Walter Radcliffe was a sailor aboard the USS Isherwood when it got hit by Japanese kamikaze pilots during an Okinawa invasion in March 1945. On that day, Radcliffe was assigned to a gun turret, something he did not expect since as a machinist’s mate, he normally worked in the engine rooms.

ONE CENTURY FULFILLED: (From left) Barnegat Township Committeeman Joseph Marte, Dorothy Radcliffe and Mayor Albert Bille honor the life and service of Walter Radcliffe (right). (Supplied Photo)

“But when the ship got attacked, the engine rooms were hit the hardest,” he recalled. “In fact, all of the men who were in the engine room I normally worked in were killed. I’m lucky to be alive.”

Radcliffe shared that story with a packed house at Barnegat VFW Post 10092 on July 10, which was the Navy veteran’s…