Served 1942-1945
Iowa Hall's parents names are: Henry Grant Hall and Nina Blanch Nielson
He has two brothers: Jack Wallace and Morris Jay.
He was drafted into the navy at age 19 on March 1942. He actually enlisted into the navy but was drafted into the war. He chose the navy because his brother Jack was in the navy and got killed by Japs in the Coral Sea.
He was on 17 ships some which were the:
U.S.S. Appalachian
U.S.S. President Polk
U.S.S. Saratoga
U.S.S. PCS 1491
His jobs were:
Radio Man - Keep Track of Files And Watch The Radio
Company Communicator Team 9 - Correlate Communication
He visited many different places such as:
Tinia
Sinipan
Saboo
Laytay
Minidow
Pearl Harbor
Iwagemia
California
He was in the invasions of:
Guam
Philippines
Okinowa
In Guam while all the Higgins boats were waiting to get the orders to invade, the cocksman of the boat Iowa was on saw a giant sea turtle and decided to chase it. All at once Iowa and the men with him began to see large geysers of water shoot up, but they couldn't figure out what it was and they continued their chase. All of a sudden there was a large noise and one of the boats in the harbor blew up. The Japs were zeroing in on them from Guam and blowing up the boats. Chasing that sea turtle saved his and the other men's lives that day.
One day in Marion's Trench his boat pulled up to a Japanese boat that had run aground. He volunteered to go aboard the boat and inspect it. They found no Japs, but they did get to go swimming in the Trench.
In Iwa Jima he never went ashore, but he saw many men die as their ships were bombed by Mt. Sherisase. He got to watch the Americans raise the flag on the Mt. It is a very remembered event.
Troops went into Okinowa on an Easter morning on the north side, but the Japs had expected them to attack on the south side. All they saw when they arrived was a ship boneyard of Japanese ships. About an hour later the Japs arrived on the north side and the invasion began. He saw many men sacrificed in Okinowa.
When he was stationed in Buchner Bay a typhoon warning came in to get out because a ship has better chance on the open sea. As they were leaving the Bay they nearly collided with a bigger boat. Some of the small boats including Iowa's did not make it out before the typhoon hit and were trapped in the bay. The waves grew to 100 feet high and swamped the boat. Most the boats went under because of the ammunition, so he volunteered to dump the ammunition. Eventually they piled on a reef three miles from Okinowa. The men had lost everything and were stranded on the reef for three days before being rescued, but they had to prove they were survivors.
In the Gulf of Guam he saw the most beautiful sight he has ever seen in his life. One night the ships were grouping in the Gulf and he was in the radio shack when hundreds of bogies appeared on the screen (enemy planes ). Hundreds of searchlights pierced the sky lighting the sky so they could see these boogies. Red tracer bullets were fired at the planes followed by thousands of bullets. Many ships were blown away when the bogies would hit them, but he was never afraid because he knew he would come home safely.
He crossed the equator many times, but the first time he crossed was the most remembered. Before you cross the equator you are a Polywog, but after you cross you are a Shellback. There was an old ritual for the Polywogs were you called to King Neptune's court for something. He was initiated to King Neptune's court because he had taken a state for his name and he had insulted the royal baby. He never was punished though, just raised to a Shellback.
In between invasions the troops would go to school. Iowa would get up in the morning and go to school for three hours in a tent. Then he would go to lunch, swimming and back to school. These were the most relaxing times he can remember of the war.
When he was in Hawaii he was in camp Tiwarera where he was trained for invasions. He woke every morning and practiced carrying a pack 20 miles up slopes of mountains where enemies could hide. He remembers the sand around Helo was black from the lava flowing into it.
While his boat and many others were anchored waiting for the invasion of Japan he saw many B-29's flying over head to Japan dropping bombs on Japan. He was in Pearl Harbor copying papers when the announcement came that Japan had surrendered and the invasion would not be necessary .
When he was on the Saratoga heading under the Golden Gate bridge he wondered if the boat would make it without a crash because the masts were so high. The boat cleared with plenty of room.
In California on March 1945 at the age of 22 he received his Retired Dog badge and was finally out of the navy.
Iowa returned home to find his girlfriend had been married during the war. He went on to marry Donna Haslem and have seven children and to become a school teacher. He now lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah and is a carpenter.