INTRODUCTION

From the shores of Iwo Jima, to the cold war of the 1960's, my father, Ed Campbell, served our country, and made his family proud. Like many other young men right out of high school, he heard the call of war, and decided to join right after graduation. He fought as a Marine on Iwo Jima, and then became part of the occupation force in Japan at the conclusion of the WWII. After the war, he attended Emory University, where he met and married my mother, Virginia (Ginny) Thiel. Although he planned to use his degree in political science for a career in the business world, the call of service became too great. In 1953, he became a Naval Officer in the regular Navy, and continued to serve until his retirement in 1974. After retirement from the Navy, he launched a second career as a public school science teacher. He taught for 17 years, until finally retiring from that profession. Throughout the years, my mother and father had a total of 5 kids.

Ed Campbell fought for our country on foreign soil right along side others who did not make it back. He also participated in historical events that have brought our country to brink of nuclear war, only to be stopped at the last moment. This short biography is primarily about his military experiences, and much of the text was extracted from Ed's memiors (the text in quotes are his words).

THE 1940's

"After boot camp at Paris Island, we were shipped to the Pacific. Hawaii was our first stop, and then on to Iwo Jima, where we fought a hard battle against the Japanese. After Iwo Jima, our unit went back to Hawaii for R&R. A few days later, we re-boarded a ship which was bound for Japan. We were to be part of the invasion force, but the war ended. At that time, we were only a couple of days out of Hawaii, they turned us around, and sent us back. They had to change the loading of the ship, but that only took one day, so they sent us out again, bound for Japan. This time, we would be an occupation force rather than an invasion force. Our ship took us to Sasebo, Japan. It was our job to secure the city, to make sure it was safe for future troops. Well, when we got there, the city was almost completely deserted. The residents there were afraid that we would come in and slaughter them, so they left their homes for the nearby mountains. It didn’t take long for them to realize that we were safe, and the people who had left returned. After a short while, we left Sasebo and travelled to Inura, Japan, which was their Naval Academy. We were there for a month. During that time, we went out on patrols, traveling to many little towns and villages, accepting their surrender. They felt that they had to surrender individually, and after doing so, they threw us a big party. This continued from town to town."

THE 1950's

At the conclusion of World War II, Ed Campbell service left the Marine Corps, and served in the Naval Air Reserve while he attended Emory University. With a degree in hand, he was able to become a Naval Officer. Throughout the 1950's, he served on several ships, including the USS Valley Forge. Here are some of his memories of service aboard the "Happy Valley":

"I was on the Valley Forge the latter part of 1955, 1956 and early 1957. I was a LtJG, and had just finished gunnery school in Washington, DC, which was why I went to the Valley Forge. Upon arrival, I was placed in charge of the first division, which had responsibility for all of the 5" battery. At that time, we had 4 twin mounts, two forward and two aft on the flight deck. We also had 8 single mounts, 4 port and 4 starboard. These were mounted on the level just under the flight deck, so that when they were fired, they shot from under the flight deck. At one time, we had 40mm guns on the bow, but they had been removed before I reported for duty. The Valley Forge was an open bow, as opposed to a “hurricane” bow. The classification for the ship was a “straight deck” Essex-Class carrier. The Valley Forge was featured in an article in Life Magazine. The centerfold of the magazine in question was a full aerial photograph on the ship. The ship was know as the “Happy Valley”, and that is why the ship was selected by Life. Some study done by the Navy at the time named the Valley Forge as having the highest morale in the Navy, which is how we got the nickname."

Being a Naval Officer's wife, Ginny had a different perspective on the Naval Service: "It is customary for a junior officer to pay a call on his commanding officer when he first arrives at a new duty station. The “call” is typically a get together at the convenience of the commanding officer, and at his home. When it was time for us to pay a call on the Morrison’s, we got Kathy to babysit for us, and we took off for their house. Several other officers were also making the “call” at the same time, so it was more like a party. Typically, a call only lasts 30 minutes to an hour, but this one went on and on. It was very enjoyable, but after 2-1/2 hours, Ed and I felt it was time to go. Well, we tried and tried, but the Morrison’s kept asking us to stay longer... We were there for almost 7 hours total, and ending up having dinner with them. Bobbi was a good Navy wife, and had a good cupboard. You see, according to the book, WELCOME ABOARD, a good Navy wife always had a stash so that she could prepare a meal at any give time. "

THE 1960's

In 1962, Lt. Ed Campbell was transferred to Destroyer Squadron (Desron) 24 stationed out of Newport, Rhode Island. His job was Operations Officer of the squadron, and he reported directly to the Commodore, Charlie Morrison. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union steadily grew, and were made worse in October of this same year, when the Soviet Union attempted to place missles in Cuba. The order to form a naval blockade was handed down from the White House, and the ships of Desron 24 were sent down to Cuba. The flag ship of the destroyer squadron was the USS Blandy, which is where Lt. Campbell was positioned as the squadron approached oncoming Russian trawlers. The two pictures below tell the story:

Right after the Cuban Missle crisis of 1962, Ed Campbell was promoted to Lt. Commander for his outstanding duty at a time when the country needed his expertise the most. As Operations Officer for Desron 24, his ability to organize the squadron contributed greatly to the overall success of their mission.

THE 1970's

In 1973, LCDR Ed Campbell decided to retire from the Navy. He never really told me why, although I could see the "slight" disappointment on his face when he would read about the "New Navy". If asked, he would say that his time in the "Old Navy" was the best time for anyone to serve, and I find it difficult to disagree with him. I served in the US Navy at the tail end of the war in Vietnam, and can compare what I knew then with his experiences of the 1950's and 1960's. It's my opinion that the Vietnam War changed our country, and a weaker military was the result.

After retirement, Ed went to work as a public school teacher, and taught middle school science for the next 18 years. He actually worked as a teacher long enough to retire from that career.

A FINAL WORD

Before his death in 1999, Dad told me about many more of his experiences while serving during WWII, and later as a Naval Officer. I will cherish these memories, and pass them down to my own children and grandchildren.To me, Ed Campbell's legacy is all about his honor, pride, calm assurance, and confidence with which he lived his life. It is my hope that others wil take his example.

Submitted by Tom Campbell, Ed Campbell's son.