1180 William Emblom US Navy USS Boise When I knew him, Bill Emblom was a professor of philosophy at Southern
Illinois University at Edwardsville. He sat in on a course I taught on World War II
and shared his memories of serving on the U.S.S. Boise as a young seaman
during the early part of the war. He was a crewman when she ran aground early in
1942 and at the Battle of Cape Esperance later in the year. He remembered having
seen an unexploded Japanese 8" shell that was stuck in the barbette of one of
the Boise's 6" turrets, and had vivid memories of the removal of the bodies
of those killed in the 6" turret and amunition spaces. I think he left the
Boise's crew when it reached Philadelphia for repairs. Bill retired from teaching
in the late 80s or early 90s and died several years ago.
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