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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2017)
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon EMMARSON: Veteran lost close friend during war Continued from page 1 Island, among other duties, and returning to Pearl Harbor on Saturday, December 6, to refit and refuel. The Selfridge was parked alongside a fuel- oil barge in the harbor. Emmarson, like so many others, had gone ashore Saturday evening to enjoy the local flavors, and was sleep- ing in on Sunday morning when the Japanese attacked. Marvin recalls hearing an explosion, followed shortly by the call for General Quarters. Still half asleep, he ran briefly topside where he saw a Japanese Zero fighter plane flying into the harbor on a low-level run. “I didn’t know what was going on,” Emmarson told The Nugget. After seeing the Zero, he ran belowdecks to his General Quarters station in the Selfridge’s fire room — where he and others made steam for the ship’s engines — and saw no more of the battle raging all around him, which cost the lives of 2,403 servicemen, and injured 1,178 more. History records that the USS Selfridge’s guns were firing within five minutes of the Japanese attack, and by 1300 hours, manned by a mixed crew, the ship was underway. Marvin recalls that they were sent out from Oahu to find the carriers from which the Japanese attack waves had launched. “We were lucky we couldn’t find them,” he said. “They would have wiped us out.” After several other mis- sions, including an aborted attempt to reinforce the beleaguered Marines on Wake Island, Emmarson and his shipmates were ulti- mately involved in the inva- sion of Guadalcanal, a piv- otal battle in the war. Marvin recalls that “We escorted these Marines in. I’d see them going ashore in their landing barges, and then the barges came back and they (the casualties) were stacked in there like cordwood. Those goddamn Marines were just tougher than hell. We would go along and fire five-inch shells and try to kill the Japanese, but we didn’t get very many of them.” E m m a r s o n ’s ser - vice included many other engagements. In October of 1942, Emmarson was on board the Selfridge during the battle of Vella La Vella. Having intercepted a convoy of six Japanese destroyers, trans- ports, and smaller craft, the Selfridge was hit by a tor- pedo that essentially cut the ship in half. In the fight, the Selfridge lost 13 sailors killed, 11 wounded, and 36 A Partnership Beyond Your Expectations Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. 220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180 missing in action. Among the dead was Emmarson’s friend Owen Bauserman. “We were very good friends,” Marvin said, “like brothers.” Marvin remembers the impact of the torpedo caus- ing the ship to list severely, in danger of sinking, until it was ultimately righted. After a patch repair at a small dry- dock on Guadalcanal, Marvin and his shipmates rode the ship — without a bow — 7,000 miles across the ocean to Mare Island in California, where it was ultimately repaired and retrofitted. U l t i m a t e l y, the Selfridge was sent to the Mediterranean, where Emmarson and his shipmates conducted patrols off the shores of North Africa and Italy. After duty on several other ships, Marvin was hon- orably discharged from the Navy in 1947. “I don’t have much to say about myself,” Marvin told The Nugget about his service. “It’s all the rest of the guys. I didn’t do any more than any- one else. I was just lucky to survive.” After the war, Marvin returned to Portland where he worked for Western Electric, and ultimately Techtronics Industries, where he helped build oscilloscopes and other technological devices. Marvin married his wife, Marge, in 1986, and after many years of traveling between Yuma, Arizona, and Sisters, the couple settled in Sisters to be closer to their family, which includes Marge’s son John Tehan; g r a n d c h i l d r e n A u d r e y, Hattie, and JC; and daughter- in-law Peggy Tehan. Emmarson’s service to his country, and his shipmates, was extraordinary. But a man is always more than his ser- vice record. John Tehan told The Nugget: “Marv treats my mom like every son wants his mom to be treated, and only a son can say that.” 29 MEMORIAL DAY: Observance will be followed by gathering Continued from page 1 to join the Air Force. Meeker’s last assignment, before retiring, was serv- ing as the vice commander of the USAF Expeditionary Center where, for a year, she was the second in charge of a 14,000-person organization supporting air forces around the world. Another yearlong position was as the senior special assistant to the com- mander of NATO and the European Command. The ceremony will be fol- lowed by a barbecue at noon with burgers, soda, and coffee ($5 suggested donation). The public is welcome. CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS John P. Pierce 541-549-9764 CCB# 159020 CCB# 16891 Becke W. P ierce Arne J. P ierce General Contracting LLC 541-647-0384 General Contracting LLC 541-668-0883 CCB# 190689 CCB# 208020 Serving the Sisters Area Since 1976 Strictly Quality HOWELLS REALTY GROUP Phil Arends 541-420-9997 phil@blackbutte.com PEAK PROPERTIES PARTNERSHIP Black Butte Ranch, Sisters Area, and Central Oregon www.realestateinsisters.com | Dick Howells 541-408-6818 rahowells@blackbutte.com 220 S. 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