(Article & captions by CWV Historian Jose Luis Torres WWII pictures
provided by Abel Flores other pictures by the Historian).
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| Navy Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores 1944 |
Interviewing Mr. Abel Flores was an honor and a pleasure. Below, (to the best of his recollection), is a small summary of his WWII experiences.
Mr. Abel Flores was born February 22, 1926 in Rio Hondo, Texas. His family relocated to Weslaco in 1931. He was a normal teenager when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was in the 10th grade in 1944 when he received his draft notice. There was not enough time for him to complete his equivalency exams so he could graduate from High School. He was ordered to report for duty on May 23, 1944 as a 10th grader. He was inducted into the Navy while still in High School.
His Boot Camp Training was done at Camp Wallace in Galveston County, Texas. After boot camp the freshly graduated company of recruits were ordered to pack their sea bags. They boarded a cattle train and were on their way to their next duty station. The long cattle car ride ended in San Diego where he was immediately transferred to Pearl Harbor. There he saw what the Japanese had done to start the war against the United States.
He was then put on a ship and sent to the Marshall Islands. There he learned to operate an LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized). This was a mechanized amphibious landing craft used to transport personnel and supplies to shore. It was a very versatile craft. Navy Seaman Abel Flores was part of a two man crew who operated an LCM. They were both pilots and mechanics of the craft. The LCM's capacity to carry multiple tons of weight was put to good use by adapting them to carry supplies between ships. They would pilot the LCM out into the open ocean where the Merchant Marine Fleet was anchored. There, ship crewmen would lower nets full of tons of supplies into the LCM. The two man crew would then ferry the supplies to the waiting battle ships and aircraft carriers, there another work detail would load the supplies onto their ships. The war ships would then continue on their missions.
Seaman Abel Flores was assigned to COMSERVRON 10 (Command Service Squadron) which was in charge of the LCM flotilla. The Ulithi Atoll is a chain of small islets that were transformed into floating piers which were used as a command center to repair battle ships and dispatch the LCM Flotilla to resupply the Fleet as it advanced toward Okinawa. They would follow the Pacific Naval Fleet to resupply them as they advanced toward Okinawa and then Japan.
Since all ships were coming in to resupply and then leaving again, Seaman Flores would live, work and sleep on his LCM. The two man crew would take turns boarding a ship to eat, shower and shave. The LCM flotilla followed the Pacific Fleet from the Marshall Islands to the Mariana Islands and from there to the Philippines. All the time continuing their resupplying missions of the Fleet. Once in the Philippines the aircraft carriers and battle ships he was resupplying were on their way to invade Japan. Seaman Abel Flores survived a typhoon in the Philippines and some stray Japanese Zeros that got passed our air defenses and bombed his Supply Squadron.
Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores spent 21 months of sea duty in the Pacific. The Christmas of 1944 Seaman Flores spent aboard his LCM carrying out his resupply missions in the Marshall Islands. His meals consisted of lots of spam rations, unless he was lucky enough to board a ship and eat some hot food. Once Japan surrendered, his resupplying missions ceased. He spent some time in Shanghai, China along the Yangtze River after the war, waiting for a ship that could take him home. Finally he was cleared to board a repair ship coming back to the
U. S. The ship was the USS Tutuila (ARG-4). He packed his seabag and was on his way home. He spent 39 days at sea once he was out of Shanghai. He passed through the Philippines and straight to the Panama Canal to refuel and then crossed the Isthmus of Panama from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The USS Tutuila docked in New Orleans where Seaman Flores readily deboarded. He then was put on a train straight for Houston, Texas. From there he was put on a military transport truck with other military personnel and taken back to Camp Wallace, the place where he started his WWII odyssey. Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores was honorably discharged on May 25, 1946 and given a bus ticket back to Weslaco, Texas.
Once he was a civilian again he attended the Veterans Accelerated High School in Edinburg, Texas where he finally received his High School diploma. He then continued his studies at Durham College in Harlingen, Texas through the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.
He received a degree in book keeping and went on to become a successful CPA. He retired and still lives in Weslaco, Texas.
Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores WWII veteran is part of what we consider 'the greatest generation'. His selfless and brave contributions during this great war set the ground work for a more or less peaceful world to follow. We still have strife and disharmony but let us hope we never have another world war.
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| A Navy LCM like the one Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores piloted during WWII. (Military public domain picture). |
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| U.S. Destroyers anchored in Shanghai in 1946(Picture provided by Mr. Abel Flores). |
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| (L-R) The Destroyers were small enough to load their own supplies, the Battle Ships and the Heavy Cruisers are the ships Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores would resupply with the LCM craft. (Picture is military public domain). |
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| Military floating hotels used during WWII, this one in Shanghai, China. After the Japanese surrendered Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores spent the rest of his Navy tour in one of these in Shanghai, until he hitched a ride on a repair ship back home. ( Picture provided by Mr. Abel Flores). |
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| Finally in early 1946 Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores hitched a ride in the USS Tutuila back to the States. (Military public domain photo). |
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| The USS Tutuila on its way home after WWII went from Shanghai to the Panama Canal where it crossed the Isthmus of Panama from the Pacific to the Atlantic and then to New Orleans in 39 days. (Picture courtesy of Mr. Abel Flores). |
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| Mr. Abel Flores before WWII. |
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| Photos provided by Mr. Flores. |
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| Photo of Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores during WWII (center). |
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| Seaman 1st Class Abel Flores in Shanghai in WWII (center). (Pictures provided by Mr. Abel Flores.) |
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| Mr. Abel Flores as a Catholic War Veteran. He has been a member since May of 1946. 67 Years of loyal service. |
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| Mr. Abel Flores today still going strong at 87 years old. |
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| Certificate of appreciation given to Mr. Abel Flores by the Weslaco CWV for his WWII service. His medals include WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, China Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal. This December 7th Pearl Harbor Day let us remember those that gave so much yet received so little in return for their unyielding bravery and patriotism. They did not waiver when their country called. They marched proudly to Americas call to service. They did not look back, they looked forward to completing their military mission returning home to an America once again free from foreign aggression. To borrow a phrase from the Marines "Once a Marine always a Marine". Once a veteran always a veteran and if our country ever calls us to service again we will gladly pack our sea bag and report for duty. Haaoorra!!! |
