Lee Bondy
Lee Bondy
I was born in Stillwater, Minnesota on July 22, 1925 and was the middle of three children. I grew up in small Minnesota towns and also on my uncle’s farm (ranch) in Montana with my thirteen cousins. At the age of 18 I joined the Navy during World War II and served as a radar specialist on the USS Cleveland. This was a cruiser and fighting ship and was responsible for giving fire support to the American troops invading the islands held by the Japanese in the Pacific. I was involved in the battles for Borneo, Corregidor, the Philippines, Bataan Peninsula and Okinawa. During my tour of duty, the USS Cleveland brought General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines for his successful return. The ship was under constant threat from Japanese kamikaze. While at Okinawa, the USS Pennsylvania, which was directly next to the Cleveland, took a direct torpedo hit with much loss of life. Since I was at that time considered the radar expert, I was responsible for accurately identifying and targeting the enemy planes which the Cleveland attacked. After the end of the war during the occupation of Japan, my crewmates and I had the duty of assisting Allied prisoners of War and returning them for care and treatment.
-Lee Bondy
