Admiral honors WWII Sailor

I had the honor, along with other veterans, of meeting with Vice Admiral Sara Joyner for Veteran’s Day. She came to visit at the apartment of Stan Teller, a 101 year old friend from my VFW post who served in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII. Stan invited several of his friends and family to join in the occasion.

Stan was drafted into the navy in March 1943 at the age of nineteen. He was trained as a radio man and in March 1944 was assigned to the Pacific aboard the USS Fayette APA 43, an attack transport designed to transport invading forces, in this case U.S. marines and soldiers, ashore. Stan served on an LCC (landing craft control) boat at the invasion landings on Guam in July 1944, Peleliu in September 1944, Leyte in the Philippines in October 1944, and Luzon in the Philippines in January 1945. Stan’s LCC would lead the other landing craft into the beaches, making several trips into the vortex of enemy fire in each landing.

Stan received battle ribbons denoting his participation in all of the above campaigns. Stan was also awarded the Bronze Star medal for valor in action during the landings at Peleliu when, after his LCC had finished guiding the marines who landed on the beaches, he and his crew remained immediately off shore to rescue wounded marines from the water while under fire from the enemy. The wounded they rescued were carried to the Fayette which eventually transported around 800 wounded marines to the hospital ship the USS Solice or on to medical care on Espiritu Santos Island.

Vice Admiral Joyner happened to meet Stan while she was on a weekend bike ride on the C&O canal when she spotted Stan in his wheel chair wearing a WWII Navy baseball cap. She called out “Ahoy sailor” and stopped to talk with him. He discussed problems he was having getting his WWII Navy separation papers accepted by the VA as the current staff is only familiar with the DD214 which has been in use since 1950. Needless to say she saw that the problem was handled.

She recently called Stan and asked if she could stop by for Veteran’s day and meet with Stan, his friends and family. I was lucky enough to ride through on Stan’s coat tails. The Vice Admiral, who retires at the end of this month is a Naval Academy grad, class of 89, and a career naval aviator flying the F-18 Hornet with 750 arrested landings on carriers. Clearly she is among the best of the best. Her effort to help and reaching out on a personal basis to Stan and his family shows she cares above the normal level in her concern for the troops. Here is my picture with Vice Admiral Joyner  and her picture with Stan Teller and his daughter Andrea. Stan well represents what the late Tom Brokaw termed “the greatest generation.”