Johnnie St. Vrain: Float is model of ship named after Longmont sailor

Johnnie St. Vrain, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·4 min read

Nov. 13—Dear Readers: I'm always moved by the outpouring of gratitude that our community shows our veterans, and I too want to thank those who have served our nation. That's why I do my best to make it to the Veterans Day parade.

Friday morning, with many hundreds who came downtown for the event, I waved and said thank you to passing veterans, beamed with pride for the students I know in the marching bands, looked up wide-eyed as jets screamed overhead and a slower formation of planes left a trail of smoke in the sky above Main Street, marveled at the number of car clubs in the area, and saw a float that has become an enduring symbol of this annual event — a replica of the USS Edmonds.

I realized that many of those watching this replica roll by might not know why the USS Edmonds is part of Longmont's parade. Below is a column from 2012 that answers that question. (I updated the links provided by the reader.)

To those who showed up to participate in and watch Friday's parade: Thank you. To our veterans: A most sincere thank you. — Johnnie

Dear Johnnie: I enjoy the Veterans Day parade in Longmont every year, but until this week have been mystified at the presence in this parade of the small "sorta-scale" model float of the USS Edmonds (DE-406), a U.S. Navy destroyer escort that saw action during World War II and the Korean War. Looking up this ship's background online, I've learned that it was named after Aviation Ordnanceman First Class Bert C. Edmonds, a Longmont native killed in action while serving with a torpedo squadron in the Solomon Islands in 1942 and who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal for heroism.

I suspect that all those good people who faithfully attend Longmont's Veterans Day parades might like to know just why they see the model of a naval ship, of all things, proudly paraded down landlocked Longmont's Main Street each year.

Knowing that the best way to bring something to the attention of Longmont's residents is to bring it to Johnnie St. Vrain's attention first, I suggest that you might note in your Times-Call column the following two Internet links, which interested readers can visit for a little more information on Bert Edmonds and the USS Edmonds.

History of the USS Edmonds: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/edmonds.html.

Photographs of the USS Edmonds: http://navsource.org/archives/06/406.htm.

Perhaps you might be able to find out a little more about Longmont's decorated sailor yourself, and spread the word to us? — A Longmont Resident, Grateful for the Sacrifices of its Veterans

Dear Grateful Resident: I found a reference to Bert C. Edmonds in a Betty Ann Newby column from Nov. 11, 1999.

Here it is:

"Few may remember the strategic Solomons, yet many mention the tenaciously held isle of Guadalcanal. Longmont lost two young men there in 1942, Army Pfc. Melvin O. Feiring and Aviation Ordinance Man 1st class Bert C. Edmonds, U.S. Navy.

"It was not until February 1948 that a transport ship, the Cardinal O'Connell, brought their bodies and those of 2,790 Pacific comrades to California's shore. One who knew the special emptiness was the young men's pastor, the Rev. Roy Benson of Longmont's First Lutheran Church. He conducted both funeral services.

"Edmonds enlisted in the Navy in September 1937. His posthumous Silver Star citation reads, 'Flying under extremely adverse conditions, Edmonds, by his courageous and skillful performance of duty in the face of severe opposition, contributed greatly to the successful achievements of Torpedo Squadron 8 during 50 attack missions in the Solomon Islands area from September 28 to October 16, 1942.'

"More than several other citations and medals, Edmonds would have been most proud that a destroyer escort, first vessel of its class to be so named, the USS Edmonds, took to the seas Dec. 17, 1943, christened by his mother at Houston, Texas."

Edmonds was 18 when he enlisted in the Navy on Sept. 11, 1937. He was 23 when he died. His mother, Fathe, requested that one of her surviving sons be assigned to the USS Edmonds. Bert's brother Hap, a carpenter's mate, served on the ship until 1946.

I learned that from a Times-Call article from 1984. That's when local John Harold Buckley Post of the American Legion dedicated a display to the Edmonds, including the ship's flag and bell. The ship had been scrapped in 1972.

The version you see rolling down Main Street was built by the American Legion Post in 1993, according to Charles, who picked up the phone at the American Legion on Tuesday night. (Wow. They answer their phone there.)

Grateful Resident, if you are interested in learning more about Bert C. Edmonds, try http://longmontian.blogspot.com/2011/05. It's there that I learned that Edmonds is buried in Mountain View Cemetery.

Send questions to johnnie@times-call.com.