This past Saturday, I attended the 2nd Annual Fox Lake American Legion Meet-A-Vet event.
I spoke at length with Mr. Al Zelent, who was aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton CVL 23, when it was sunk by Japanese bombs at the Battle of the Philippines.
The Princeton was one of the famed "Nine Sisters" which were cruisers converted into aircraft carriers.
He enlisted in the Navy in September 1943 and received his training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. he was assigned to the Princeton and participated in seven major battles in the Pacific, until his ship was sunk by a Japanese bomb. He and other sailors spent several hours in the water before they were rescued by destroyers.
Then, it was to Pearl Harbor for 30 days of survival leave and then to San Diego where he served until the end of the war.
More to Come. --Cooter
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