WILLIAMS-KENNETH

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ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR SERVICE MEMORIES:

USS ESSEX CVS-9, CREW MEMBER FOR APOLLO 7 MISSION RECOVERY SHIP AND CREW MEMBER FOR THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THE ESSEX.

TRANSFER CREW MEMBER OF YOSEMITE AD-19 FROM NEWPORT, RI TO MAYPORT, FL.

ADDITIONAL DUTY AS FORENSIC DENTIST, 1973-1992.

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HE  HELPED  TO  CAPTURE  A  GERMAN  U-BOAT

 

On June 4, 1944, an incident without historical precedent since 1815 occurred about 150-miles off the west coast of Africa - the boarding and capture during battle of an enemy warship on the high seas by the US Navy.  Phillip N. Trusheim was the coxswain of the whaleboat from the USS PILLSBURY (DE-133) which managed to board and capture the German submarine U-505 in this unique event.

 

In a 2004 interview, Trusheim said that he enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.  He remembers that he was very scared as he watched Japanese bombs fall around him that Sunday morning.  Less than a month later he was assigned to the USS WRIGHT (AV-1), a supply ship that delivered supplies throughout the South Pacific during the early days of WWII.  In early 1943 he was transferred to the USS PILLSBURY, a destroyer escort commissioned in June 1943.  In June 1944, PILLSBURY was escorting the escort aircraft carrier USS GUADALCANAL (CVE-60) as a member of antisubmarine hunter-killer Task Group 22.3 which had sailed from Norfolk on May 15, 1944, on its third mission.  During its first two forays in January and April, Task Group 22.3 had badly damaged one German U-boat and sunk three others.  CAPT Daniel V. Gallery, the task group commander aboard GUADALCANAL formed an audacious plan to force a damaged German U-boat to the surface, force its crew overboard, and then board and capture it before it sank.  On May 17, 1944, CAPT Gallery sent a message to his escort ships: EACH ESCORT DRAW UP PLANS AND ORGANIZE A PARTY TO BOARD-CAPTURE AND TAKE SUB IN TOW IF OPPORTUNITY ARISES.  CAPT Gallery later exclaimed, The plan worked to perfection!  During an interview in 2004, Trusheim remarked that although he thought the plan to capture a German submarine was Nuts when he first heard about it, he volunteered and was assigned duty as coxswain of the PILLSBURY boarding party whaleboat.

 

Until the bright and sunny morning of Sunday, June 4, 1944, the passage of Task Group 22.3 had been uneventful and with fuel running low CAPT Gallery had ordered them to make for Casablanca to refuel.  At 1109 one of the escorts reported, WE ARE INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE SOUND CONTACT.  At 1112, the escort signaled her confirmation of the contact as a submarine, later identified as the U-505, and fired a full pattern of hedgehogs at the submerged contact.  The contact-detonated hedgehogs missed their target.  Two Wildcat fighter planes from GUADALCANAL, which had been providing air cover, immediately commenced searching, quickly sighted the submerged U-boat and marked its location by firing into the water directly over it.  A second depth charge attack brought the damaged submarine to the surface where it found itself in the worst possible location as it was surrounded by TG 22.3 ships which commenced a heavy barrage of antipersonnel fire designed to force the crew overboard without causing serious structural damage.

 

At the orders of their commanding officer, the U-505 crew opened scuttling valves, set demolition charges and quickly dove overboard from the sinking U-boat.  Seeing the crew abandoning the U-boat, an order not heard aboard a U.S. Navy ship in over 100-years was sounded - Away all boarding parties.  The PILLSBURY whaleboat, with Trusheim at the tiller, commenced chasing the obviously sinking submarine which was moving at about 6-knots in a tight circle to the right with its rudder jammed from the depth charges, afterdeck completely submerged, the bow high and the conning tower barely awash.  Trusheim said it took him about 10 to 10 minutes to reach the U-505 which he did by cutting across its circling path. He ran his boat up the U-505's starboard side hoping that the pressure of the U-boat bearing to the right would aid him in butting the whaleboat up against the conning tower rail.  On reaching the U-505 the boarders managed to snag a railing with a boat hook and the boarders struggled to scramble aboard.  One member of the boarding party was not so fortunate and was seriously crushed when he fell between the whaleboat and conning tower, thus becoming the only American casualty of the operation. 

 

Once the boarding party was aboard the rapidly sinking U-505 they found that all of the crew had abandoned ship so they quickly set about their assigned duties of stopping the flow of water into the U-boat, locating and disarming explosive charges, and retrieving documents and equipment of very significant intelligence value.  Their herculean efforts were rewarded as they managed to keep U-505 afloat, eventually stop its engines, restore electricity and air pressure and pump out the water. The boarding party raced against time to perform the numerous superman tasks to keep their prize intact.  They took over the U-505 in a foundering condition, with water pouring in from all sides.  Most of the men had never set foot on a submarine but they managed to check the flow of water just a hair short of sinking.  If the U-505 had gone down it would have undoubtedly taken the boarders with her as the conning tower hatch had been closed to stop the flow of water as waves washed over the rapidly sinking U-boat.  As members of the boarding party struggled below, Trusheim continued to man the whaleboat and made trips to the PILLSBURY to return the seriously injured man for medical aid, and to obtain tools and equipment needed to keep the U-505 afloat.  During his 2004 interview Trusheim was asked if he had been scared during this action and he replied that he was too busy to be scared and that he had not been nearly as frightened as he was on December 7^th when watching Japanese bombs drop near him at Kaneohe Bay.

 

The Commander in Chief, US Atlantic Fleet, later remarked, The Task Group's brilliant achievement in disabling, capturing and towing to a United States base a modern enemy man-of-war in combat on the high seas is a feat unprecedented in individual and group bravery, execution, and accomplishment in the Naval History of the United States.

 

The whole Task Group 22.3 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.  The members of the PILLSBURY's boarding party, including Phillip Trusheim, were awarded the Silver Star for their heroic actions.

 

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

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Excerpts from obituary published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 10/10/2013:

The family of Captain Richard Francis Schillaci, MD, was saddened by his passing on September 25, 2013.  CAPT Schillaci was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University Of Maryland Medical School.  His specialty training included Deep Sea Diving School in Washington, DC, and Submarine Medical School in Groton, Connecticut.  He served as Medical Officer on the USS SAM HOUSTON, the USS ULYSSES S. GRANT and was an instructor at the Naval Submarine Medical Center before leaving the submarine service.  He completed his Internal Medical Residency at St. Albans Hospital in New York.  The family moved west in 1968 when he joined the internal medicine staff as head of the Pulmonary Disease Section at the Naval Hospital Oakland, California.  He fulfilled his last post at the Naval Hospital San Diego where he served as Head of the Pulmonary Division and Director of Training.  His numerous professional affiliations include: Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians; Fellow, American College of Physicians; American Thoracic Society; Association of Military Surgeons; Undersea Medical Society; Naval School of Health Sciences; Specialty Advisor to the Naval Medical Command, Washington, DC.  He shared his life journey with his beloved wife Patricia (deceased 2004) and his two daughters.  CAPT Schillaci is survived by his daughters, his mother, and sister.  He will be greatly missed.  In accordance with his wishes there will be no public memorial service and he will have a military burial at sea with full honors.  Donations may be made in his honor to the American Cancer Society and the Wounded Warrior Project.

 

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

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EISELE, GEORGE RAYMOND
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to George Raymond Eisele, Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty in action against the enemy while serving as a Gunner aboard the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38), during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island in the Solomons on the night of on November 12 and 13 1942. Courageously refusing to abandon his gun in the face of an onrushing Japanese Torpedo Plane, Seaman Second Class Eisele, with cool determination and utter disregard for his own personal safety, kept blazing away until the hostile craft plunged out of the sky in a flaming dive and crashed on his station. His grim perseverance and relentless devotion to duty in the face of certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave up his own life in the defense of his country.

Submitted by Doug Bewall RMCM USN Ret

 

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84788 Marjorie Herbert Theriot

My Service Memories

I have a solemn duty to the United States Navy and my beloved country to document my service in World War II.

I was discharged on 13 March 1946, and I am proud to have served in our Navy.

I was first in my 16-week class to master the Top Secret Japanese code, taught at the U. S. Navy Advanced Radio Station on Bainbridge Island, Washington. My duty was to intercept messages that Radio Tokyo sent to all their ships at sea and island stronghold in the Pacific.

The U.S. Navy was diligent in its strategic attacks and maneuvers so as not to reveal we had broken the Code Purple.

A page inserted in my records stamped November 17,1945, imperial Beach Radio Station, to be shown to all future employers, states that I.held a position of special trust under oath of secrecy and no attempt be made to extract further information.

It was not until 1995,50 years after signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan, that President Clinton announced the declassification of many of World War ll's Top Secret documents. It was only then that I was able to reveal to family and friends the nature of my duties as a Radioman in the United States Navy.

