Superior
Superior man sees Pearl Harbor aftermath
By By Emily Thornton - Mineral Independent
Dec 8, 2005, 12:07

Adolph “Rocky” Jensen, 91, said he never thought he would see the things he did. In 1941, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was sent to Pearl Harbor right after the Japanese bombed it on Dec. 7, a day that then President Franklin D. Roosevelt said would “live in infamy.”

“It wasn’t a very good sight to see,” Jensen said, not elaborating any further about the damage the Japanese had inflicted on the U.S. military bases on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor, a large U.S. Navy base, was the primary target. Enemy aircraft mostly zeroed on “Battleship Row” where the Navy had its large warships docked on Ford Island. The attack on Pearl Harbor launched the United States into World War II.

Born in Wisconsin, Jensen was one of seven children and grew up learning Danish since his parents were from the Old Country, he said. The knowledge of the language helped him learn German when he was later sent to Germany during the war, he added.

The year Pearl Harbor met its fate was also the year Jensen entered the Army. “We were the first to go over there,” he said. It was a matter of a few days after he finished boot camp when he and between 200 and 300 other soldiers boarded a ship for Hawaii, he added. Jensen said he could not remember what type of boat he was on, but remembered they were not allowed to have weapons.

A narrow escape from a Japanese torpedo did stick out in Jensen’s mind, he said. Although he did not lay eyes on it himself, word got around on the ship after someone on board saw it, he said.

After landing in Pearl Harbor, Jensen said he immediately was sent to work as a chauffeur for officers. Although he said he could not remember where he was stationed, he said he drove a jeep all over the island of Oahu, depending where his passengers wanted to go. It was a job he said he did not mind too much since the higher-ranking people treated him nicely. “They always brought out a drink or a meal,” he said.

One day while working on one of the vehicles, Jensen said he was strafed, except without any guns. “Red Check Charlie,” as everyone called him, liked to fly as low as possible over his fellow soldiers in hopes of scaring them, Jensen said. This time, however, Jensen said he was struck by the radiator falling out of the engine that he was underneath.

The Purple Heart was offered to him for that injury, which he said only resulted in a scrape and made him a little dizzy, so he refused it, saying there were people who gave more than that for their country.

On New Year’s Eve Jensen said he was shipped out of New York secretly on the Sea Robin. “I never thought we’d make it,” he said of the vessel he described as rickety.

After landing at La Havre with the 929th, Jensen said he was sent to many towns that seemed blurred together. “They kept us moving.” He also said the same jeep he drove in Hawaii landed in Europe. “The officers liked that jeep.” He added that he put 40,000 miles on the vehicle throughout his Army career.

Only tidbits from various places remained in Jensen’s memory, he said. “That’s been so long ago.” He said they went to the front and sometimes did not eat for several days due to heavy fire. “It’s a terrible thing,” he said. “It’s either you or them,” he said of having to shoot enemy soldiers.

Jensen also said he found himself in a courtroom where German prisoners were being tried after the war. While there, he said he was a guard and remembered many Germans, prisoners or not, begged for cigarettes. “They always wanted ‘ein cigarette’,” he said.

After the war, Jensen returned to Wisconsin where he met his wife, Edna Cote, a schoolteacher. They moved to Superior shortly after and Jensen said he went into business with his two brothers, who operated a restaurant, motel and hotel at the time. The restaurant is now called S & S Foods and the motel and hotel is the Bellevue, Jensen said.

Jensen said they never had any children, but pictures of his wife’s former students hung on many walls. “She taught all over the place,” he said of the times they moved. He also described her as a sweetheart.

Now, Jensen said he goes hunting every year with family, something he has done for many years and plans on continuing until he is physically unable to go.


© Copyright 2005 by MCIC