USS BUSH (DD 529)

Ensign Robert "Bob" Carney - 1945

Wounded Survivor Receives Purple Heart

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Ensign Bob Carney
Above right, Ensign Bob Carney receives the purple heart for wounds suffered during the kamikaze attack that sank DD-529.

Although most survivors would return home on the USS HENRICO, some of the more seriously wounded found their way home aboard a combination of other forms of travel. These methods included hospital ship, airplane and train. For these individuals there could be a number of layovers for medical attention.

Ensign Bob Carney's pelvis was fractured during the April 6, 1945 sinking of BUSH. After initial rescue he was moved to the hospital ship USS COMFORT. He made a slow journey home, his mid section surrounded by a body cast. Because of the cast it was difficult for him to stand. And this fact was a little hard on his Mom when he finally reached home by train, and she saw him for the first time.

He was shipped to a Navy care facility in Sun Valley, Idaho. Arriving in July 1945, Bob noted it was "tough duty", especially having to deal with the 27 or so nurses after a year at sea. He is pictured above receiving his purple heart, as did other wounded sailors and marines recovering there. Eventually, Bob was well enough to be reassigned. Word came that the Navy was ordering him to an island in the Pacific.....Whidbey Island, Washington State!


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