My service as a Navy WAVE was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my youthful years before my later life as wife and mother. Today, I still have that intense feeling of patriotism, and I am proud to have served my beloved country in World War II.

Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Herbert Theriot May 24, 2012

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Excerpts from obituary published in San Diego Union-Tribune on April 29, 2012:

 

Jerry Tingle was born on October 26, 1929, in Fort Worth, Texas.  At the early age of 16 he joined the Navy during January 1946 and was sent to San Diego for basic training.  Here he began a long Navy career lasting until September 1975 when he retired with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer-W3.  He had settled with his family in San Diego and having a passion for golf, was well known for coordinating tournaments on the military courses in San Diego.  He helped organize and run the Retired Old Duffers, RODS, a golfing group still going strong at the time of his passing.  He will be remembered for his passion for life and for his generosity to so many.  Jerry died on April 14, 2012, and will be laid to rest at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.

 

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

 

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My father was a proud sailor! His service inspired four brothers, two sons and a grandson to follow his footsteps.  Thank you Dad for leading the way.....fair winds and following seas......Sailor rest your oar!

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Navy Log Entry

November 25, 1975, single engine E-1B, Bureau Number 148909, on climb out off the USS Oriskany, CVA-34: The sea state at the carrier was too great, 16 plus foot swells, to allow a single engine arrested landing aboard the ship. The aircraft was bingoed to Cubi Point, Philippines, 110 miles away.  Fuel was dumped, and NFO, LT Zip Ziemer, threw out electronic gear to lighten the aircraft. Aircraft continued to lose altitude until it flew into ground effect at about 80 feet above the ocean. Once the aircraft flew into Subic Bay, it again lost altitude to about 30 feet above the bay. It was so low that it had to fly around Grande Island for a straight in landing at Cubi Point. Upon landing the one good engine quit. Maintenance found no measurable fuel in the aircraft’s tanks and had to do a double engine change. Plane Commander LT Bill Leins and Copilot LTJG Larry Rhea did an excellent job of saving the crew, for it is felt that if we had ditched the aircraft in the high sea state, the crew would not have survived

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My Dad suffered thru the depression and in the fall of 1940 he volunteered for the Civil Conservation corps program which was part of the United States Army. My Dad went to Alexandria, Virginia to work on the old Army base called Fort Hunt. Today Fort Hunt is a national park, which during the Second World War was a place that held German prisoners of war. All my Dad ever told me about his time at Fort Hunt was dodging Hillbillies who were upset at them for fooling with their daughters.
On December seventh of 1941 the United States was attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor and Wake Island. The next day my Dad enlisted in the military. He wanted to be a Marine but instead chose to be a sailor. His became a Machinist Mate using many of the skills that he learned working with my Grandfather in the hills of Manayunk.
I remember being 17 and thinking I knew everything but could not imagine what he did at that age. My Dad after boot camp in Great Lakes, Chicago was assigned to the brand new USS Indiana battleship at Newport News, Virginia. He would be one of the original plank holders who put her into service. After shakedowns and training they left Hampton Roads, Virginia and traveled thru the Panama Canal. The "Virgin ark" arrived at New Caledonia in the south Pacific in November of 1942 and soon engaged the enemy. Their first task was to protect the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise as well as secure the slot against the Tokyo express. The Marines were on Guadalcanal and the future looked bleak. After Guadalcanal was held, my Dad took part in raids in the Marshall, Gilbert and Solomon Islands. Her main task still was to protect the fast carriers.
Soon after the landings on Tarawa the USS Washington collided with the USS Indiana at nighttime. A large number of lives were lost in this collision. My Father was on watch down in the engine room and got shaken up. The Indiana was taken to Bremerton, Washington for repairs but soon returned to the South Pacific.
The next task was to knock out the large Japanese Naval base at Truk Atoll. This would be revenge for Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked our main naval base.
My Dad next took part in the Battle of the Philippine sea which was also to be known as the Great Mariana turkey shoot due to the annilation of the Japanese air power by our brave pilots and guns of the fleet. This all took place during the taking of the islands Tinian, Guam and Saipan. I recall my Father telling about seeing the Japanese civilians jumping to their deaths from the cliffs on Saipan.
My Dad then took part in the bombardment of the island of Palau so the Philippines could be liberated. Palau was a Japanese fighter base, which McArthur felt needed to be taken. After this invasion was completed the Indiana headed to Pearl for repairs while my Dad got much needed rest. The battle of Leyte Gulf took place while my Dad was lying on the beach and doing the hula.
After the Indiana was repaired my Dads vacation was over and they then took part in the bombardment of Ivo Jima and Okinawa. At this time the Japanese sent the massive battleship Yamato to sea. The task force that the Indiana was part of hunted down the Yamato and put her under the waves. Soon after the landings on Okinawa the fleet encountered a terrible Typhoon which sank a large number of ships.
During this period the Japanese were employing suicide planes against the American fleet. One struck the Indiana earlier off the coast of Saipan. Luckily the Kate bomber did not explode and no lives were lost. Again I am reminded of being at my Fathers age and thinking I knew it all. I wasn't even close.
In 1945 victory would come over Japan. Five months shy of his twenty first birthday, my Father had lived more then most of us will in an entire lifetime. My Dad would continue to serve his country proudly for seventeen more years before retiring and becoming a mailman. He would serve on other ships in the coming years but none would endear him like the USS Indiana. They went into harms way and survived. My Father served on the cruiser USS Toledo, as well as the Ajax and Pollock. He was stationed in the Philippines for five years as well as Japan, San Diego and finally Treasure Island where he met my Mother.
My Father was a member of the greatest generation and my hero

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Name:	USS Bismarck Sea
Builder:	Kaiser Shipyards
Laid down:	31 January 1944
Launched:	17 April 1944
Commissioned:	20 May 1944
Fate:	Sunk by kamikazes[1] during the Battle of Iwo Jima on 21 February 1945

 

During July and August 1944, Bismarck Sea escorted convoys between San Diego, California, and the Marshall Islands. After repairs and additional training at San Diego, she steamed to Ulithi, Caroline Islands, to join Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's 7th Fleet. During 14-23 November 1944, she operated off Leyte in support of the operations and later took part in the Lingayen Gulf landings (9-18 January 1945). On 16 February, she arrived off Iwo Jima to support the invasion.

On 21 February 1945, despite heavy gunfire, two Japanese kamikazes hit the Bismarck Sea, first on the starboard side under the first 40 mm gun (aft), crashing through the hangar deck and striking the ship's magazines. The fire was nearly under control when the second plane struck the aft elevator shaft, exploding on impact and destroying the fire fighting salt water distribution system, thus preventing any further damage control. Shortly after, the order was given to abandon ship. The USS Bismarck Sea sank with the loss of 318 men, and was the last US Navy aircraft carrier to be lost during World War II.^[2] Three destroyers and three destroyer escorts rescued survivors over the next 12 hours, between them saving a total of 605 officers and men from her crew of 923. Survivors were then transferred to Dickens and Highlands.

According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Edmonds directed the rescue operations of the remaining hands, saving 378 of the carrier's crew including the commanding officer, in spite of darkness, heavy seas and continuing air attacks. Thirty of Edmonds' own crew went over the side to bring the wounded and exhausted carrier men to safety.

 

 

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Oral History-Battle for Okinawa, 24 March -30 June 1945

Recollections of Commander Frederick Julian Becton, USN, Commanding Officer of the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724) which, despite being struck by eight Japanese suicide (kamikaze) aircraft on 16 April 1945, did not sink.

Adapted from Frederick Julian Becton interview in box 2 of World War II Interviews, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center. I am Commander Frederick Julian Becton, Commanding Officer of the USS Laffey. The Laffey was built in Bath, Maine and was commissioned in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Navy Yard on February 8th, 1944.

After a brief shakedown period, the ship participated in the Normandy Invasion in June 1944, after which she took part in the Cherbourg [France] bombardment on June 25th, 1944 and suffered an eight-inch [German artillery shell] hit which fortunately did not explode.

Upon returning to the States for repairs and alterations, the ship proceeded to the Pacific and joined Admiral [William F. Bull] Halsey's Third Fleet in November, 1944, for strikes against the Philippine Islands during the month of November.

The ship joined the 7th Fleet under Admiral Kinkaid at Leyte Gulf [Philippines] in early December, 1944 and took part in the landing of the 77th Division of the U.S. Army at Ormoc Bay, on December 7th, 1944. This was our first experience with the Kamikaze Suicide Corps [units of Japanese aircraft turned into flying bombs intended to be crashed by their pilots into U.S. Navy ships to sink or severely damage them]. The ship and the whole convoy were under incessant attacks from about 10 o'clock in the morning until dark that evening.

The next landing the ship participated in was at Mindoro on December 15,1944.

