SNOHOMISH — Bill Harris and Arthur Wehling did everything together when they were serving aboard the USS Enterprise during World War II.
For more than two years, the men even spent time together when they were on leave. Wehling, at 18, was one of the youngest of the 10 yeomen aboard the aircraft carrier.
“We were best buddies, even though I was a youngster,” said Wehling, now 87 and who lives in Kalamazoo, Mich. “We worked together, ate together and slept together.”
“Not on the same bed,” said Bill Harris, 92, from Snohomish.
The men met on the aircraft carrier, where they served from 1943 to almost the end of the war. Now, 66 years since they saw each other, Wehling flew to Washington state last Thursday to spend five days with his buddy and remember old war stories.
Harris took Wehling to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to visit the first base he served at after he enlisted in Chicago on Sept. 12, 1942. Wheling visited the first command administration building at the seaplane base, which displays memorabilia and artifacts from World War II.
Harris also took him to Seattle Center, Mount Rainier National Park and to his daughter’s home in Woodinville for a barbecue.
On Saturday, they talked about the different missions they went on together.
The men were not on the Enterprise at the beginning of the war, but they did participate in battles including Okinawa, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima.
During the battles, their stations were at the bridge, alongside the captain. One time, a Japanese plane flew below the radar and dropped a bomb below the deck where Wehling was stationed.
“I told my grandchildren that if the bomb had gone off, they wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Wehling was not aboard the Enterprise when it suffered the last attack during the war, on May 14, 1945. A kamikaze bomber attacked one of the elevators, killing 14 men and wounding 34 others. Harris was not wounded.
“We had been attacked every day. It was just a matter of time,” Harris said. “Flames were 300 feet in the air.”
Wehling’s visit took about a month of planning. Before meeting in person, they had talked over the phone and sent letters to each other at least once a year. They started writing each other about 10 years ago.
It was important for Harris to see Wehling one more time.
“I cannot see my other buddies anymore. They passed away. He’s the last one,” Harris said.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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