Dedication … to those who served

This website is dedicated to the men who served on the USS Elmore (APA-42), an attack transport operating in the Pacific theater during World War II. The ship earned eight battle stars for her service which put her in the top tier of attack transports. But the Elmore was just one part of America's struggle against fascism and imperialism during that period. As such, we must salute all men and women who served as part of the "Greatest Generation" in all branches of the armed services. By extension, we also salute all active members of the military as well as the veterans who link us back to the past with their selfless service to country. In this way, we also remember and celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us but who will never be forgotten. Our country is "the land of the free" because of the brave. America salutes you!

Dedication is an emotion born of a personal link. My father, Joseph A. Dudash, served aboard USS Elmore (APA-42) and that is the reason for my devotion to this ship. Dad enlisted in the navy a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After basic training at Great Lakes, he was assigned to Grosse Ile Naval Air Station outside of Detroit. Like many of the young men who enlisted in the Navy after the Japanese attack, there was a long wait to get a ship. American industrial production had yet to catch up to the needs of war. My dad went into the Navy as a yeoman. He could have taken a desk job in Washington DC, San Francisco or Pearl Harbor. But he joined the navy because he wanted to go to sea on a navy ship. So he waited until a ship became available. His patience paid off. He got a shiny, new Bayfield-class attack transport. The USS Elmore was commissioned on 25 August 1943. Dad was a plank owner, part of the crew on the day that the ship was commissioned. That must have been an amazing experience, something that undoubtedly filled my dad, and the other crew members, with pride. Until he reported for duty on Elmore, he had never even seen an ocean! Now he was a part of a dedicated crew taking their new ship out to sea. He stayed with the Elmore throughout the war and rose to the rank of Chief Yeoman, which is to say a Chief Petty Officer. He had every right to be proud of that achievement. Like many Navy vessels, the Elmore was decommissioned shortly after the war. Dad was discharged as Elmore returned to the states for the last time. He left his ship on 18 January 1946 and took a train home to Pittsburgh from San Francisco. The Elmore sailed down through the Panama Canal and arrived in New Orleans a few weeks later. She was decommissioned on 13 March 1946. My dad and the rest of the crew of the Elmore went on with their lives.

When it is all said and done, I have become the ship historian for USS Elmore, both an honor and a privilege. It is hoped that this website, in some small measure, provides a proper sense of dedication to the men who served on that ship in the most difficult of times. Most have passed on. They are all heroes to me and I trust that they would understand why I consider the USS Elmore to be my ship, too. I know that my dad would understand and would also know how proud I am to be his son.

So, on a personal note, I dedicate my efforts here to my dad, Joseph A. Dudash, a finer father no son could ask for. Dad died on 27 April 1983. He is sorely missed by both myself and my brother, Mark.