Local veteran shares WWII experiences

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Memorial Day came about two months early for members of the Russellville Civitan Club Tuesday, as one of its members gave a detailed story of his experiences during World War II.
Rev. Doug Hendon served in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1947.
"This is the most difficult subject for me to talk about," Hendon said.
Hendon boarded the U.S.S. Horton in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. They were assigned to Pacific Fleet number five. Hendon stayed with the ship until it sank during the Solomon Island battle.
While he was aboard the U.S.S. Horton, Hendon was a part of several key moments in the war including the bombing of Tokyo.
"I steered the ship that escourted Jimmy Doolittle to bomb Tokyo," Hendon said. "It was the morale turning point of the war and I was a part of that."
Hendon watched as 15 B-26 airplanes left aircraft carriers and took flight to bomb Toyko.
"We bombed too early because we encountered a small craft in the water away from the shore," Hendon remembered. "We didn't want the message to get out that we were there, so the order was that the planes would take off from there."
Hendon said once the bombs were dropped, they turned around and headed back to Pearl Harbor as quickly as possible.
"It was the morale turning point of the war, and a little boy from North Alabama was a part of that," Hendon said.
The next battle Hendon would be involved in would be the Midway Island battle.
"We were in route to another place when we got word that the Japanese were headed to Midway Island too," Hendon remembered.
"We were given orders to turn around and intercept them."
Hendon said that was the only time he had ever seen an entire fleet of ships do a 180-degree turn at full throttle.
"We were trying to be unseen out there, but once we got the assignment, all you could see was black smoke," he said.
"It was full steam ahead to intercept the Japs before they got to Midway Island."
The Midway Island battle lasted three days. U.S.S. Yorktown sank during the battle.
"I remember I had one sandwich and a cup of coffee in three days during that battle," Hendon said.
Hendon said Midway Island Battle was the tactical turning point of the war.
"Not only was it a part of the morale turning point, but I witnessed the tactical turning point in the war," Hendon said. "We sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and two of their battleships and I was a part of it."
Hendon said they felt the U.S. was on its way to victory after the Midway Island battle.
Hendon said their next assignment would be Solomon Island. During this battle, the ship he was assigned to sank in the Pacific Ocean.
"I was the next to the last person to steer the U.S.S. Horton before it sank," Hendon said.
He was in the water for seven and a half hours. The ship sank at 2:10 a.m.
"I knew what time it sank because my watch had stopped at 2:10 a.m. when it came in contact with the water," Hendon said.
While he was in the water, Hendon had no concept of time.
"Every second felt like a minute. Everyone minute felt like an hour, and every hour felt like a day when I was out there," he remembered.
Hendon shared his lifejacket with a sailor who had been injured.
"We were rescued at 10 a.m.," he said. "We were so happy to see the ship coming."
Hendon said after surviving the Solomon Island campaign he was sent back to Pearl Harbor, and then, back to San Diego, Calif.
"After that I was attached to some sort of school," Hendon said.
Hendon said he knew there was something out there bigger than himself. When he returned home on leave, Hendon learned that his mother had prayed morning, noon and night for his safety.
"I credit it all to the prayers of a Godly mother," Hendon said.