WW II : OKINAWA - 1945

“An account of a small ship’s actions in the last
big naval battle of the war.”

by
Ralph Harris
January 2006
Revised May 2007

Acknowledgements:
 In 1991 the first reunion of the men who served together aboard the USS Pavlic took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Most of the men who served together on the Pavlic came home in the Spring 1946.  Although a few kept in touch, the majority of them did not see each other again for the next 45 years.  They had returned to their home towns, got jobs, went to school on the G.I. bill, married, and raised their children.  Around retirement, several of them decided it would be a good idea to try to organize a Pavlic Reunion Association.  Arlyn Brockmeyer was the spark plug for the first reunion, with a lot of help from Jack Boland, Quint Weaver, and others.   Unable to find me when they first started meeting, they concluded I had died sometime after the war.   Finally, in 1994, thanks to the recollection of Martin Miller that I had attended Harvard, Jack Boland tracked me down through alumni records.   All were pleased I was still among the living, especially me. I attended the reunion that year in Charleston, SC and got to see 34 of my old crewmates.  I have attended most of the annual reunions ever since.  It’s been a pleasure to share memories of our time together on shipboard, and to discuss the events in our lives since that time.   

In preparing this account of the USS Pavlic and her crew, I am very much indebted to others who have contributed significantly.  Jack Boland, Communications Officer, wrote an excellent booklet in October 1993,  Assignment Okinawa, The War Cruise of the USS Pavlic APD-70.  It was a valuable resource for me in writing this booklet.  All photos in the album were provided by Lt. George Miller, a gunnery office who had charge of the ship’s camera, and the ship’s photographer, Clark Clugston, a machinist’s mate on the Pavlic.  Some maps, and photos of other ships in the text were obtained from internet sites.  The deck log was obtained from the U.S. National Archives which helped me better define when and where things happened. 

Ralph Harris