Oral history interview with Harvey C. Fehling [sound recording], 1996.

ArchivalResource

Fehling, Harvey C., 1921-. Oral history interview with Harvey C. Fehling [sound recording], 1996.

Oral history interview with Harvey C. Fehling [sound recording], 1996.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/311601689

Harvey Fehling, a Lowell, Wisconsin native, discusses his service in the Navy during World War II. Fehling describes growing up on a farm in Lowell and serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp Madison as a youth. In 1939, Fehling voluntarily enlisted in the Navy. He describes a competitive selection process involving many physicals. The Navy did not accept many enlistees at that time because the U.S. had not yet joined World War II. Fehling discusses at length his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base (Illinois). After six weeks of training, he chose an assignment on the USS Milwaukee where he served as a deck hand and an engineer. Fehling talks about his experiences on the USS Milwaukee in San Diego (California) and Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) in 1940. He discusses the large fleet docked in Pearl Harbor, which he and other sailors saw as a target for the Japanese. Fehling jokes that shore leave became less fun when the fleet arrived; before that, he would go to Waikiki beach and movies at the port. Fehling addresses gambling and drinking problems among sailors. According to Fehling, in mid-1941, the USS Milwaukee went on neutrality patrol in the Caribbean and the Atlantic. Fehling explains that the U.S. Navy did "spotting for the English Navy," warning the British about German ships. Fehling feels the neutrality patrol was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "excuse to get us in the war." Fehling explains that the USS Milwaukee escorted merchant ships from South America to Africa. Occasionally his crew would board the ships to make sure no raw materials (like rubber) were being transported to Germany. Fehling vividly describes the Navy's hazing rituals for sailors who passed the Equator for the first time. He mentions hazing was not permited after the U.S. entered World War II. Fehling relates that during the war his envoy sunk four or five German submarines. Once these ships sunk, the USS Milwaukee would leave the German crew in lifeboats all day before taking them aboard as prisoners. In 1944, the USS Milwaukee was turned over to the Soviets to boost their fleet. Fehling describes the voyage to Russia and characterizes Russian naval officers as intelligent and fluent in English. Fehling expresses sadness at handing over the ship because it had been his home for four years. He mentions standing near William Averell Harriman (famous statesman and ambassador to the Soviet Union) during the "turning over" ceremony. Fehling returned to England on a British destroyer. He describes British food and alcohol rations and animosity between British and American sailors resulting in fights. Fehling tells of visiting an isolated village in Siberia and rescuing a Russian merchant crew in the Arctic Circle whose ship was destroyed by German torpedoes. During the D-Day Invasion, Fehling served on British excursion boats that "looked like the Mississippi Queen." Fehling explains these boats were designed for shallow water and were supposed to prevent another disaster like Dunkirk (France). His boat transported wounded soldiers from Omaha Beach (France) to South Hampton (England). After D-Day, Fehling was reassigned to the USS Van Valkenburgh in the Pacific Theater, where he was a chief water tender. Fehling mentions this ship was named for Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh who died in Pearl Harbor. Van Valkenburgh's son served on the ship as did Henry Maier, future mayor of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Fehling goes into detail about the differences between destroyers and cruisers. Fehling describes at length the Battle of Iwo Jima. The USS Van Valkenburgh bombarded Iwo Jima from the shore to protect the Marines on the ground. Fehling did not see the battle because he worked below deck. After Iwo Jima, the USS Van Valkenburgh went to Okinawa (Japan) and joined a line of destroyers that surrounded the island. They were targeted by kamikaze attacks, and Fehling states only twenty percent of the destroyers survived. He describes high casualties and a grueling battle lasting three months. Fehling discusses the atomic bombing of Japan and his views on it. He says none of the sailors understood what it was and thought it was just "a big, mysterious bomb." Fehling describes arriving in Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped. The USS Van Valkenburgh picked up American, British, and Dutch prisoners held in Japanese camps in Kyushu and took them to hospital ships. Fehling reveals he walked around in Nagasaki because nobody knew about the radiation. Fehling vividly describes a barren landscape. He states the dead bodies had been removed, but dead animals remained in the streets. He says "we couldn't believe what the heck hit" Nagaski. After V-J Day, Fehling asked to be discharged because he had earned enough points. He decided against reenlisting because he "didn't want to go through that anymore." Fehling explains that, after his homecoming, he had trouble adjusting to civilian life in Horicon (Wisconsin). Fehling is joined in the interview by his wife Arlene Fehling and his sister Sharon Elskey. Mrs. Fehling relates that she met Mr. Fehling in Reeseville (Wisconsin). Her first husband was killed on the USS Twiggs during a kamikaze attack in the Okinawa campaign. The Fehlings comment on the amazing coincidence that the USS Van Valkenburgh sailed alongside the USS Twiggs that night, rescuing wounded sailors. Fehling reports using the GI Bill to attend sheet metal trade school. He worked in construction and as a machinist in Beaver Dam (Wisconsin) until retiring in 1985. He mentions joining veterans organizations because he enjoyed the camaraderie and felt it was his duty. He belonged to the American Legion for fifty years and was commander of the Reeseville post in the 1950s. Fehling also participated in the VFW in Lowell and shipmates associations for the USS Milwaukee and USS Van Valkenburgh.

Sound recording : 2 sound cassettes (ca. 97 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.Transcript : 46 p.Military papers : 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder)Master sound recording : 2 sound cassettes (ca. 97 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center