The next landing was about two weeks later when the ship left Leyte Gulf on January 2nd, and proceeded to Lingayen Gulf [also in the Philippines] to assist with the softening up activities and bombardment prior to the Army landing on January 9th, 1945.

We remained in the Lingayen Gulf area until about the 22nd of January and then proceeded to join Admiral Mitcher's task force at Ulithi.

Participated in Tokyo Strikes.

The next operation in which the ship participated was the strikes on Tokyo in mid-February 1945, after which the carrier task groups headed south to support the Iwo Jima landing. We went back for the second strikes on Tokyo about the 24th of February, and returning from that, went into Ulithi where we remained until we were ready for the Okinawa operation.

We departed Ulithi for the Okinawa landings on the 21st of March, arrived at Okinawa the 24th of March, and performed screening duties with the battleships and cruisers [protecting them from Japanese aircraft and submarines] who were bombarding the beaches until the major landing on April 1st, 1945. Thereafter, we took up station to the north of Okinawa at radar picket station number one about 35 miles north of Okinawa [these picket stations gave advance warning of the approach of enemy aircraft or ships].

Our tour of duty on this picket station was uneventful until the morning of April 16th, when we underwent a concentrated attack by Japanese suicide planes. The attack commenced about 8:27 [a.m.] when we were attacked by four Vals [single-engine Japanese Aichi D3A naval dive bomber with a 2-man crew], which split, two heading for our bow and two swinging around to attack us from the stern. We shot down three of these and combined with a nearby LCS [support landing craft] in splashing the fourth one. Then two other planes came in from either bow, both of which were shot down by us. It was about the seventh plane that we were firing on that finally crashed into us amidships and started a huge fire. This marked us as a cripple with the flames and smoke billowing up from the ship and the Japs really went to work on us after that.

Two planes came in quick succession from astern and crashed into our after [rear of the ship] five-inch twin mount. The first one carried a bomb which exploded on deck. The second one dropped its bomb on deck before crashing into the after mount. Shortly thereafter, two more planes came in on the port quarter crashing into the deckhouse just forward of the crippled after five-inch mount. This sent a flood of gasoline into the two compartments below the after crew's head [bathroom] and with the fire that was already raging in the after crew's compartment just aft of the five-inch mount number three, we now had fires going in all of the after three living spaces, besides the big fire topside in the vicinity of the number four 40 mm [antiaircraft gun] mount.

The two planes... no, the next one was a plane from our port quarter that dropped a bomb just about our port [left] propeller and jammed our rudder [steering mechanism] when it was 26 degrees left.

Strafed by Approaching Plane.

The next plane came from the port bow, knocked off our yardarm [a horizontally-mounted spar on the radar/radio mast], and a [F4U] Corsair [single engine US fighter with a 1-man crew] chasing it, knocked off our Sugar Charlie [SC air search] radar. Then a plane came in from the port bow carrying a big bomb and was shot down close aboard [in the water near the ship's side]. A large bomb fragment from the exploding bomb knocked out the power in our number two five- inch mount which is the one just forward of the bridge. Shortly thereafter this mount, in manual control, knocked down an Oscar [single-engine Japanese Nakajima Ki-43, Army-type fighter with a 1-man crew] coming in on our starboard bow [from the right-front of the ship] when it was about 500 yards from the ship. At the same time the alert mount captain of number one five- inch mount sighted a Val diving on the ship from the starboard bow, took it under fire and knocked it down about 500 yards from the ship using Victor Tare projectiles. The next plane came yardarm as it pulled out of its dive. It was shot down by the Corsairs ahead of the ship.

The next plane came in from the starboard bow strafing [firing its machine guns] as it approached and dropped a bomb just below the bridge which wiped out our two 20 mms [antiaircraft guns] in that area and killed some of the people in the wardroom [officers' dining and social compartment] battle dressing station. This plane did not try to crash either, and was shot down, after passing over the ship, by our fighter cover.

The last plane that attacked the ship came in from the port bow, and was shot down by the combined fire of the Corsair pilots and our own machine guns, and struck the water close aboard and skidded into the side of the ship, denting the ship's side but causing no damage.

The action had lasted an hour and 20 minutes. We had been attacked by 22 planes, nine of which we had shot down unassisted, eight planes had struck the ship, seven of them with suicidal intent, two of these seven did practically no damage other than knocking off yardarms. Five of these seven did really heavy material damage and killed a lot of our personnel. We had only four of our original eleven .20 mm mounts still in commission. Eight of the original 12 barrels of our .40 mm mounts could still shoot but only in local control, all electrical power to them being gone and our after five-inch mount was completely destroyed. Our engines were still intact.

The fires were still out of control and we were slowly flooding aft. Our rudder was still jammed and remained jammed until we reached port. We tried every engine combination possible to try to make a little headway to the southward but all no avail. We had lost 33 men, killed or missing, about 60 others had been wounded and approximately 30 of these were seriously wounded.

The morning of our attack off Okinawa we had a CAP [combat air patrol] of about 10 planes over us. It was entirely inadequate for the number of attacking Jap planes. Our own radar operators said that they saw as many as 50 bogies [Japanese aircraft] approaching the ship from the north just prior to the attack. Many more planes were undoubtedly sent to our assistance and quite a large number of Jap planes were undoubtedly shot down outside of our own gun range and to the north of us that morning. When the attack was all over we had a CAP of 24 planes protecting us.

Threw live bomb over the side.

One of the highlights of the action occurred when Lieutenant T.W. Runk, [spelled] R-U-N-K, USNR, who was the Communications Officer on the Laffey at the time, went aft to try to free the rudder. He had to clear his way through debris and plane wreckage to reach the fantail [rearmost deck on the ship] and, on his way back to the steering engine room, saw an unexploded bomb on deck which he promptly tossed over the side. His example of courage and daring was one of the most inspiring ones on the Laffey that morning.

Another example of resourcefulness exhibited that morning came when two of the engineers, who were fighting fires in one of the after compartments, were finally driven by the heat of the planes [flames] into the after Diesel generator room. The heat from the burning gasoline scorched the paint on the inside of the Diesel generator room where there was no ventilation whatsoever. The acrid fumes almost suffocated these two men but they called the officer in charge of the after engine room, which was in adjacent compartment, and told him of their predicament. He immediately had one of the men beat a hole through the bulkhead with a hammer and chisel and then, with and electric drill, cut a larger hole to put an air hose through to give them sufficient air until they could be rescued. At the same time other engineering personnel had cleared away the plane wreckage on the topside and with an oxime acetylene torch cut a hole through the deck which enabled these two men to escape. Upon reaching the topside, both of them turned to fighting the fires in the after part of the ship.

The morning after the action we removed one engine from the inside of the after five-inch mount which had been completely destroyed and which had had its port side completely blown off by the explosion of the initial plane, which was carrying a bomb when it crashed into this mount. The second plane which crashed into that mount had also done great damage to it. And the next morning we pulled one engine out of the inside of the mount and another engine was sitting beside the mount with the remains of the little Jap pilot just aft of the engine. There was very little left of him, however.

We transferred our injured personnel to a smaller ship that afternoon, which took them immediately to Okinawa. We were taken in tow by a light mine-sweeper in the early afternoon, about three hours after the attack and the mine-sweeper turned the tow over a short time later to a tug, which had been sent to our rescue. Another tug came alongside us to assist in pumping out our flooded spaces and with one tug towing us and the other alongside pumping us, we reached Okinawa early the next morning.

Put soft patches on hull.

After reaching Okinawa and pumping out all our flooded spaces, we put soft patches on four small holes we found in the underwater body in the after part of the ship. It took about five days to patch the ship up sufficiently for it to start the journey back to Pearl Harbor.

After leaving Okinawa we proceeded to Saipan and thence to Eniwetok and from Eniwetok on to Pearl Harbor.

About the seventh plane that attacked us, it came in on the port bow and he was low on the water and I kept on turning with about 25 degrees left rudder towards him to try to keep him on the beam. He swung back towards our stern and then cut in directly towards our stern and then cut in directly towards the ship. I kept turning to port to try to keep him on the beam and concentrate the maximum gunfire on him and as we turned, we could see him skidding farther aft all the time. I finally saw that he wouldn't quite make [it to hit] the bridge but then I was afraid he was going to strike the hull in the vicinity of the engine room, but about a hundred yards out from the ship, he finally straightened out and went over the fantail nicking the edge of five-inch mount three and then crashed into the water beyond the ship.

Of course, many people have various ideas about how to avoid these Kamikazes but the consensus of opinion, so far as I know, to try to keep them on the beam [i.e., coming in on a 90- degree angle to the long axis of the ship, or directly from the side] as much as possible or one reason to concentrate the maximum gunfire on them as they approached. And another reason is to give them less danger space by exposing just the beam of the ship rather than the quarter of the bow for them to attack from. The danger space is much less if they come in from the beam than it would be if they came in from ahead or from astern and had the whole length of the ship to choose in which to crash into. High speed and the twin rudders, with which 2200 ton destroyers are equipped, were believed to have been vital factors in saving our ship that morning off Okinawa.

