Honoring My Grandpa, "Poppy"

This was a newspaper article that was published in "The Reporter" (Newspaper) and a part of my grandpa's book.

 Thomas Lane, of Camby, also fought in the war, lived through a typhoon in the Philippines and was at Bikini Island when the atomic bomb was tested. 

He enlisted in 1944 in the Navy and was assigned to the LSM 481. He served on that ship through the war. Part of the time he was stationed in the Philippinies, which is where he encountered the typhoon. He was strapped in his bunk for three days because no one could walk around on the ship. After the Japanese surrender, his ship was sent to Japan to help unload tanks for several weeks. 

    When he finished there, he was transfered to the USS Rockbridge which was assigned to Bikini Island for several months.  

Thomas explained that the U.S. dropped one bomb from a plane and one was set off in the hold of a ship. Animals had been placed on one ship for observation by scientists. "Our job was to take the scientists in to check on the animals and feed them," he said.

He remembers the submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and battleships which were arranged in a two to three mile circle around the target battleship. He also remembers that it was "awful" out there. The island itself was hot and dry and there wasn't anything to do on it but play games and visit a tavern. He said, "I didn't like their beer, so I didn't go ashore." 

What was it like to see an atomic bomb detonated? 

"I'll never forget that," he says flatly. "All of us sat on the deck with our heads like this (covered by arms). But I looked up, right square at it."  

He said the second detonation especially scared him. "There was a mountain of water. You could see the ship going up in the middle of the water." Although his ship was anchored 7-1/2 miles away, he said he could "look up and see montrous water coming your way." He stayed in an area two or three weeks after the test, then came home. After his discharge in 1947, he worked for Bridgeport Brass for 32 years. He also worked as a carpenter for the Indiana Boy's School in Plainfield for 11 years and then retired