WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Commissioners honored a U.S. Navy veteran as their Veteran of the Month at the Sept. 5 meeting.

When David Edward Read, Warsaw, entered the military recruitment office in December 1943 his intentions were to enlist in the U.S. Army. Read was living in Iowa at the time, born to Martin and Inez Read in Spirit Lake, Iowa, on Oct. 14, 1924, the second of five children. Read’s bus ride from Spirit Lake to Des Moines to enlist was the first time he had ever left home by himself.

While Read had been deferred twice to finish school and could have again deferred his enlistment, serving his country was important. At the recruitment office, Read stated he wanted to join the Army and was promptly introduced to the recruiting officer for the U.S. Navy.

Read decided to go where he was needed and enlisted in the Navy. Within a few weeks of enlisting, Read was off to Minneapolis, Minn., before heading to Spokane, Wash.

Read’s training continued at Great Lakes, Ill., for Naval and gunnery training, Richmond, Va., for diesel school and Virginia Beach, Va., for landing ship tank and tank school. Read was then sent to Evansville to board the LST 813 and travel down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, La.

From New Orleans, Read traveled by way of the Panama Canal to San Pedro, Calif., and then off to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to deliver supplies.

In February 1945, the LST 813 arrived at Iwo Jima, Japan, where it was later part of the campaign for Okinawa, including the invasion of the Kerema Islands. Read’s ship continued between Saipan and the Kerema Islands until the war ended on Sept. 5, 1945.

After the battle, the LST 813 was converted in to a mothership for five minesweepers within the harbors of Japan and continued until all ships reached San Francisco, Calif. Read was discharged May 24, 1946.

Back in the United States, Read continued his education in engineering. He married and had two sons and two daughters. Years later he married his wife Mary, settling in the Warsaw area in 2008. They are proud grandparents of 16 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.