Interviewer:

Captain Becton, were you on some other destroyer in the early part of the war?

Commander Becton:

Yes, I was in the [USS] Aaron Ward [DD-483] in the early part of the war. I was in the [USS] Gleaves [DD-423] when the war was first declared, but went to the Aaron Ward a short time after that as Chief Engineer, fleeted up [was promoted] to Exec[utive Officer - second in command] and was in there when she went through that night action off Guadalcanal the night of 12-13 November 1942. We were hit by nine shells that night, varying between 5 and 14 inches, but fortunately they were all well above the water line. We were towed into Tulagi [an island near Guadalcanal] the next day and later repaired.

Interviewer:

Were you also on board when the Ward went down?

Commander Becton:

Yes, I was on board the Aaron Ward when she sank off Guadalcanal in April, 1943. After that I went to the squadron staff of ComDesRon [Commander, Destroyer Squadron] 21 and went through three surface actions in the [USS] Nicholas [DD-449]. The first of these was the night of 6 July, in the First Battle of Kolombangara or Kula Gulf when the [light cruiser USS] Helena [CL-50] was sunk. The Nicholas and the [destroyer USS] Radford [DD-446] stayed behind after the cruisers and other destroyers retired to pick up the Helena's survivors and fight a surface action with Jap ships that were still there in Kula Gulf.

The next surface action we were in came a week later when the same outfit of destroyers and cruisers attacked some more Jap cruisers and destroyers that were coming down from the northwest. We operated under Admiral Ainesworth that night. The destroyers were under the overall command of Captain McInerney.

After that the next surface action we were in was after the occupation of Vella Lavella, in which we took on some Jap destroyers and barges [towed craft carrying troops or cargo] to the north of Vella Lavella in a night action. The destroyers turned and ran and left their barges and we couldn't catch the destroyers. We did some damage to them, possibly destroyed some, but the major damage was done to the barges which they had left behind and many of which we sank.


Note: USS Laffey survived WWII and is now a memorial ship which can be visited at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

---

 

---

19 February 2001

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Franklin Parant Reggero has gone home to be with the Lord Jesus and be reunited with his two sons: Franklin O. and Ronald M., who predeceased him. He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his childhood sweetheart whom he married on July 18, 1941, Virginia (Drake) Reggero and his two daughters: Virginia (Ginny) Taegder McCue (Joe) and Michele (Shelly) Starkey (Keith Cardish); six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

He was the son of Nicholas Ruggiero and Edith Parant Ruggiero and was predeceased by all five of his siblings: Mary Swaida, Edith Bell, John Reggero, William Reggero and Alice Gowdey.

Franklin was born and raised in his beloved City of Newburgh (on Colden Street) back in the day where his father was one of the few on the block who owned a radio and often placed it in the window for the neighbors to hear. As a young boy, Franklin was very active in all kinds of sports and received numerous awards and trophies for his involvement in the YMCA in swimming, tennis and pole vaulting. He was also involved in the Newburgh fast-pitch softball league, the Newburgh Bowling Association and the New York State Amateur Boxing Program. He trained with some of the all-time great boxers like Tony Zale and Sugar Ray Robinson during the 1940s. When he boxed in the Golden Gloves in Madison Square Garden in New York City, Tony Zale's manager took him under his wing and coached Frank during his match and he won the fight.

When the bombs landed on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the President declared War, Franklin enlisted in the Navy to defend his homeland. Because of his experience in the medical field, he was assigned to a sub chaser (PC 1213) and became the ship's medic. His shipmates called him Doc at all of his Navy reunions following the end of the War and for many years after. Frank's Patriotism never wavered and he was proud to have served his country, but it was his love for his family that remains his legacy. Generations to come will hear his many stories that he left behind.

Following his service to his country in World War II, he returned to Newburgh and his wife and firstborn and went to work at the Newburgh Felt Mill for several years. He accepted a position with the newly formed IBM Corporation and after 30 years of dedicated and distinguished service, he received the coveted IBM President's Award. His career at IBM included his service to NASA during the 1960s when JFK initiated the Space Program and Frank would be privileged to be a part of the Project Mercury team at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He was the Special Operations Manager at Goddard.

Frank joined the Black Rock Fish & Game Club with his brothers: John and William in 1946 and they were a few of the founding members at Black Rock. Throughout the years, Frank held every office in the Club including President, Treasurer, Member Secretary, Director and Chairman of Work Committees to name just a few. He remains the only Black Rock Member to be elected to every officer chair including the President's seat. The meeting hall at Black Rock Fish & Game Club was dedicated to him for his past service. Frank utilized that meeting hall every single Friday night to meet with his beloved card players.

Frank passed at home on Hospice, surrounded by his family whom loved him dearly and are now devastated by his passage. We did not "lose" him, we have lost sight of him only until the Lord calls us home to Heaven to be reunited with him.

_______________________________________________________________

It sounds like a fairytale or a Hallmark movie but it is the true love story of two people that has spanned their entire lives – all 92 years of them and it all began in Newburgh.

In 1921 in Newburgh, Colden Street was the hub of the City. You could get anything your heart desired from any of the variety of ethnic delicatessens on the block.
Franklin Parant Reggero, the infant son of Nicholas and Edith Reggero, was sleeping in his Aunt Anna Parant’s apartment bedroom on Colden Street in Newburgh 1921. Minnie Drake was walking down Colden Street carrying her infant daughter, Virginia, just 3 months old when she decided to stop and visit her friend. Anna suggested placing baby Virginia next to the other sleeping baby, Franklin, on the bed while the two women shared a cup of tea.

Fifteen years would pass before Franklin and Virginia would meet up again and it would be their affection and tenderness towards the orphans that they visited on Grand Street in Newburgh that would bring the two together again. Virginia was bringing some candy to the little girls in the orphanage on Grand Street when a young boy outside the orphanage told her about a young man who often brought candy to them. Virginia remarked that he must be a kind-hearted soul. The little boy was insistent that Virginia come and see the boy who was an athlete who often pole vaulted at the YMCA. He told Virginia that Franklin was there right now and she should come to the fence to see him.

Virginia followed the youngster and peeked over the fence just as Frank spotted her and pole vaulted right in front of her. It would be love at first sight. Since Virginia was only 15 years of age, her father would not let her date the young Italian from the other side of town who followed her all the way home to her apartment on 437 Broadway. Franklin would have to wait until Virginia turned 16 years old before her father would allow her to date. Even then, only if her mother, Minnie, chaperoned them on all of their dates to the Ritz Theater on Broadway in Newburgh. The couple fondly remembers that in those days for the price of admission (about 10 cents) you also received a piece of depression glassware.

The couple would continue to date throughout their high school years at the Newburgh Free Academy.

They married on July 18, 1942 after Frank returned home on a Navy pass during WWII but not without a struggle. The City Hall was closed that weekend but luckily for the couple they were able to locate the caretaker who felt sorry for the sailor and his fiance and called the Newburgh City Clerk at home. The couple was issued a marriage license. They were married at the parsonage at the Good Shepherd Church on Lander Street and a small reception followed at the Hasbrouck Tavern in the Town of Newburgh. Because it was during the Depression, there were no wedding gifts given with the exception of one lone teakettle that someone brought them. The juke box had only one fast song on it: “Bells that Jingle Jangle Jingle – aren’t you glad you’re single.” Everyone played it over and over again and danced the night away.

It’s been 72 years, four children, six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren and the Reggero’s were still enjoying their wonderful life together. It wasn’t always an easy life and they had to bury both of their sons but still, they kept on leaning on each other, trusting God and loving their family. They made it through the tough times and they kept the rest of us going.

It was the Reggero’s selfless giving unto others that brought them together in the first place and their constant caring for one another has kept them together all of their years. For the couple’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, their children chose a song by Vince Gill called, “Look at Us.” The lyrics say in part, “In a hundred years from now I know without a doubt, they'll all look back and wonder how we made it all work out, chances are we'll go down in history, when they want to see how true love should be, then just look at us.”

It won’t take one hundred years for us to wonder how this couple managed to come so far together and it all began on Colden Street in Newburgh in 1921 during a magical time in the lives of so many who remember the grandeur of Newburgh.

We love and miss you Pop, and we promise to take care of Mom for you. Rest in the arms of Jesus until we meet again in God's Glory.

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12.   1962 Circled Australia aboard the USS Coontz. We were in Perth Australia the
night John Glenn first orbited the earth. The city of Perth turned on its lights all
over town. Glenn commented as he flew over Western Australia that he could see a
bright spot down there and that was confirmed to be Perth. Other ports of call Albany, Sidney & Melbourne.

