William Jiao of Plainsboro, a junior at High School South, will participate in the National World War II Museum in New Orleans’ exhibit, “Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries.” The exhibit completes the museum’s Campaigns of Courage Pavilion. As part of the grand opening, the museum is bringing in students from around the country to participate in the ceremonies.
The “Salute to Courage” students were selected at the June 18, National History Day National Contest awards ceremony. Each student completed an essay based on the oral history of a service person, veteran, civilian, or home front worker from their home state. Essays focused on “why was this person a great example of courage in WWII.”
Jiao’s essay centered on Harold Ward, an African American Navy man, who despite discrimination served in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Excerpts from his essay follow:
“Courage often grows from the toughest of seeds.
Harold E. Ward was born in Atlantic City, to a 16-year-old mother out of wedlock. Throughout his childhood in the Great Depression, he was moved from relative to relative, bounced from job to job, and lived a troubled adolescence.
With such a volatile life, Ward needed a stable home and lifestyle. He, along with many other struggling young adults in the Depression era, found a stable job and life in the Navy. However, upon enlisting, he immediately faced discrimination and segregation. As an African American in the Navy, Ward was told that he would be merely serving the officers’ requests — a prospect Ward disliked very much. Eventually, he wound up with a job in the Brooklyn Naval Yard with Pantry Watch, and eventually became Captain of the Head on the USS San Francisco.
On December 7, 1941, the USS San Francisco was docked at Pearl Harbor, and Ward was aboard when the Japanese attacked. Though his ship was undamaged, Ward watched Japanese torpedoes and planes destroy numerous ships including the USS Oklahoma and the USS Arizona. Ward remembers that “We didn’t even know how to fight a damn war. The Japanese taught us.” He remembers the white uniforms of sailors strewn around in the harbor. He remembers that Pearl Harbor opened his and the other soldiers’ eyes to the realities and tragedies of war.
After Pearl Harbor, Ward traveled with the USS San Francisco on various missions to Wake Island, the Coral Sea, and Auckland, New Zealand. In mid-1942, the USS San Francisco assisted in Operation: Watchtower on Guadalcanal. Later in the campaign, the San Francisco was supporting the USS Wasp when a spread of torpedoes from a Japanese submarine sank the aircraft carrier. Ward remembers seeing exploding ammunition and white-hot metal on the Wasp as it sank, and eventually the order was given to abandon the vessel.
Soon afterwards, the USS San Francisco found itself in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. … Though it escaped this initial confrontation, it faced another group of Japanese battleships, and the San Francisco took many hits, including a direct hit to the bridge that killed many of the commanding officers. Another hit wounded Harold Ward.
Ward remembers being transferred to a hospital ship (USS Hope) and eventually to an army hospital in Fiji. Much of the injuries he sustained were from shrapnel from the shells that were embedded in his body. Ward himself stated “I wear my medals in my body” and the dozens of pieces of shrapnel that remain in his body are reminders of the grave costs of war.
… Harold Ward’s time in the military teaches many valuable lessons about World War II. As Ward entered the Navy, he was shown many obstacles in his path, such as racial discrimination and lack of work prospects.
Ward entered the war with much anger and frustration from his past and from the racial discrimination that surrounded him. However, in his service aboard the USS San Francisco, he was able to find honor and valiance. He aided his fellow crew members well throughout the campaign in Guadalcanal, and he was awarded the Silver Star for his sacrifices in the face of the enemy.
Ward’s time in the military shows that courage, the ability to persist in the face of challenge or hardship is not only found in the face of the enemy. Throughout Ward’s time in the Navy, he was faced with his troubled past, discrimination, lack of opportunities, and the onslaught of Japanese barrages. Ward courageously stood up to these challenges. Through his valiance and sacrifice, he aided his crew, fleet, and country in the Pacific Front.
Ward died on June 9 in Exeter Hospital … He should be remembered as a symbol of courage in the Second World War.”
