credited with multiple 'kills' on enemy aircraft. For his courageous and skilled actions that day, Lt. Crockett was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal, and a Purple Heart. He remained in the Navy Air Corps reserve and retired as a commander in 1965. Kay Crockett passed away in 1978. Noel Dean Daily Noel Dean Daily served in the U.S. Navy. After basic training, he learned to be a storekeeper at a Naval station. He spent most of his time as a storekeeper in Kodiak, Alaska. Lewis Delbert Davis Lewis Delbert Davis received a Purple Heart for his service in the Navy in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. Russell Leonard Davis Russell L. Davis served his country in the United States Navy. He attended boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, and learned to be a cook. He then went to baker school in Seattle. He served in the South Pacific from June 1943 to June 1946 in New Guinea, Yap (located in the Caroline Islands in the Western Pacific, midway between Guam and Palau) and Ulithi Atoll. He returned home in 1948 and attended Weber College. He received his associate's degree from Weber State in 1950. He went on to complete a bachelor's degree at Utah State and finally a master's degree in Library Science from the University of Michigan. He passed away in September of 1999. Submitted by Grant C. Davis, son Clyde Morris Decker - KIA In 1939, Clyde Morris Decker and his family moved to Ogden, Utah, to Weber Junior College where he taught auto mechanics. At that time there was talk of war in the air, and much was being done to advance avionics. Clyde acquired a pilot's license and part ownership in a small airplane, and flew often out of the Ogden Airport. At this time, besides teaching auto mechanics at the college, he developed classes on aviation power plants and taught these skills to some Navy personnel who had come to Weber Junior College to be trained. Although Clyde was not eligible to be drafted, he felt that he wanted to contribute to the war effort; and he took a leave of absence from the college to accept an opportunity to become an officer in the United States Navy Reserve. On 25 November 1942, he accepted an appointment as an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve, after completing the officers' course at the University of Arizona at Tucson, Arizona. He was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade. He stayed in Arizona on duty until 12 February 1943, when he was detached from the Naval Training School and assigned to the Naval Air Station in Norman, Oklahoma, as a transportation officer. Then an opportunity came for him to go into what he loved, flying; and he was then sent to Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, under the Navy Primary Training Command to complete a nine month training course to become a Navy air instructor. After completing that course, he was sent to flying assignments at the Naval Air Stations at Dallas, Texas, and New Orleans, where he spent six-months duty at each station. On 7 June 1944, Clyde Decker was designated as a naval aviator and was detached from the New 150 Orleans Air Station and assigned to the Naval Air Station in Livermore, California, for duty as a primary flight instructor. He served in that assignment until 10 August 1944, when he was involved in a plane crash while instructing a student pilot. He died 14 August 1944, as a result of that accident at age 31. A letter dated 18 August 1944, written to his wife, Terese, from the Weber College Faculty Association expressed the deep sense of his loss: 'Certainly, we shall miss him at the College. He was one of our stalwart teachers. He was a pleasant and agreeable companion. His students recognized in him, a man who knew his trade well and had developed a facility in the art of training others. As with the falling of a great tree, he will leave a lonesome place against the sky....To you, we express appreciation for having known a worthy husband and father, a capable teacher and a great servant of democracy.' Kenneth Albert Dransfield Kenneth served in the U.S. Navy from June 1943 to April 1946 as an electrician's mate, third class, aboard the battleship USS Colorado. Excerpts from WWII diary: Nov 6, 1944 - Today we left Pearl Harbor after one week here. We got the word that we are headed for a little island near Palau and then on into the Philippines. We should be there in 10 days. Nov 20, 1944-Arrived in the Philippine Islands at about 1300. It is very foggy and rainy so we can hardly see a thing. We met [other ships] the Maryland, California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee. A very pleasing sight indeed. We should see action within three days!! It's getting cooler, only 110 degrees now! Nov 21, 1944 - We have been to GQ (General Quarters, a signal for the whole crew of the ship to man its battle stations.) about six times already today - all bogeys. We are in the Gulf of Leyte; our mission is to patrol the gulf for enemy transports. We are in danger of air attacks and surface battles at all times. Nov 23, 1944 - Thanksgiving! Gee how I miss my wonderful home. This is my second year in a row that I have missed that beautiful dinner Mom always cooks. Nov 27, 1944 - This is another day I wish I would have never witnessed. Why do things like this have to happen? At 1100, this Monday, we were attacked by 25 Japanese light bombers and torpedo planes. All hell broke loose. We opened up on the suicide squad, everything we had. First, all we could hear was our 5" 25's open up, then our 40 mm and then our 20 mm. We figured they were pretty close after the 20's opened up. We heard a loud crash and knew we had been hit! One of the planes had been knocked down but still was able to control itself enough to dive into the ship. Later I found out another plane dived at us but missed by a few yards. The plane hit . . . killing nearly everyone around. It knocked out Gun 8 and Gun 6. Although I wasn't around there this time, I was asked to take the wounded and dead down to receiving rooms. I hate to say it all over again . . . the things that happened to our boys and the way they were torn up. I am not a bit ashamed to say that I am very frightened. We kept the dead and wounded with us all night. Some of the wounded were pretty bad off. They are in the next compartment now. Some of them whimper and some just lay there. Nov 28, 1944 - We took our dead and wounded off early this morning. Sent them on a destroyer. The ship stinks! Oh but that's a horrible smell! We have had about four GQs today. It scares me to death whenever they blow GQ. Dec 1, 1944 - Everything was quiet today until about 1530 when we had a sub alert. Our destroyers really have been throwing their depth charges at them. I think they got one of them. Dec 3, 1944 - We held memorial services for our dead today. 151