Marines to the fight. Dick was one of four men assigned to a LCVP. He was the "driver."

At one time, there was a contest among the LCVP crews to see which crew was the most efficient: which ones could carry the load safely, get the load closest to shore and return to the ship for more loads. Dick's crew scored a third place in the competition of 120 crews! Dick's advice was to not hit the beach at high tide.

The training lasted about 10 weeks. Dick stayed in touch with family by writing letters and v-mail. When it came time for pay, Dick said that he always lucky in that the spelling of his name always got him in front of those named Anderson!

Another piece of the name/place in line was that he was first to get the required vaccinations and quickly became the assistant to the shot-giver. He recalled that the ones who talked so tough were the first to pass out.

The advanced training came to an end and Dick was to be shipped overseas. So, from the east coast of Florida, he and others boarded the troop train bound for San Francisco. That would be a long ride.

By U.S. Navy practices, the plan was to load a ship with qualified personnel to replace those who had already been in the fight. Dick loaded onto an APA (amphibious transport). There were about 1,000 men aboard headed for the Pacific island of Guam.

He was assigned to a "rack." One's cot was called a rack. He didn't spend a lot of time in the rack, but found his way to the top deck where he spent most of his time. It should be said that the guys who went to the top deck of the ship usually didn't get seasick. The trip to Guam lasted about a week. Dick's group would stay on Guam for about three weeks.

Soon, it was "show time." The amphibious transport disembarked for the island of Saipan. Here, Dick was put to work, using the skills he was trained to do ... operating the boat, moving men and vehicles to the theater of war.

As the amphibious transport moved the LCVPs into action, the mission was to move two loads of Marines to the front. On the way, Dick said they took plenty of enemy fire. To sink a ship carrying the enemy forces would be a major prize for Japanese forces. The word of the day was "keep on driving."

Once all the troops were ashore, things for the LCVP crew eased up. Dick's work was re-assigned to be a mechanic working on diesel and gas engines of trucks and LCVP's coming in and out of Pier Charlie.

Dick's work assignment for the duration was here. If he couldn't get a vehicle or ship's motor to run, he would find out why and fix it on the spot. One thing the Navy provided him was a vehicle.

It was called a six-by-six. This was a truck that had lots of carrying capacity. He was required to move about the area. He drove through a field of hundreds of human skeletons (Japanese). The bones had been cleaned by insects and carnivores. He did find a Christian Cross in the rubble of bones and mortar. This became an unforgettable image in Dick's mind.

Dick's Navy group remained on Saipan for some time. He and the other sailors knew of the bombs dropped on Japan. They also were aware that they would he going home!

The re-deployment scheme was based on a point system. If you were married it was worth many points. If you were on active duty in the theater of war ... so many points. The ones with the most points loaded onto the returning ships first.

Aboard the returning ship, Dick made friends with one of the people who could get him to the top deck of the ship. Life is good!

Finally, he returned to San Francisco. On arrival, he took the first train he could find and went to Minneapolis, Minn. There was a woman who had written him letters six days a week. He was intent on finding her. He narrowed his search so that soon enough, he found the lady. It turned out ... she was married. Dang!

He made his way to Iowa and re-settled with his family. Soon, he used the GI Bill to get into college. He became a mechanical engineer. He spent the next forty years in the dairy industry making sure the butter was made just right as well as the iced cream.

Dick decided to leave his career field and headed to Wyoming. Here, he could be retired and not worry about the future.

With his first wife, there were five children. After a divorce, he adopted three boys and a girl. He re-married and now was the step-dad to seven more kids! Yikes!

Dick is a life-member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans.

Machinist Mate Second Class Richard Ament, good job! Thanks for your service.