D. Kenneth Shelledy: WWII Memories of the Pacific

On Sunday, June 21, at 1:30 p.m., Dover Historical Society will welcome Joan and Jim Shelledy. The program will be held at the Dover Museum, 213 Main Street, New London. Heritage Center Museum, 403 West Madison Street, Mount Pleasant.

These children of Kenneth Shelledy will present information from letters saved by the family. Some are letters from Kenneth while he served and some are to Kenneth from the family as he deployed to the Pacific during the war. As Joan and Jim present their memories they also plan to share scrapbooks, medals and pictures.

He was inducted into the Army at Fort Des Moines, Iowa on March 11, 1942, Basic training was held at Camp Callan, California from March 17 to May 25, 1942. Subsequently he served in the Coast Artillery in Oahu, Hawaii from June 16, 1942 to July 16, 1943. He returned stateside and Cadet Training continued at Sheppard Field, Texas; Hastings, Nebraska; Santa Ana Army Air Base, California; San Marcos Army Air Field, Texas; and Muroc Army Air Field, California. These assignments lasted from Aug. 24, 1943 to October, 1944. Kenneth then navigated the Pacific from October 1944 until V-J Day Sept. 2, 1945. His homeward bound journey began in Manila, Philippines Sept. 15, and he was onboard the S.S. Robin Wentley for about three weeks. He received his separation orders at Fort Leavenworth on Nov. 5, 1945 and arrived home at last on November 6.

Serving as a navigator in the Army Air Corp, his plane went down. Some of the crew were lost but he survived. Ana Lair, niece, commented, “We are all thankful he survived and eventually came back home to the family farm north of New London.”

Plan to spend some time visiting with the presenters and viewing some of the artifacts on display at Dover.