Martin F. O'Brien

Martin F. O'Brien

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 1, 1943 at Columbia, South Carolina. I was assigned to NROTC at the University of South Carolina and graduated February 20, 1945 with a BSNS. I was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. I was assigned to the U.S.S. Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) which was sunk by Kamikaze aerial attack on February 21, 1945 at lwo Jima, 300 men were KIA. I was in the United States.

I was reassigned to the U.S.S. Nassau in March 1945 at Alameda NAS, on the same day Captain Frank Turner took command. I served as 1st Division Officer until discharge at Bremerton, Washington. My most memorable event was when we were awakened in the middle of the night, in the middle of the Pacific —"The captain wants to see you, on the double." "Obie, get Zieike and a couple of men from the 1st Division, and 'Doc' Labmert, you are going to get a sick merchant seaman in the whaleboat. He has a ruptured appendix, and needs an emergency operation. We will rendezvous with his ship in a few minutes." I got "Bud" Zieike and told him to get the whaleboat ready, we were going on a rescue mission. Five of us were lowered into the water and headed for the Merchant Marine ship. After the first wave, we hit the trough and it was rough and wet, and very dark. "Doc" Lambert said, "Have you done this before?" We said, No, it will be a new experience for all of us." When we got to the ship, "Doc", 2 men and I went aboard and got the sick sailor, put him in a wire basket, and got him in our boat. We got back okay, not knowing our trouble was just starting. It took us 20 minutes to get both lines hooked on our boat at the same time. If one got hooked and the other didn't, we would have all been dumped into the sea, and out sick sailor may have gone under. On the way up, the Nassau was rocking and we started swinging out and back. The wooden hull on the whaleboat began hitting against the steel ship. It sounded like the whaleboat was splintering and cracking every time we hit. "Watch out, no arms or hands on the outside." We finally got aboard, got the sailor into our operating room, and reported to Captain Turner, "Mission accomplished." Captain Turner said, " Good job, 1st Division." The sailor survived. Two months later, we were awakened and told, "The Captain wants to see you, again." With all due respect, Monroe M. Diefendorf asked Captain Turner if his 2nd Division could do this mission, and Captain Turner said, " No, this would be a job for the 1st Division." Dief's account of this memorable event is flawed due to his fading memory and his old age. That night, 56 years ago, we had more faith in the Lord, Bud Zieike, and the 1st Division than St. Christopher.

Other memorable events were: (1) A second medical rescue mission; (2) When the twin 40mm guns went out of control and fired shells across the Flight Deck, almost shooting the island and bridge off the Nassau. I jumped off the Flight Deck onto the shoulders of the trigger-man, knocking him off the trigger. (The gun mount was from the old Saratoga). ; (3) My first general alarm and GQ in the war zone. (4) Best Day — catapulting the squadron of U.S. Marine TBM's heading for Tsingtao, China; (5) First look at Pear! Harbor, the Arizona, and the Utah; (6) Dragging anchor in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, and knocking the bow off our PC escort; (7) Liberty in Tsingtao, China — watching "Dief" Diefendorf and Ralph Kleinspehn, 6'4" and 5'8" leading a parade down Main Street; (8) Standing watch with Lt. Joe "Boats" Egan, avoiding a mid-ocean collision on the mid-watch 0300; (9) Crossing the Equator, "Pollywog" to "Shellback" and seeing the natives on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands; (10) Trying to outrun the typhoon around Okinawa and seeing the waves roll down the Flight Deck; (11) Seeing the B-29's coming back from bombing Tokyo, Japan; (12) Bringing the U.S. Marines back to the U.S. after their victory at Okinawa; (12) Almost knocking down the Oakland Bay Bridge coming into Alameda, California. Quick thinking by Captain Turner avoided this disaster; (14) The night, going from San Francisco to San Diego when our compass broke and we were heading into downtown Los Angeles. You don't what to know the details; (15) Liberty in Hollywood — meeting Bob Hope, Rita Hayworth, Ray Milland, and Jimmy Gleason; (16) Serving under Captain Frank Turner, and serving with Chaplain Smitty, LSO Jim Brickett, Barry Quirk, Joe Efird, Dave Devins, Bud Zieike, Chief McDonough and all the men of the 1st Division; (17) Serving with and still friends with "Diet" Diefendorf, Ralph Kleinspehn, and Bob "money-player Hewitt.

I married Velma E. O'Brien. We have 4 children, 6 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.