Dale Gadbow
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Dale Gadbow enlisted in the Navy shortly after graduation, in June 1944 at the age of 17.
In August he was called up and went to the Farragut, Idaho Naval Training Station for boot camp. He was assigned to the USS Walke DD723, in port in Mare Island Naval Yard.
Events leading up to the Walke being in port for repairs are as follows:
After the Walke’s commissioning and shakedown cruise the ship took part in the Normandy Invasion bombarding shore batteries. In this battle the Walke sustained some slight damage from German field artillery. It returned to New York in August 1944, heading out to San Diego, California next and then made its way to the Western Pacific.The Walke participated in the invasion of the Philippines, seeing action in Mindors, Leyte Gulf and Lingoyen.
A kamikaze hit the Walke on January 6th. There were 5 attacking planes but the 4th plane got through destroying the bridge and killing 15 men, including Captain George Davis who received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, and wounding 30.
After being repaired in Mare Island the Walke shipped out to Pearl Harbor and finally Okinawa. Dale relates that they were on picket duty while at Okinawa, a dangerous duty as the Navy sustained heavy ship losses and casualties.
While preparing for the invasion of Japan, a call was sent out for volunteers to go in with the Marines to carry ammunition and water. The ships were allotted a number of volunteers according to size of ship. Very heavy casualties were expected. Despite this the Walke filled its' complement of 10 shortly after the notice was posted. The invasion was not needed after all, since the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Japan.
The Walke returned to Seattle, Washington and operated along the western seaboard until spring of 1946. The Walke also participated in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini. The Walke was decommissioned in 1947 and commissioned again in 1950. The ship participated in the Korean War, providing escort and shore bombardment.
It was reported the Walke had supposedly struck a mine, which blew a huge hole in the afterpart of the ship, killing 76 men. But from the amount of damage many believe that it could only have been caused by a submarine.
The Walke also served in Vietnam between 1964-1969.
During its lifetime, the Walke earned:
6 battle stars during WWII;
4 battle stars during the Korean War and
7 battle stars during the Vietnam conflict.
The Walke was considered one of the most highly decorated ships in US naval history. Gadbow says, “I was proud to have served on the Walke in World War II.”
He was mustered out as a Seaman 1st Class; leading seaman of temporary bosun 3rd.
