Audley Willard Hackley (V)

1917-1989

Audley was born in 1917 at the family home in Savage, Maryland. He was the oldest of five children born to James and Effie May Hackley. At age 13, after finishing grade school in the one room Savage school house, he went to work in the Savage Cotton Mill. His younger brother, Louis, eventually worked with him at the mill during the early years of the Great Depression. Audley later was employed for a time as an insurance salesman and bartender. At the time he enlisted in the Navy, less than two months before Pearl Harbor, he was working as a laborer at the Calvert Distillery in Baltimore.

Audley (l) and Louis (r) in ca.1922 and ca.1945

On October 21, 1941 Audley enlisted at the Navy Recruiting Station in Baltimore as an Apprentice Seaman for a period of four years.⁽¹⁾ War with Japan broke out on December 7, "a day that will live in infamy." He spent the early part of the war undergoing training at the Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Amphibious Force Training Base at Little Creek, Virginia. During this time he graduated from Woodworker's School and was appointed to Carpenter's Mate 3^rd Class. In November of 1944 he was transferred to the west coast where he was assigned to an amphibious assault support unit (E-9, No. 33, GROPAC 12). On March 9, 1945 he shipped out of Port Hueneme, California aboard the USS Clearfield (APO 142), headed for Okinawa, setting of the last great battle in the Pacific during WWII. On April 23 he landed on Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa, as part of the 1^st echelon, two days after invasion assault forces had planted the American flag atop Igusugu Yama mountain, and fives days after Ernie Pyle, famed war correspondent, was killed by Japanese machine gun fire outside of Ie town.⁽²⁾ The 77^th Division erected a memorial marker at the place where he died, as a tribute to the beloved columnist. The inscription reads: "At this spot the 77^th Division lost a buddy, Ernie Pyle, April 18, 1945."

Audley, shown here leaning against a damaged landing craft, spent the next six months of the war on Ie Shima. The island was an important staging point during the Battle of Okinawa, and for subsequent air raids launched against Tokyo and the Japanese mainland.⁽³⁾ Ie Shima was subjected to almost daily strafing and bombing by Japanese planes during the first month. Sniper fire and night time raids, carried out by Japanese resistence entrenched in caves on the island, provided additional dangers. On May 25^th Japanese planes "gave the island a terrific pasting," during which time one bomb landed in the Navy GROPAC area, where Audley's activities were centered. This bomb caused twenty-four deaths and 21 wounded, including five men killed and six wounded in Audley's unit. These enemy activities, although decreasing in frequency, continued right up until the Japanese surrender agreement in mid-August. On August 19, Audley, along with many other GI's on Ie Shima, witnessed an historic event when two planes carrying a delegation of Japanese officials landed at the air strip. The delegation was on its way to Manilla to meet with General MacArthur, preliminary to a final surrender ceremony which was to take place aboard the Battleship Missouri on September 2.

On September 2, Brigadier General Charles E. Thomas, Jr., commander Army Garrison Force on Ie Shima, in a message to the thousands of troops on Ie Shima, declared:

"Victory is ours. Japan's dream of world conquest has been finally and utterly destroyed by the force of Allied arms. We here on Ie Shima can feel justly proud of the part this tiny island played in winning the war. We salute the gallant officers and men of the Ground, Air, Service and Naval forces without whose tireless efforts and sacrifices this base would never have been able to accomplish its assigned mission. To those of our comrades who gave their lives here, we pause in reverent tribute. For far beyond all of our efforts, these men gave all that a man can give. When we rejoice because of our victory, let us remember those men. Let us never forget that the peace we shall enjoy was paid for at their expense."⁽⁴⁾

Returning home after the war, Audley was discharged and transferred to Naval Reserve status. For several years he worked as a cabinet maker in Laurel, Maryland. On August 23, 1950 he was recalled to active duty at the rank of Damage Control First Class. He was stationed at the Naval Radio Communications Station at Cheltenham, Maryland, before being released from active duty in January of 1953. In June of 1954 he volunteered for active service once again, and spent much of the next four years aboard ship. Audley served on four ships during this period, including the USS CALVERT (APA 32) and the carriers USS TICONDEROGA (CVA 14) and USS F.D. ROOSEVELT (CVA 42). He participated in two Asian cruises which took him to Japan and Korea, among other places, and one Mediterranean cruise.

In 1958 he joined the Presidential Naval Support unit in Washington, D.C., where he served under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. During this time, he was stationed at the Navy Yard where, amongst other White House related projects, he worked on John F. Kennedy's presidential yacht (shown left), the Honey Fitz. In one instance, he designed and built the custom furniture used in the ship's recreational area, according to the specific wishes of the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.

A letter of commendation written by the Naval Aide to President Kennedy attests to the high quality with which Audley performed his duty while attached to the White House support staff. This letter was placed in his official service record at the request of the Naval Aide.

In April of 1966, Audley began a one year tour of duty in Vietnam. He was stationed at the US Naval Support Activity in Danang. After returning home, he retired from active duty in July of 1967, and worked for the District of Columbia's youth correctional facility near Fort Meade, Maryland.

Audley served during three wars, under five presidents, and received the following commendations during the course of his long Naval career: Good Conduct Medal with 4 Bronze Stars, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal (for service during WWII within continental US), Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Star (participation in invasion and occupation of Ie Shima), World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star (service in Vietnam), Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (awarded by Republic of Vietnam), and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon Bar (for meritorious service of Naval Support Activity, Danang).

In 1959, while stationed in Washington, Audley married Elizabeth (Betty) Wiseman, the youngest daughter of Frank Wiseman and Cora Mae Elliott, of Monessen, Pennsylvania. Frank, along with his parents and two older siblings, immigrated from Essen, Germany in 1881. Frank's father and older brother, both named Peter, perished in separate coal mining accidents. Cora was born in nearby Pittsburgh of Irish stock, and was the second wife of Frank. Audley and Betty moved to Laurel, where they had one child, Vincent Audley. In 1968, they moved to nearby Scaggsville, in Howard County, not far from Savage. Audley died in 1989 at the Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Children of Audley & Betty Hackley

1. Vincent Audley Hackley (VI) Vince was born in Prince George's County, Maryland. Currently residing in Frederick County.

Footnotes

1. Naval Records of Audley W. Hackley, National Personnel Records Center, Naval Reference Branch, St. Louis, MO.

2. Ie Shima Diary, unknown author, typewritten manuscript in personal papers of Audley Hackley.

3. Okinawa, The Last Battle of World War II, by Robert Leckie, Viking Penguin, New York, 1995.

4. Ie Shima Diary, Page 27.