Archive for the ‘U.S. Navy’ Category
Guam, Invasion of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Leyte, Philippines and Okinawa, Saipan, USS Sheridan
In U.S. Navy, World War II on April 24, 2013 at 2:38 am
By the time this picture was taken, Harold Tyson who lives in River Walk mobile home park North Port, Fla., was a quartermaster 2nd class with three years at sea at the helm of Attack Transport-51, the USS Sheridan. He saw action during many of the major battles in the Pacific in the Second World War. He was 20 years old, home from the war at the time of this picture was taken. Photo provided
Harold Tyson was a teenage quartermaster 2nd class at the helm of the USS Sheridan (APA-51), an attack transport, in seven major Pacific battles during World War II. He and his ship took part in the Invasion of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Leyte, Philippines and Okinawa, the largest island engagement during the Second World War.
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Dukws, Iwo Jima, LST-121, Okinawa, Peleliu, Saipan, Suribachi
In U.S. Navy, World War II on April 17, 2013 at 2:38 am
Lt. Earl Swillum is pictured in his Navy dress uniform during World War II. Photo provided
The hand-written note on the back of the framed 8 X 10-inch black and white photo on the wall of Earl Swillum’s Port Charlotte, Fla. home reads: “Iwo Jima, Day 3.” On the flip side it shows LST-121 on the beach with its bow in the island’s black volcanic sand two days before the Marines put an American flag atop Mount Suribachi. Read the rest of this entry »
Admiral "Bull" Halsey, Guadalcanal, USS Benham, USS Meade, USS Walke
In U.S. Navy, World War II on April 8, 2013 at 2:38 am
At 18, James Friel was on liberty in Honolulu with the rest of the fleet during World War II. Photo provided
It was pitch dark 64 years ago this past week, when Seaman 1st Class James Friel of south Punta Gorda, Fla. jumped from the fantail of the USS Walke (DD-416) into Iron Bottom Sound at Guadalcanal after his destroyer was hit by a Japanese torpedo. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of the Coral Sea, Midway, USS Bennington, USS Yorktown
In U.S. Navy, World War II on March 25, 2013 at 4:38 am
This was Wilbur Kinney at 17 when he went aboard the carrier Yorktown at Portsmouth, Va., right out of boot camp in 1942. Photo by PhoM2/C Bill Roy
Wilbur Kinney of Port Charlotte, Fla. was aboard the carrier USS Yorktown when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the decisive Battle of Midway that began June 4, 1942. Read the rest of this entry »
Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, P-2V "Neptune", P-5M "Flying Boat", Patrol Squadron 30
In Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. Navy on March 13, 2013 at 1:38 am
Wayne Mengel is pictured about the time he graduated from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Processing Center outside Chicago in 1960. Photo provided
Radioman 3/C Wayne Mengel of Rotonda, Fla. played a small part in the history-making “Cuban Missile Crisis,” the high point in the “Cold War,” between the United States and the Soviet Union, in October 1962.
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Airborne Early Warning Squadron 13, Argentia Naval Air Station, Super Constellation
In U.S. Navy on March 6, 2013 at 1:38 am
Jim Spence of South Gulf Cove is pictured at the time he graduated from Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside Chicago, Ill. in 1958 at 18. Photo provided
After bootcamp at Great Lakes in 1958 and a stint in Aviation Electronics School in Patuxent River, Md., Radioman 3rd/Class Jim Spence wound up as a radio operator aboard a U.S. Navy four-engine, Super Constellation patrol plane flying out of Argentia, Newfoundland in Airborne Early Warning Squadron 13.
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ComSubPac, Java Sea, Majuro Island, Shokaku, SS Luriline, USS Cavalla (SS-244)
In U.S. Navy, World War II on February 25, 2013 at 4:38 am
Louis Roybal of Village of Holiday Lakes in Englewood, Fla. holds an honorary “Plank Owner’s” certificate given to sailors who served aboard ship when it was commissioned.
The USS Cavalla (SS-244) was considered by some to be the luckiest ship in the submarine service.