A huge debt of gratitude with love, respect, and admiration I owe to my family members that were left behind during these many long periods, Wife, Daughters, Mother, Father, and Sisters. A Navy wife that's left alone to do it all, also far from home, never receives the credit that's due them. The time that they serve is equal to, if not more difficult than, that of the serviceman. On all accounts, I was indeed fortunate and blessed.

 

 

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Captain Charles W. Rush, then a lieutenant, is credited with saving USS Billfish (SS 286) and her crew amid depth charge attacks by the Japanese in November 1943. Rush was directly responsible for saving Billfish and directing damage control efforts after the depth charge attack incapacitated the ship's captain and all officers senior to Rush. Keeping calm, Rush was able to sustain the submarine 170 feet below its test depth for 12 hours - with a ruptured aft pressure hull and while the submarine was riddled with major leaks through the stern tubes and various hull fittings.

After another officer relieved him, Rush discovered the helm was unmanned and that no action had been taken to counter the sustained attacks. He assumed command, found a helmsman and proceeded to direct evasive actions by innovative maneuvers that retraced their path under the submarine's oil slick left by an explosion near the fuel ballast tanks.

Rush eluded the enemy above and surfaced four hours later.
(Source: Navy.mil)

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Additional Qualifications:

Enlisted Aircrewman Wings

Surface Warfare Officer Insignia

Engineering Duty Officer Dolphins Insignia

Strategic Deterrent Patrol Pin

95838

Flight Hours:           2,383

Carrier Landings:  88

Aircraft Flown:        SNJ Texan, T-28B Trojan, TV-2 Training Star, F9F-2 Panther, F9F-6 Cougar, F9F-8 Cougar, FJ-3 Fury, S-2F Tracker, SH-3A Sea Knight

 

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ACDUTAR during OPSAIL '76 and INR 1986 on-board the L.E. Eithne, the Irish ship participating in the review. 

 

Go Navy...Beat Army!

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HE  CHOSE  TO  GO  DOWN  WITH  SINKING  SUBMARINE

RATHER  THAN  BECOME  A  JAPANESE  POW

 John Philip Cromwell was born on September 11, 1901, in Henry, Illinois, but his heart took him from the Midwest to the ocean.  He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1924.  His initial sea service was on the battleship USS Maryland but his abilities led to him being picked for the fledgling American submarine force.  He served aboard and commanded some of the U.S. Navy's first large submarines.   After several tours at sea he was selected for further training in the complex diesel engines that were critical to submarines of that era.  He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a division commander.  World War II found now Captain Cromwell in the Pacific commanding Submarine Divisions 203, 43, and 44. His flagship was the USS Sculpin.  In November 1943 Sculpin, with Captain Cromwell aboard, put to sea with orders to rendezvous with two other submarines to form a wolf pack to attack Japanese shipping.  The Americans were preparing to invade the Gilbert Islands later that month.  It would be a critical and bloody fight to wrest control of the central Pacific from Japanese forces.  Cromwell was aware of the operation's details and was also familiar with the top-secret American ability to read Japanese military codes. 

 On November 18, 1943, while en route to the rendezvous, Sculpin’s radar detected a large Japanese convoy and she made an end around at full power to attack the convoy.   As Sculpin came up her periscope was detected and the convoy made a turn toward Sculpin so that they would present only a bow to the submarine.  After submerging to escape the oncoming convoy Sculpin later resurfaced only to discover that the Japanese destroyer IJN Yamagumo, which had been left behind as a lookout, was waiting only a few hundred yards away.  Yamagumo immediately launched a depth charge attack which severely damaged Sculpin.  A damaged depth gauge caused her to surface rather than go to periscope depth and she came up directly in front of the Yamagumo,  Although Sculpin quickly dived again it was too late.  Yamagumo pounded Sculpin with a series of depth charges, causing severe damage.  With no way to escape, and more destroyers coming, the Commanding Officer decided to surface again and try to fight it out.  Yamagumo was ready.  As Sculpin came up Yamagumo's first salvo killed her entire bridge crew including the Commanding Officer and those running to man the weapons.  Sculpin's surviving senior officer ordered the submarine scuttled and the crew to abandon ship.

Captain Cromwell, Tactical Commander, was below deck during the battle and realized that if revealed, the secrets he knew could seriously jeopardize the American war effort.  He knew the Japanese couldn't be allowed to learn the invasion plans or that the Americans had broken the Japanese codes.  While he knew he wouldn't voluntarily talk he felt there was no guaranteeing he might not break under torture or the influence of interrogation drugs.  He therefore decided to stay with Sculpin forever to insure the enemy could not gain any of the information he possessed.  He helped the crew abandon ship but made no move to leave himself.  He was last seen standing in the control room watching it fill with water.

For his heroism and devotion to country he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  It was presented to his widow.

 Submitted by CDR Roy A Mosteller, USNR (Ret)

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                                  Duty Stations

Aug 64 - Nov 65 United States Navy and Marine Corps
                             Reserve Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Dec 64 - Jan 65 Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes

Jul 65 - Aug 65 USS BRISTOL (DD-857)

Nov 65 - Jan 66 Naval Station, Norfolk

Jan 66 - Jan 67 Fleet SONAR School, Key West

Jan 67 - Jun 67 Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare School, San Diego

Jul 67 - Jun 68 USS LUCE (DLG-7), Mayport

Jun 68 - Mar 70 USS GLENNON (DD-840), Newport

Mar 70 - May 72 USS MACDONOUGH (DLG-8), Charleston

May 72 - Jun 72 Fleet Training Center, Norfolk

Jun 72 - Jun 75 Recruit Training Command, Orlando

Jul 75 - Sep 75 Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare School, San Diego

Oct 75 - Mar 80 USS LUCE (DDG-38), Mayport

Mar 80 - May 80 Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit, Naval Training
                             Center, Orlando

May 80 - May 83 Naval Recruiting District, New York City

May 83 - Jun 83 Career Counselor School, Norfolk

Jun 83 - Jun 87 Naval Surface Group FOUR, Newport

May 86 - Jul 86 Senior Enlisted Academy, Class 22 Green, Newport
  
Jun 87 - Oct 90 Senior Enlisted Academy, Newport

Nov 90 - Dec 93 USS SARATOGA (CV-60), Mayport

Dec 93 - Feb 96 Strike-Fighter Wing, Cecil Field, Jacksonville
  

 

102653

On January 31, 1942, William left his home in Cincinnati, went across the Ohio River to Fort Thomas, Kentucky, lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Army.  He was only 15 years old.  He was assigned to the 4th Armored Division, 37th Armored Regiment, at Camp Bowie, Texas.  Because he was underage, after serving about 15 months, he received an Honorable Discharge on August 24, 1943.

 

On June 9, 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.  He saw action in the Pacific aboard the USS IBEX (IX 119) and the USS BREMERTON (CA 130).  After the war, he was honorably discharged as a Seaman First Class, under the points system, on February 25, 1946.

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102869

Richard Wayne Gillette

 

 

 

 

 

Richard was born on 15 May 1950 in Coronado, California. As a Navy  

Dependent, he traveled around the United States as a child. He was

an excellent student and always wanted more knowledge. He spoke

several languages besides English: e.g., French, Spanish, and German.

He graduated from George Washington High School in Agarta, Guam.

He then attended the University of Hawaii for two years before returning

to the states and graduating from the University of Oregon at Eugene,

Oregon. On his 18^th Birthday, he was sworn into the U.S. Navy by the

Commanding Officer of NISO Marianas (his father). Upon completion

of Boot Camp, he went to Quartermaster A School, and then attended

the Enlisted Basic Submarine School at Groton, CT. Upon completion,

 he was assigned to duty on the USS BILLFISH (SSN-676). Upon

completion of his enlistment, he received an Honorable Discharge,

and once again went traveling. He worked on a Kibbutz in Israel,

and then went to Switzerland. He was killed in a mountain climbing

accident on 5 May 1981. He is now interred for his final rest at Brevard

 Memorial Gardens, between Cocao Beach and Titusville, Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

                        Halbert Gillette               Dorothy Gillette

                        #00717216H                                       

 

 

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LEARNING  TO  LAND  ON  A  CARRIER

 

Then ENS Robert E. Holmbeck was a fledgling dive-bomber pilot who logged 300 hours in Helldivers in less than a year.  In late 1944 his operational training unit, based at Cecil Field, in Jacksonville, Florida, flew SBW-3s and SBT-3, after which he joined the VB-97 pool at NAS Grosse Ile, Michigan, which was equipped with SB2C-4s.  In an article published in the September 2003 issue of SCUTTLEBUTT,  the newsletter of the USS Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 Association, he described some of his evolution into being a qualified fleet-ready bomber pilot:

 

After 10 to 15 hours of field carrier landing practice we became comfortable with flying low at slow speed.  Then we went out to a carrier standing by at sea to become full-fledged carrier pilots.  Our ship was USS GUADALCANAL (CVE-60), out of Mayport, Florida.  It was a small escort carrier that couldn't take many aircraft at one time, so we flew out with six '3Cs, each with another pilot in the back seat to conserve deck space.  Sitting in the back seat as we approached the deck I remember looking at that little CVE wondering, How does anyone get aboard that?  Unbelievable that in this big, wide ocean, there was such a small rectangular piece of deck that we had to get that big airplane onto!  The pilot made the landing, the crew chocked the airplane with the engine still running, and I jumped in the front seat for my first takeoff.  No problem.  I went around - everything was fine.  On the downwind leg at 200ft altitude I did the checklist - mixture rich, prop low pitch, gear, flaps and hook down.  Coming abreast of the stern I came around on base leg and picked up the LSO's paddles.  Now I'm focused on him all the way in - too low, slow, high, fast, whatever.  When he gave the cut, I chopped the throttle and pushed over to head right for the deck, then came hard back on the stick so that the airplane would plop down in a three point attitude.  The airplane snagged a wire right where it was supposed to.  Man!  My confidence level went up about 1000 percent.  From then on it's a piece of cake, or so I thought!

