My father, Joseph Christopher Vayo was only eighteen when he joined the Navy in 1942.This story touched my heart and made me think of my dad. EM2 (Electrician’s Mate Second Class) Bud Cloud was also only eighteen years old, when he served on the USS Dewey during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
From the blog of Jennie Haskamp, a Marine Corps veteran who was fortunate to be adopted by the Pearl Harbor survivor, “The men and women of the USS Dewey opened their ship and their hearts and quite literally made a dream come true for a dying Sailor.”
News Fox 5 anchor, Erica Fox reported: Bud and Anita Cloud drove from their home in Temecula to Naval Base San Diego. “We thought we were just going to come by, take pictures of the ship and drive on by,” said Anita Cloud. “We didn’t think anything like this was going to happen.” The sailors aboard the USS Dewey were ready.
“There were about 40 or 50 sailors there just waiting to say hi, just waiting to meet him,” said Damage Controlman Chad Simon who was there that day. “(They wanted) to say thank you.” The sailors carried Cloud up to the ship in his wheelchair.