From the November 10, 2020, Coloradan '101-year-old Fort Collins veteran remembers escape from ill-fated World War II aircraft carrier' by Kevin Dugan.
Al Oesterle left the U.S. Navy in 1965 after a long career. He is extremely proud of his service, as is his family. But they did not know about one particular harrowing experience Al had until 40 years after it happened.
It was during a 1984 reunion of crew members who served on the USS Princeton (CL-23), a light aircraft carrier that was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf that his wife learned that he may have been the last man to leave the ship before it went down.
Al Oesterle grew up in Joliet, Illinois, and joined the Navy in 1939 at age 20 and also attended the University of Illinois Dental School. He graduated in 1942 and joined the U.S. Navy Dental Corps. After further training, he joined the crew of the USS Princeton.
The Princeton was sent to the Pacific Theater. On October 24, 1944, east of the island of Luzon, a lone Japanese kamikaze emerged from overcast skies and dropped a bomb on the Princeton that penetrated the flight deck and exploded in a hanger bay where planes were being armed with bombs and refueled.
The Worst Time and Worst Place for an Aircraft Carrier to Get Hit. --Old B-Runner
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