singles for ca - armed guardif your congressperson calls you about the certificate, have them call...

MAY/JULY 2009 Edition

This POINTER is in Memory of all Branches of service in WW II; the Navy, Army, Marines, Airmen, Seabees, Merchant Seamen, Wacs,Waves, and especially to the Special Unit of the Navy known as the U.S. NAVY ARMED GUARD which was first used as Gun Crews inWW I on board cargo, tankers and troopships and where needed to protect the ship, cargo and the merchant crews who bravely ran the shipsto each port of call until deactivated after WW I.They were established again for the same purpose in September of 1941 and remained activeuntil WW II was over and the need for gunners were not needed. This issue is also in honor to all the people all over the world who builtships, planes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, guns, ammo and all things needed to win a war against the ruthless killers. Thanks to the farmers who fedus all. Thank God for seeing us through.

"Donations keeps us afloat"

USN Armed Guard WW II Veterans115 Wall Creek DriveRolesville, N.C. 275711 (919) [email protected]

Our Motto was...

andWe Did!

Treasure Island, Californ

ia

Pointer_Summer 09_11ptNEW 8/11/09 5:13 PM

Pointer_Summer 09_11ptNEW 8/11/09 5:13 PM Page 2





Our Motto was...

andWe Did!


ia


Page 2


0

A SAILOR’S GRISLY D-DAY VISIONS

Page 3

Board of DirectorsC.A. Lloyd . . . . . . . . . NCBill Bartzatt. . . . . . . . . NEDon Gleason . . . . . . . . KSClarence Korker . . . . . FLJoe Colgan.. . . . . . . . . . MDGerald Greaves . . . . . . RIAl Sniff . . . . . . . . . . . . . FLKenneth Sneed . . . . . . INRalph McNally. . . . . . OKJoseph Benedict . . . . MNRichard Hudnall. . . . . AZZed Merrill . . . . . . . . . ORJoe Esposito . . . . . . . . . ILBernard Stansbury . . . VAForrest Flanagan . . . . WVHilary Makowski. . . . . PAArnold Latare . . . . . . . IABob Ober . . . . . . . . . . OHJ.F. Carter . . . . . . . . . . LAHoward Long . . . . . . . SCMike Molinari. . . . . . . NYTom Dufrense . . . . . . MAWilliam F. Isabell . . . . AL

TrusteesC.A. Lloyd . . . . . . . . . NCTheo Schorr . . . . . . . . PAJohn Shirley . . . . . . . . TXArthur Fazzone . . . . . NYLouis Tew . . . . . . . . . . CTJohnny Stanley. . . . . . GAAl Colella. . . . . . . . . . MOJay Wildfong . . . . . . . . WIHenry Harrison . . . . . WAMervil Yarbrough . . . NVNeal Vermillion. . . . . MDWm. A. Carter . . . . . . DE

ChaplainsLyle Kell . . . . . . . . . . . WABuck Donaldson . . . . TN

You know where you are.You know where we are.We know where we are.But we don't always know where you are.Please notify us when you move.

Non-Profit OrganizationTax Exempt No. 74-2316668

Officers for 2009Charles A. Lloyd, Chairman & Sec.Treas. 1985-2009115 Wall Creek DriveRolesville, N.C. [email protected]

Ron Carlson 616 Putnam PlaceAlexander, VA 22302-4018703-549-5908

Dear Armed Guard Crew, Families and Friends, Summer of 2009

I guess the best place to start this POINTER is tell you that about 12 of the Armed Guard showed for theMerchant Seamen’s Tampa, Fl. Reunion and several more took the great cruise on the S.S. AMERICANVictory. About 75 Merchant Seamen and their ladies were there along with 3 of the crew of the Hi-Jackedship, the S.S. ALABAMA who told of their ordeal. I met a lot of the MM crew that had been on thePOINTER mailing list for years and I got to meet them which was great and personnally rewarding and Ido want to thank them for their precious remarks.

To those of you who were on ships by the way of the Barents Sea (MURMANSK RUN”), the Persian Gulf,the Black Sea or the Sea of Okhotsk can obtain the “60th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great PatrioticWar” (World War II) to the U.S.A. Veterans of WW II who participated in bringing war supplies to theSoviet Union including the pilots and submariners. I hope to have a letter to us in this POINTER from them.

The Certificate of Appreciation placed in the last two POINTERs for our crew to be awarded by Congressto Armed Guard has been confusing to them and the Armed Guard. I didn’t at the time nor do I now havetime to answer all the calls. If your Congressperson calls you about the certificate, have them call Lyle Kell360-652-1884 or 425-327-0392.

