textgroomsdonaldloren1942.html

North High School Wall of Honor
Donald Loren Grooms
Graduated in January, 1942

Research done by Claradell Shedd, class of 1953. PAGE IN PROGRESS

Donald Loren Grooms

Donald Loren Grooms graduated from North High in the January, 1942 class. Don enlisted in the US Navy in Des Moines, IA. His next of kin was shown as Paul O. Grooms, 1238 15th Street Place, Des Moines, IA. His service number was _________.

Donald Loren Grooms

Year	x	Rank/Event	x	Status

January, 1942	x	Graduated	x	Graduated from North High School.
date	x	Enlisted US Navy	x	Enlisted in Des Moines, IA. (He was 17).
date	x	US Navy	x	Two months of Boot Training at Great Lakes, IL.
date	x	US Navy	x	To Norfolk, VA.
1942	x	Stationed	x	Assigned to *USS Intrepid (CV-11)
date	x	Stationed	x	Assigned to USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class (AD1). *Bombing Squadron 8.
Dec.,1945	x	US Navy/ Discharged	x	Discharged at Great Lakes, IL
date	x	Civilian	x	Where and doing what?
date	x	Retired	x	Where and doing what?


USS Intrepid (CV-11)	USS Intrepid Patch


USS Bunker Hill Patch	USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)

USS Bunker Hill; CV-17 Awards, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Presidential Unit Citation / American Campaign Medal / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (11 stars)
2nd Row: World War II Victory Medal / Philippine Presidential Unit Citation / Philippine Liberation Medal

*USS Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11)
also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she served mainly in the Atlantic, but also participated in the Vietnam War. Her notable achievements include being the first US aircraft carrier to launch aircraft with steam catapults, and being the recovery ship for a Mercury and a Gemini space mission. Because of her prominent role in battle, she was nicknamed "the Fighting I", while her often ill-luck and the time spent in dry dock for repairs earned her the nickname "the Dry I".

3 December 1943: Intrepid sailed from Naval Station Norfolk for San Francisco, then to Hawaii.

**USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)
USS Bunker Hill (CV/CVA/CVS-17, AVT-9) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the second US Navy ship to bear the name, was named for the Battle of Bunker Hill. Bunker Hill was commissioned in May 1943, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning eleven battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. Bunker Hill was sometimes known as the "Holiday Express" for her many attacks launched around the end of the year[citation needed]. She was badly damaged in May 1945 by Japanese kamikaze attacks, with the loss of hundreds of her crew, becoming one of the most heavily damaged carriers to survive the war.

After the attack she returned to the U.S. mainland for repairs and was decommissioned in 1947.

***8th Bombing Squadron
It flew Antisubmarine patrols from, December 1941-January 1942 before going into combat in Southwest and Western Pacific from, 1 April 1942 – 29 July 1942 and 24 May 1943-12 August 1945.

Donald Loren Grooms Aviation Machinist's Mate 1C US Navy

References

(1) The World War II Army Enlistment Records contain information on more than nine million indivdual enlistments. These records can be found online at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. Donald Loren Grooms's 1942 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1942(1987.45).html.

12/05/10. Living in OH.

Music: "Anchors Aweigh" by the U.S. Navy Band