Paul Bierie - Navy

Paul’s niece, Kristie Benzine, shared notes Paul prepared when he was interviewed for the Voices of Iowa project by the Five Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum (Grout Museum District) in Waterloo, Iowa.

View of short clip of Paul’s interview: www.groutmuseumdistrict.org/voices-of-iowa/detail/72308/Paul-Bierie/

This is searchable by name or town: www.groutmuseumdistrict.org/voices-of-iowa/

https://iowaveterans.uni.edu/oral-histories

Paul Bierie - Mabel Youngblut’s WWII scrapbook: allaboutoran.com/paul-bierie

Paul was aboard the USS Bunker Hill when it was attacked. The Bunker Hill was serving as Admiral Mitscher's flagship (description in comments) when she was attacked off Okinawa on May 11, 1945. It was attacked by 3 Jap Kamikaze suicide planes. Two dropped 500# bombs before crashing into the Bunker Hill. The third was shot down and exploded in the sea. The suicide planes crashed into 34 planes parked on the deck and set them on fire.

The Japanese lost 3 planes and six Japs. We lost 373 heroes, 19 missing and 264 wounded. The Bunker Hill's airborne planes were ordered to land on other carriers. The story was reported in newspapers across the United States.

The Bunker Hill had been in action for 58 consecutive days and nights when it was hit. Planes on the Bunker Hill were supporting American ground forces on Okinawa. The Bunker Hill moved into the Pacific in the fall of 1943 and participated in every major carrier strike. During that period her planes destroyed 162,000 tons of enemy shipping, probably sunk 253,975 and damage 454,075 ton.

Information from Austin American-Statesman Newspaper - June 28, 1945. Austin, Texas

Provided by Kristie Benzine