 

After three or four landings with things going very naturally, I came up the groove and everything was normal.  The carrier was at a small angle to the wind, not straight down the center.  That day it was 10 to 15 degrees right so prop wash was going off to the left.  Receiving the cut signal from the LSO I pulled back on the throttle, heading for the deck.  While coming back on the stick I noticed that the aircraft was drifting left.  I was not down the centerline of the deck.  In that fraction of a second I saw things were not as they should be.  When I plopped down I opened the throttle, still drifting off the deck.  Somehow the tail hook bounced between two arresting wires failing to catch a wire, or I'd have been in big trouble.  And though the wing missed the catwalk, I was headed for the drink.  I hauled back on the stick, the throttle was wide open, and this thing was settling, settling, settling.  It looked to me like I was going in the water but the machine hung itself on the prop.  It didn't settle any further, so I got the gear up and hung on for dear life.  I don't know how long it took me to get some decent flying speed but I got going again, rejoined the pattern and continued on.  You couldn't come any closer to going in the drink but luck was on my side.  I made the next landing with no problem and finished the required number but I often wondered why I didn't get wet.  Sometime later I looked back in my logbook and I got a little upset.  For some reason the damn fools didn't even give me credit for a 'touch and go' landing!

 

Contributed by Bob Holmbeck, TG22.3 Association Member

 

Subsequently Holmbeck received orders to VB-4, the Tophatters, at NAS Wildwood, New Jersey, with SB2C-5s and was then assigned to the brand new Essex Class carrier, USS TARAWA (CV-40) for her first deployment in the Western Pacific.

 

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

 

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Heywood Lane Edwards was born at San Saba, Texas, 9 November 1905 and was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1926.

After serving in battleship Florida, cruiser Reno and other ships, he underwent submarine instruction in 1931, served in several submarines, and was assigned to cruiser Detroit in 1935.

On 6 April 1942, LCdr. Edwards assumed command of Reuben James, which in March 1941 joined the convoy escort force established to ensure the safe arrival of war materials to Britain.

On 23 October 1941, the “Rube” sailed from Argentia, Newfoundland in the escort of convoy HX-156. At about 0525 on 31 October, she was torpedoed by German submarine U-562. Her magazine exploded, and she sank quickly. Of the crew, 44 survived but 115 were lost, including LCdr. Edwards.

Submitted by Doug Bewall RMCM USN Ret.

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MOST  DECORATED  ENLISTED  MAN  IN  NAVY  HISTORY

 

James Elliott Williams, a Native American Cherokee from South Carolina, entered the Navy in July 1947 and before retiring in April 1967 gained the distinction of becoming the most decorated enlisted man in Navy history.  When he retired from active service he was employed with the Wackenhut Corporation and in 1969 was appointed to the U.S. Marshal Service in South Carolina.  He also became an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, Georgia, and also served at the U.S. Marshal Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., until his retirement from Federal Government Service. 

 

Williams died on October 13, 1999, and was buried at Florence National Cemetery in Florence, South Carolina.  The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, speaking at the funeral said, “We will forever be grateful for the leadership and commitment he showed his sailors.  Petty Officer Williams was an amazing sailor.”  Following his death a retired Rear Admiral who commanded Williams in Vietnam remarked, “Willie did not seek awards.  He did not covet getting them.  We did not seek to make him a hero.  The circumstances of time and place, and the enemy’s presence did that.  I know through personal investigation of each incident that he never placed his crew nor his patrol boats in danger without first ensuring the risk was calculated and that surprise was on his side.  He always had the presence of mind not to endanger friendly villages.  He inspired us all, junior and senior alike.  It was my greatest honor to have served with the man who truly led us all with his example of unselfish devotion to duty.”  In December 2004 the USS JAMES E. WILLIAMS (DDG-95) was commissioned in his honor.

 

ALL  HANDS  MAGAZINE  -  JULY  1998

Boatswain's Mate 1st Class James Elliott Williams never intended to be a hero -- he just wanted to be a Sailor.  "When I was 16, I convinced the county clerk to alter my birth certificate so I could come into the Navy.  I thought there was nothing better than servin' my country and gettin' paid for it.”  But, Williams first experience at sea was less than glorious.  In fact, it was downright boring.  "The first ship I drew, I was the most disappointed man in the world.  I'd joined the Navy to see the world -- and doggonit, I wasn't moving.  I'd got orders to an LST that just sat around a buoy in San Diego harbor."  But, from that experience, Williams learned a valuable lesson about discipline and leadership.  "An old chief told me, 'Son, you got to learn to take orders, even if you disagree with them.  That's the first step to being a good sailor and a good leader.  If you can't take orders now, you certainly won't be respected when you give them later.'  Well, I got the message.  Learning discipline was the springboard that helped my Navy career.  From then on I had the sharpest damn knife and the shiniest shoes in the Navy.  That's what I was taught.  That's what I believed in, being a good Sailor.  The proudest day of my life had nothing to do with medals, ribbons, citations.  It was when they made me a patrol officer.  That position was held only by chiefs and officers.  It showed the trust the Navy had placed in me.  I always wanted the opportunity to show what I could do.  This Vietnam thing was it for me.  The Navy gave me the chance to do my job."

 

On his first day out, Williams didn't disappoint.  "October 31, 1966, was supposed to be a restful day in the steamy, heartland of the Viet Cong.  But it's one of those times I won't never forget, no matter how hard I try.  We were on a day patrol, kind of like the 'relax and recreation' patrol -- nothin' too heavy.  We were only gonna check a few boats coming down the Mekong River for contraband.  We were just moseying on down the river minding our own business when our forward gunner hollered, 'There's two fast-speed boats crossing ahead of us.'  We had learned if you saw one of these sampans, it was something.  It usually meant there was some high-ranking North Vietnamese officer on board -- and that meant trouble; as soon as the Viet Cong spotted us, they started firing."  The two boats split, one headed for the north bank, the other went east.  Williams and his crew broke off with the north-bound boat and sank it before it could reach the river's edge.  The thirty-six-year-old Williams, affectionately called Old Man by his crew of mostly 19 and 20 year olds, then turned for the second boat.  Just as he was about to open fire the sampan made a sharp turn into an eight-foot-wide canal in front of a rice paddy.  Williams and his crew of Patrol River Boat-105 couldn't follow.  "I looked at the map and saw that I could go to the right maybe for a third of a mile and come back to where he would have to come out.  We wanted to get them real bad. I went around that corner at max sped to cut him off -- and, lo and behold, I looked up and didn't see nothing but boats and people and more boats and more people."

 

Williams had unwittingly stumbled into a first staging area and there was no way out but straight ahead.  With bullets flying and guns blazing, Williams slammed the throttle down and pulled the wheel hard left, creating a large wake which slapped against the hull of the sampan and disrupted the enemy's aim.  Williams then took PBR-105 at full speed through the middle of the formation, causing mass confusion.  "Fire came from all directions. But their aim was off that day 'cause they was shootin' and hittin' more of each other than we was."  With some crafty boat handling, Williams zigzagged his way through the staging area while his crew returned the enemy's fire.  But, the cliche, "out of the frying pan and into the fire," was about to become much more real for Williams and his crew.  "We get through this area and I'm trying to high-tail it back.  We got around the next corner and by God! there's another staging area.  We had to just fight.  There was no way out.  I twisted, crisscrossed and turned that PBR.  I did whatever I could to get them off our backs."  The fight lasted for three and a half hours. When it was all over, Williams, with just two boats and 10 men, had sunk 65 enemy boats and eliminated 1,200 enemy troops.  "It's hard to believe the first day we were out, we got blasted to hell and back and nobody got killed."  For his heroic actions that day, Williams was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  But he is quick to admonish anyone who wants to talk about his awards.  "You gotta stop and think about your shipmates.  That's what makes you a great person and a great leader - taking care of each other.  You've got to think -- team. It takes a team to win any battle, not an individual."  But on one particular day in 1966, this individual made the team unbeatable.

