James F. Kathmann
World War II
Jim Kathmann was born in Templeton of November 29, 1919, to Frank (Kotty) and Helena (Lippold) Kathmann. He attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from Sacred Heart High School with the class of 1937.
Jim registered for the military draft on July 1, 1941, and at that time was a student at Frye Aircraft School in Omaha, NE. He was inducted into the US Navy on May 25, 1944, at Des Moines, IA and assigned serial number 9130489.
By June 15, 1944, Jim was sent to the US Naval Training Center at Camp Waldron near Farragut, ID for boot training. He was part of Company 626-44 along with another Carroll County sailor. After completion of his initial training, Jim was sent to the Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) at Norman, OK. His training there was as an aircraft metalsmith. He graduated from this course on February 27, 1945.
Jim’s next assignment was with Carrier Aircraft Service Unit (CASU) #6 at Naval Air Station San Diego in California. This unit provided support to carrier units that arrived in San Diego for repair and refitment. Aircraft types that were in service at that time would have been F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters, SBD and SB2C dive bombers and TBF and TBM torpedo planes. By May 11, 1945, Jim was in Templeton on furlough. His rank was S1c (AM) (Seaman 1st Class Aircraft Metalsmith).
The Germans had surrendered in Europe on May 8, 1945, but the war in the Pacific raged on. Jim returned to San Diego to prepare for overseas assignment. By June 6, 1945, Jim and his unit sailed for Guam. Guam is an island in the Mariana Islands that was stepping off point (along with Saipan and Tinian) for the bombing campaign of Japan. The United States Marines captured the island from the Japanese occupiers during the summer of 1944. The primary airfield was the Orote Air Field. This facility was known for difficult crosswinds. After the American capture, most aircraft operations were moved to Agana Air Field.
Orote Air Field became the Navy casualty unit for the repair of damaged aircraft. Jim served at this facility through the Japanese surrender in August, 1945. Jim remained on Guam until returning to the United States on November 11, 1945. He was then assigned to Naval Air Station Alameda, CA in the San Francisco Bay Area. He remained there until his discharge at nearby Camp Shoemaker on May 17, 1946.
Jim returned to Templeton and, on June 15, 1949, married Joann Heithoff at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Carroll. The couple moved to Ames, IA where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Jim died in Ames on August 19, 1984 at age 64. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton