11/11/2009
GARY DEMUTH
From the diary of John “Bob” Breen, April 9, 1945:
“4:20 a.m. There was a tremendous explosion — I was thrown from my bunk and the ship rolled to port (left) real hard. I tried to get to my feet as it came back to center again. ... I grabbed my pants, pulled them on, slipped my shoes on, also my life jacket and headed for the stairs and top side. I couldn’t find the buttons on my pants when I got topside. Then I found out I had them on backwards. I just reached around back and buttoned them up in the back.”
When Breen hit topside, he discovered two Japanese soldiers in a small boat loaded with explosives had tried to blow up Breen’s ship. Instead, the boat hit the larger ship’s landing craft, far enough away to do minimal damage to the ship.
There was a good reason, Breen said, the USS Starr was nicknamed the “Lucky” Starr.
“A lot of things happened to us on the ship, but the ship was lucky and so were we,” he said.
In observance of Veterans Day, Breen spoke to a class of fourth-graders Wednesday at St. Mary’s Grade School, 304 E. Cloud. The children were students of Pam Keller, Breen’s daughter, who said she wanted her class to celebrate Veterans Day with a special veteran.
“I wanted them to know how you should treat and respect them,” she said.


Read more about Veterans Day in Thursday's Salina Journal.