She sank the Japanese carrier Shokaku that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack, made 570 dives and sank 34,180 tons of enemy shipping near the end of World War II without sustaining any serious injuries to the crew. Read the rest of this entry »
House Judiciary Subcommittee, Mike Wallace "60 Minutes", mustard gas, Porter Goss, Veterans Administration
In U.S. Navy, World War II on February 25, 2013 at 2:05 am
At 17, Glenn Jenkins was the typical teenage serviceman who sailed off to war during World War II. Hardly old enough to shave, Jenkins was homesick for Venice, Fla. and volunteered to take part in a secret assignment to get 11 days leave to come home. After signing up, he learned the secret duty was to be a guinea pig in a Navy gas chamber. Photo provided
Glenn Jenkins is dead. In 1945 he was a 17-year-old sailor who grew up in Nokomis, Fla. and joined the Navy near the end of World War II. After graduation from boot camp in Bainbridge, Md. he volunteered for a secret Naval mustard gas experiment that made him the focal point of a headline-grabbing Congressional investigation in Washington on military’s misconduct more than half a century later. Read the rest of this entry »
"Brown Water Navy", Naval Forces Vietnam, Perfume River
In U.S. Navy, Vietnam War on February 6, 2013 at 4:38 am
Richard Cook of Port Charlotte, Fla. took boat rides with Navy SEALs while serving in Vietnam in 1967-68. Sometimes they were wild rides. Sun photo by Dana Clausing
Richard Cook looked the part with his short cropped hair, weathered face and ramrod-straight military gait. The old salt would fool no one.
The real giveaway was the navy blue shirt with five rows of campaign ribbons complete with six battle stars on his chest. Underneath, embroidered in gold, it read: U.S. NAVY. Down the left arm of his long-sleeve shirt were the names of seven Vietnam cities. Even more interesting, also embroidered in gold, were four more lines of words in gold that read: “CAN’T TELL YOU.” Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Kamikaze, Palau Islands, USS Intrepid
In U.S. Navy, World War II on January 28, 2013 at 4:38 am
Dick Brown is the sailor at the left smiling from a PBY “flying boat” with his two buddies, Manuel Rodriguez from Texas and Art Loveland of Pennsylvania on Saipan Island during World War II. Photo provided
Dick Brown thought he was going to be an 18-year-old naval aviator in 1944. He quickly found out the military had more young flyboys than it needed. Read the rest of this entry »
Dutch Harbor, Kanaishi - Japan, McDonald Douglas Aircraft, SS Denali, Tsunami, USS South Dakota
In U.S. Navy, World War II on November 26, 2012 at 4:38 am
Members of the crew of the battleship USS South Dakota hold a Japanese battle flag during a reunion at the Super Dome in New Orleans on Oct. 17, 2004. George McNeill is second from the left. Former President George Bush kneels in front with Saint’s owner Tom Benson to his left. The flag was taken by a south Dakota crew member from the Battleship Nagato at the surrender ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945. The Nagato was Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto’s flagship when he commanded the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo provided by George McNeill
George McNeill knows all about tsunamis like the one which devastated large portions of the southeast Asian coast of the Indian Ocean in 2005. He and the sailors aboard the troop transport, SS Denali, were hit by one in November 1942 while sailing from Seattle, Wash., to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Read the rest of this entry »
Caribbean Mercy Hospital Ship, Cold War, Exxon San Francisco
In Cold War, Merchant Marines, U.S. Navy on November 21, 2012 at 4:38 am
This is Norm Meissner’s yearbook picture in 1961 as a Midshipman when he attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. Photo provided by Norm Meissner
Norm Meissner attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y. in the 1960s.
The “Cuban Missile Crisis” was erupting about the time he left the academy. The U. S. was on the verge of going to war with Russia over missiles the Soviets snuck into the island nation that were aimed our way. Read the rest of this entry »
7th Fleet, Japanese Betty, Kamikazes, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Okinawa
In Bronze Star, Pacific, U.S. Navy, World War II on November 5, 2012 at 4:38 am
Ed McFadden (left) and a buddy are obviously pleased about being on shore leave in Honolulu, Hawaii during the Second World War. Photo provided by Ed McFadden
The toughest day of World War II for 17-year-old Seaman Ed McFadden was partway through the battle of Okinawa in March 1945.
