Aransas Pass Progress
Now 98, Dewey Holden joined the United States Coast Guard at age 18, just weeks after the surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941. At his home on Holden Road, named after his family, Dewey is surrounded by daughters Jenny Strackbein (left) and Jackie Cheaney (right) Friday, September 9th.
Armed to defend, Holden is pictured aboard a Coast Guard picket boat. German U-boats patrolled just off the U.S. coast and several American ships were torpedoed and sunk before they made it out to sea, so Dewey and his crew had to remain constantly vigilant against the enemy
Courtesy: The Holden Family
For his exemplary service during World War II, Holden is immortalized in the ‘Hall of Heroes’ at the Maxine Flournoy 3rd Coast Squadron Commemorative Air Force Museum at McCampbell-Porter Airport. He was presented the honor in October 2019. His brother, Army veteran Lee Wayne Holden is nominated for a similar honor this fall.
Courtesy: C.A.F. 3rd Coast Squadron
Holden as he appeared in 1941 right after enlisting in the Coast Guard. He served as a Bosun’s Mate, 1st Class much of World War 2 abord a Louisiana-based ‘picket’ boat ferrying crew on to and off merchant ships and Navy vessels headed to sea from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Courtesy: The Holden Family
Aransas Pass Veteran Joined Homeland Defense After Pearl Harbor
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