Local veteran Linus Bishop joined 25 other World War II veterans on a trip through Honor Flight Cleveland to Washington D.C. in November. The Mansfield man was honored for his service to the United States Navy in the South Pacific.
On February 10, 1943, Bishop entered the Navy at the age of 19. He served as a motor machinist 1st class and served with a dedication that caught the attention of his superiors. “I had six promotions and at the end the Admiral wanted me to stay at the Naval Academy training cadets,” said Bishop. “The Admiral came up and told me, ‘I know where you came from sailor and I know what you went through.’ He got me all my medals. He told me I deserved every medal I had.”
Bishop served his time in the Navy in the South Pacific. During World War II, the ocean was especially an especially important point of conflict as the United States Navy took on the Japanese Imperial Navy. Bishop served on four invasions.
“I was in the engine room and we went with the fleet and saved ships. “The first two weeks in the service, we saved seven destroyers through the Solomon Islands. All together, I served three years and ten days in the service,” said Bishop.
Even though much of his time was spent below deck, Bishop was not shielded from conflict. As a fleet tug, the USS Pawnee was charged with aiding other ships in distress.
“I didn’t see much of the war because I was down in the hole, but I heard it. I had a lot of near experiences with being killed. We couldn’t go with the fleet because we could only go 25 miles per hour top speed, where the fleet could go 35 miles per hour. So, we would tag along and whenever they wanted us they would yell for us. We saved 12 ships that way by pulling them out of battle while they were under attack. One time I looked above me and saw 40 Japanese planes fly above us. I saw a couple ships sink behind us. I saw the whole works,” said Bishop.
“We saved two ships and the Japanese fleet was within 50 miles from us and I had orders with 15 minutes standing by. It took us an entire week to get out of there because we were going five miles an hour. We were pulling the ship behind us. We sent welders back to save people and we were told it was under attack. I came out of the hole and I saw two torpedoes hit the ship. The third time would have sunk the ship. We threw them a line and it took us a week to get it out of the enemy territory. That’s the first time in naval history that ever happened,” said Bishop.
The ship would earn four battle stars for its service during the war. One hundred men served aboard the USS Pawnee.
As a civilian, Bishop worked at two aluminum factories and worked at New York Central. After that, he went to work for Tappan’s in Mansfield for 35 years where he retired from in 1985. Bishop has been married to his wife, Freda, for 64 years. The two of them have nine children with 29 grand children and 18 great grandchildren.
Bishop traveled to Washington D.C with Honor Flight Cleveland in November. He wanted someone to accompany him on the trip. So his grandson, Brian Maurer, who served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps joined him.
The trip did not disappoint.
“There were 25 of us and each of us had a guardian with us. People lined the streets and just waved to us. The Changing of the Guard was the best part at Arlington Cemetery,” said Bishop. “Only the veterans were allowed to go through the gate. We were right up close to the guard change and you could hear a pin drop. It was something to see.”
Even after the group left D.C., the trip had one more special moment. The veterans received a warm welcome upon returning home. “When they came back there was an entire class from St. Mary’s Berea and it was just so sweet,” said Bishop’s daughter Laura Boggs. “Everyone was just there to say thank you. They made signs and it was just so sweet of them. It was really touching to see,” she said.
“I have got a lot of hope in my country, I just love my country,” said Bishop.
