John Wrenn
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John Henry Wrenn (1913 - 1981)

John Henry Wrenn
Born in Highland Park, Los Angeles, Californiamap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 10 Jul 1942 (to before 1951) [location unknown]
Husband of — married 22 Nov 1952 in Pasadena, Californiamap
Descendants descendants
Father of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)], , [private daughter (1950s - unknown)] and [private son (1950s - unknown)]
Died at age 67 in Tucson, Arizonamap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lucy Hermes private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 12 Oct 2014
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Biography

My father, John Henry Wrenn, was born at home on December 19, 1913, in Highland Park, Los Angeles, California to Harold Wrenn and Lois Allen.[1] He had one older sister, Mary Natika Wrenn Taylor (19 Feb 1911-19 Feb 1980). He was a puny baby diagnosed with failure to thrive. His mother put him on goat's milk and he did extremely well. John as an adult was very tall at 6' 5", but his family affectionately called him "Tiny".

John attended the University of California at Berkeley from 1933-1936 and was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He also was on the Freshman Crew Team (Rowing). John was very proud to be on that team. Berkeley was known for having one of the most prestigious programs in the country.

He left Berkeley one semester before graduating to travel the Far East and saw many exotic places like the Philippines and Hong Kong.[2] He also traveled to Panama[3] and Hawaii.[4]

Lt Commander John H Wrenn

John enlisted in the Navy on July 7, 1940 and was released January 4, 1946 with the rank of Lt Commander.[5] On July 1, 1940, he was sent to Guantanamo, Cuba for training listed as USNR, V7 (enlisted for training for future appointment as Reserve Ensign), AS (Apprentice Seaman) from 11th ND (San Diego) for training duty without pay on the USS Wyoming.[6]

USS Wyoming

On August 31, 1940, John was transferred to Cristobal, Canal Zone in Panama for further training to the USS Illinois.[7]

On December 7, 1941, John was assigned to the USS St Louis at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was Sunday morning at about 8:00. He was on leave sleeping at a hotel, after I'm sure a late Saturday night out, with some other Navy buddies, when the bombing started that morning. One of them ran to the window and reported that he saw Japanese planes bombing the harbor. At first, they all thought he was kidding. When they all looked out the window, they couldn't believe what they they were seeing. When they realized what was going on, they all tried to get back to their ships. John couldn't find his ship, the USS St Louis, since it had headed out to sea to fight before he could get there. He helped out on another ship until the "Lucky Lou" returned.[8]

USS St Louis "Lucky Lou"

On 7 December 1941, the St. Louis was moored to the pier in Southeast Lock at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At 7:56, Japanese planes were sighted by observers on board St. Louis. Within minutes, the ship was at general quarters, and her operable anti-aircraft guns were manned and firing on the attackers. By 8:06, preparations for getting underway had begun. At about 8:20, one of the cruiser's gun crews shot down its first Japanese torpedo plane. By 9:00, two more Japanese aircraft had joined the first. At 9:31, St. Louis moved away from the pier and headed for South Channel and the open sea. 15 minutes later, her 6 in (150 mm) guns, whose power leads had been disconnected, were in full operating order. As the cruiser moved into the channel entrance, she became the target of a midget submarine. The Japanese torpedoes, however, exploded on striking a shoal less than 200 yd (180 m) from the ship. Destroyers then pounded the bottom with depth charges and St. Louis continued out to sea where she joined the USS Detroit, USS Phoenix (both of which also left Pearl Harbor during the attack), and a few destroyers in the search for the Japanese fleet. After failing to locate the Japanese strike force, the hunters returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 December. For her success during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ship was given the nickname the "Lucky Lou."[9]

I do not know the name of the ship he went out on during the bombing. I remember him saying that it was the most terrifying day of his life and he was very lucky to have made it back alive. He talked about zigging and zagging to avoid all the bombs being dropped and torpedos from enemy submarines. I guess he and the "Lucky Lou" were both very lucky indeed.

On March 10, 1942, John's Muster Roll states that he was sent to San Francisco, California as Ensign D-V (G) (officers of the volunteer reserve to the line for general service during war time in deck duties) and transferred from USS St Louis to USS Cleveland.[10] The USS Cleveland was sent to the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

On July 10, 1942, John married his first wife, Ellen Dixon in Philadelphia. On September 15, 1942, his Muster Roll says report of changes from USS Cleveland in Philadelphia Navy Yard to Lakehurst New Jersey Naval Air Station (blimp training). Rank: Lieutenant D-V (G).[11]

Navy Blimp, Lakehurst, New Jersey Naval Air Station, 1942

My father, John, really loved working on the blimps. The Navy had a rule that no one could be taller than 6' 4". John was one inch too tall at 6' 5". He said he slouched and never got caught breaking the rules. He said he preferred the blimps to the ships during his Navy career. He also preferred the desert to the sea.

John and Ellen had a daughter born in 1946 in Los Angeles, California. They were divorced in December of 1946.

My father developed tuberculosis. Penicillin had been invented to cure TB, but my father was allergic to it. He was sent to the Desert Sanatorium in Tucson, Arizona for treatment. The Desert Sanatorium was world famous at that time for TB. Today it is called Tucson Medical Center, and they still have on display the iron lung that they put patients in. The little adobe casitas still stand in front of the hospital. Back in the 1940's, the patients who lived in the casitas had no air conditioning. In the summer, the heat in Tucson can be quite intense. My father loved the heat. At night the patients slept on sleeping porches outside to keep cool. Most of the patients complained about the heat, but not my father. John was put in an iron lung and had 3/4 of a lung removed, but he survived.

