Page 69 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

world war ii
made a lot of
landings ahead
of the troops
being dropped
off. All we had
was a shovel
and a handgun
(.45).” Bill’s
brother, Ellis
“Pete” Boyles,
was also in the
Navy during
WWII and was
a fighter pilot.
Pete was shot
down in the
South Pacific.
Fate intervened, and Bill’s ship was in the
convoy that picked him up. They had quite a
reunion at sea.
The Cleveland sailed to Okinawa in July 1945
and made a series of sweeps against Japanese
shipping to insure Allied control of the East
China Sea. The battle proved to be the last
major one of World War II. It came at a high
cost with over 49,000 American casualties,
including 12,520 killed. Japan suffered even
greater losses as about 110,000 soldiers lost
their lives. They believed it would bring
dishonor to surrender, but the end of
the war finally came in August 1945.
Bill was aboard the Cleveland and noted
that “We had heard some scuttlebutt
and a little about the atomic bomb, but
really wasn’t sure if the war was over.”
Finally, the Cleveland sailed to Japan in
September to support the occupation
effort.
With the war finally over, Bill headed
home on a troop transport. Arriving
Navy
back in San Diego, he was assigned to train
other sailors on the use of ship weapons.
While still in the Navy, he married his high
school sweetheart, Lena Jo, on November
22, 1945. After being discharged on April
16, 1946, Bill returned home to Sudan and
farming. He noted that his dad “had a new
house waiting for him right down the road
from the old homestead.” Bill and Jo raised
four boys together on their farm southwest of
Sudan. They have nine grandchildren and 19
great-grandchildren. Sadly, Jo passed away
on October 13, 2012. Bill and Jo had been
married for 66 years. Bill’s sons encouraged
him to go on the Texas South Plains Honor
Flight which he did in 2013. He enjoyed all of
the memorials and museums and especially
visiting with fellow veterans.
When asked what he would like to be
remembered for, Bill thought for a moment
and said, “That I was a good neighbor and
good to the people I’ve dealt with.” Reflecting
on his long life, Bill said, “When you get past
90, you don’t feel like doing much. You no
longer have the eye of a woman, but you can
think of days gone by and realize how lucky
you have been.”
Lubbock Senior Link 69