WARTIME JOURNAL | PART 4
Curry’s Final Days at War
As this four-part series on the wartime journal of Charles “Woody” Curry comes to a close, the final entries carry readers through the last stretch of World War II in the Pacific, and back home again for one Livingston County sailor who saw it all from the deck of a wartime cruiser.
Curry, who grew up in Carrsville and graduated from Hampton High School, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May 1944 at just 18 years old. What began as a journey away from rural western Kentucky quickly became a sometimes terrifying front-row seat to history as he served aboard the USS Boise during the campaign to retake the Philippines.
From bombardments and air raids to kamikaze attacks and invasion landings, Curry recorded it all in a diary he kept throughout his service. It was a diary he was not technically supposed to keep in such detail, but one he maintained anyway. That decision left behind a rare, firsthand account of war through the eyes of a young sailor. The final section of his journal reflects a war moving toward its conclusion.
Entries describe bombardments along the Philippine coast, the devastation
of Manila, solemn moments following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and continued operations as American forces pushed forward. By mid-June 1945, Curry notes USS Boise preparing to head back toward the United States, marking the end of his wartime experience.
After the war, Curry returned to civilian life and, like many of his generation, went back to work. He found work in Gary, Ind., as did a number of people from this area, before returning closer to home where he worked on the river as both an engineer and pilot on towboats, navigating the same waterways that had shaped his upbringing along the Ohio River. Later, he worked at the General Tire plant in Mayfield, building a life rooted in steady work and family.
In retirement, Curry enjoyed simpler pursuits such as camping trips, time on the water and woodworking. It was the kind of quiet, hands-on activities that suited a man who had seen far more than most. Today, Curry lives at Salem Springlake nursing home in Salem, where he has resided for the past couple of years following a stroke. Though his mobility has declined, those who know him there say he remains sharp and engaged, and still willing to talk about his days as a Seaman First Class in the Navy.
To staff and residents alike, he is more than just a veteran. He is a storyteller, a living connection to a defining chapter in American history, and, in many ways, a hero in their midst. Curry is believed to be the last living World War II veteran from Livingston or neighboring Crittenden counties.
His diary, written in simple, steady entries by a teenager far from home, preserves not just the movements of a ship or the milestones of a war, but the experience of a generation. What began in those pages with flying fish, changing clocks and a long journey across the Pacific ended with a return home, and a life that, like many of his fellow veterans, was built not on what he saw in war, but on what he did after it.
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| Young Woody Curry back home in Gary, Indiana |
Service Diary Part 4
March 1, 1945 – June 15, 1945
The final section of the journal captures the closing months of the war in the Pacific, when hard fighting continued but the broader outcome was no longer in doubt. The sailor’s entries move from bombardments and troop landings to ruined cities, dry dock repairs and solemn remembrance after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As the ship heads toward Borneo and carries MacArthur once more, the journal takes on the feel of a war entering its last act. March 1945
We had recreation today but I didn’t get to go. I’m supposed to go
tomorrow. I’ve touched land only one time since I left the States.We had an all-hands working party to carry ammunition and then I saw a show, “Greenwich Village.”
I’ve got recreation tomorrow. I didn’t get to go yesterday. Most of the island is restricted anyway because of booby traps.
I went ashore this evening and swam all evening. There was an excellent place by the docks. Everything was destroyed but the dock.
We left Subic Bay last night and we are now at Mindoro. I saw a show tonight, “Sweater Girl.”
We are still at Mindoro. We had mail call today. I got two letters and a valentine. I saw a good show tonight telling of a man’s life, “An American Romance.”
We left Mindoro this morning. We have been underway all day and will bombard tomorrow sometime.
We bombarded today and started a few fires on the beach. We’ve been at G.Q. all day.
We’ve been bombarding the Santa Cruz Islands the last two days. We are offshore from a small town now. The population is about 21,000.
We’ve been at G.Q. all day today and started a lot of fires on the beach. Heavy bombers have been bombing also.
We were still at G.Q. all day today and we blew up a large ammunition dump this morning. They landed some troops today.
We left the islands this afternoon and are headed for Mindoro. We will go
to Subic Bay from there and take on ammunition.
We arrived at Mindoro this morning and took on ammunition and refueled. I gave a native who came alongside the ship $1.00 for 24 bananas, first I’ve had for a long time.
We got to Subic Bay this morning. We had mail call today. I got three letters from home. I saw a show tonight, “Love Crazy.” Good show.
We are still here in Subic Bay cleaning up the ship. I saw a show tonight that was good. It was “Wing and a Prayer.”
We are still in Subic. I’ve slept all day. I had the midnight watch. I saw a good show tonight about the Doolittle Raiders. It was “The Purple Heart.”
I wrote a letter home today and had the evening watch. We had G.Q. the first since we have been in the bay.
