William Fredericksen
William Fredericksen, Boatswain's Mate 2/c, born Feb. 21, 1922,
Chicago, IL. He joined the USN Aug. 18, 1940, and went from Great Lakes
Training Center to San Diego destroyer for EFT to Pearl Harbor. Went
aboard Yorktown (CV-5) to the Atlantic for convoy duty to England. When
war broke out, went to the Pacific for duty where the Yorktown was sunk
in the Battle of Midway.
Assigned to USS West Virginia while she was still on the bottom from
Dec. 7,1941. She was raised, taken to Bremerton for repairs, then back
out to sea. War over, the BB-48 was sent back to Seattle for
mothballing. Discharged as BM2/c on July 23, 1946. He received
decorations for North Atlantic Patrol, Asiatic-Pacific, American
Defense and the WWII Victory Medal.
Fredericksen has three sons and six grandsons. Employed 40 years as
Teamster and is now retired and lives in Columet City, IL. Hobby is
building things with wood.
Reprinted with permission from Turner Publishing