Herbert Kenneth Day

Their Story

On November 14, 1912, Herbert Kenneth Day was born in Ohio¹ to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Day, Herbert joined the Navy from November 10, 1942, until July 6, 1943, during WWII.² He was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, in June of 1942.³ World War II happened because of instability and conflicts left behind by World War I. In Germany, Adolf Hitler came into power when Germany had an unstable economic and political environment. Hitler was determined to have world domination, the first step to that was invading Poland. When Germany invaded Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.⁴ There were two sides to the war, the Axis powers and the Allies. The Axis were the countries Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Allies were the countries France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China and the United States. The war ended in 1945 with the Axis powers being defeated. World War II is estimated to have between forty and fifty million casualties.⁵

The Navy during World War II was concerned about Japan’s Navy. In 1939, The United States Navy had fifteen battle ships, five aircraft carriers, eighteen heavy cruisers, and nineteen light cruisers. In 1940, Congress passed the Two Oceans Navy Bill, which allowed 1,325,000 tons of warships to be built. This added eight more battleships and three more aircraft carriers. Japan became worried about the United States’ growing Navy, and Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto began planning a surprise attack on the United States. This surprise attack took place on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the United States Fleet, Pearl Harbor, with 105 high-level bombers, 135 dive-bombers, and 81 fighter aircrafts. Forty-five minutes later, Japan launched a second attack. After two hours, eighteen warships and 188 aircraft were destroyed and 2,403 servicemen lost their lives. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States Congress declared war on Japan.⁶

Herbert was a Yeoman Third Class.⁷ Yeomen carried out administrative and clerk work, and a variety of other tasks. They write or type reports, notices, social letters, business letters, and more. They also help deal with protocols, enlistment evaluations, naval instructions, phone calls, mail, and visitors. Furthermore, Yeomen help organize files, order and distribute supplies, and operate office equipment.⁸

Herbert passed away on May 6, 1955. He was buried at the Rock Island Arsenal for his service during World War II.⁹ His next of kin was Harry M. Day of Toledo, Ohio.¹⁰