 

MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.  BM1 Williams was serving as Boat Captain and Patrol Officer aboard River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 accompanied by another patrol boat when the patrol was suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy sampans.  BM1 Williams immediately ordered the fire returned, killing the crew of 1 enemy boat and causing the other sampan to take refuge in a nearby river inlet.  Pursuing the fleeing sampan, the U.S. patrol encountered a heavy volume of small-arms fire from enemy forces, at close range, occupying well-concealed positions along the river bank.  Maneuvering through this fire, the patrol confronted a numerically superior enemy force aboard 2 enemy junks and 8 sampans augmented by heavy automatic weapons fire from ashore.  In the savage battle that ensued, BM1 Williams, with utter disregard for his safety exposed himself to the withering hail of enemy fire to direct counter-fire and inspire the actions of his patrol.  Recognizing the over whelming strength of the enemy force, BM1 Williams deployed his patrol to await the arrival of armed helicopters.  In the course of his movement he discovered an even larger concentration of enemy boats.  Not waiting for the arrival of the armed helicopters, he displayed great initiative and boldly led the patrol through the intense enemy fire and damaged or destroyed 50 enemy sampans and 7 junks.  This phase of the action completed, and with the arrival of the armed helicopters, BM1 Williams directed the attack on the remaining enemy force.  Now virtually dark, and although BM1 Williams was aware that his boats would become even better targets, he ordered the patrol boats' search lights turned on to better illuminate the area and moved the patrol perilously close to shore to press the attack.  Despite a waning supply of ammunition the patrol successfully engaged the enemy ashore and completed the rout of the enemy force.  Under the leadership of BM1 Williams, who demonstrated unusual professional skill and indomitable courage throughout the 3 hour battle, the patrol accounted for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy boats and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy personnel.  His extraordinary heroism and exemplary fighting spirit in the face of grave risks inspired the efforts of his men to defeat a larger enemy force, and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

 

MILITARY  DECORATIONS

Medal of Honor

Navy Cross

Silver Star (with one gold award star)

Legion of Merit (with “V” device)

Navy and Marine Corps Medal (with gold award star)

Bronze Star (with “V” device and two gold award stars)

Purple Heart (with two gold award stars)

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with “V” device and gold award star)

Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation (with bronze service star)

Navy Good Conduct Medal (with four bronze service stars)

Navy Expeditionary Medal

National Defense Service Medal (with bronze service star)

Korean Service Medal (with two bronze stars)

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Vietnam Service Medal (with two bronze service stars)

Korean Presidential Unit Citation

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry (with gold star and palm)

United Nations Korean Medal

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medan

Korean War Service Medal

 

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

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Register -Star
Columbia & Dutchess
USS Cole attack reminds local veteran of first torpedo attack of WWII
By John Mason
Hudson Valley Newspapers

December 7, 1941 is etched in the minds of most U.S. citizens as the day the nation entered WWII .  But Mr. Salvatore, who lives with his wife Kay in North Chatham, knows it's not quite that simple.
  On Oct 17,1941, seven weeks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a German Submarine torpedoed  the USS Kearny in the North Atlantic, killing 13 men.  It was the first American Destroyer hit by a German torpedo .
  It wasn't until two weeks later,  Halloween of 1941, seven weeks later that the USS Reuben  James became the first American destroyer sunk by a German sub.     
  The German forces had been trying to cut offU.S. supplies to Great Britain, such as food, oil and medicine.  Their submarines were sinking Merchant ships and tankers, so the U.S. Navy started escorting convoys through the North Atlantic in September, 1941.
    The Kearny  came to the aid of such a convoy on Oct 16.
    According to the "Tin Can Sailor," a magazine for veterans of naval destroyers, the Kearny was slowing to avoid a collision with a British corvette - an escort ship smaller and faster than a destroyer - that was picking up survivors, when the German submarine torpedoed the Kearny 's starboard side.
    "It struck the forward fire room ruptured the boiler room's forward bulkhead exploded through the deck above, tore off the starboard wing of the bridge , and damaged the forward funnel and the deckhouse , " said the magazine's  account.  Eleven men were killed and 24 wounded.
      Quick action by the engineering and damaged -control officer and the chief motor  machine's  mate confined the flooding  to the forward fire room.  The ship then sailed to Iceland , powered by the aft engine and also  steered from the rear using sextants.
      Salvatore was stationed in the Boiler room , but fortunately was not there at that time.
      "During general quarters you have other duties," he said. I was on the machine gun, but I didn't get to it because the machine gun was just above the hole in the ship."
        There was some trauma from the shock of the explosion, Fred a Salvatore said .  Some of the men went deaf for a while.  Carmine was awarded the Purple Heart because he was wounded over the eye from shrapnel fragments.
        The ship pulled into Iceland for repairs, by the repair ship USS Vulcan." They put on a casing , they put on a casing, bolted it and welded it," Salvatore said. "They put a big bubble on the side of the ship with 3by 10's."
          On Christmas Day 1941, the ship set off for Boston and major repairs.
          "We were at war when we got back, " Salvatore said.  They changed my title to cook on the USS Jenkins, which was also a destroyer, Carmine was a boiler tender.  On the Jenkins we were part of the invasion of North Africa."
          Fred and Carmine were opposites as brothers, Carmine was the straight arrow, and Fred liked to make trouble.
          "If I wanted to go somewhere , I was off , I didn't care , " he said .  "Then I'd spend some time in the brig."
          He would come back from shore leave with a couple of pints tucked in his uniform, and Carmine would slap him on the bottles, breaking them.
          Retired now in North Chatham, Fred Salvatore has the opportunity to watch footage of the period preceding the war on the history channel.
          "It was a plan between Germany and Japan," he said. "the Swastika and the Samurai."
            Seeing his ship get hit on old German films gave him a "funny feeling."
            "We were sinking their subs too, " he said . "It was an undeclared war, tit for tat." But it didn't make him feel victimized.
            " It was just a job-you sign up for that job, that's it," Salvatore said.
            It was a good enough job that he stayed in it for 22 years, rising to the rank of second class petty officer and becoming an instructor at Floyd Bennet Field until his retirement.
            After that , he worked in the supply department at A school in Brentwood on Long Island until his second retirement , when Fred and Kay moved to Columbia County.
              Salvatore doesn't believe we're heading for another war after last week's incident on the shores of Yemen.
            "There's nobody to compete with us," he said. "But terrorism is a rough thing to deal with-it's not out in the open."
              The survivors of the Kearny torpedoed  had a reunion Oct 12 in Virginia Beach, but neither Salvatore nor his brother could make it due to health reasons.  The last one Fred made was three years ago, and Carmine , who is blind now and living with his family in Florida, has been unable to make any of them.
 

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CAPT Martell H. Twitchell was a Navy Chaplain stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  The following are excerpts from an article he wrote sometime after he retired in 1960 describing his experiences that day and following:

 

I was assigned to Pearl Harbor in 1940.  On December 7^th I was scheduled to conduct an 8:15 a.m. worship service at the Marine Barracks and a 10:00 a.m. service at the Submarine Base, my primary duty station, and a third at 6:30 p.m. at the Naval Ammunition Depot at Lualualei.  I got into my car, picked up my organist and drove towards the Marine Barracks.  En route we stopped at a Japanese Flower Shop and purchased two beautiful poinsettias for the altar.  We drove along Beretania Street, a main highway through Honolulu, still not knowing about the attack.  By this time the Highway Patrol was controlling traffic away from Pearl Harbor.  I was in uniform and waved through.  We saw a strange plane circling over the Army Headquarters but couldn’t see the rising sun emblem on their wings.  Just as we saw the first two planes there was heavy anti-aircraft fire over Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor.  My organist said "We are really practicing today, aren’t we?" but I said, "No we are under attack."

 

Since I had a service scheduled at the Marine Barracks, we stopped there.  The commanding officer had set up his command post in the basement under the Marine Barracks.  A wave of dive-bombers came toward us diving toward the Naval Shipyards.  I could see bombs plummeting from the planes towards ships and exploding.  I thought everything would be destroyed.  Planes from the Japanese aircraft carriers bombed, torpedoed, damaged or sank most of the ships in Pearl Harbor and all the airfields on the island.  My car was parked near the barracks and a marine sergeant took it to relieve the gate watch.  It came back covered with marines.  They parked it in an exposed area and a truck backed into it crushing the trunk.  When the all-clear signal was given I proceeded to my office at the submarine base and reported my presence to the commanding officer.  The whole area was occupied with sailors who had been rescued from sunken ships and lost everything they owned.  The commanding officer gave me over $5,000 to give to the enlisted men so they could purchase personal items.  The supply depot issued them dry clothing.

