THANK A VETERAN: World War II vet recalls life at sea

Nov. 4—Kokomo resident Milt Brown laughed into the phone as he recalled his days as a signalman in the United States Navy during World War II.

"Dah, dah, dit, dit, dit, dah, dah, dah, dit," he said, rattling off some random bits of Morse code. "I still remember how to do it."

Brown is 94 now and admits that he doesn't get around as easily as he once did, but he added that his mind is sharp and his patriotism for his country is as strong as ever.

He was just 17 when he heard Uncle Sam calling his name back in November 1944, and he volunteered for the war effort because that was just "something you did."

"Everybody I knew joined the Army, the Navy, the Marines, something," he said. "I didn't know anybody who didn't join at the time. ... My father was in the Army during World War I, and so I thought I should do the same (join the military).

"Of course it was a little scary, you might say," Brown added, "seeing things I never thought I would see."

After boot camp at the Naval Station Great Lakes, Brown headed to Sampson Naval Base in New York State, where he learned how to be a signalman, which involved sending messages via light signals from one ship to another.

Having already known Morse code and flag semaphore from his days as an Eagle Scout, Brown said the training was relatively easy, aside from the scarlet fever that kept him hospitalized for a few months during the process.

From Sampson, Brown then went to California and was headed for Hawaii when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

"The war was essentially over at that point," Brown said, "and I thought they'd just send me home, but they continued to send me on instead."

In Hawaii, Brown was stationed on the USS Argonne — the flagship for Rear Admiral William L. Calhoun, Commander, Base Force, Pacific Fleet during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Recalling his days on that ship over seven decades later, Brown said he really just remembered how crowded it was.

"There were so many signalman that we'd just bump into each other all the time," he said, laughing.

But being stationed in Hawaii around the time the war had ended also meant opportunity.

"There was a Japanese battleship close to us at the time called the Nagato," he said, "and I was fascinated by this huge ship. So they said, 'Are there any volunteers to go over there and clean it up and get it ready to sail? So I volunteered. Several days turned into several weeks. They eventually asked us if we wanted to be stationed on the Nagato, and so I thought, 'What the heck? It could be interesting.'"

In all, Brown was on the Nagato for seven months, and he laughed as he described some of the ship's unique features.

"It had this super structure that was 100 feet high, much higher than any of our American battleships," Brown said. "And we'd go up into the top of it to look down at the American battleships below us. We were stupid to get up into that because it was rusty and old. But then again, we really were just kids."

But there were also some not-so-pleasant parts of life on the Nagato, too, like the rats that visited the crew at night or the time they ran out of fuel on the way to the Marshall Islands and had to be towed in sideways.

In 1946, the Nagato was designated to be used for atomic bomb testing — known as Operation Crossroads — in the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Brown was asked if he wanted to stay and assist in the process.

"But they also told me I had enough points to come home, so I did that instead," he said.

Brown was honorably discharged from the Navy in June 1946, went to college on the GI bill and eventually became a teacher.

And though he admits he really didn't see the battles like others did during that war, Brown did note that the military taught him lessons that he has kept with him throughout his entire life.

"It just taught me a lot about growing up," he said, "becoming self-supporting. "I guess you can say it was about becoming a man."

Even now, over 70 years removed from those days, Brown still enjoys sharing his military story for those who ask, as he did a few months ago with a class from Indiana University Kokomo.

"I was honored to be able to do that," he said, recalling that visit with the students. "I think it's important to do that because these (military personnel) were people that were giving their lives if necessary to save our country."

But don't call him a hero, as that distinction is reserved for a specific group within the military, Brown believes.

"There were so many that didn't make it home," he said. "They gave their lives for this country. ... I was honored to do my part. ... But those are the real heroes."