That day, he was not at his normal battle station in the foretop lookout 150 feet above the deck of the World War I battleship USS Colorado. That day he was on a small deck one level below and behind the bridge. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Okinawa, Kerama Retto Island, Battle of Leyte Gulf, USS Isherwood, Atlantic Theater
In World War II, U.S. Navy on October 29, 2012 at 4:38 am
Seaman John Wilson of Harbor Isles mobile home park in North Port, Fla. was 19 years old when this picture of him was taken. Note the five battle stars on his campaign ribbons signifying five major engagements aboard the destroyer USS Isherwood, DD-520, in the Pacific during World War II and the “Ruptured Duck” insignia on his other shoulder signifying he had been discharged from the service. Photo provided by John Wilson
Seaman John Wilson knew his ship was in harm’s way when the kamikaze plane at which he was firing continued to grow in the sights of his twin 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns. Read the rest of this entry »
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Civil Administration Unit, Com Sub Pack, DD-718, Enewetak, Military Advisory Assistance Group, Naval Training Center- Bainbridge, Sea Pac Fleet, USS Hamner, USS Mount McKinley
In Korean War, U.S. Navy, Vietnam War on October 24, 2012 at 4:38 am
In this old scrapbook picture, Yeoman 3rd Class Granville Pennypacker is pictured shortly after he arrived in Hawaii in 1947 to begin his 22 year military career. Photo provided
From the end of World War II, through the Korean War of the 1950s and halfway into the Vietnam War, late in the 1960s, Granville Pennypacker of Englewood, Fla. served as a yeoman, a Navy administrator, in strategic hot spots around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Balao Class, Commander E.H. Steinmetz, Guam, Tsushima Straits, USS Bonefish, USS Crevalle
In U.S. Navy, World War II on October 19, 2012 at 4:38 am
Leonard “Bull” Durham was about 18 when this picture was taken. He had just graduated from boot camp. Photo provided by “Bull” Durham
“Hellcats” is what Admiral Thomas Lockwood, commander of submarines in the Pacific, dubbed the first “wolf pack” to breach the Tsushima Straits minefield and anti-submarine nets between the southern island of Kyushu in the Japanese chain and the Korean peninsula during the closing months of World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
7th Fleet, Iwo Jima, Kamikaze, Okinawa, Tokyo, Typhoon, UDT-13, USS Barr - DE-576
In Pacific, U.S. Navy, World War II on September 12, 2012 at 4:38 am
Louie Wilson is pictured with his dog, Buddy in Norfolk, Va. shortly after he got out of boot camp. He was about to ship out to war in the Pacific during the closing months of World War II. Photo provided
Before Louie Wilson of Port Charlotte, Fla. joined the Navy in May 1943 he and his late wife, Bea, had a roller skating act on stage in Vaudeville call The Wilson Duo. After boot camp and preliminary naval gunnery training he went aboard a destroyer escort, the USS Barr (DE-576), headed for battle in the Pacific. Read the rest of this entry »
North Africa, USS Vicksburg, William Giles merchant ship
In U.S. Navy, World War II on September 5, 2012 at 4:38 am
Jim Clawson is pictured more than 65 years ago when he served as a gunner aboard a transport ship that made a dozen or more trips across the Atlantic with military supplies during World War II. Photo provided by Evelyn Lewis
A dozen times or more Jim Clawson, who lives in Cross Creek RV Resort north of Arcadia, Fla. on US-17, crossed the Atlantic as the bow gunner on the William Gilles, a merchant ship, bringing tanks, planes and troops to North Africa and Europe during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
"Hedge Hogs", Aircraft Carrier Wake Island, Boston Receiving Station, North Atlanti, U-boat, USS Douglas L. Howard, USS Farquhar, USS Fiske
In U.S. Navy, World War II on August 29, 2012 at 4:38 am
Motor Machinist Mate 1/Class Ted Schulz (center) of Port Charlotte, Fla. and two of his buddies were out on the town in Honolulu during World War II. Photo provided.
