Donald LeRoy Sturges: Served in the Navy during World War II
Donald LeRoy Sturges is one of the few who is still around to tell the tales of World War II. Sturges was born in Sioux City, IA, and lived there for the first five years if his life. His father owned a harness business as the main form of transport at that time was the horse and buggy. Sturges and his family, however, moved to California in 1929 because the Ford Model T caused trouble for their business. Mr. Sturges spent the majority of his life in Manhattan Beach.
As WW2 broke out in 1941, Mr. Sturges knew that he was going to be drafted and forced into the army. Growing up on the beach, he spent much of his youth swimming and surfing, so he decided to enlist in the Navy when he was 18. He hoped to be an aerial photographer, but there were only two positions within the entire Navy. He decided to be a cook for the Navy, after realizing he enjoyed his summer cooking job.
Mr. Sturges experienced many hardships throughout his WW2 journey. Docking in Pearl Harbor before heading to the Philippines, Sturges experienced the entirety of the damage done to Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack. The carnage and destruction had taken a toll on him and his fellow cooks, who were not yet accustomed to the maliciousness of war. In the Philippines, Mr. Sturges witnessed something that would change his life. The USS Indianapolis, a 610-foot heavy cruiser, was hit by two Japanese torpedoes. Mr. Sturges’ ship took on the survivors of the attack. Only 25 survived out of about 1500 men. Nobody knew there were any survivors for weeks, and those that remained were left on life rafts.
Once Mr. Sturges returned home, he got married and had two sons and a daughter. Once the Korean War broke out, he was to report to the Navy Reserve, where he would work for the day in San Pedro for $3. Mr. Sturges spent much of his time fishing after WW2 and continued to build a life for him and his family in Torrance. He even went on to work as a school bus driver for the Torrance Unified School District.
Donald LeRoy Sturges: Navy Cook
Born: April 30, 1924 (age 93), Sioux City, IA
-
Grew up in Manhattan Beach.
-
Graduated from Redondo Union High School in 1943.
-
Enlisted in the Navy at 18 as a cook.
Mr. Sturges Journey
-
Attended Cook/Baker School for four months on Terminal Island (where Al Capone had been held before)
-
After graduating, he was sent to the San Diego Receiving Station.
-
Cooked with 11 other people for over 1500 people.
-
Sent to San Francisco on troop transport ship, and then toward the Philippines.
-
Docked at Pearl Harbor temporarily (soldier had gotten sick)
-
Headed out for the Philippines with two destroyers escorting Sturges’ ship.
-
Sighted Sub, Sank Same- Japanese sub was detected behind Sturges’ ship. Escort destroyers dropped depth charges to fend off potential attack.
-
Arrived to the Philippines when General MacArthur recaptured the islands. This is where Sturges spent most of his time in the Navy.
-
July 30, 1945- USS Indianapolis sinks. Sturges’ ship takes survivors.
-
September 2, 1945-War is over! But not for Sturges. As a cook, Sturges could not leave until the last soldiers had left the islands.
-
Sturges stayed in the Philippines for an extra 6 months before he was discharged.
-
Sturges’ ship docked in San Francisco Harbor, but he was not allowed to leave the ship until the next day.
-
Came back to work for Torrance Unified School District in 1948.