American Valor Quarterly Issue 8 - Winter 2010/2011 | Page 23

a good look at it. Made by Remington, the oldest
gunmaker in the United States. I couldn’t believe
it. Of course, they had been storing it for years.
After leaving Truk, we steamed to the Marianas to
assist in attacks on Tinian, Saipan, and Guam. I
am sure many of you have heard of the “Great
Marianas Turkey Shoot.” The Japanese navy had
planned on knocking us out using their fleet along
with their land-based planes. Well, they had a little
problem. When the Japanese got back to where
their carriers were supposed to be, there were only
holes in the water. Three of them had been sunk,
and all of them had been damaged. Meanwhile,
our fleet Task Force 58 shot down 474 enemy
planes. Out of their entire force, only 35 planes
remained operational after the battle. That was
the end of the Japanese naval air force.
The Alabama went on to fight in the Carolines,
and later the invasion of Luzon. I was rotated
back to the States in early 1945, but the Alabama
would return to action in the Ryukyus, then on to
assist in the attacks on the Japanese home islands.
The ship was decommissioned in 1947, and years
it. We shelled it, torpedoed it, and bombed it continuously until later transferred to her permanent home in Mobile Bay.
it was finally sunk. That was the last good ship the Germans had,
Again, all you veterans and all you young people, I am very glad
and it was the end of the German navy.
to see you here. It is imperative that these future generations be
We then were sent to the Pacific, and our orders were to keep exposed to our history, so that they can be ready when they are
our guns and ammunition in perfect condition. We were told to called upon. When your schoolteacher, or anybody, asks what is
shoot first and hit first, because if we didn’t, we might never get the most important event that has happened in the last century,
another shot. That scared the hell out of us, and understandably you know that it is no contest—it is that we won World War II.
so. I want to say one thing—I am no hero. We have a lot of
heroes. I am not one of them. Heroes seldom return from
AVQ
wars. Heroes are the ones in cemeteries all around the world.
Those are the heroes. We are reminded that life is not always fair.
I say this for you young people. Do not waste your time. Learn
history, as it is always going to repeat itself. What you do with the
time that the Supreme Being has given you on this earth—that is
your legacy. Remember that.
Papers placing him on the Navy’s inactive list in hand, Chief Specialist Bob Feller waves
goodbye to his fellow sailors as he leaves the Navy Demobilization Center at Navy Pier
in Chicago, nearly four years after he originally enlisted. The sailors prove to be willing
and eager volunteer catchers, just in case Feller decides to test out his pitching arm and
toss the papers away. Originally taken on August 23, 1945.

We participated in the assault on Truk with the Bunker Hill task
group in February of 1944, causing heavy damage to enemy
shipping concentrated there. After the battle, I remember going
ashore and finding all kinds of enemy ammunition ships scattered
along the beaches. We picked up some of the ammunition to get

Bob Feller signs baseballs for U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen at the
2008 American Veterans Center Annual Conference.

AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY - Winter 2010/11 - 23

Top: U.S. Navy Photo; Bottom: American Veterans Center

So let’s get back to our tour of duty in the Pacific. We took
Kwajalein and Eniwetok. Then there was Tarawa, where we lost
upwards of 4,000 men. Tarawa was a lot like Iwo Jima, with the
tunnels and the caves. Our men had to go in there with
flamethrowers, and those who would not surrender were burned
to death. That was a very tough island.