This is a story about my farther a World War II, PT Boater, Charles Benjamin Kadel the Son of Benjamin Clinton Kadel and Sarah Lurana Peterson, born September 27, 1911 in Wagon Wheel Gap, Colorado. He did his Military service by enlisting in the United States Navy on July 1, 1930 serving as Y3/c on the USS Asheville (PG-21) during the so-called Banana War and was stationed in the Caribbean and Nicaragua and after Four years was Honorably Discharge on May 11, 1934.

Four Months after the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. leaving his job as a uniform guard with the Secret Service in the Treasury Dept. He reenlisted in the Navy on April 7, 1942, Completing his training at the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center at Melville Rhode Island he served as (QM1c) on a P.T. Boat and was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons (M.T.B. Ron) 18, 21 & 25. In M.T.B. Ron 18 I'm not sure what P.T. boat he was on, but in M.T.B. Ron 21 he was on PT-328 named “Bayonne Bitch" and PT-331 named “Ramblin Wrecker” and in M.T.B. Ron 25 he was on PT-350 named “Bee Bee” He was assigned to the Southwest Pacific, where they saw action at Morobe, Dreger Harbor, and Mios Woendi in New Guinea; at Manus in the Admiralties; and at San Pedro Bay and Subic Bay in the Philippines. He was based for a time at Kana Kopa, New Guinea, and at Samar and Basilan Island in the Philippines, but had no action from these bases.

(M.T.B. Ron 21) was awarded the U.S. Navy Presidential Unit Citationon on January 23, 1945 for action in the New Guinea area from October 1943 to March 1944.

PT Boats 328 and 331 with 89 + Boats also Supported the Alamo Scouts (U.S. 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit) who were the predecessors of the Special Forces we have today.

On August 19, 1944 PT-328 Dropped Arpad Farkas Team of the Alamo Scouts off at Cape Moepi, New Guinea. And on February 5, 1945, PT-328 attempted to drop Lt. John R.C. McGowen Team off on Corregidor, Luzon, but the mission was aborted due to detection. On August 30, 1944. PT-331 dropped Wilbur Littlefield Team on Roemberpon Island.

But the Alamo Scouts were best known for its role in liberating American prisoners of war (POWs) from the Japanese in the Philippines in January 1945 during World War II.

On March 26, 1945 with M.T.B. Ron 25 on board the troop transport ship U.S.S. General O.H. Ernst (AP-133) in a ceremony of crossing the line of the Equater that he became a Shellback or referred to as a Son of Neptune the Longitude was Censored for the Ship he was on at the time was to take part in Task Force 70 better known as “Operation Downfall” codename for the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan on August 30, 1945 near the end of World War II. The planned operation was abandoned when the surrendered of the Empire of Japan was announced by Japan on August 15 1945 just 15 days before the invasion of Japan was to take place. following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, and Nagasaki. on August 9, 1945. Japan formally signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri.

Operation Downfall had two parts: Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in October 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyuahu, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. Later, in spring 1946, Operation Coronet was the planned invasion of the Kanto Plain, near Tokyo, on the Japanese island of Honshu. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. If Ooeration Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in human history.

(Both M. T. B. Ron's 21, and 25, took part in this Operation). All boats from Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty-One (M.T.B. Ron 21) were undergoing a major overhaul period at PT Base 17, Samar, Philippines. From 6 August 1, to August 6, 1945 onwards, they were training at PT Base 16, Basilan Island, Zamboanga, Philippines.

Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty Five (M.T.B. Ron 25) Mission of carrying out interdiction of Japanese shipping (Soemoe Island, Morotai) between Halmahera and Morotai Island, as well as along the coast of Halmahera. Based out of PT Advanced Base Four.

Now that World War II was over he was Honorably Discharged from the Navy for the 2^nd time on October 7, 1945. He returned back home in the U.S. Where he served as a Police Officer in the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia), for 20 years retiring from the Police Department he moved his family to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida there were he lived his remaining years until his Last Patrol on February 2, 1992.