POER-GEORGE

LOST  AT  SEA  IN  SINKING  OF

USS SPENCE  DURING  TYPHOON  COBRA

In December 1944, Task Force-38, consisting of 7 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 8 battleships, 15 cruisers and about 50 destroyers was operating in the Philippine Sea conducting air raids against Japanese airfields.  On December 17, as the attacks subsided, refuelling operations with the fast carrier strike force began but increasingly heavy seas forced cancellation later that day.  On December 18 the weather further deteriorated and the fleet was struck by the full force by Typhoon Cobra, also known as the “Typhoon of 1944” or “Halsey’s Typhoon.  With barometers falling to very low levels and winds increasing above 90 knots, ships began to experience serious damage and numerous planes on the carriers were destroyed.  Several of the destroyers which had almost empty fuel tanks particularly struggled against the monstrous seas which were described as sometimes reaching 50 to 60 feet in height.  All hands worked feverishly to maintain integrity and keep the ships afloat. 

The typhoon struck USS SPENCE about 1100 and at about 1530, after being buffeted, tossed and swallowed by the mountainous waves, the ship rolled to her starboard side an estimated 72 degrees and as water poured into the upper structure, she capsized and was lost.  Fortunately a number of crewmembers, including Ensign George William Poer, were able to escape from the sinking ship.  When in the water the survivors faced new problems as the intense winds whipped up needlelike spray from wave tops like a blinding snowstorm and visibility was almost zero.  As debris rose from the sinking ship a lifesaving floater net rose to the surface and an estimated 18 to 20 struggling survivors were able to clutch onto it for survival.  As waves broke over the floater net it would turn and roll as the force of the water threw men off of it again and again.  Survivors had difficulty locating and swimming back to the net and slowly the number of survivors began to dwindle.  By nightfall the raging storm began to subside and the number of survivors clinging to the net was only 9 men.  Even though the water was warm the men shivered during the night and were able to take short cat naps. 

During the night ENS Poer slipped away from the net while others were napping.  He had been located next to another officer who had taken charge of the survivors and when he awoke to find Poer gone he roused other survivors to determine if they knew what had happened to Poer.  A survivor suddenly shouted, “There he is!” and ENS Poer was spotted face down in the water about 50 feet away held afloat by his life jacket.  The officer feared that Poer had demised and felt obligated to retrieve his dog tags and swam toward the submerged figure.  Reaching the scene he lifted Poer’s head out of the water and reached for the dog tag chain.  Poer’s eyes reportedly opened and he angrily shouted, “Why did you wake me up?  I want to sleep.  Let me alone!.”  ENS Poer was persuaded to return to the net but sometime later, while the rest of the group dozed off, Poer again disappeared and was never seen again.  By morning when it was discovered that he was gone, only 6 survivors clung to the net.  Later rescue efforts recovered only 24 survivors from SPENCE and 315 crewmembers died when the ship floundered.

The body of ENS Poer was not recovered.  His name has been added to the Tablets of the Missing at the American Military Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)