Local vet stationed at Pearl Harbor

Though sailor Edward Yost and his ship, the USS Kaskaskia, technically were stationed in Pearl Harbor, he and the vessel weren't there when Japanese planes attacked the port Dec. 7, 1941, throwing the United States into World War II.

Not being there was by design. The USS Kaskaskia served as a refueling ship, making it especially vulnerable to any sort of attack. As a result, Yost said he and the rest of his U.S. Navy mates always were on the move and never stayed overnight ashore in one place.

"We stayed out at sea because the enemy hunted for our ship carrying all that fuel," he said. "It would take just one blow to blow it all to kingdom come."

Yost and other veterans from World War II to the recent global war on terror will be honored at noon Saturday at the VFW Post 2528 at 105 E. Main St. in Tucumcari. Organizers call it a "Welcome Home Veterans/Pearl Harbor Day" event, with New Mexico National Guard Brig. Gen. Miguel Aguilar as guest speaker.

"We want to honor all veterans, especially Mr. Yost," said Noreen Hendrickson, treasurer of the VFW Auxiliary. "We don't have a lot of World War II veterans left, and we're treasuring the ones we have."

Yost, who owns the Center Gift & Frame Shop in downtown Tucumcari, said he's 94 years old and will turn 95 later this month. He said his memory is "darn near shot."

But memories kept flooding back when asked about his wartime experiences.

According to his recollection, he and his ship were at sea during the surprise Pearl Harbor attack. The USS Kaskaskia Reunion Association website states the ship was in San Francisco at the time, probably as part of its refueling duties up and down the West Coast. Regardless, the vessel was hundreds of miles from Honolulu.

Yost recalled what he saw when the USS Kaskaskia finally steamed into Pearl Harbor after the attack.

"It was tore all to hell," he said. "It was tough. I saw ships tied up that sank right there (in the harbor)."

Yost and the USS Kaskaskia delivered fuel and oil all over the Pacific Ocean, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to hot-spot campaigns such as Okinawa, Saipan and the Philippines.

"We were just about every place you could get," he said.

Yost said his ship carried 250,000 gallons of high-octane fuel for planes. He remembered once looking across the bow and seeing fumes wafting from the bulk tanks that contained the fuel. Nobody smoked cigarettes or cigars aboard the ship for that reason.

Because it was such a target, the USS Kaskaskia usually had military escorts.

Yost said he never saw any combat.

"We had to avoid it because with all the fuel we carried - and they hunted for us - if they hit you one time, they'd never find you," he said. "We had to stay out of the range of ships that could sink us.

"You worried about it all the time, but it was just something you had to do," he said about the possibility of attacks. "You were there. What were you going to do?"

The only so-called "war wound" Yost suffered was when he bumped his head against the wall of the ship in rough seas. The blow was hard enough that it bled, and he had to be checked by a doctor.

"I banged my head pretty good," he said.

Once in a while, the captains would stop the ship in the middle of the ocean and give the crew a quick break.

"They'd let us go overboard and swim so you'd take your mind off it," he said. "Then we'd be back and going again."

One indelible memory for Yost was his duties after the bulk tanks were emptied.

"The worst thing I remember was cleaning those damned tanks," he said. "We had to go down into those tanks with ladders and hand-scrub them. The smell would get to you. We couldn't stay in there more than 30 minutes at a time. Then they would change the crew to go in. It was sickening to smell that stuff. You don't know how many times I've thought of that."

Yost said he's rarely talked about his military experiences. He said he never has attended a ceremony that honored veterans.

He scoffed at the notion that he was a hero for serving a vital role during the war.

"We didn't look at ourselves as heroes," he said. "We shouldn't be honored more than anyone else."