By Deborah Larsen
Harry Anderson Jr.
Harry Anderson Jr. was born in Holly, Michigan, on April 22, 1919, the son of Harry and Jessie Giles Anderson. Harry and his family moved to Rochester, Michigan, when Harry was a teenager. He married Norma Plassey of Rochester in 1938 and worked in an auto factory before the war.
In December 1941, Harry enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed aboard the net tender USS Aloe, and sent to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Theater in early 1943. The Aloe was moored at Tulagi harbor with other Allied ships on April 7, 1943, when the Japanese attacked. The enemy planes largely ignored the Aloe, concentrating instead on the destroyers and oilers at anchor there. This gave the Aloe an opportunity, and the ship fired on the Japanese fighters, shooting down one “Val” and possibly damaging two others. According to newspaper accounts, Harry was credited with downing the enemy aircraft. Harry was discharged from military service in June 1945.
After the war, Harry was employed as a house painter.
Harry Anderson Jr. died at age 64 on November 1, 1983, and was laid to rest in Fernley, Nevada.