Ted Schulz of Port Charlotte, Fla. had already crossed the Atlantic three times aboard a destroyer escort, USS Fiske, protecting transports full of military supplies on their way to North Africa when his ship was reassigned to a hunter-killer group in the North Atlantic searching for German U-Boats. Read the rest of this entry »
DE-676, Portsmouth, USS Escalante, USS Schmitt
In U.S. Navy, World War II on August 22, 2012 at 4:38 am
Seaman 1st Class Charles Kueny of Punta Gorda, Fla. is pictured in his dress uniform while serving aboard a Navy tanker that brought aviation gasoline to Allied forces in Europe during World War II. Photo provided
It was March 7, 1944 when Charles Kueny of Punta Gorda, Fla. got drafted. After a month’s basic training, instead of the usual 12 weeks, at Bainbridge, Md. he was sent aboard the USS Escalante a Navy tanker as a loader on a three-inch gun forward. Read the rest of this entry »
D-Day Invasion, Devon England, Dukws, German E-boat, Gold Beach, Little Creek Virginia, LST-52, Navy Seal Fort Pierce, Operation Tiger, Slapton Sands, UDT, Weymouth
In U.S. Navy, World War II on August 20, 2012 at 4:38 am
Art Nicholas is shown in his Navy uniform. Operation Tiger, which Nicholas was involved in, was hushed up for more than half a century. Photo provided
Operation Tiger was supposed to be a dry run, a dress rehearsal for the D-Day Invasion during World War II a few weeks away. What it turned out to be was a disaster for the Allied troops that has been covered up for almost 60 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Admiralty Islands, General Douglas Mac Arthur, New Guinea, USS Mississippi
In Korean War, U.S. Navy, WACS, World War II on August 15, 2012 at 4:38 am
This was Seaman Bernie Strapp of North Port, Fla. when he was 17-year-old sailor serving in the Navy during World War II. Photo provided
Bernie Strapp of North Port, Fla. joined the Navy at 17 in February 1943 during the middle of World War II. Because he had taken carpentry in high school he wound up working in a ship repair unit in San Diego, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »
D-Day, Kamikaze, USS Quincy, USS Rodman, Yalta, Yalta Conference
In U.S. Navy, World War II on August 13, 2012 at 4:38 am
Radioman 3rd Class Chris Genovese of Port Charlotte, Fla. is pictured in his early 20s after getting out of boot camp during World War II. Photo provided
By the time Radioman 3rd Class Chris Genovese and his destroyer, the USS Rodman, reached Okinawa during the closing months of World War II, the ship had taken part in the D-Day invasion, shot down a German JU-88 bomber, 15 Japanese kamikazes, sunk a German submarine during the invasion of Southern France, and escorted President Franklin Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference. Read the rest of this entry »
Escort Carrier Group VF-60, Guantanamo, Lambert Field, Naval Aviation Cadet Program, USS Bon Homme Richard, USS Chenago
In Korean War, U.S. Navy, World War II on August 1, 2012 at 4:38 am
Lt. David Weaver is pictured in 1955. He was 34 and serving at the Oceana, Va. Naval Air Station. Photo provided.
David Weaver, who grew up in Charleston, S.C. and joined the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1943 when he was 21, was sent to the Pacific Fleet and assigned to Escort Carrier Group VF-60 at Saipan. Read the rest of this entry »
DD 590 Paul Hamilton, General Douglas MacArthur, Halsey, Invasion of Sicily, Iwo Jima, North Africa, Okinawa, Tokyo Rose, USS Butler
In U.S. Navy, World War II on July 25, 2012 at 4:38 am
This was Ted Sivyer at 17 when he graduated from boot camp in 1941. He served as an antiaircraft gunner aboard the USS Butler and the USS Hamilton during World War II. Photo provided
Ted Sivyer of Country Club Estates in Venice manned a 20 mm antiaircraft gun on two destroyers, one during the Invasion of Sicily and North Africa and the other at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Leyte Gulf, Surigao Strait, USS Killen
In U.S. Navy on July 16, 2012 at 4:38 am
Lawrence Frazer of South Gulf Cove, Fla. served aboard the destroyer USS Killen in World War II. He’s looking at a book entitled “Battle of Leyte Gulf” by Thomas Cutler. He and his ship took part in that battle. Sun photo by Don Moore
Lawrence Frazer of South Gulf Cove, Fla. was a 16-year-old sailor on the main number-2 five-inch gun aboard the USS Killen (DD-539), a Fletcher Class destroyer, during the battle of the Surigao Strait off Leyte in the Philippines on Oct. 25, 1944, in World War II.
