Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:37 | While anchored in Ulithi Atoll, Ed Bean remembers his ship being hit by an unexploded shell. The shell penetrated the main deck and went several decks down, narrowly missing one Sailor and striking one of Bean's friends, Robert Clowers, who survived the encounter. Bean recalls catching up with Clowers later in life.
Keywords : Bean Edwin Blackshear New Jersey battleship Pacific Japan Tokyo Panama unexploded shell Robert Clowers
Ed Bean recalls his 200,000 mile journey into the Pacific on the USS New Jersey during World War II, and describes the impressive artillery the battleship used to bombard countless Japanese-controlled islands. Bean himself manned one of the ship's five inch guns.
While sailing in formation between ports in the Pacific, Ed Bean recalls a destroyer running off path and cutting in front of the USS New Jersey, a much larger battleship. The anchor alone of the USS New Jersey inflicted heavy damage to the other ship, enough to kill the captain of the destroyer and injure another crew member.
Ed Bean describes what it was like aboard his ship, the USS New Jersey, during "Halsey's Typhoon," also known as "Typhoon Cobra," the 1944 typhoon which damaged nine warships, destroyed over 100 aircraft and killed 790 Sailors.
While aboard the USS New Jersey during World War II, Ed Bean remarks about how each naval ship had a camera crew tasked with documenting battles and other important events. One of the cameramen was Eddie Albert, who would later star in the television show Green Acres.
Ed Bean describes the living arrangements and food offerings on the USS New Jersey, a ship which held 3500 Sailors and officers.
