Click on the video link to watch the story of longtime Visalia resident Bob McNutt. Growing up in Illinois as one of 15 children, McNutt joined the Navy in 1939. His father had served in the Spanish-American War, his oldest brother had been gassed as an infantryman in World War I, and three other brothers served in the Army in World War II.
Stationed at Pearl Harbor starting in 1939, McNutt was aboard the USS Monaghan on December 7th, 1941. The devout Catholic was about to head to the USS Maryland for mass when the Japanese planes attacked. Bob's first job was to climb the larger of the Monaghan's two stacks to remove the cover, so the destroyer could get out of the harbor. The Monaghan was credited with sinking a two-man Japanese sub that day, and would go on to earn twelve battle stars during the war.
Bob still remembers his time in the Bering Sea, having to crawl on his hands and knees on the Monaghan's deck when it got too icy to walk. The Monaghan played a key role in the Battle of the Komandorskie Islands there in 1943. Tinian, Saipan, Tarawa, Subic Bay, and Leyte were among the other locales where the Monaghan saw action, but in December 1944 it would meet its match.
Typhoon Cobra tore through the Navy's Third Fleet, and three destroyers which had been delayed for refueling would end up sinking. The Monaghan was one of those three, and of the 248 men aboard, only six survived. Bob McNutt is the last living survivor of that crew.
Other Stories of Service from CBS 47
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Every day in the Valley, we lose another perspective on history, with the death of a World War II veteran. Preserving the unique recollections of World War II vets before it's too late is a monumental challenge, but it's one Valley teenagers are addressing, with the help of adult volunteers, and of course, the legions of veterans who are participating in the Stories of Service project.
Stories of Service is a nationwide campaign dedicating to recording first-hand accounts of the war in the form of digital video documentaries, narrated by the veterans themselves. Fresno is home to the California headquarters for the project, and CBS 47 is teaming up with Stories of Service with the hope of preserving as many stories as possible before the veterans aren't around to tell them anymore.
There are a number of ways you can help preserve history before it's too late. To find out more, call the California headquarters of the Stories of Service project:
(559)445-0015
or
Learn more at the official Stories of Service website
