For the Cordell family, World War II became very personal on April 22, 1944. On that day, William Delbert Cordell was ordered to report [induction order] to the Post Office building in Oklahoma City. His day to report for induction was May 15, 1944 - giving the Cordells less than a month to get ready for Papa to leave.
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NEW - 2-25-00:The
war had already affected the family in a slightly more distant
way - a cousin had already been killed. His name was Tom
Davidson.
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Audrey, Glen, Francis and Robert were moved to Henryetta, Oklahoma to be near to Audrey's sister, and on May 15, Papa reported to the induction office in Oklahoma City. He was 25 years old.
He was shipped to Camp Wallace, Texas (in Galveston) for Basic Training, which he completed on July 15, 1944. From there he was moved to Gulfport, Mississippi to begin Diesel School.
This photograph is dated August 12, 1944 with a location of Gulfport, Mississippi.
Upon completion of Diesel School on November 3, 1944, he was awarded the classification of Fireman 1st Class.
Papa went aboard the USS DEFENSE in San Francisco on December 8, 1944. He transferred as a F1c(MoMM) along with 12 others - most from TADCEN in Shoemaker, California. One of the men who went aboard along with Papa was a man named Jack Nelson, F2c(MoMM) - this might be a photo of him. Jack was a shipmate for most of 1945, so there's no telling when the photo was taken. (I'll have to go back through the muster rolls, though, because Jack Nelson doesn't show up again after he transferred on board on any of the pages I copied. If he transferred off, it will show up somewhere)
On June 1, 1945, W.D. Cordell advanced in rating from F1c to MoMM3c (T).
Papa spent time in Hawaii on more than one occasion during the war, so I can't be sure whether these photos were taken during this time or later, after the DEFENSE returned in May.
[Hawaii photo 1] [Hawaii photo 2] [Hawaii photo 3]
These photos are of W.D. Cordell and some of his Navy buddies - but I can't determine the time or place.
I believe that Papa got a pass to come home during the spring of 1945. I have a copy of a news article entitled "A Weekly Letter To Our Boys In Service" dated Monday, June 11, 1945, in which William Cordell is listed as having obtained a pass home. On July 17, 1945, he stayed at the Frye Hotel in Seattle - while the DEFENSE was in port undergoing a major overhaul.
I believe these photos might have been taken during his pass.
[Papa and J.R. Lovett] [Family Time] [In front of the swingset] [On a sailboat] [Stylin']
*On October 24, 1945, W.D. Cordell transferred to the USS KLEINSMITH (APD-134) along with some of his shipmates. (Though not listed in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, both APD-133 and APD-135 are - they are Crosley class training and transport ships.) I'm guessing this is the beginning of his trip home.
Links with lots of images:
The US Naval Historical Center has an online library of images at http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org11-2.htm
The National Archives and Records Administration also has a page devoted to World War II images at http://www.nara.gov/nara/nn/nns/ww2photo.html