Ernest and the 883rd leave Boston on the SS Mariposa
They are told their destination is UNKNOWN, but they know they are headed to Europe.
Assigned to the 883rd Field Artillery Headquarters Battery
The 883rd Field Artillery was a unit within the 70th Infantry Division which would soon join the United States Seventh Army as it pushes its way across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Training with the 883rd Field Artillery Battalion in Oregon
Ernest St. John drafted and inducted into Army as a Private
He reports for duty and basic training at Ft Leonard Wood in Missouri on August 10th, 1943.
Ernest St. John’s WWII Story
The USS Hughes is Sunk
On October 16th, 1948, the Hughes was towed out to sea off of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands and on October 20th she was sent to her final resting place at the bottom of the ocean. This [...]
USS Hughes Used as Test Ship in Atomic Blast
As part of the United States Operation Crossroads nuclear testing program, the USS Hughes was used as a target to test the effects that an underwater atomic blast would have on a ship. The [...]
David Mickleson is Honorably Discharged from the Navy
On Monday, April 29th, 1946, after two years, one month, and five days in the Navy, David S. Mickelson is honorably discharged from the service.
David granted leave to head home for a late Thanksgiving
On November 28th, David is granted 19 days leave. He most likely heads home to see his family, arriving only one week after Thanksgiving 1945. He returns to the ship in San Diego on December 17th.