Japan was attacking in 1941. Taking over regions in Southeast Asia, Americans opposed these aggressions, but were not willing to go to war, so instead America blocked Japanese’s access to oil.
This bothered the conquering Japanese Imperial Army, who at the same time was feeling more than a little threatened by the fact that most of the US Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean was just south of Japan in Hawaii, and it was a massive collection of military might.
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, just before 8:00 AM on a beautiful Hawaiian island. The US naval base of Pearl Harbor was attacked for two hours by 353 Japanese fighter, bomber and torpedo planes launched from aircraft carriers off the shore. Among other watercraft, the eight battleships parked in the harbor, 350 aircraft in the hangars and of course the base itself were destroyed. Over 3500 Americans were killed or wounded in that short two hour. 1177 alone were killed on the USS, Arizona battleship.
On the USS, West Virginia, parked in Pearl Harbor was a man named Dori or Doris Miller. He was collecting laundry when the attack started. He was a big guy, born in Waco, Texas. He had played football in high school and would later become the ship’s heavyweight boxing champion.
He came from a family of farmers. He had enlisted in the Navy as a mess attendant 3rd class, primarily to travel and secondarily to make money. After December 7th, he would move up the ranks to Petty Officer third class and became the ship’s Cook.
The uniformed men on the USS West Virginia had many drills on what to do if attacked, and one was to man your designated battle station. But Dorie’s had been destroyed, so like many of the men on board, he went up to the deck. There were wounded and dead everywhere. Because of his size, he was told to gather the wounded and take them to safety. But he went above and beyond the call of duty, gathering the wounded and saving lives and repeatedly risking his own life to save others. Also while on the deck, and under fire, Dory grabbed an unmanned 50 caliber Browning antiaircraft machine gun. He’d never shot a machine gun before and was untrained, but he fired the weapon until it was out of ammunition. For this Miller received the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester Nimitz on May 27, 1942, but many sailors and naval officers believed that Miller’s heroism deserved a Medal of Honor
During the attack, the ship was hit by two armored piercing bombs.
These were heavily encased bombs with sharp points at one end, designed to Pierce through the ship’s iron hold and thereby penetrating into the bowels where it would explode. The USS West Virginia, was also hit by 518 torpedoes dropped by Japanese planes, destroying and eventually sinking the ship. Of the 1541 people on board, only 130 were killed and 50 wounded.
During the first year of World War Two, on the Pacific front, things got did not go well for the Americans.
The Japanese were constantly on the offensive and with the extreme military loss at Pearl Harbor, the Allies were at a disadvantage. But by 1943, under the direction of Admiral Nimitz, a plan was underway to regain power. The plan was to overtake the Japanese occupied little islands and atolls, which is the tip of a volcano barely poking out above the sea, scattered throughout the waters in Southeast Asia, it was called Operation Galvantic.
Partly due to Pearl Harbor, there was a constant demand for fleet carriers. These were the big ships designed to carry and deploy fighter planes. It was war, and fleet carriers took a long time to build. So escort carriers were created. These were smaller, and easier to build and many were civilian ships such as cargo or cruisers with a flight deck added. These escort carriers were slower, half the length of a fleet carrier, and not well armed.
On November 24, 1943, at 5:10 AM, the escort carrier Liscombe Bay was sunk by one torpedo from a Japanese submarine, when it made a direct hit to one of the bomb magazines on one of the airplanes it was carrying. It exploded, sinking the ship in minutes. Six 100 and forty 6 died and 272 lived. Dorie Miller did not survive and his body was never recovered, one year later it was formally announced that he was presumed dead and lost at sea.
Meanwhile, back in Austin, United Service Organization building was completed in 1942 at the address, 1182 Pleasant Valley Rd.
USO were places used specifically to entertain servicemen on leave during World War Two. Roosevelt had asked communities around the country filled with citizens anxious to do anything to help the war effort, to create places for the soldiers to enjoy recreation, thereby lifting their morale. Like a home away from home. As you can imagine, there must have been much need of “morale boosting” when anticipating going back to active war duty.
And that was the original purpose of this building, which was named in honor of Doris Miller. The Doris Miller Auditorium is haunted and some believe that it’s actually Dorie himself, because the feeling is that there is a strong male personality roaming about, but my guess is it’s probably not Dory.
The Bertram family was from Germany, and after establishing a successful grocery business in a building still standing today known as the Clay Pit, they built a family home. Rosewood Recreation Center was once the home of the Bertram family. The Bertram family lived there until they died. They had children there and their daughter Emmy stayed home and lived with them, raising her family there with her husband, Charles Huppertz. The property was given to the city after Huppertz died.
But who is haunting the Rosewood Recreation Center? Is it the Bertram family? Is it Dory Miller? Or is it Louis Nelson who died suddenly at that location on October 6, 1988, at the age of thirty-five? Perhaps of a heart attack? We’re not sure. He was a program director; and he created programs for the kids. He was an outgoing entertainer and performed and choreographed many of their plays. He was called a “baton twirling wizard”.
There is another death, a girl named Audrey Jones who was 10 years old when she died in a freak accident on the playground, September 23rd, 1994. No one really remembers the details of the girl’s death.
Also on the property is an old log cabin that has been relocated from 11th Street and was the home of Henry Madison and his family. He was an African American police officer. This is a traditional structure, All original black or white Texans occupy dwellings like the one found at Rosewood City Park. One room built with local logs.
Who haunts the Rosewood Recreation Center and the Doris Miller Auditorium?
How Doris Millers Bravery Helped Fight Racism in the Navy
