WWII (1943-46)

I am writing to you because two very important people in my life are connected with the USS KIDD. They were in the Navy during WWII: my grandfather, David Bruce Myles, Sr. (who served aboard the KIDD), and my great-uncle, John O’Brien (who served aboard one of the KIDD’s squadron mates). My grandfather always has a new story to tell about his days on the ship. He has a purple heart and many other war medals and he’ll sit you down and talk for hours about them all. He was blown through a hatch when the ship was hit by the kamikaze. Anyway, I thought I would share with you my favorite story of his. My grandfather met my great-uncle during the war and they became fast friends, realizing that their homes were only a few towns from each other. My grandfather saw a picture of my grandmother in my uncle’s footlocker aboard his ship and was immediately in love with her. He asked my uncle who that beautiful woman was and my uncle told him, “My sister. Why?” My grandfather said, “If we make it through this war, when we get home, I’m going to marry that woman!” And he did! He started to write to my grandmother during the war and after he was back, he went to meet her and later married her. They have been together ever since and are still as much in love today as they were then. I admire them and their love for each other and it was the USS KIDD that brought them together. I hope that you enjoyed my story. I have a big picture of the whole crew on the ship in my home. Hopefully, soon, I will make it over there to see it.”