J.V. "Dale" Cleveland

J.V. "Dale" Cleveland during World War II

Courtesy the family of J.V. Cleveland

Quick Facts

Significance:

US Navy Sailor, World War II, KIA

Place of Birth:

Fulton, Mississippi

Date of Birth:

December 14, 1923

Place of Death:

Off the Southwestern Coast of Okinawa

Date of Death:

July 30, 1945

Place of Burial:

Itawamba County, Mississippi

Cemetery Name:

Salem Cemetery

J.V. "Dale" Cleveland grew up on a farm in Fulton, Mississippi with seven siblings. According to the 1940 census, his parents, Cora and Dolphis Armstrong (who went by D.A.), owned the farm. (The other seven families on the census page were all renters.)¹ We learned from J.V.'s younger brother James that the farm was 360 acres. The Cleveland's grew and canned corn and tomatoes, they also grew beans, okra, watermelon, and what they called "Irish" potatoes (to distinguish them from sweet potatoes). They kept horses, cows and pigs and had a smoke house for curing the meat.² They were self-sufficient.

J.V. graduated from Fulton Agricultural High School and worked in farming. He enlisted in the US Navy in May, 1943 as an apprentice seaman (AS), and attended basic training in San Diego, California.³

When JV was home on leave, he helped a neighbor dig a well. They set up a wooden A-frame with a windlass, and lowered J.V. into the well. He shoveled dirt into a bucket and the bucket was cranked up to be emptied. Younger brother LeRoy let go of the bucket, and it went speeding down the well. J.V. managed to avoid getting hit with the bucket but when they pulled him out of the well, he was "grey faced." Brother James was about five years old when J.V. enlisted. He remembers following J.V. around when he was home on leave. J.V. taught James how to tie knots like a sailor. James remembers J.V. whistled when he was happy but also when he was very depressed. He also remembered J.V. did not want go back to the Navy, but knew he had to.⁴

He returned to California. J.V. built up his skill set and moved up in ranks through seaman 2nd class to seaman 1st class (S1c). In the fall of 1943, he started Destroyer Training and attended three weeks of Deck Petty Officer School. On December 31, 1943 he became a plank owner on the newly commissioned USS Cassin Young (DD-793). (Plank owner is a nickname for someone who is an original member of a ship’s crew.) He crossed the equator for the first time on April 23, 1944, earning to coveted title of shellback. USS Cassin Young was on the way to the South Pacific. S1c Cleveland and the crew would take part in many operations: Marianas, Western Caroline Islands Operation, Leyte and Luzon just to name a few. While on board he continued his training and on May 1, 1945, J.V. was appointed Signal Man 2nd class (trainee) (SM2c(T))⁵

During the Okinawa campaign USS Cassin Young was assigned to picket duty. Destroyers and destroyer escorts would create a protective ring around slower, larger ships, they would use their radar and sonar to detect any enemy action in the air, on, or below the ocean surface. They would communicate back to the rest of the fleet any oncoming dangers. April 12, 1945, Cassin Young was attacked by Japanese planes. One struck the ship's radar mast and exploded. Fragments of the plane rained down on the ship wounding 59 sailors and killing one. Without radar, the ship was not able to serve on picket duty, so the ship went to Ulithi Atoll for repairs. In July they were back on picket duty off the southern coast of Okinawa. On July 30, Cassin Young was struck a second time by a kamikaze. The plane crashed through the main deck just behind the first smokestack and caused an explosion in the forward fire room. Twenty-two sailors were killed and another 45 were wounded. SM2c(T) Cleveland was hit by flying fragments in the face and chest and died instantly. He was buried with his shipmates. In a letter to SM2c(T) Cleveland's parents, Commander John W. Ailes III describes the area, it reads in part:

I did have an opportunity to visit the cemetery where your son is interred and would like to give you some of the details. The cemetery is a Naval Cemetery on the island of Okinawa located just above the Hagushi beachhead where our troops first landed on Easter Sunday. It is a lovely spot overlooking the ocean and surrounded by low rolling hills. The graves are neatly marked and are well taken care of.⁶

Among J.V.'s effects there were a few books reflecting his faith. The Baptist faith and community were important to the Cleveland family. Younger brother Doyle was a deacon, and the family regularly attended an annual week long revival in the summer. James holds dearly the bible issued to his brother J.V. by the Navy.⁷

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Footnotes:

1. US Census, 1940
2. Conversation with James Cleveland, younger brother of J.V. Cleveland, May 2020.
3. Official Military Personnel File of J.V. Cleveland, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
4. Conversation with James Cleveland, May 2020.
5. Official Military Personnel File of J.V. Cleveland, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
6. Ibid.
7. Conversation with James Cleveland, May 2020.