 

Our sick bays were filled with injured men from the ships and I ministered to them as much as possible.  No one knew if the enemy was returning or not.  The commanding officer directed me to go out to naval housing and visit all of the families and instruct them to report downtown to the Army-Navy YMCA.  I knocked on doors for about an hour until my orders were changed because they didn’t think the Japanese would return.  I called my wife late that afternoon to tell her I was all right but I wouldn’t be coming home as I had to stay at my battle station which was a 50 bed dispensary now filled with wounded sailors.  I stayed there and visited with the men, prayed with them and did everything I could to assist.  Thousands more beds were set up in a field hospital on the football field to take the enormous overflow from the Navy Hospital.

 

Monday afternoon December 8^th, I arranged for some entertainment to take place next to the swimming pool.  I brought in Hilo Hattie and her hula troupe to perform for the men.  Wednesday, December 10^th I finally had lunch with my wife and our 5-year-old daughter.  My wife was not doing well and I thought it was due to lack of sleep.  My wife had been unable to get the windows blacked out.  She had been taking the children under a blanket in the middle of the room at night with a radio and flashlight.  She wasn’t sleeping much at all.  On Friday, December 12^th, a Army nurse called me to say your wife is ill.  I took her to the Navy Dispensary and they said she should be hospitalized.  I didn’t agree so I took her home that night to let her get some sleep.  She slept about one hour then woke up talking loudly and asking a series of non-sensible questions.  I could readily see it was a situation I couldn’t handle.  She had a nervous breakdown and they gave her shock treatment and drugs to restore her sanity.  Orders were given for families to evacuate to the mainland as soon as possible.  I told the doctor, "I’m a coward and I won’t leave my wife her until she is well.”  So the district chaplain’s wife took our children and put them in a temporary foster home.  We decided to wait until January 23 to leave Hawaii.

 

I did my first regular worship service December 21^st, two weeks after the attack.  Normally chaplains are responsible for the children’s Christmas party.  Most of the children had returned to the mainland so only 35 were left.  I made arrangements with the Army/Navy store downtown so the party could still happen.  I managed to get a Douglas Fir and had it all decked out.  I also had a Christmas movie and refreshments.  I played the part of Santa Claus and when I went to change I told my five year old daughter, “Daddy will be right back." When she approached Santa, she said, "My daddy has disappeared! What must we do?" Santa assured her he would be right back - and I was.

 

I received orders to report to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola. Florida, and then was assigned to the Navy Pre-Flight School in Athens, Georgia, where I would work with the cadets in training.  After about a year my wife recovered and I was assigned to the USS New Mexico in the Pacific Theater during the rest of the war.  My rank increased from Lieutenant junior grade to Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander and finally to Captain in 1953.  I retired from the Navy in 1960.

 

"Remember Pearl Harbor" is a slogan, which should be instilled in the hearts of every loyal American.  The spirit of calmness, bravery, courage, sacrifice, cooperation and heroism was evident in each task and duty performed.  If every American today compares the spirit of the wounded Sailor who requested the Navy physician to minister first to his wounded buddy, there will be no question whatever concerning our ultimate victory.

     /s/ Chaplain Martell Twitchell, Captain. USN (Ret.)

 

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

 

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Excerpts from obituary published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 10/23/2013:

Anna G. Hart, LCDR, USN, known to family and friends as “Pete,” died September 24, 2014.  Pete was born in Kitzmiller, Maryland, on October 23, 1922.  She graduated from nursing school in 1943 and joined the Navy in 1949.  As an Operating Room Nurse she served on the east and west coast, Japan, Guam and Taipei.  Retiring in 1970, Pete pursued civilian life with enthusiasm.  She traveled extensively, took up gourmet cooking classes, and enjoyed entertaining and gardening.  She was a charter member of the Navy Nurse Corp Association of Southern California, lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America and the Military Order of World Wars.  At her request she will be buried privately with military honors at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego.  In lieu of flowers, raise a glass in Pete’s honor.  Toast to a life well spent and to a duty served with pride and dedication.  Anchors aweigh my friend.

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

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RESCUED  AT  SEA

 

On April 30, 1944, two Vought OS2U Kingisher float planes were sent out to locate a Navy pilot, LT Robert F. Kanze, from the USS ENTERPRISE who was reported down at sea.  The downed pilot was spotted afloat in his life raft and one of the Kingfishers landed to pick Kanze up.  As Kanze grabbed the wing float he was lifted out of his raft but a wave then hit the float broadside which, with his weight on the float, submerged it and caused the Kingfisher to capsize throwing the Kingfisher pilot and his radioman into the water with Kanze.  The three were able to retrieve the raft and hold onto it.  The second Kingfisher pilot, observing what had happened, landed and was able to retrieve the three airmen from the water.  With five men aboard the overloaded Kingfisher was unable to take off so the pilot taxied his plane to the nearby rescue submarine, USS TANG, that was on the surface.  The partially submerged Kingfisher that had originally landed was nearby so TANG sank the plane by gunfire to prevent it from drifting into Japanese hands.

 

 

Excerpts from obituary published in San Jose Mercury News, California,

on January 9, 2009:

 

Robert Frederick Kanze passed away January 1, 2009 at age 93 in Mountain View, California.  Born on September 2, 1915, in New York City, Rob and his family later moved to Staten Island and eventually to Freehold, New Jersey.  Rob and his siblings attended Freehold area schools with Rob graduating from Freehold High School.  Rob enjoyed a varied and exciting career as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, enlisting in 1935 and retiring as a Commander in 1965.  His career included battleship service, carrier-based squadrons during both World War II and Korea, test pilot service, exchange duty with the U.S. Air Force, and duty with the U.S. European Command.  The Navy credited Rob with four enemy aircraft destroyed and assisting in the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carrier IJNS SHOHO during the Coral Sea battle.  He counted the Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous other combat and campaign awards among his many decorations, and was one of the Navy's first 100 jet pilots.  In his post-Navy career Rob was Managing Director of Ampex Corporation's Ampex Ferrotec, Ltd.  Later he was a real estate and property manager in the Santa Monica, California, area where he resided for 29 years.  He was also an avid yachtsman and sailed for many years with the Long Beach Navy Yacht Club.  Rob is survived by his wife of 63 years, two sons, two godchildren and four grandchildren.  The Navy will scatter Rob's ashes at sea.

 

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

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FORT LAUDERDALE,FL PORT CALLS, 1980-83

EQUATOR CROSSING-SHELLBACK CEREMONY, 1980

INDIAN OCEAN DEPLOYMENT, 1980

DIEGO GARCIA, B.I.O.T., 1980

PERTH, AUSTRALIA CHRISTMAS PORT CALL, 1980

PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT, 1981

MEDITERRANEAN SEA CRUISE, 1982

LA MADDALENA, SARDINIA, 1982

NAPLES, ITALY PORT CALL, 1982

30 DAYS SHORE LEAVE TOUR OF EUROPE, 1982

DEL MAR CAFE, GROTON, CT,1980-83

MISQUAMICUT BEACH, RI, 1980-83

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Raymond (Ray) Oliver Stein, former resident of El Macero, CA passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully at age 92, on his 70th wedding anniversary, July 31, 2013. He died at home in Sparks, NV where he had been living with his eldest daughter and son-in-law.  He was preceded by his wife, Mary nee Waldraff, and two sons, Raymond Wesley Stein and Kenneth Michael Stein.  He is survived by his children, Virginia (David) Simi, Karen Stein, Christina (Jeff) Dal Porto, Cindy Stein-Dailey (David), and Stephen (Beth) Stein, 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.  He was his family’s “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, born on the 4^th of July, 1921 in Minneapolis, MN.

He joined the Navy in 1939, serving in the Atlantic as Chief Signalman (CSM)on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger both before and during WWII. He transferred to the submarine service in 1944 and served on the Pollack as CSM and then on the Tirante as CSM and Official Submarine photographer.  He graduated with a degree in Geology from USC.  His career emphasis was both oil and natural gas exploration throughout California.  He served as President and owner of Methane Engineering Co.  He was a member of multiple organizations emphasizing his military service, faith and community.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 3159 Land Park Dr., in Sacramento, at 10 AM on Sat., Aug.10, 2013.  A burial service will follow at the Davis Cemetery on Pole Line Rd. with a reception at Holy Spirit Church Center.  Visitation will be at Wiscombe Funeral Home, 116 D St, Davis, on Friday Aug 9^th, from 5:30-7 PM, followed by a prayer vigil at 7PM.

"Those who wish to sign a guestbook online may do so at www.wiscombefuneral.com."

 

In lieu of flowers you may wish to consider a donation to Father Flannigan’s Boys Town, (www.boystown.org), Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) or a charity of your choice.