By Dara McBride dmcbride@cecilwhig.com
CHESAPEAKE CITY Despite being called the largest naval battle by some historians, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and its significance is understood by only the most serious of World War II buffs.
Now, 70 years later, a remaining few remember being part of the Pacific drama. Chesapeake City resident Joe Gulick is one of them.
A native of Chevy Chase, Gulick signed up to join the service in the summer of 1942 at age 20. During the war, he served in the Coast Guard on the Navy ship the USS El Paso. The 304-foot frigate participated in nearly a dozen strikes in its one year of Pacific combat duty.
Most people in the U.S. had never heard of the places we were, said Gulick, admitting that many of the places he went during the war were new to him as well.
Today, he said he wishes people were more aware of what happened in the Pacific during WWII. While in the service, Gulick remembered passing time with his shipmates, photographing ship life and crafting jewelry out of Philippine coins.
People ask what it was like. Ninety-nine percent of the time it was boring as hell. One percent of the time it was pure terror, Gulick said.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was part of the 1 percent.
As an electronics technician first class, Gulick worked with radar and radio equipment. The El Passo served in the Leyte operation in the Philippine Islands from Oct. 23 to Nov. 5, 1944. The El Paso was taking in a convoy when all hell broke loose, Gulick recalled.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an aerial and naval battle conducted as the U.S. and its allies invaded the Philippines. The resulting military engagement resulted in heavy losses for Japan, including four aircraft carriers, three battleships and more than 10,500 sailors. The Japanese fleet would not play a major role in the remainder of WWII.
Gulick remembers his ship being assaulted by Japanese planes. The planes flew low to the mountains so they couldnt be picked up on radar. From his station, Gulick saw one plane approach the ship as a blip on his radar screen before being shot down.
I was watching the radar screen. The spots here, here, here every time it went around it was closer. It got very close, Gulick said.
At the time, Gulick said he didnt understand the significance of the battle.
We didnt know for several days how big the battle had been, Gulick said.
In the early 1990s, author and military historian Thomas J. Cutler published a book on Leyte Gulf, of which Gulick received a signed copy. Gulick said reading the book helped him better understand what happened and why.
Although a pivotal moment in the war, Leyte Gulf was eclipsed by other moments like Normandy and the Battle of Midway in importance. This was in part because of when it occurred, explains Cutler. He writes, the Battle of Leyte Gulf happened when most of America had accepted ultimate victory as merely a matter of time rather than as a debatable question.
In the decades following the war, Gulick kept in touch with his former shipmates and helped organize reunions. The last reunion happened about 10 years ago. Only four people from his ship attended, he said. Gulick said that he is now the only living member.
At his home in Chesapeake City, Gulick has a small collection of memorabilia from his time aboard the El Paso.
Gulick captured life in battle and on the ship in about 100 photographs he took while on duty. After receiving a Brownie camera as a youngster, Gulick became interested in photography and pursued the hobby throughout his life. Aboard the El Paso, cameras were not allowed. Gulick brought his Agfa B2 Speedex anyway. He had an understanding with some of the officers and was able to develop photos on the sly.
Included in his personal photo collection are images from his shellback ceremony, the morale boosting initiation rite sailors go through when they cross the Equator.
Stationed 60 miles from the Equator, the weather was unlike any Gulick and his shipmates had experienced before.
There is no fall or winter or summer. Its hot all the time, he recalled.
Since it was part of his job to decode messages, he was among the first to hear the El Paso would be heading home. He returned for Valentines Day 1945 and met his daughter for the first time.
Following the war, Gulick returned to a job at Westinghouse Electric. When he learned of the GI Bill in 1946, he headed to the University of Maryland and earned an engineering degree. As part of his engineering career, he designed radio antennas for Radio Free Europe. During the Vietnam War, he flew on an intelligence-gathering plane for the purpose of measuring enemy radar to design anti-radar missiles. He was awarded numerous patents for designing missiles for the Navy that changed the Talos missile guidance system.
He and wife, Norma, who became known internationally as a painter, moved to Cecil County part-time in 1973. He is now a permanent resident and marked 71 years of marriage to Norma before her death in January.
Although he doesnt like to think about the war, Gulick said he is reminded of it every day. He said it is a shame that younger generations do not have a better grasp of WWII history.
I would like people to have a greater appreciation, said Gulick.
While not the first family member to join the military Gulick said his relatives served in the Civil War and World War I Gulick is also not the last. His family members have served in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, and even the Israeli Army.
Whenever he goes out, he wears a El Paso baseball cap decorated with service pins. The hat is so worn he recently purchased a new one. He said he is appreciative of strangers who see his hat and thank him for his service:
Im proud that I was in the service.
