PROFILE OF A MUSEUM VOLUNTEER Leslie W. was born May 30, 1926 in
Oakland, California to William H. and Frances Trager. He attended Fresno schools and graduated
from Hamilton High School January 28, 1944.
Les and his class were to go through the actual graduating ceremonies
at Fresno High School in June, but World War II had broken out and May 29,
1944, Les enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves in San Francisco,
California. He attended boot camp and QM/SM School at Farragut, Idaho,
completing his stateside training on March 3, 1945. On April 26, 1945, in San
Francisco Bay, he boarded the new troop transport General MB Stewart, APl4O,
bound for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, and the Philippine Islands. En route, the
Stewart made a simultaneous crossing of the equator and International Date
Line, thereby initiating the vast majority of the passengers and ship's crew
into the realms of Neptunus Rex and the Golden
Dragon, in one wild initiation ceremony.
Arriving at Guiuan,
Samar, P.I., and then on to San Pedro Bay, Les was re-designated as a SM
striker and assigned to the staff of COMLSTFLOT 22 aboard LST 632. He boarded
the 632 at Morotai anchorage, Halmahera Island,
N.E.I. forty-five minutes prior to leaving in convoy for the last major amphibious
combat landing in WWII, at Balikpapan, Borneo, July 1, 1945. Les served with
the flotilla staff during his entire overseas service.
While LST 632 was en route from Biak, New
Guinea, to the Philippines for outfitting and cargo assignment for the
invasion of Japan, the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and the Empire of Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Powers.
Occupation duties began immediately, and the LST Flotilla 22 staff was busy
assigning the thirty-six LSTs under its command to various occupation duties
in Japan, China, Korea, French Indochina, the Philippines, Indonesia, and
other sectors of the far east. Les finally accumulated enough
"points" to return home while his ship was stationed in Shanghai,
China. On May 28, 1946, he boarded the USS Mount Olympus, AGC8, for return to
the United States.
Les received an honorable discharge from
the USNR with the rating of SM3/c on June 18, 1946, at Camp Shoemaker,
California, and immediately enlisted in the USNR (inactive). During this four
year enlistment, he participated in one fourteen day summer training cruise
aboard USS Bremerton CA13O. His first and only previous time aboard the
Bremerton had been in Tsingtao anchorage, Tsingtao, China, to deliver guard
mail to Admiral Dan Barby, 7th Fleet
commander. He was honorably discharged June 18, 1950, seven days before the
North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel to start the Korean War.
After WWII Les continued his education, enrolling
at Fresno State College in 1946 as a pre-engineering
major, and transferring, in 1949, to the University of Southern California,
School of Architecture. In 1955 while
they were both in the infirmary, Les met his future wife, Marcia Drummond. They were married in Bakersfield,
California July 1, 1956. They have two
sons, Kevin and Erik. After
graduation, Les received his California State license to practice architecture,
and pursued a career in that profession, in Fresno, California, until 1991.
Sometime in 1995 Leslie’s interest in WWII
Japanese military weapons and equipment led him to the Legion of Valor
museum. By coincidence, his first visit to the museum coincided with a visit
by Legion of Valor member, and present National Commander, Gerry Eckenrod (DSC). Despite having known Gerry as a fellow
yacht club member and teaching a class in the Business Department at Fresno
City College under department chairman Eckenrod's
supervision, Les had no idea of Gerry's outstanding war record, a testimonial
to his modesty regarding his service record. With a highly favorable
recommendation from Gerry to museum director Charles (Chuck) Monges, Les found himself appointed on the spot, and
honored as a new member of the museum staff, a role he has enjoyed for over
four years. Exchanging "war stories" with other veterans,
and educating younger generations to the sacrifices and contributions made by
military veterans of all wars is a highly interesting and rewarding
experience, and one that Les hopes to continue into the future. Thank you,
Legion of Valor Museum. |