John married Lucy Carlye Miller on November 22, 1952 in Pasadena, California[12] at the home of Lucy's sister, Sally Miller. They honeymooned in John's old desert town of Tucson. They made their home in Pasadena and had two daughters and one son between 1953 and 1957. John was an investor in the stock market and did very well. The family spent their summer vacations in Tucson.

John H and Lucy M Wrenn, Honeymoon in Tucson

Harold B Wrenn, John's father, moved his family to 465 S Grand Ave, Pasadena, California around 1929 from 151 E Avenue 50 in Highland Park, California. [13] His wife Lois lived there until her death in 1958. In 1958 her son John H Wrenn moved in with his family and lived here until 1962 when they moved up the street to 200 S Grand Ave to a smaller and easier to care for house. [14]

465 S Grand Ave, Pasadena, 1960
465 S Grand Ave, Pasadena, 1994

In 1968 John and his family moved to Tucson, Arizona. They always had horses and dogs. John called horse manure deficit spending, and cleaning it up was his job. He had a great sense of humor and always made people laugh.

John suffered from heart failure for a long time, and it became worse in the late 1970's. He only had one good lung left, and it became difficult for him to breathe. He was hospitalized on January 21, 1981 at St Joseph's Hospital. He died very early in the morning on January 22, 1981.[15] He was cremated and buried at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California[16] with his parents and maternal grandparents.[17]

References

  1. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995,"
  2. "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQ4-QVT, from Hong Kong
  3. "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQH-V65 from Balboa, Canal Zone
  4. "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQZ-2MP, from Honolulu
  5. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
  6. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=23835588&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
  7. U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=23836851&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
  8. THE EMCOMMWEST BULLETIN No. 135, 3 DECEMBER 2002, http://wrrl.org/archives/2002/number135.htm
  9. Wikipedia, USS St. Louis (CL-49), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_St._Louis_%28CL-49%29
  10. U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=21240010&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
  11. U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=23920061&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
  12. "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K863-SV8
  13. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1929 p 773, http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/3712317/268581339?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/7488140/person/-1083918491/facts/citation/100160369789/edit/record, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
  14. Biography written with first hand knowledge by daughter, Lucy (Wrenn) Hermes
  15. "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGS6-RTY
  16. Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34824589
  17. Biography written with first hand knowledge by daughter, Lucy (Wrenn) Hermes

Sources

  • "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VLDT-KYV : accessed 16 April 2016), John H Wrenn, 19 Dec 1913; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  • "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQ4-QVT : accessed 16 April 2016), John Henry Wrenn, 1936; citing Immigration, ship name Corneville, NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 71; FHL microfilm 1,734,675, from Hong Kong.
  • "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQH-V65 : accessed 16 April 2016), John Wrenn, 1937; citing Immigration, ship name California, NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 82; FHL microfilm 1,734,686, from Balboa, Canal Zone.
  • "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQZ-2MP : accessed 16 April 2016), John Wrenn, 1940; citing Immigration, ship name Matsonia Voy 52, NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 100; FHL microfilm 1,734,704, from Honolulu.
  • "Hawaii, Honolulu Passenger Lists, 1900-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9Z-TMNL : accessed 16 April 2016), John H Wrenn, 1939; citing Ship , NARA microfilm publication A3422 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHQD-PS7 : accessed 16 April 2016), John H Wrenn in household of Harold E Wrenn, Los Angeles Assembly District 61, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing sheet 13A, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,105.
  • "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9WQ-2P9 : accessed 17 April 2016), John H Wrenn in household of Lois A Wrenn, Tract 427, Pasadena, Pasadena Judicial Township, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 19-482, sheet 6A, family 119, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 242.
  • U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
  • U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=23836851&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Original data - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 Entry 135, 400 rolls, ARC 594996. Records of the Bureau of Naval Pers, "USS Illinois, 31 aug 1940 • Cristobal, Canal Zone".
  • U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=21240010&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Original data - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 Entry 135, 400 rolls, ARC 594996. Records of the Bureau of Naval Pers, "10 mar 1942 • San Francisco, California, USS St Louis to USS Cleveland".
  • U S World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=navymuster&h=23920061&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Original data - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 Entry 135, 400 rolls, ARC 594996. Records of the Bureau of Naval Pers, "15 sep 1942 • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Report of changes from USS Cleveland in Philadelphia Navy Yard to Lakehurst New Jersey Naval Air Station (blimp training)".
  • THE EMCOMMWEST BULLETIN No. 135, 3 DECEMBER 2002, http://wrrl.org/archives/2002/number135.htm : "UNITED STATES SHIP: ST. LOUIS, SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER, 1941," THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS WERE NOT ABOARD AS THEY WERE ON AUTHORIZED LEAVE: ENSIGN J.H. WRENN,DV(G), USNR.
  • "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K863-SV8 : accessed 16 April 2016), John Henry Wrenn and Lucy Carlye Miller, 22 Nov 1952; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 1,343,073.
  • "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGS6-RTY : accessed 16 April 2016), John Wrenn, Jan 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).




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