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Air Group 85, Essex Class, Okinawa, Pearl Harbor, Ulithi Atoll, USS Shangri-La, USS Yorktown, V-J Day
In U.S. Navy, World War II on June 18, 2012 at 4:38 am
Stan Hardy looks at a daily bulletin passed out to the ship’s crew while serving aboard the carrier USS Shangri-La in World War II. The one the 83-year old Punta Gorda, Fla. resident is looking at tells about dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Sun photo by Don Moore
The carrier USS Shangri-La sailed out of Pearl Harbor in early April 1945, headed for the war zone. Read the rest of this entry »
Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay, Higgins Boats, New Guinea, U.S. Naval Academy, USS Manchester, USS Mitscher
In U.S. Navy, World War II on June 11, 2012 at 4:38 am
Chief Tom Edwards stands beside his torpedo rescue boat shortly before he retired in Key West at age 39. Photo provided
Tom Edwards of Deep Creek, Fla. was a Navy man through and through. He joined the Navy when he was 17 on Nov. 25, 1940 — his birthday — and made it his life for 22 years . Read the rest of this entry »
"Little Boy", Annapolis, Captain Charles McVay, Fleet Adm. Raymond Spruance, General Hospital 95, Lt. Dick Redmayne, Lt.J.g. Chuck Gwinn, Samar Philippines, USS Bassett, USS Indianapolis
In Korean War, Pacific, Purple Heart, U.S. Navy, World War II on May 30, 2012 at 4:38 am
Harlan Twible is pictured shortly after returning to the United States following the USS Indianapolis sea disaster in the Pacific in the closing days of World War II. Photo provided
Minutes after the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis‘ bow was blown away by a torpedo fired by Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945, Ensign Harlan Twible was treading water in the shark-infested, inky waters of the Philippine Sea. Read the rest of this entry »
Bizerte, Dartmouth College, Landing Craft Tank-349, LST, Luftwaffe, Normandy, North Africa, Sword Beach
In U.S. Navy, World War II on May 28, 2012 at 4:38 am
This was George Wolhuter when he graduated from officer’s candidate school at Dartmouth College in 1942 before he shipped aboard his first LST at Norfolk, VA. Photo provided
* George Wolhuter took all of the black and white photographs presented here with his twin-lens reflex camera. He also developed and printed them aboard ship in the darkroom on his LST.
Ensign George Wolhuter was a gunnery officer aboard an LST which took part in the invasion of Sicily, a secret Malaysian invasion, and the Normandy invasion of Europe during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Midway, Legion of Merit, Naval Unit Citations, Pearl Harbor, Subdivision 72, USS Lexington, USS Narwhal, USS Nereus, USS S-20, USS Sea Devil
In Pearl Harbor Survivor, U.S. Navy, World War II on May 21, 2012 at 4:38 am
Capt. Ralph Styles, former skipper of the USS Sea Devil, holds a shadow box full of medals including two Navy Crosses, two Legions of Merit, Navy Unit Commendation, a solid gold submarine pin for being awarded two Navy Crosses. In the background is a banner with the USS Sea Devil’s emblem surrounded by five Japanese rising sun flags indicating five enemy war ships sunk or damaged and seven white flags with red centers denoting seven enemy transports sunk. Sun photo by Don Moore
The enemy submarine, I-374, sailed out of Tokyo Bay into the open Pacific shortly before sunrise on Sept. 22, 1944. Capt. Ralph Styles, skipper of the sub USS Sea Devil, was laying in wait submerged near the harbor’s entrance. Read the rest of this entry »
Long Beach Harbor, Plane Guard, Tora! Tora! Tora!, USS Everett F. Lawson (DD-830), USS Orleck (DD-886), USS Pueblo, USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37)
In Korean War, U.S. Navy, Vietnam War on May 16, 2012 at 4:38 am
Eugene Maresca of Buttonwood Village mobile home park in Punta Gorda served a three-year hitch in the regular Navy and spent the next 17 years as a Naval Reservist. He was a full commander when he retired in 1983. Photo provided
