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Earnie Trahan Dedication PageHome 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. |