Charles Leeman Campbell shortly after Navy boot camp in 1951.
Mary Campbell of De Soto submitted a photo of her brother, Charles Leeman Campbell, who served with the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1955. Their parents agreed to sign for the 17-year-old if he promised to finish high school during his time in the service.
After basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Campbell reported to the USS Wasp, a World War II aircraft carrier that had been remodeled to accommodate jet aircraft.
“Even with the remodel, the Wasp was somewhat smaller than today’s carriers,” Mary says. “Unfortunately for my brother, a flight deck airman, one of the pilots made a wrong turn and Charles, who was driving a Jeep at the time, was blown off the flight deck and into the water.”
Luckily, he was thrown clear of the vehicle and was rescued by an escort destroyer and returned to the Wasp sickbay with a burn on one leg and the memory of that 60-foot drop to the water.
A month after his 18th birthday, the Wasp collided with the escort destroyer USS Hobson during a nighttime training exercise.
“Upon impact, the Hobson rolled over and was sliced in half,” Mary says. Both halves sank in a matter of minutes. My brother wasn’t on the flight deck but he felt the shudder and he witnessed the rescue efforts from the deck. The few survivors from the destroyer were covered in oil and were badly burned. Carrier crew threw life jackets and rafts to the survivors.”
Mary says her brother didn’t talk about the traumatic events until recently.
“I am a Navy veteran also,” she says. “And I am amazed at how he can describe those awful sights in such a matter-of-fact tone. I suspect that is how he has learned to deal with what he witnessed that night so long ago.”
