Memories of Sailor Jack “Old Iron” Caldwell on the USS Texas

The Birth of a Great Enemy at Sea
USS Texas was laid down on April 17, 1911 at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and officially launched on May 18, 1912. The ship was commissioned into the United States Navy on March 12, 1914, becoming one of the most modern battleships of the time, equipped with a main battery of ten 14-inch (356 mm) guns, capable of destroying targets at a distance of tens of kilometers.

Participated in World War I and World War II
World War I: Although Texas did not directly participate in major naval battles in World War I, the ship played an important role in escorting convoys across the Atlantic, protecting the supply route from the US to Europe.

World War II: This was the period when USS Texas clearly demonstrated its power. The ship participated in many important campaigns such as:

North Africa Campaign (1942): supported the landing at Casablanca.

D-Day Campaign in Normandy (1944): USS Texas bombarded German defenses at Omaha Beach, supporting the successful Allied landing.

Southern France Campaign (1944): continued to provide fire support for the army.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa Campaign (1945): the ship moved to the Pacific and supported the landing on important islands in the war with the Empire of Japan.

“There are ships that don’t just make history – they live in history. And to me, the USS Texas is more than just a battleship. It is home. It is a comrade. It has seen both the good days and the bad nights.”

— Jack Caldwell, recalling in 1987.

First Step on Deck
Jack Caldwell was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1920. The son of a shipwright, Jack grew up surrounded by the sound of hammers and the smell of wet wood. When World War II broke out, he volunteered for service without waiting for a call. He was 22 when he was assigned to the USS Texas—young, tough, and filled with an indescribable sense of pride as he boarded the ship that bore his hometown’s name.

“The first day I set foot on Texas, my heart was pounding like a drum. The huge guns, the blaring sirens, the smell of engine oil—it was overwhelming but alluring. I knew I belonged.”

In the Flames of Normandy
Caldwell served as a gunner on one of the 40mm anti-aircraft guns. During D-Day, Texas was one of the first ships to bombard the Normandy coast, supporting the Allied landings on Omaha Beach.

“We couldn’t see the Germans, just smoke and flashes from the land guns. But I’ll never forget the sight of one of our guns getting hit – a good friend of mine, Billy, badly wounded. He didn’t scream. He just grabbed my hand and said, ‘Please…don’t let them forget me.’”

The Bombing Days of Okinawa
After Normandy, the USS Texas was sent to the Pacific Theater. Jack says Okinawa was where he felt death the closest he ever felt.

“The anti-aircraft guns were howling like ghosts. Kamikazes were coming. One almost hit the stern. We shot it down when it was only a few dozen yards away. I remember the shrapnel flying over my head, hitting the radar mast. I thought, ‘I’m never going to see land again.’ But Texas didn’t fall. None of us did.”

The Day the Battleship Was Departed
After the war ended, Jack left the Navy and returned to work as a mechanic. Years later, when he heard that Texas had been turned into a museum, he visited the ship again.

“I stood on the deck where I had knelt to clean the floor, where I had watched the guns fire, and my heart sank. The ship was no longer young, nor was I. But every rivet, every rust spot still whispered: ‘We made history.’”

A sailor’s legacy
Jack Caldwell died in 1992 at the age of 72. On his grave, the inscription reads:

“Jack ‘Old Iron’ Caldwell – Soldier of the Sea, Son of the USS Texas.”

It is said that on holidays, an old man wearing an old Navy uniform sometimes stands pensively at the bow of the battleship. No one knows who he is. But those who have heard of Jack Caldwell are certain that he is still patrolling, still guarding the spirit of the legendary ship.