Lt. Bill Ayres
My father, Lieutenant William R. Ayres, served in the United State Navy from July 22, 1943, to February 11, 1946. His ship was the USS Shannon, built in 
Bath, Maine. For this duty, he earned $2,000 a year plus “room and board.”
He received a direct commission, which meant bypassing Officer Candidate School with its 6 to 9 months of difficult training. The military did this for those with useful degrees. Dad had a degree in electrical engineering and was an experienced radio instructor. Fortunately, he had about 12 months of intense training before his ship entered the war zone. He fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His ship survived 50+ Kamikaze attacks while serving in the Pacific Theater. Our losses in the Battle of Okinawa were huge. My mom and dad and grandmother were grateful that my dad survived and gave a lot of credit to his ship’s captain.
Editor’s Note: According to the Saga Shannon, which Lee Ayres shared with us, the USS Shannon DM25 fought in the Pacific from 1944 to 1946, serving through the Iwo Jima and Okinawa Campaigns, extensive mine-sweeping operations in the East China Sea, and the Occupation of Japan. Officially designated as a light-minelayer, the Shannon was a fast ship designed to lay mines that would destroy enemy vessels, protect Marines invading strategic Pacific islands held by the Japanese, and also to shoot down attacking planes. At Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Shannon supported Marine landings by sweeping landing areas for mines, acting as radar pickets against marauding Japanese submarines, and laying down harassing fire. As part of valorous service in major naval battles, the Shannon shot down ten Japanese planes in the air and destroyed two more on the ground.
USS Shannon DM25
The Saga Shannon documents the Shannon’s history and service and contains photos and biographies of the officers and an artist’s sketch of their ship. Following is the book’s biography of Lt. Bill Ayres.
“William R. Ayres has lived an interesting and inquisitive life, accumulating extensive knowledge in innumerable fields. He was born at Dallas, Texas, in 1918 and lived in St. Louis and Kansas City. Incessant and inquisitive ‘tinkering’ as a youngster showed his aptitude for the natural sciences. He was graduated from high school with an outstanding academic record.
“Ayres studied electrical engineering at the University of Kansas, where he was active in the Triangle engineering fraternity and music, art, and athletics. As a musician, he can perform on any instrument from the sweet potato to the organ. Athletically, he is accomplished as a weight-lifter.
“Ayres was graduated from Kansas with the degree of Bachelor of Science and joined the Aircraft Accessory Corporation. In 1940, he joined the Army Air Forces educational enterprise, working three years at Scott Field, Illinois, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“In 1943, Ayres accepted an Ensign’s commission in the Naval Reserve. Following indoctrination at Ft. Schuyler, NY and an extensive course at the Naval Mine Warfare School in Yorktown, VA, he was assigned to experimental work at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington, DC. Field tests and experiments took him aboard PT boats, submarines, and planes.
“Ensign Ayres reported to the Shannon in 1944 as Mining Officer. He was an ‘O’ Division assistant, Engineering Officer, Assistant Machinegun Control Officer at general quarters and served in every deck condition watch station. He was promoted in the spring of 1945 to Lieutenant (jg).
“Returning to civilian life early in 1946, Ayres accepted an engineering position with the Radio Corporation of America at Camden, NJ in development and production of electronic organs, He and his wife and son live at 311 Oakland Avenue in Oaklyn, NJ.”
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By the way, I received a direct commission, in the US Army, during the Vietnam war. In my case I had a masters degree in Municipal Public Administration (MPA) and was assigned to a Civil Affairs unit at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. I got to live with my new bride and tour the country with a mobile training team. I first visited California when we traveled to Fort Ord near Monterey. We sweated a Vietnam assignment until I had less than a year to go. A lot of US Army lieutenants who went to Vietnam never came back.
Lee Ayres’ story about his Army service, 1967-69, is available here.
I recall some of these stories, but what about your uncle we sought in Melbourne when we visited in 1990? As I recall as so many yanks he married a local girl and lived the rest of his life there.