Page 102 - The History of Veterans at Highland Springs

LENWOOD STEGLICH
HIGHLAND SPRINGS RESIDENT, NAVY BY JUDITH STEGLICH, DAUGHTER
Lenwood Steglich was born in Rosenberg, TX in 1922, spending his childhood on his family’s
dairy farm in Bartlett, TX with four siblings. Len volunteered and served in the United States Navy during World War II from September 1942 to February 1946. He attended Navy Flight Preparatory School at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT; took ground training classes in Fitchburg, MA; attended Pre- flight School at Chapel Hill, NC; attended Primary Flight Training School in Bunker Hill, IN; and attended Intermediate Flight Training School and then Operational Flight Training, before serving on the USS BOWDITCH, a hydrographic survey ship. The Public Information Office of the United States Pacific Fleet called the BOWDITCH one of the most unusual vessels of the entire task force. Her job was to dish out “road maps” of the Pacific Ocean, prowling into bays on the enemy coastline and compiling charts from her findings. Without the vital information concerning Japanese harbors and beach areas, fleet commanders would have been unable to strike confidently into enemy waters without fear of hitting submerged reefs or running aground on sandbars. “Hydrographic survey” sounds like non-combat duty, but frequently the BOWDITCH set up markers and beacons, only to find itself in the midst of armed combat with the Japanese. The BOWDITCH was described as “a combination of a work-horse and a war-horse.”
Len received the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Good Conduct Ribbon. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in February 1946 with the rank of Pharmacist Mate Second Class. He returned to Texas and was a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, Class of 1944. Len married Fern Wiley in 1953 and they were married until her death in 2007. They have four children: Linda, Lee, Greg and Steve. Len’s first profession was as a teacher but he changed course when he went to work as an engineer for Dresser Magcobar until his retirement in 1986. Len and Fern retired to College Station, Texas but later moved to Frisco, Texas to be near their grandchildren, Kohl, Koen and Eva. Len moved to the Highland Springs Retirement Community in 2008. A highlight for Len was his trip to Washington, D.C. in 2014 as a part of the Honor Flight.
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