SENTINEL BUTTE, N.D.,
June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- U-Haul® was born as World War II was coming to a close,
with its first one-way trailers made available to the moving public
on or about July 4, 1945.
Just as U-Haul is celebrating 75 years of service this year,
America will soon celebrate the 75th anniversary of V-J Day. This
signifies Victory over Japan and
is observed Sept. 2 when the signing
of surrender occurred, effectively ending WWII.
Veterans such as Sentinel
Butte native Kermit E. Shoen
returned home to start a new life after the war, and in doing so
planted the seeds of prosperity for U-Haul, a product of the peace
for which they fought.
WWII-era Navy veteran L.S. "Sam" Shoen (Kermit's cousin) and his
wife, Anna Mary Carty Shoen,
conceived U-Haul in June 1945 when
they recognized a basic need while moving up the West Coast, having
left behind most of their belongings since one-way trailer rentals
did not yet exist. From that idea, an industry was created and a
new level of mobility became attainable for every American
family.
New Display at Pearl
Harbor
Today, U-Haul is committed to honoring veterans and supporting
veteran causes. This is accomplished through recruiting veterans
and giving them hiring preference; direct assistance to veteran
groups; participation and sponsorship of Memorial Day and Veterans
Day parades; and supporting Pearl
Harbor tributes.
The Company's 75th anniversary tributes will peak triumphantly
with the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum's dedication of the renovated
Ford Island Control Tower on Aug. 29.
U-Haul Pacific Theater veterans' bios and photos will be displayed
in the tower lobby. Kermit will be among those memorialized on the
lobby wall.
The tower will showcase a new elevator, gifted by U-Haul CEO
Joe Shoen, providing public access
to the observation deck where America's lone WWII aviation
battlefield can be revered and our heroes remembered.
North Dakota Roots
Kermit was born in Sentinel
Butte in 1917, the second of four sons born to Edward and Sadie Shoen, a Scottish-Irish couple
who ran cattle and raised grain on a small ranch in the
Badlands.
It was a hard life. At 17, Kermit worked as a ranch hand,
bartender, cab driver and other odd jobs around Fargo to help his parents and younger brothers
survive on the homestead. He was one of 17 students to graduate
from Sentinel Butte High School in 1935.
Kermit joined the Army in April
1941. He was assigned to the same North Dakota National
Guard unit as his brother Rodney – Company K, 164th Infantry
Regiment, Dickinson. The unit
trained at Camp Claiborne, La.
The "164th Marines"
Soon after Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor, the 164th was
dispatched to the South Pacific. They landed on Guadalcanal on
Oct. 13, 1942, to relieve Marine
forces pinned down by the Japanese. Kermit was awarded the Silver
Star for bravery during the brutal jungle fighting of the second
battle for Henderson Field, which is
also known as the Battle of Coffin Corner. While issuing an order
during the battle, Kermit was shot in the mouth. He survived, but
would carry a piece of shrapnel in his cheek for the rest of his
life.
The 164th became the first U.S. Army unit in WWII to engage the
enemy offensively. For their actions at Guadalcanal, the unit
earned a Navy Presidential Unit Citation, as well as the respect of
its Marine cohorts. The unit was authorized to wear the 1st Marine
Guadalcanal Patch on their uniforms and became known as the "Little
Marines" and the "164th Marines."
Kermit fought in four major campaigns in the Pacific. For his
service, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal (four
bronze campaign stars for Guadalcanal, the Northern Solomons,
Leyte, and Southern Philippines),
the Philippine Liberation Medal (one bronze service star), the Navy
Presidential Unit Citation, the Philippine Presidential Unit
Citation (one star), the Silver Star and the Bronze Star
medals.
Family Business
Following the war, Kermit joined U-Haul after meeting with his
cousin, Sam, in May 1952. Sam was
mapping the first major expansion of the U-Haul network.
"He didn't talk me into coming in with him. It was the
way he talked me into it," Kermit recalled in a 1973
interview. "He didn't speak of making a lot of money. He talked of
what we could do for the people – you know, society – that would
make our lives worth the candle."
Kermit was a revered U-Haul leader for more than 29 years,
working in many capacities. He constructed trailers, was an area
field manager servicing neighborhood dealerships, rental company
president, and regional vice president. He passed away in
1981.
Veteran Ties and Appreciation
The Shoens started U-Haul upon Sam's discharge with $4,000 of accumulated Navy pay
and the courage formed by the cauldron of WWII. With the
help of other veterans, the young couple forged their new
enterprise from the freedom that victory produced.
Today, U-Haul serves all 50 states and 10 Canadian
provinces, helping millions of families move every
year. Kermit is one of the many veterans who laid the
foundation for the present prosperity U-Haul enjoys.
U-Haul is one of a myriad of companies built by these incredible
veterans, who are to be saluted and remembered during this 75th
anniversary celebration. Thank you, Kermit.
Find more veteran tributes in the History and Culture
section of myuhaulstory.com.
About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of
do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across
all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7
offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day
through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our
proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has
enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks,
120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly
697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at
owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer
of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket
industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. For
information on moving safely and smartly with U-Haul during the
COVID-19 pandemic, please reference
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8601451-u-haul-moving-season-covid-19-safety/.
Contact:
Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com
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SOURCE U-Haul