Posted: 7/27/04
Elmo Wojahn had a colorful, dangerous military career
Houston man was co-grand marshal of Hoedown
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Elmo Wojahn is a walking history book about World War II, and he can also give a darned good first-person account.
The rural Houston man was a co-grand marshal of the Houston Hoedown parade on July 25, along with Gladen Sanden.
Both men were honored for their military service in World War II.
Itís hard to imagine someone more informative on World War II, especially in the Pacific theater, than Wojahn.
By the time our interview ended on June 23, his kitchen table was covered with books and memorabilia from his time in the service, which spanned 21 years. He has a scrapbook full of pictures and newspaper clippings that is two inches thick.
But itís his retelling of his personal experiences that is the most riveting. Wojahn, 80, does it with a frequent smile and a laugh that seem to be a big part of the upbeat person that he is.
Elmo grew up on a farm in Comfrey, Minnesota, which is in West Central Minnesota. He joined the Navy in August of 1941, then went on board the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier, two months later.
He worked in communications between the hangar deck and the air officer on the bridge.
(The late John Rolfing of Caledonia and Carl Amundson of Spring Grove were also on the Hornet.)
The Hornetís first trip was a memorable one: it hauled Dolittleís Raiders, which bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942, using B-25s. The attack was immortalized in the movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.
It was a surprise raid, Wojahn said ñ no one on the ship knew their mission until they were out to sea. ìIt was super secret from day one,î he said.
After that mission, the Hornet fought at Coral Sea and Midway.
The Battle of Midway was an incredible victory against heavy odds, Wojahn said. It was marked with extreme heroism. All but one of the men in the airplane squadron that went to attack the Japanese fleet with their aerial torpedoes died. Four Japanese carriers were sunk in the battle. ìSo the good Lord was on our side that time,î Wojahn said.
After Midway, the Hornet and its crew of 2,000 men went to Pearl Harbor for replacements, then back to the South Pacific. American forces had taken Guadalcanal. ìThey were hanging on by their fingernails,î Wojahn said.
It was a tense time. Three other aircraft carriers, the Lexington, Yorktown, and Wasp, had been sunk, and the Enterprise was in for repairs. ìWe were the only aircraft carrier in the Pacific for a while,î Wojahn said. ìWeíd only sunk about five of the Japanese carriers, so we were still outnumbered about 3-1.î
All alone in the water
Disaster hit the Hornet on October 26, 1942, when the ship was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz. It took five bombs, four torpedoes, and two Kamikaze attacks in five different attacks to do it. One of the Kamikaze planes hit right above Wojahnís work station. A fire started, and Wojahn could see the paint blister on the ceiling above his head. The plane spilled out a large bomb that didnít explode.
About 300 men died in the attack. Wojahn went down a knotted line into the water, wearing a life vest. ìAnd I donít even swim,î he said with a laugh. ìI still canít swim.î
After four or five hours, the USS Morris picked him up, after the USS Musstin churned past him because it was under attack. He was all alone in the water by the time he was picked up.
Wojahn then served on several other ships in the Pacific and also the south Atlantic. His ship, the USS Solomons, sank a German submarine there and picked up 21 German survivors.
Wojahn then went to transport school in California, and worked as an aircraft mechanic. He left the Navy in 1947, then was full-time active duty in the reserves for about 12 year as a mechanic. He was a helicopter maintenance instructor in Minneapolis during the Korean War, and spent about 10 years working on helicopters. Wojahn can name dozens of aircraft, and has books on many of them.
He moved to paradise
He retired in 1962 with 21 years of service. Then he and his wife, Avis, moved to her home place in Yucatan Township in 1962. The farm was purchased by her grandfather, Ole P. Gaustad in 1876, and has been in the family ever since.
Elmo recalls seeing the Gaustad farm for the first time after leaving the prairie around Comfrey. ìI thought it was paradise,î he said. (The farm would still fit most peoples description of the Garden of Eden.)
The Wojahns had a dairy operation for nine years. ìAnd then the kids left,î Avis said with a laugh.
They went to beef after that. Now most of the 410-acre farm is in the Conservation Reserve Program. Wojahn served on the Yucatan Town Board for 12 years, and is on the color guard of the Houston American Legion.
ìHe trims trees and he digs weeds,î Avis said of her husband.
ìAnd help the neighbors,î Elmo added. He also keeps busy making firewood. They heat exclusively with wood.
Being named grand marshal of the Hoedown is a big honor, he said.
ìHe doesnít think heís worth it,î Avis said.
ìThey were looking for some World War II veterans and Iím still upright,î Elmo said. ìOne year we buried 10 World War II veterans from Houston.î
Wojahn keeps in touch with some of his Army friends by attending reunions. He and Avis returned from a Hornet/Musstin reunion in Oakland, California, earlier this month.
ìI think these reunions are good to get together to talk about things,î Avis Wojahn said.
Elmo and Avis have been married for 55 years. They have six children: Gary, Fridley; Jean, St. Paul; Mary (Rediske), Hokah; Steven, Rochester; Allan, Ft. Dix, Arkansas; and Roger, La Crosse.
Military service runs strong in the Wojahn family. Allan has 30 years in the Army and soon will be in Iraq. Gary had 26 years in the Navy, and Steven had four in the Marines and two in the Army.
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