Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Sixth-graders at Presque Isle Middle School got to hear some war stories firsthand Nov. 7 from World War II veteran Ed Hendrickson.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
ED HENDRICKSON, a World War II veteran, spoke to sixth-graders at Presque Isle Middle School Nov. 7. Hendrickson told a number of interesting stories from his time in the U.S. Navy where he was a dive-bomber pilot flying SB2C Helldivers. Here, the Brewer resident shows the students a model of the plane he flew. Hendrickson’s visit was part of a Veterans Day unit the sixth-graders recently completed. His daughter-in-law, Elaine, is a sixth-grade science teacher at the school.
Hendrickson’s visit was part of a Veterans Day unit the students recently completed. His daughter-in-law, Elaine, is a sixth-grade science teacher at the school.
With some personal memorabilia flanking the auditorium stage, Hendrickson told the students that he always wanted to fly.
“I got my pilot’s license in 1940,” he said, “and was sworn into the U.S. Navy May 23, 1942.”
Hendrickson went into the Navy’s active training program Oct. 1, 1942, which was followed by the primary training program.
“I was sent to Michigan where I learned how to land on an aircraft carrier,” said Hendrickson, noting that his very first landing on an old cruise ship that was taken over by the Navy for learning purposes was not a success. “I went over the side of the carrier upside-down. It was late November and the water was very cold.
“I was only in the water for about 10 minutes,” he said. “The only thing I could think of was the $600 I had in a money belt and who was going to get that if I didn’t get out of the water.”
Hendrickson’s plane was pulled from Lake Michigan in 1991 and is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.
In World War II, Hendrickson was a dive-bomber pilot flying SB2C Helldivers.
“I spent about 800 or 900 hours in that plane,” he said. “I loved that little devil. When we dove, we dove at a constant speed of 320 mph. We would drop down to 1,000 feet, drop the bomb, and get out of there. I remember once the fog came in. It was so thick that I had to fly right close to the water. I had to watch the waves because we didn’t have modern instruments like they do today. I was always fortunate and always got back safely.”
Hendrickson told the students about the time he was on anti-sub patrol and returning back to the fleet when he spotted a plane with a big, red circle on the side of it.
“This was the Japanese insignia,” he said. “The pilot of the plane saw me and nosed down. At that time, I gave my plane full power, turned on my guns, gun sight and my gun camera. I eventually caught up with him and shot him down.”
During Hendrickson’s presentation, he spoke of a couple close calls he encountered in the war.
“On Nov. 11, 1944, I took off for the Philippine Islands and an enemy aircraft blew a hole in my wing,” he said. “It was the closest I came to being killed. I had 200 miles left to fly back to the ship, and had to land on one wheel.
“After I got out of the plane,” said Hendrickson, “they took the gun camera out of the plane and pushed the plane overboard.”
Another memorable encounter came Jan. 21, 1945 when the ship Hendrickson was on was “hit by a kamikaze pilot.”
“Everything shook wildly,” he said. “We couldn’t get out one door because it was too hot, so we had to go out another door. A while later we got hit by another kamikaze. We eventually got the ship back to land, it got fixed, and went out again.”
Admitting that Americans had hate for the Japanese, Hendrickson said he had no regrets fighting in the war.
“War is not good, but we had no choice but to fight,” he said. “It felt good, however, knowing we were doing something for our country, plus we helped liberate the Philippine Islands.”
Elaine Hendrickson said she knew her father-in-law’s visit would serve her students well.
“I remember when I was first married there was a picture of him up in the camp where we visited that had him in the cockpit of his plane,” she said. “He really hasn’t talked much about it; I’ve heard more stories today than I’ve heard before.
“I was very happy that he agreed to come up and speak and share his experiences,” said Hendrickson. “I don’t think my students can understand today why people would kill other people, and I think he made it ultimately clear that it was a sacrifice that they were making because they believed in the freedom of our country. I hope the students take that away with them – that we are protecting our country and that our country is something special.”
The students were very interested in what Hendrickson had to say.
“I thought he was very brave to go out there and do everything that he did,” said sixth-grader Lee Ireland. “I thought it was cool how he took down that Japanese plane. It was a very good presentation. I liked it.”
“I thought it was really interesting about how he had to land on one wheel with a hole in his wing,” said student Chris Carroll, whose cousin served in Iraq. “I think it’s really important to honor our veterans who have fought for us and our freedom. It’s also important to honor those who are fighting now in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Both of Brady Sullivan’s grandfathers served in World War II.
“One actually used to be on a carrier,” he said, “so I could relate to what Mr. Hendrickson talked about. I learned a lot from his presentation. For example, I didn’t really know that dive-bombers went so high and came down so quickly. I also didn’t know that they could actually shoot other planes and had guns on them.”
Hendrickson said he enjoyed speaking with the students.
“The kids were great. I was nervous; I had been up several nights thinking about what I was going to say,” he said. “This was the first time I’ve ever spoken to a group of students. They were very attentive and respectful. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Hendrickson was discharged from the Navy in December 1945, but stayed in the Reserves until 1949.
A resident of Brewer, Hendrickson is the former dean of students at Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute. He also taught school in East Millinocket.