We had mail call today and I got three letters from home. I saw a good show tonight, “Moonlight Rhythm.”
I caught up on my letter writing today. I saw a show tonight that I saw about two years ago at home, “The Seventh Cross.” It is a good show.
I went over on the beach this morning and stayed until noon and traded with the natives. I saw “The Eve of St. Mark” tonight. It was a good show, starring Anne Baxter.
I’ve been practicing on the code some today. I had the evening watch so I didn’t get to see “Home in Indiana.”
I went ashore this afternoon and swam all three or four hours. We had mail call and I got one letter.
I had the afternoon watch today and I’ve got the mid tonight. I saw a show tonight, Irene Dunne in “Unfinished Business.”
We left Subic Bay this morning and we are now in Mindoro. We arrived here just in time to have a show. The show was “The Falcon in Mexico.” I’m getting out of C Division and getting into the 2nd Division.
Today has seemed more like Sunday than any for a long time. I’ve sat around all afternoon and read. It has been real quiet.
I fell today and cut a gash in my elbow one inch long and had three stitches taken in it so I can’t hardly write. I saw “The Story of Dr. Wassell” tonight. It was the second time. It is a good show.
We arrived back here in Subic Bay this morning and I had the afternoon watch. I saw a good show tonight, “Passage to Marseille.”
I got a letter from home and one from a girlfriend with some pictures of her. I saw a show tonight, “Follow the Boys,” an all-star cast.
There was a sightseeing group went from the ship to Manila and from what I hear they saw plenty. I won’t enclose any details.
We got 2,000 bags of mail today, approximately 40 tons. I got three packages and some magazines. I saw a show tonight, “Escape to Tomorrow.”
I turned in my chit and I’m now in No. 2 Division. We were supposed to have a brand-new movie tonight, “Bathing Beauties,” but a boat brought a lot of stores alongside so we may not have the movie.
April 1945
We are now in Manila Bay. We arrived here this morning and we went on a sightseeing tour this afternoon. The harbor is littered with sunken ships with the hulls sticking out of the water. Manila is all in ruins from the
center to the waterfront and there is hardly any safe water.
We are now in Manila Bay. We came here this morning and were up at sunrise. The harbor is littered with sunken ships. We are about 2,000 yards from the waterfront and there is hardly any safe water and quite a few mines.
We are moving. We arrived here from Subic the 11th. We left here April 5. We worked two eight-hour shifts last night and got the bottom scraped. We heard a few minutes ago of the President’s death.
We heard a few minutes ago more of the President’s death this morning at five o’clock.
Today we had a royal ceremony in honor of the President. After the ceremony the Marines fired volleys from 12 or 16 guns.
We are now in Subic Bay. We went ashore and saw a U.S.O. show, Irving Berlin’s “This Is the Army.” All-soldier cast. Good show.
Tomorrow we are supposed to arrive at Borneo. We brought five Japs aboard a few minutes ago that a destroyer took off a large craft that was a short distance from an island. Navy Corsairs strafed the craft, killing several before the five were captured.
June 1945
We left Manila today with Gen. MacArthur. He came aboard about 1500 hours.
We are at Mindoro today and will leave here at 1700.
We are at Cagayan now. We arrived this morning and will get underway at 1900.
Today we are at Cebu. We arrived early this morning and will get underway at 1300.
Today we are at Iloilo. We arrived this morning about 0730. We will get underway at 1900.
Today we are at Puerto Princesa. It is a pretty place with trees that look like the willows back home growing down to the water’s edge. We leave at 1300.
We met the convoy today and will land troops at Brunei Bay tomorrow after we bombard.
We landed troops today after bombarding for several hours. There wasn’t
much opposition. One YMS was sunk by a mine.
We took passengers aboard this morning that were on ships that were sunk. They will go home with us.
We left Brunei Bay yesterday and anchored at Jolo this afternoon and left a few hours ago. I traded for a bolo, a native knife.
We were at Davao today. It is a pretty place. We had swimming call at noon. We are standing out to sea now and on our way to Zamboanga.
We arrived at Zamboanga at 0800 this morning and traded with the natives. I was put on report for trading after the word was passed to stop all trade. We are on our way to Manila now, I think.
We arrived in Manila about noon today and General MacArthur got off and we will get underway for the States tonight at 1700.
Epilogue
By mid-June 1945, the journal had carried readers from an ocean crossing in August 1944 to the liberation campaigns that rolled across the Philippines and into Borneo. What began with flying fish, changing clocks and homesick notes from a transport ended with combat landings, ruined harbors and the steady advance of Allied victory. On June 15, 1945, with Gen. MacArthur ashore in Manila and the ship preparing to head for the States, these surviving entries leave behind a vivid, plainspoken record of one sailor’s war – that of Charles “Woody” Curray of Carrsville, Kentucky.
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