After 20 years of service in the U.S. Navy, Eugene Maresca retired in 1983 as a full commander. He served three years in the regular Navy and the rest in the Naval Reserve. Read the rest of this entry »
Corsair, El Toro Marine Aviation Base, Espiritu Santos Island, Marine Corps Squadron VMF-114, Peleliu, Rabaul Bay
In Army Air Corps, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy on May 14, 2012 at 4:38 am
Capt. Wally Weber returns from a mission in his Corsair fighter. When this picture was shot, he was flying from Peleliu Island in the Pacific. Photo provided
Wally Weber of Burnt Store Country Club didn’t have to sweat the draft during World War II. His father was the chairman of the local draft board in the little town in Oklahoma where he grew up. Read the rest of this entry »
1st Marine Division Reinforced, Brinkley Bass (DD-887), Cactus Air Force, Daytona Beach Naval Air Station, F4U5N Corsair, Fighter Squadron 52, Guadalcanal, Torpedo Squadron VA-55, USS Card, USS Saratoga, Wonsan Harbor
In Korean War, U.S. Navy, World War II on May 11, 2012 at 4:38 am
“Slim” Russell is pictured standing on the wing of an F6F Grumman Hellcat Navy fighter he flew shortly after World War II. Photo provided
“At Guadalcanal, I was almost a war hero to the Japanese,” Allard Guy “Slim” Russell of Sarasota, Fla. said with a smile. “I dropped the first 500-pound bomb on the 75-mile long, 25-mile-wide enemy-held South Pacific island. Read the rest of this entry »
Guam, Guantanamo Bay, Iwo Jima, Mariana Islands, Task Force 58, USS Intrepid, USS Wasp
In U.S. Navy, World War II on May 7, 2012 at 4:38 am
Master Chief Herb Schmaeling of Port Charlotte, Fla. can still wear his uniform at 82. Each of those black hash marks on his sleeve represent four years in the service. Note the block of wood in front of him with the words, “Plank Owner, USS Wasp CV – 18.” It’s from the deck of the carrier. It means he was one of the sailors who put her into service in 1944. Sun photo by Don Moore
By the time Master Chief Herb Schmaeling retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1971 he had served in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp in World War II and during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Read the rest of this entry »
Charleston Naval Shipyard, Guam, last Japanese soldier, Navy ROTC, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Strike Command, Tonkin Gulf, USS Blue Gill, USS Charr
In U.S. Navy, Vietnam War on April 25, 2012 at 4:38 am
Arthur Anderssen as a commander in this formal Navy picture. Photo provided
Arthur Anderssen of Burnt Store Isles south of Punta Gorda, Fla. graduated from Auburn University in 1962 on a Navy ROTC scholarship and joined the Navy immediately to complete his four year obligation. Thus began his 26 year military career. Read the rest of this entry »
"Exercise Tiger", Brixham England, D-Day Invasion, English Channel, Fortress Europe, German E-boat, LST-289, LST-507, Lyme Bay, Slapton Sands
In Purple Heart, U.S. Navy, World War II on April 23, 2012 at 4:38 am
Steve Sadlon, originally from Little Falls, N.Y., was 20 when his landing craft was sunk during an attack by a German E-boat only 39 days before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Photo provided
Nine German torpedo boats attacked eight American transport ships in Lyme Bay off the southern coast of England near the village of Slapton Sands in South Devon, during the wee hours of April 28, 1944. By dawn, 749 Americans died and 1000 more were casualties of war. Read the rest of this entry »
Capt. Daniel V. Gallery, Madeira Islands, USS Flaherty, USS Pillsbury
In Presidential Unit Citation, U.S. Navy, World War II on April 9, 2012 at 4:38 am
This was Seaman 1st Class Art Coelho of Port Charlotte, Fla. when he served aboard the USS Pillsbury (DE-133). Even today at 79 he brags he has no wrinkles. Photo provided
Seaman 1st Class Art Coelho of Port Charlotte, Fla. wasn’t aboard the USS Pillsbury (DE-133) when she took part in the sinking of the U-515, a German submarine, off the Madeira Islands in the Atlantic near the North African coast. However, he was on her two months later when the same destroyer escort helped capture U-505, the first time an American ship had boarded an enemy vessel since the 19th century. Read the rest of this entry »
