|
|
|
||||||||
|
ORVILLE ETHIER, 82, WITNESSED WWII START
Orville Ethier was 22 years old when World War II began right before his eyes. Ethier was aboard the USS Ward the morning of December 7, 1941, when a two-man Japanese sub appeared in the waters near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward fired two shots, one striking and sinking the sub. They were the first American shots of World War II, and they helped shape the rest of Ethier’s life. He died following open heart surgery on April 20, 2004, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul. He was 82.
The exploits of the Ward, which was manned by 82 Navy reservists from St. Paul, were never far from Ethier’s mind. He became President of the First Shot Naval Vets and served as a spokesman for the crew of the Ward. “He traveled all over the country and around the world giving presentations about Pearl Harbor and the Ward’s part in it,” said one of Ethier’s sons, Philip. The group has held frequent meetings over the years and helped bring the gun from the Ward to St. Paul in 1958. It sits on the State Capitol grounds next to the Veterans Service Building.
After firing on the sub, the commander of the Ward sent this message to military headquarters in Honolulu. “We have attacked, fired upon and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area.” The message, sent more than an hour before the 8 AM attack on Pearl Harbor, went unheeded.
Ethier returned to St. Paul after the war and was called back to active duty during the Korean War. A steamfitter by trade, he served 30 years as a gas inspector for the City of St. Paul and retired in 1980.
Although the Ward was credited with firing the first two American shots, there were those who doubted the sub was sunk. For more than 60 years, efforts to locate the sub were unsuccessful. Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic in 1985 and John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 in 2002, tried and failed to find the Japanese sub. Then in the summer of 2002, the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory located the sub 1200 feet under the sea. The sub had shell damage in its conning tower. The news spread like wildfire among the crew of the Ward, the 20 or so men still alive after so many years.
Philip Ethier recalls the moment his father received the word. “He got a phone call – ‘Orv, they found the sub,’” Philip Ethier said. “He was elated.” “There were some people on the national scene who had kinda always doubted the Ward’s story,” Philip Ethier said. “When they actually found the sub and there was that hole in the conning tower, it put the finality of proof on the story.” “We’d been telling them that for 60 years, and now they know it,” Orville Ethier said in a 2002 interview after the sub was found.
Ethier is survived by his wife, Patricia, two sons, Steven and Philip, both of St. Paul; sisters Elaine Paar and Beulah Bicha, both of White Bear Lake; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Visitation is 9 AM Friday at St. Pascal’s Church, 1757 Conway in St. Paul, with Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 AM. A private burial will be at Fort Snelling Cemetery.
(Article written by Bill Gardner, St. Paul Pioneer Press, April 22, 2004)
NOTE: The Minnesota State Senate passed a resolution April 29, 2004, to commemorate the life of Orville Ethier, a Navy Reserve Veteran from the East Side of St. Paul who was on board the USS Ward when it fired the first shots of World War II at Pearl Harbor. The
Resolution honoring Ethier is authored by Senator Mee Moua, (DFL-St. Paul), Senator Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing) and Senator Jim Vickerman (DFL-Tracy). “We must never forget the contributions of veterans like Orville Ethier who risked their lives to protect our nation and preserve our many freedoms,” said Moua. “Ethier played an extraordinary role – a history-altering role – in the life of our nation.” Senator Murphy said Ethier’s service went well beyond the unique role he played on board the USS Ward.
Senator Vickerman, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming Committee, said Ethier’s service didn’t end with World War II. Ethier returned home from his World War II rotation, but was later called p to active duty during the Korean War. “The Senate Resolution honors the life and work of this man, who was a genuine patriot,” said Vickerman. “He served his country well, both as a military man and as a civilian who devoted his life to educating others about the historic events in which he played a pivotal role in the first days of our nation’s involvement in World War II.”
|
||
|
Click Here to Return to Actual Experiences
|
||
| page created with Easy Designer |