Obituary

  Jerome C. Schenkelberg of Carroll, who was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and fought at Normandy when the Allies began to retake Europe during World War II, died Monday morning at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll. He was 72.
  Mass of the Christian burial for Mr. Schenkelberg will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 25, 1996, at St. Lawrence Church in Carroll with the Rev. Laurence Burns officiating. Maurice Dunn American Legion Post No. 7 of Carroll and the Pearl Harbor Survivors will have honor guards.
  Lector will be Mike Loughran. Eucharistic ministers will be Pat and Kelly Coins. Mass servers will be Carin and Carrie Sporrer. Gift bearers will be Laura and Jill Kacere and Brian Sporrer.
  Casket bearers will be Doug Evans, Morrie Schenkelberg, Vernon Eischeid, Gene Langel, Loren Sporrer, Chuck Eich, Barry Schenkelberg and Wayne Eich.
  Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Carroll.
  Friends will call after 2:30 p.m. and a rosary will be recited at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Twit Funeral Home in Carroll. There will be a vigil service at 7:30 Wednesday night at the funeral home.
  A son of Henry and Caroline (Diers) Schenkelberg, he was born June 13, 1923, at Halbur and attended Carroll High School.
  He left school at age 17 to join the Navy, which had recently lowered its enlistment age. Mr. Schenkelberg planned to serve four years then return home and complete high school. But World War II and raising a family made him put it off, and he didn't finish his studies and receive his CHS diploma until 1992.
  After basic training in the Navy, Mr. Schenkelberg was assigned to the battleship USS Nevada, which soon sailed to Pearl Harbor. He was below deck when the Japanese hit. Mr. Schenkelberg was serving as a telephone, ammunition hoist and ammunition conveyor operator. Throughout the Japanese attack, he fed shells up to the Nevada's 5-inch guns.
  The Nevada is credited with lessening American losses at Pearl Harbor. Heavily damaged during the Japanese first wave, she got underway and drew enemy fire away from other critical areas during the second wave. The ship was beached to prevent it from sinking.
  "We were recommended for a medal," Mr. Schenkelberg, who was initially reported as killed in action at Pearl Harbor, said during an interview marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day. "There were a lot of medals given out but we didn't get any of them. But I didn't care. Just getting credit from the people who talked about it was enough for me."
  Last fall, Mr. Schenkelberg published a book about Iowans' experiences at Pearl Harbor entitled "We Were There, December 7, 1941."
  He stayed with the Nevada while it was cleaned and refitted. Less than a year after Pearl Harbor, she was driving the Japanese from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, escorting ship convoys across the Atlantic and doing maneuvers before being returned to active duty.
  The Nevada was the first ship to fire on D-Day. She lobbed shells up to 17 miles inland for 76 hours. Again, Schenkelberg was in an ammunition hold hoisting shells up to the 5-lnch guns topside.
"The skipper left the communications open all the time, and we could hear these pilots that spotted for us letting us know whether we were on or off target," Mr. Schenkelberg said. "The firing was just superb that we did. We were so happy. But I don't know how many planes we lost. Those Spitfires had to go as slow as they could. We could hear some pilots saying 'The angels are calling.' They were hit. Then they just said 'Bye.'"
  After the war, the Nevada was scuttled after an atomic bomb couldn't do the job during a test.
Mr. Schenkelberg was discharged in 1946.
  He and Sally Eich were married Nov. 26, 1947, at St. Augustine Church in Halbur with the Rev. H.B. Kramer officiating. Mr. Schenkelberg was a salesman for the Peter Pan bread company for 10 years and the Kitty Clover potato chip company for 23 years.
  Mr. Schenkelberg was a member of St. Lawrence Parish, Maurice Dunn American Legion Post No. 7, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and the Teamsters union. Mr. Schenkelberg was a former Legion commander and former vice president of the Kuemper Parents Club, and he was the first president of the Iowa State Knights of Columbus Bowling Association.
  Survivors include his wife, Sally Schenkelberg, of Carroll; seven children and their spouses: David and Sally Schenkelberg of Wright City, Mo., Mary Beth and Mark Kacere of Des Moines, Danny and Kris Schenkelberg of Kansas City, Mo., Jayne and Jim Sporrer of Des Moines, Mark and Teri Schenkelberg of Prairie Village, Kan., Jeff and Debbie Schenkelberg of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Lisa and Brian Allen of Lakewood; 10 grandchildren; a brother, Clayton Schenkelberg, and his wife, Allie, of San Diego, Calif.; a sister, Eunice Evans, and her husband, Bill, of Fonda; six sisters-in-law: Wynette Schenkelberg of Grand Junction, Colo., Sister Ricarda Eich of Dubuque, Evelyn Langel of Templeton, Lucy Irlmeier of Manning, Kay Loughran of Breda and Millie Sporrer of Manning; a brother-in-law, Ray Eich, of Halbur; an uncle, Ben Schenkelberg, of Carroll; two aunts: Lavine Paige of Carroll and Loretta Diers of Carroll.
  Mr. Schenkelberg was preceded in death by his parents; his parents-in-law, Charles and Anna Eich; two brothers: Herb Schenkelberg and Elmer Schenkelberg; two sisters and a brother, all in infancy; three sisters-in-law: Pauline Schenkelberg, Helen Eischeid and Thelma Eich; and seven brothers-in-law: Alvin Eich and his wife, Marie, Adolph Langel, Leo Irlmeier, George Eischeid, John Loughran, Herb Eich and Lawrence Sporrer.
(The Times Herald, Carroll, Iowa, Tuesday, April 23, 1996, p. 1)