World War II Honoree

William Pine 'Bill' Neally

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Trenton, Missouri

Honored By

Beverly Crawford

Relationship

Niece

Joined the Navy in 1944. He went to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. After boot camp, he was sent directly to Pearl Harbor, arriving shortly after it had been bombed by the Japanese. He departed for the war as Seaman, First Class, gunman on a small ship (LST-268). This ship went directly to the South Pacific. He transported troops to shore in a landing craft and picked up the wounded and dead. He was in five invasions during WWII: Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, Luzon, and Okinawa. On August 6th and 9th, 1945, he witnessed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. His ship was close enough to view, but out of harm’s way. Later, he was promoted to a Boatswain’s Mate First Class. He was responsible for the forward half of the ship, gun mounts and training. He was also in charge of anchoring the ship when it went into port. WWII Medals received: Asiatic-Pacific THEATER medal with 5 stars, American THEATER Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 star, WWII Victory Medal, AND Philippine Independence Medal.