USS SLC...Marine...Herman M. Appling, Pfc USMC
Herman Montgomery Appling passed away on Aug. 5th, 2006
Herman Montgomery Appling. Promoted to PFC in April 1942. He served in the Marine Corps until 1968, retiring as a Master Gunnery Sergeant.
#8 in Marine Gun Crew-Group ID# 134
SLC Deck Logs Mar. 1942
Nov. 1942
Born in Arkansas, August 8, 1922, Herman Appling joined the Marine Corps at 18 to see the world. His first assignment was on board the USS Salt Lake City in the Pacific. His ship was scheduled to be in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but maneuvers postponed their arrival until the day after that fateful attack.
Private Appling spent the beginning of World War II fighting in the Pacific before he was given the honor of traveling with, and guarding, the Freedom Train, where he met President Harry S. Truman. After the war he was stationed at the American Embassy in Belgium, where he met his first wife, Anna Bert. Herman and Anna had two daughters, Terry and Carol, and settled down in Oceanside, California, in 1958. "Gunny" Appling served in Okinawa during the Vietnam War.
Retiring from the Marines after 21 years at the rank of master gunnery sergeant, Herman joined the California Highway Patrol and became a member of the Elks. He married his second wife, Pattie Fox in 1970. Herman retired from the CHP after 15 years of service. His wife died the day after 9/11. Throughout his life, Herman was a mechanic and handyman and these were his favorite pastimes in his retirement. He was everyone's favorite neighbor, the friend you could always count on and the smile that always brightened your day.
Herman Appling died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia. He is survived by his sister, Dealva Wheeler, and by his brother and sister-in-law, Elsie and Oliver "Pete" Appling. He is lovingly remembered by his daughter and son-in-law, Carol Chace and Mark Tydell.
Herman Appling will be interred at the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside beside his beloved wife, Patricia Appling and his daughter, Terry Appling.
