PANAMA CITY — A 90-year-old Navy veteran is hopeful he will be awarded a Purple Heart before he dies.
“I’m happy I lived this long,” he said.
Jim Giles wore the service and campaign decorations on the left lapel of his suit jackets, signifiers of his Navy service in the Pacific Theater during World War II, but he’s branded with other markers from the battle of the Midway, too.
The flecks appear as white cylinders, about a centimeter long, dotted on Giles’ right hand, wrist and forearm. In 1942, when Giles was 17, the flecks originated as red, hot shrapnel, dislodged from a 4-foot guard on the crow’s nest of the USS Vincennes; the culprit was a round from a Japanese fighter plane.
From his position about 35 feet above the deck of the battleship, Giles said he was nearly face to face with the pilots of those low-flying planes. “I had a ringside seat for the battle of Midway,” he said.
Giles remembers the shrapnel slapping into his arm, creating a splat sound and leaving his limb numb. He hit the floor of the crow’s nest and tamped the wound before leaving his post to be attended in the sickbay. He said he was treated by James Blackwater and stayed one night before going back to his post for the remainder of the four-day battle.
“I did not want to stay below. I want to be up where I could see,” Giles said. “A lot of us slept on the deck.”
Four people were with him that day in the sky lookout during the Battle of Midway. The man closest to Giles was Marine Pfc. Orville Williams. Giles has kept a letter from Williams dated Sept. 18, 1987, that references the wound and even refers to the caliber of weapon: 25.
One of the ways a Purple Heart is awarded is by the captain of the ship, in this case F.L. Riefkohl, after the battle. Giles said no one was even thinking about medals when the USS Vincennes returned to Pearl Harbor after Midway. The ship’s collective concern was preparing for another battle two months later around the island of Guadalcanal.
Putting the medal ceremony on hold normally wouldn’t be a problem because Blackwater kept a record of the wound, but that record resides at the bottom of the Savo Straits, referred to by Navy men like Giles and crewmate Ray Duley as “Iron Bottom Bay.” (The straits are located in what is now part of the Solomon Islands.)
The Vincennes provided cover for an amphibious landing in Guadalcanal. After the surprise onslaught from the ship was delivered, it was illuminated by Japanese spotlights and took on a barrage of fire. The Vincennes was hit by four torpedoes, each creating a tremor Giles could feel. He remembers bowling ball-sized holes in the bridge, remnants of naval guns. The torpedoes caused the ship to tip portside and Riefkohl told the men to abandon ship Aug. 9, 1942, at 12:30 a.m. Giles jumped over the listing ship and plunged into the cold darkness, oil covering his face as he emerged.
“I thought I was going to die,” Giles said. “I said my prayers.”
Giles and Duley and several other members of the Vincennes floated in the water, clutching to the nets of lifeboats, which were reserved for the wounded, until they were picked up the next day.
Seeking Purple Heart: Giles admits he did not think about medals or accommodations until 2010. It was his brother Jerry who brought up the idea to ask for the Purple Heart and other decorations and accommodations. Jerry is the reason Giles has a Navy Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Discharge Button and Honorable Service Lapel Pin. However, the Navy has not granted Giles the Purple Heart.
He submitted two applications; the first was to the Awards Board, who stated he did not have the right information. He appealed this through U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey, R-Pa. The Navy Personnel Command’s response confirmed Giles did not have the proper documentation.
“Unfortunately a review of available military personnel and medical records failed to document that Mr. Giles was ever wounded or injured under the conditions of which the Purple Heart can be authorized,” wrote T.E. Decent, head of Congressional Affairs for Navy Personnel Command. “Only if medical records do not exist to cover the period surrounding the incident can the member utilize two sworn affidavits from eyewitnesses to the injury.”
Although he backed up Giles story with an unsolicited letter, Williams is unable to give an affidavit because he has been dead since 2001. Giles guessed that he and Ray Duley, now 96, are the last surviving members of the Vincennes. Duley said he did not know Giles at the time and served on a different section of the ship.
“We had a good bunch of people on board,” Duley said. “Some of the best Americans you can find anywhere.”
Including the letter from Williams, Giles completed a sworn affadavit of the events and a note from his primary physician, Carlos Fernandez.
“Mr. Giles has a stellate-appearing scar on his right wrist, radial aspect that appears to have been the result of an old gunshot wound,” Fernandez wrote.
Giles corresponded with the office of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, whose office suggested appealing through the Board for Correction of Naval Records; the record could be amended to show the injury. That request was denied in June.
“The panel determined that your request was not accompanied by significant new evidence or other matter that was not reasonably available to you when you submitted your previous request,” wrote Robert Zsalman, acting executive director of the Board for Correction.
A representative from Rubio’s office said Giles’ only remaining appeal is to the president.
“I’ve thought about it,” Giles said.