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Mr. Deery I met a few ball players. I am a big baseball fan and at that time I met Johnny Mize. He was in our outfit. Big John was head of the recreation hall. He would give us our sporting equipment if we wanted to go out and play a little catch or play a game of baseball or softball. There was also Merrill May who was a ballplayer for the Philadelphia Phillies back around wartime. I also met Hugh Casey who was an old Dodger pitcher. I met him at Kaneohe Bay. I was like a kid getting to see these guys. I wanted to see them so bad. We got to see quite a few of them. On Tinian before they took Iwo Jima, around Thanksgiving Day of 1944, the Japs came down and hit Saipan first with big bombs. When they came across the channel they hit us with bombs that would explode and emit steel pellets. Mr. Misenhimer Fragmentation bombs? Mr. Deery Yes, that is what they were. (tape side ended) Mr. Misenhimer These fragmentation bombs would put holes in the plane, and then what? Mr. Deery They did a lot of damage. Then the metal smithers would have a lot of work to do. One time I remember this guy came in from Saipan and the Marines had set up their antiaircraft guns along the strip. He came in. You could see the red ball on the side and they said, "It looks like we hit him." The next morning we went down to the foot of the strip and there he was sitting in the water with his tail
gunner, dead as a door nail. I remember seeing that. Then they used to come down from Iwo Jima and drop bombs on Saipan and come over and strafe us. That was about the length of it. Mr. Misenhimer How close were you to the flight lines? Mr. Deery We were about maybe 1,000 yards.
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael W. Deery. He discusses his family, growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
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Deery, Michael W. & Misenhimer, Richard.Oral History Interview with Michael W. Deery, April 19, 2012,
text,
April 19, 2012;
Fredericksburg, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1613141/m1/16/?q=%22%22~1:
accessed July 12, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.;
crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.