Title Page & Abstract
An Interview with Leslie Axelrod
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Veterans Remember Oral History project
Interview # VRK-A-L-2017-054
Leslie (Les) Axelrod, a Korean War veteran who served on the USS Lewis, a destroyer escort, was interviewed on the date listed below as part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Veterans Remember – Korean War Oral History project.
Interview dates & location:
Date: Jun 30, 2017 Location: Highland Park, IL Public Library
Interview Format: Digital audio
Interviewer: Mark R. DePue, Director of Oral History
Transcript being processed.
Transcription by: _________________________
Edited by: _______________________________
Total Pages: ______ Total Time: 1:54 + 1:41 / 1.9 + 1.68 = 3.58 hrs.
Session 1: Early life, enlistment in the Navy plus basic training and Navy OCS
Session 2: Experiences on the USS Lewis off North Korea, and USS Wilkinson
Accessioned into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Archives on January 17, 2018.
The interviews are archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
© 2017 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Abstract
Leslie Axelrod, Veterans Remember, VRK-A-L-2017-054
Biographical Information Overview of Interview: Leslie (Les) Axelrod was born on June 28, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in University City, a St. Louis suburb. His father worked as an accountant and his mother was a housewife. During World War II, Les was in the Boy Scouts and helped with tin can drives and other activities. He graduated from University City High School in 1945, with a strong aptitude in math. He enrolled in Washington University and majored in chemical engineering, graduating in three years and taking classes with many World War II veterans. Axelrod enlisted in the U.S. Navy in September, 1950, and attended basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, north of Chicago. He continued there in the Electronics Technician School (and later at Key West Naval Station), but in late 1951 he was accepted into the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and received his commission in March, 1952. Les was already married to Leah Mandelker by that time.
Following his commissioning as an ensign, Les was assigned as the Electronics Officer (and later the Communications Officer as well) to the USS Lewis (DE-535), a WW II era destroyer escort that was coming out of mothballs in Mare Island, California. By July, the USS Lewis was sailing for South Korea, with stops at Midway Island, Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan enroute. By late August the Lewis was on station off the coast of North Korea supporting ROK Navy mine sweeping operations and shelling enemy shore installations and troop concentrations. On October 21, 1952, while the Lewis was laying down a smoke screen for South Korean mine sweepers in the Wonson harbor, it came under attack by the North Koreans, and was hit by artillery in the forward fire room that knocked out one of the ship’s boilers and killed seven sailors. The ship underwent repairs in Japan and then returned to San Diego in December, 1952. In May, 1953 Axelrod was reassigned to the USS Wilkinson (DL-5), a destroyer leader that was then under construction in Quincy, Massachusetts. Les supervised the installation of electronic equipment on the ship. The USS Wilkinson was commissioned in August, 1954 and went on its shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Axelrod was released from the Navy in January, 1955.
Subject Headings/Key Words: electronics and communication officer in Navy during Korean War; naval operations off east coast of North Korea, 1952; USS Lewis (DE-535); USS Wilkinson (DL-5); USS Lewis’s combat action on October 21, 1952; growing up in suburban St. Louis during depression; growing up during World War II; Naval OCS at Newport, Rhode Island
Note to the Reader: Readers of the oral history memoir should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, interviewee and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inherent in such historical sources. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for the views expressed therein. We leave these for the reader to judge.
COPYRIGHT
The following material can be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes without the written permission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. “Fair use” criteria of Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 must be followed. These materials are not to be deposited in other repositories, nor used for resale or commercial purposes without the authorization from the Audio-Visual Curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 N. 6th Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. Telephone (217) 785-7955