A story in the Billings Gazette (Casper, Wyoming) by Tom Morton observes that a veteran of the battleship that bore the State of Wyoming’s name came close to never talking about it.
After joining the U.S. Navy in 1943, John A. Winters was assigned to a destroyer with submarine chasers based in Norfolk, Virginia.
While waiting in an office, a full commander told him the destroyer had been sunk by a German submarine about 50 miles east of Norfolk.
Boy, that was close to home!
“If I’d been on it, I would have been gone — boom,” Winters said, pictured studying a model of the USS Wyoming BB-32 at the Casper Events Center.
After that narrow escape, he served on the training ship Wyoming.
He came to Casper from his home in Bowling Green, Ohio, via Dallas to give the city his scrapbook of news stories, letters, photos and other memorabilia related to the ship.
Vice Mayor Kenyne Schlager formally accepted the collection.
“The city is honored to accept this scrapbook,”Schlager said.
While waiting in an office, a full commander told him the destroyer had been sunk by a German submarine about 50 miles east of Norfolk.
Boy, that was close to home!
“If I’d been on it, I would have been gone — boom,” Winters said, pictured studying a model of the USS Wyoming BB-32 at the Casper Events Center.
After that narrow escape, he served on the training ship Wyoming.
He came to Casper from his home in Bowling Green, Ohio, via Dallas to give the city his scrapbook of news stories, letters, photos and other memorabilia related to the ship.
Vice Mayor Kenyne Schlager formally accepted the collection.
“The city is honored to accept this scrapbook,”Schlager said.
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