JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We're proud to share the Stories of Service of the brave men and women of our armed forced. In this week's Stories of Service we meet a World War II Navy veteran who is alive today because of one of the most destructive weapons ever used.
80 years after he joined the Navy, Edward Desmond visited Jacksonville as part of a tour of sailors who served on landing craft support ships. Years after he served our country he remains extremely proud to be a veteran.
"Oh, it means a lot because if it wasn't for me you would have had to learn Japanese or German," said Desmond.
On this day he and his family are visiting the veteran's memorial wall; a monument that would have had many more names on it if not for what he and his fellow sailors were told on August 6th, 1945.
"We found out they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima," recalled Desmond.
That day changed the course of the war and of Desmond's life.
"We were down in the Philippine Islands and ships as far as the eye could see getting ready for the invasion of Japan, which I wouldn't be here today because I would have been in the first wave going in, cannon fodder," said Desmond.
Edward Desmond isn't the only person grateful that he didn't die during the invasion of Japan. His children and grandchildren, who joined him on this tour, wouldn't have ever been born had history not changed course that day.
"The guy upstairs must have held me in the palm of his hand to get me through all of these skirmishes or whatever you want to call them," said Desmond, "here I am today."
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs less than 1% of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are still alive and an estimated 100 of them die every day. We're grateful for their service and proud to hear their stories.
If you have a Story of Service that you would like us to profile please send us an email to storiesofservice@firstcoastnews.com.