Cmdr. Harry Smith, Gen. Julian Smith, Gilbert Island Campaign, Makin Island, Mariana Islands, Marshall Island Campaign, Rear Admiral Shibasaki Keiji, Tarawa, USS Kimberly
In U.S. Navy, World War II on April 6, 2012 at 4:38 am
This was Seaman Howard Halsey at 19 about the time he graduated from boot camp at Bainbridge, Md. in 1943 during World War II. Photo provided
Seaman 3rd Class Howard Halsey was a 20-year-old assigned to a 20-millimeter anti-aircraft gun on the destroyer USS Kimberly off Tarawa, a tiny island in the Central Pacific. Read the rest of this entry »
Balao-class submarine, Biak, Borneo, Kuramasan Maru, USS Barbero
In U.S. Navy, World War II on April 4, 2012 at 4:38 am
Torpedoman 3/C John Socotch is pictured shortly after graduating from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Receiving Center outside Chicago in 1944. He served one combat cruise aboard the submarine USS Barbero in the South China Sea during World War II. Photo provided
John Socotch was a 20-year-old torpedoman when he went aboard the USS Barbero (SS-317) submarine in Freemantle, Australia Aug. 9, 1944. The new Balao Class sub sailed to war into the South China Sea, between Japan and China Sea, on her first combat patrol Oct. 4. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Okinawa, Nagasaki, Battle of the Philippine Sea, USS Beale
In World War II, U.S. Navy on March 23, 2012 at 4:38 am
Ray Pomeroy was 17 in 1943 and had just graduated from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center outside Chicago when this picture was taken. Photo provided
From the pages of the diary he kept aboard the destroyer he served on– the USS Beale (DD-471) — Ray Pomeroy of Rotonda, Fla. was able to recreate two of the biggest sea battles of World War II he fought in: The Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Okinawa. Read the rest of this entry »
Guam, Kamikaze, Leyte Gulf, Marshall Islands, Okinawa, Saipan, USS Comet
In U.S. Navy, World War II on March 16, 2012 at 4:38 am
Robert Johnson holds a picture of himself and his four brothers who all served in World War II or the Korean War. The picture was taken in 1948 at Robert’s wedding. Sun photo by Don Moore
D-Day was June 15, 1944. It was the baptism of fire for the crew of the new attack transport USS Comet (APA-166) off Saipan Island in the Pacific’s Marshall Islands chain during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Admiral "Bull" Halsey, Iwo Jima, Kamikazes, Leyte, Luzon, Okinawa, Philippine Sea, Sumner Class destroyers, Tokyo Rose, USS Mansfield, USS Willett
In U.S. Navy, World War II on March 7, 2012 at 4:38 am
Seaman Ken Rivers of Port Charlotte, Fla. is pictured in 1944 after graduating from boot camp at 17. He served aboard the destroyer, USS Mansfield (DD-728) in the Pacific during World War II. Photo provided
By the time Ken Rivers of Port Charlotte, Fla. was 20 he had taken part in seven major engagements in the Pacific in World War II aboard the destroyer USS Mansfield (DD-728), participated in the first naval battle of the war in Tokyo Bay and attended the Surrender Ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945 when the Japanese officially called it quits. Read the rest of this entry »
Cau Lon River, River Division 41, Riverine Infantry, Tango Boat-1277
In U.S. Navy, Vietnam on February 29, 2012 at 4:38 am
This boat was similar to Tango Boat-1277 that Soan Ngo and Jim Milstead skippered during the Vietnam War in 1971. Photo provided
Forty years after rockets rained down on their Tango Boat operating in South Vietnam’s Cau Lon River delta country, killing or wounding all seven crew members, Soan Ngo, skipper of the beleaguered boat, and Jim Milstead, his American advisor, were recently reunited in Venice, Fla. thanks to the efforts of a friend and the internet. Read the rest of this entry »
"Kaiser Coffin", Admiral Chester Nimitz, Battleship Row, Ford Island, General N.B. Stewart, Kwajalein, Leyete Gulf, Navy Cross, Pearl Harbor, Saipan, USS West Virginia, USS Windham Bay, Wheeler Field
