Eugene Addison Renner

Wreath presented in honor of the Cassin Young sailors killed in action.

NPS Photo/Boyce

Quick Facts

Significance:

US Navy Sailor, World War II, KIA

Place of Birth:

Louisville, Ohio

Date of Birth:

September 9, 1924

Place of Death:

Near Okinawa

Date of Death:

July 30, 1945

Place of Burial:

Riverside, California

Cemetery Name:

Olivewood Cemetery

Eugene Addison Renner was born in Louisville, Ohio, September 9, 1924 to Robert W. and Elva Z. Renner. At some point the family moved to Highland Park, Illinois. That town sits on the banks of Lake Michigan about halfway between the city of Chicago and the Navy’s Great Lakes training station. Eugene went as far as 10^th grade and then enlisted in the Navy at the young age of 17, on January 16, 1942. He enlisted as an apprentice seaman (AS) and signed up for two years’ service; he wanted to “[l]earn a trade”. His father, Robert, signed his consent for his underage son to enlist.¹

Eugene Addison Renner Personnel File, National Archives

As Renner started his basic training the following month in U.S. Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois. By the end of February, he reported to duty in Washington, first in Bremerton and then in the Net Depot on Indian Island in Puget Sound. He served three months at the net depot, where huge metal nets were made to protect Navy harbors from submarines and torpedoes.² It was here that Renner picked up a detail as a messmate. This included working on the serving line, in the scullery, and cleaning up the mess (dining area). It was a lousy, hot duty with long hours and no appreciation. But Renner did earn an extra $5 a month. An apprentice seaman earned a base pay of $40 per month, so that was a significant bonus. In May Renner was promoted to seaman second class (S2c). In June he moved to San Francisco (ending his messmate detail and compensation). He was transported on the USS Henderson to Pearl Harbor, Territory Hawaii, and reported to his new ship, USS Elliot (DMS 4) on July 4, 1942.³

USS Elliot, October 29, 1942, U.S. Navy Photos

S2c Renner served on the Elliot until September 18, 1943. The ship had three different forms, starting as a Wickes class destroyer and ended as Miscellaneous Auxiliary (Hull number AG 104) vessel used for training. But during Renner’s time on board, it was a fast-moving mine sweeper. The Elliot traversed the Pacific Ocean from the Hawaiian Islands to the Aleutian Islands. The crew performed a mixture of patrolling for submarines, escort duty and mine sweeping. As a part of task group 8.6 Elliot participated in the bombardment of Kiska on August 7, 1942. In May of 1943 Elliot swept for mines before and during the invasion of Attu.⁴ The Aleutian Islands were a place where wind, fog and cold was just as deadly as the enemy.⁵ Renner was promoted twice while serving on Elliot in order "to fill vacancy": first to fireman 3rd class and then fireman 2nd class (F2c). Firemen were responsible for keeping the fires going that stoked the ship’s boilers and created the steam to turn turbines and propellers. The Elliot relocated to California and worked for about a year as a training vessel, using its speed and agility to tow targets. This duty most likely did not require a full complement of crew; in September F2c Renner left the ship and started preparing for his next assignment.

September through December 1943 he spent training; attending classes in firefighting, gunnery, chemical warfare, and four weeks learning how to be a petty officer in E.P.O. School, on Treasure Island, California.⁶ It is during this training period that he probably started to get to know some of his future shipmates.

December 31, 1943 F2c Renner was received aboard USS Cassin Young (DD793), earning him the informal title of "plank owner," meaning he was part of the original crew. Two weeks later (January 15, 1944) F2c Renner extended his enlistment. For the next year and a half, he shared the experiences of his shipmates as Cassin Young navigated the South Pacific: rescuing survivors from sinking ships, scooping up pilots who had been shot out of the sky, outrunning typhoons, shooting and dodging enemy planes, serving as escort, laying down smoke screens, and working radar picket stations. January 1945 was a big month for Renner: he was promoted to fireman 1st class (F1c), he started earning "longevity pay" (a financial acknowledgement of reaching three years of service in the Navy), and for a second time he took a detail as a messmate.

Things took a turn for the worse during the Okinawa campaign in the spring of 1945. Cassin Young was struck twice by kamikazes. While on picket duty off the coast of Okinawa, April 12, 1945, a kamikaze struck the mast of Cassin Young and exploded. Shrapnel rained down on the ship, killing one sailor and wounding 59 more. On July 30, 1945, USS Cassin Young was struck by a kamikaze a second time. This time the plane crashed through the main deck and into the forward fireroom, causing a significant explosion. F1c Renner was one of 22 sailors killed. He was burned severely by the steam from the ships exploded boiler, and later that day aboard USS Cascade (AD-16) he died of shock. He was 20 years old.

His parents were sent the telegram every military family lives in fear of receiving. Robert wrote to the Navy asking questions, appearing to not believe the telegram informing him of his son’s death.

… Will you kindly advise at your earliest convenience what happened? How he was wounded and if he is dead or seriously wounded? Also as to his Burial if he dead, and if conscious before dieing. If he was fanceed [sic] still living but seriously wounded I hope he will recover. Any other information will be greatly appreciated.⁷

F1c Renner was survived by his parents and two siblings. After the war his remains were reinterned in Olivewood Cemetery in Riverside, California. The Purple Heart and World War II Victory Medal that F1c Eugene Addison Renner earned were sent to his parent.⁸

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Footnotes:

1. Official Military Personnel File of Eugene Addison Renner, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
2. For a short video on about the Net Depot see www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/local/2018/04/09/metal-nets-and-homesteaders-all-part-indian-islands-history/489832002/
3. Official Military Personnel File of Eugene Addison Renner, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
4. Naval History and Heritage Command web page, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/elliot.html
5. To learn more about the Aleutian campaign during World War II see Battle for the Aleutians.
6. Official Military Personnel File of Eugene Addison Renner, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.