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Earnie Trahan Dedication Page

Home Photo Galleries Earnie Trahan Dedication Page

   

My father (Earnest Alcide Trahan) served aboard the USS Ormsby (APA-49) in the Pacific theater during WWII. The Ormsby carried Dad to Tarawa, Kwajalein, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Peleliu, Leyte, among other lesser-known locations and eventually to Tokyo. Dad was short in stature (5 foot 6 & 1/2 inches tall & weighing 116 pounds). He had a hard time enlisting in the military, first trying to join the paratroopers who were afraid he would just blow away in the wind. He tried various other branches of the service before enlisting in the US Navy. The Navy recruiter told him that he should reject Dad on the grounds that he had not tried to join the Navy first, but on November 10, 1942 Dad enlisted in the Navy. On November 13 he arrived at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois and his WWII experience began. It ended on October 28, 1945 when he was discharged in San Pedro, California.

Dad saved this bottle of whiskey which he and his friends drank to celebrate the end of the war with Japan. The men who shared this bottle are:
Earnest Alcide Trahan
Kermit Eugene Wimberly
Clyde Spurgeon Eidson, Jr.
Stewart Reed Smith
Thomas Junior Egelston
Melvin Thomas Alexander
Dad's Medals & Ribbons
Two awards that Dad was entitled to, but did not receive befor leaving the Navy are:
WWII Victory Ribbon & Medal
Combat Action Ribbon
Mom  & Dad
Dorothy & Earnie Trahan
Mom & Dad
in the "Tiajuana Jail" 1945
Ledgend for Dad's Ribbons