WORLD WAR II VETERAN RECEIVES SIX, LONG-OVERDUE, MEDALS

By James Schlett

WESTERLY - There is the volatile U.S. occupation in Iraq, and then there is the kind of military occupation Charles Del Monte knows.

Del Monte was 17 when he enlisted into the military, and it was nine months into his service with the U.S. Navy when his ship, the U.S.S. Euryale, was called overseas to a post-war country.

As the ship crossed the Pacific Ocean, there were concerns among its approximately 900-member crew about guerilla warfare in the war-torn country and whether its people would accept the U.S. military's occupation of it.

When the Westerly native arrived at his destination, however, it was not anywhere near Iraq where the Euryale docked, but instead post-World War II Japan in 1945.

"The acceptance of the Americans really surprised me. I never felt any hostility toward us," said Del Monte, 77.

Fifty-eight years after the Euryale completed its tour in Japan -- and at a time when Del Monte is disheartened by news of insurgents killing U.S. troops in the Middle East -- the former third-class petty officer today is being recognized for his work in the U.S. military's occupation in the Far East.

U.S. Rep. James Langevin is slated to present Del Monte with six long-overdue military commendations today at the Democratic congressman's Warwick district office.

"This is the last thing in the world I ever expected. People in Rhode Island have better stories to tell," said Del Monte, who served in the navy from January 1945 to July 1946. He also served four years in the inactive Naval Reserve.

However, some of Del Monte's eight grandchildren thought their grandfather's stories about his experiences in Japan shortly after the country surrendered to the United States on Sept. 2, 1945 are interesting enough. At their encouragement, Del Monte late last year sought Langevin's help in attaining the medals that the military failed to give him decades ago.

The commendations Del Monte is receiving today include a World War II Victory Metal, the American Campaign Medal, the Navy Occupation Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Pin and the Discharge Button.

Aboard the Euryale, a submarine tending vessel named after one of the Gorgons in Greek mythology, Del Monte was a mechanic. The skills Del Monte picked up in the navy while repairing submarines he later used in his 40-year career at Electric Boat. At the Groton submarine company, he worked as a mechanic, foreman and a senior packaging administrator.

Fourteen days after the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Euryale set a course for Okinawa and later Sasebo, where its crew mostly maintained enemy submarines and prepared to dispose of them. The ship ended its three-month tour in Japan by sailing to Pearl Harbor with two Japanese submarines in tow.

"We weren't a fighting ship. We were a mother ship for the subs," said Del Monte, whose nickname aboard the ship was "The Kid" since he was one of its youngest sailors. "But the Japs wanted to sink us, because if they did, then the submarines would have to go to Guam or Pearl Harbor (for repairs)."

While Del Monte said the medals will make good "keepsakes" for his grandchildren, he also said the awards should help stress the importance of the military's role in post-war countries, such as Iraq.

"It's just as important," he said. "The only thing is, we didn't have the resistance in Japan."

From: http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/2004/04/14/news/news2.txt

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