Veteran Salute: Aiding the Navy at the tail end of WWII

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – Growing up in small town Kansas, Seaman First Class Don Winchell would serve around the planet with the Navy. He ended up having a front row seat to the end of World War II.

Joining the service in the final year of the war, Winchell was looking to make a difference however he could.

“I was living at Linn Kansas,” Winchell said. “It was in a high school class of 22 total students, and three of us decided we wanted to aid the war effort, so we joined the Navy. None of the three of us had never seen a ship, nor have we seen the ocean.”

Serving in the Manila Bay area of the Philippines, Winchell worked on a boat repair base as a deckhand.

“We lifted up a lot of different kinds of boats,” He said. “Mostly I would say they were LCVP, that was short term for landing craft vehicle personnel. It was a good little landing craft, but it was manufactured with steel bottom but the bulkhead was plywood so if you get into a rough situation with a rough sea why they got holes poked into em quite often. We could pick those up, patch up the holes, get em a couple coats of paint and they’d be good to go again.”

Keeping those boats operational took diligence around the clock.

“I remember one night somebody run something into a boat,” Winchell said, “it knocked a hole in it and it was going to sink. So they got us up in the middle of the night, we went down and of course we skinny dipped into the water about three of us. We had an unusual skid for that particular boat, but we got it, saved it from sinking anyway.”

Even after all these years post service, the 97-year-old still takes great pride having served during such a pivotal conflict.

“I’ve always been proud of the fact that I was able to serve in World War II,” Winchell said, “I’ve always been proud of that, and still am today.”

Through the GI Bill, Winchell went on to barber college after his time at sea came to an end. He opened his own barbershop in Horton, and barbered in that community for nearly 50 years.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.