In Pearl Harbor Survivor, U.S. Navy, World War II on February 24, 2012 at 4:38 am
Dale Augerson of Rotonda, Fla. looks at a picture of the USS West Virginia going up in flames at dockside during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. He served as a baker aboard the battleship during the attack 54 years ago today. Sun photo by Don Moore
When the Japanese attacked the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, Baker 3rd Class Dale Augerson had just put a batch of apple pies in the oven aboard the battleship USS West Virginia. The battleship was moored at “Battleship Row,” together with most of the fleet’s other capital ships. Read the rest of this entry »
Airborne Early Warning Squadron, Argentia Naval Air Station, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Super Constellation
In Cold War, U.S. Navy on February 22, 2012 at 4:38 am
George Burger (left) of Port Charlotte, Fla. wanted to be a Naval aviator, but ended up as a radar operator aboard a Super Constellation flying out of a base in Canada during the “Cold War.” He’s pictured with his buddy Don Fitzik shortly after they got out of boot camp at Great Lakes. Photo provided
George Burger of Rotonda, near Port Charlotte, Fla., was a radar operator aboard a four-engine Navy Super Constellation patrol plane flying out of Argentia Naval Air Station, Newfoundland in the mid 1950s during the “Cold War” searching for Soviet missiles and submarines as a member of Airborne Early Warning Squadron 13. Read the rest of this entry »
Atlantic Fleet, Hard Hat Diver, Jinsen Korea, Okinawa, Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor, Tientsin China, USS Montague
In U.S. Navy, World War II on February 20, 2012 at 4:38 am
Ed Blissick of Port Charlotte, Fla. is pictured as a 19-year old Navy deep water diver assigned to diving school at Pier 88 in New York City in 1943. Photo provided
Just like Mr. Roberts, who served aboard the USS Reluctant, Seaman 1st Class Ed Blissick of Gardens of Gulf Cove near Port Charlotte, Fla. served on a similar attack transport, the USS Montague, AKA-98, during the final months of World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Chichi Jima, hinomaru yosegaki, Hiroshima, Iwo Jima, Marshall Islands, Okinawa, USS Bennington
In U.S. Navy, World War II on February 13, 2012 at 4:38 am
Don Fowler of Rotonda, Fla. holds a Japanese Army rifle and a flag he got in Tokyo while serving aboard the carrier USS Bennington during World War II. Sun photo by Don Moore
Don Fowler was born in Arcadia, Florida in 1925.
“I was going to graduate from DeSoto County High School in 1943, but I joined the Navy to see the world that March,” Fowler, who lives in Rotonda, Fla. said more than six decades later. Read the rest of this entry »
Battle of Leyte Gulf, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Guam, Honshu, Iwo Jima, Kwajalein, Majuro, Nansei Shoto, Okinawa, Saipan, Truk
In U.S. Navy, World War II on February 3, 2012 at 4:38 am
Seaman 2/C John Wisse is pictured at 20 in his Navy dress uniform. Photo provided
It wasn’t the bombing of the carrier USS Franklin off the coast of Japan on March 19, 1945, or the attack by 31 Kamikazes on the four destroyers leading the Franklin’s task force off Okinawa on April 14, 1945, that John Wisse of Rotonda, Fla. considers his worst day in World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
American Legion, German submarine, Liberty Ships, USS Amick, Victory Ships
In U.S. Navy, US Navy, World War II on January 23, 2012 at 4:38 am
Jefferson Askew of Southport Square in Port Charlotte, Fla. is pictured when he was a chief petty officer in 1944. He served aboard the destroyer escort USS Amick (DE-168) during World War II. Photo provided
Jefferson Askew joined the Navy at age 23 in 1940, almost a year before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. By war’s end, he had made 38 trips across the Atlantic in a minuscule destroyer escort, the USS Amick, helping to protect 150-ship convoys making the hazardous voyage to Europe during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