On November 8, 1940, a year before the USA entered the war, the MS City of RAYVILLE, carrying a cargoof lead, wool and copper from Australia to New York, hit a German mine and was sunk. It was the firstAmerican Ship sunk during WW II and the ship has been located off the Australian Southern Coast byOcean Researchers. Mack B. Bryan, 3rd Engineer was killed by drowning and was the first American casu-alty of WW II.

Wally Heckenliable 301 E.3rd St. Freeman, S.D. 57029 has had a book “ MY LIFE STORY” published byPink Hill Press which tells a beautiful story on his life and that of his life in the Armed Guard service. Thecost is $30. even includes S & H.. Buy directly from Wally.

On July 17, 1944, the Liberty Ship S.S. E.A. BRYAN had been in port for four days and had taken on almost4.600 tons cluster bombs,1,000 lb bombs, depth charges and incendiary bombs and the S.S. QUINAULTVICTORY was docked across the pier after arriving on her maiden voyage from the Kaiser Ship Yards inRichmond, California. Sixteen box cars of over 400 tons of munitions was nearby, ready to be loaded. Anexplosion occurred and the E.A. BRYAN disintegrated and parts of the QUINAULT (V) was thrown over500 yards away and the pier, nearby buildings and damaged others into the town of Port Chicago a mile away.All 320 men working nearby were killed instantly. Over 350 Navy and civilians were injured. The USNArmed Guard placed a Memorial there in 1958. The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial hastaken over the site and have up-dated the site which is on an active military base. The National Park Servicehas permission to escort visitors to the Memorial at certain times with advance reservations of 2 weeks prior.For more info, call 925-838-0249 or visit them at www.nps.gov/poch,or www.portchicagomemorial.org

I am going to ask all of you on my E-Mail list to not send any more JOKES, POLITICS, or anything unlessit is about the Armed Guard or Merchant Seamen of WW II. I have over 1000 on the E-Mail list and I havea lot of deleting to do each day besides the advertising. Thanks.(cal)

ATTENTION

Officers - Gunners - Signalmen - Radiomen - Corpsmen - Waves - Boatswains - Coxswains - Ship's Company - Radarmen

Remember, I “STILL” can't moveas fast as I did when I was in mytwenties! When you call, let thephone ring so I can get to it! -CAL


Page 49

Charlie,They have re-designed the entrance tothe Rhode Island Veterans Cemeteryand our U.S.N. Armed GuardMonument had to be moved alongwith our time capsule we had placedthere as it was too close to the road.Dominick Vendresca had been keepingan eye on the project and a good thingwe did for the day they were to move it,we had to tell them what to expect andhow it would have to be lifted out ofthe hole without damaging it. Itworked perfect and it is now back inplace along with all the other monu-ments just as they were in at the oldlocation. The new location is just a fewfeet from where it was before. I amhappy and satisfied with all that wasdone .

Gerry Greaves1287 S. BroadwayE.Providence, RI. 02914 401-431-0011

(Extra from Gerry MondayMay 25,2009 Memorial Day) Charlie, JimSheridan from Warwick, R.I., MelvinKahn from Cranston, R.I and I werethe only Armed Guard at the R.I.Veteran’s Ceremony on Memorial Daybut they called out my name and askedme to stand and then called out for Jimand Mel to stand as well. I thought itan honor to be so honored before about300 people who attended. It was a realnice ceremony without politicians.Gerry

***********Thank you Gerry for representing our fadingArmed Guard Crew there. Thank you andothers there for placing the Memorial at thecemetery in the past so others might knowthat our crew existed. If you can get it done,would you have the following inscribed onthe Monument—w w w . a r m e d - g u a r d .c o m so people in the future will know of ourWeb Site. (cal) P.S. “Gerry had it doneimmediately. I ask others of you to have itplaced on Monuments you have erected so allwill know. (cal)

� � � � � � � �

Dear Mr. Lloyd,Best greetings on Victory Day! Goodhealth, and a cheerful smile for everyWW II veteran. It is your holiday,your victory and our future. Withoutyour effort and sacrifice the existanceof many nations would be doubtfultoday. Thank you again and sorry fornot writing, my e-mail server wasdown for about 2 days.

Looking back, I had a great time in theUS. I've been to New York, Boston,Washington, West Virginia, Indianaand Ohio. I've visited museums, gal-leries, halls of honor nad air forcebases. I had a good time with myfriends and my host family, but it'stime to go back home now. I am leaving on the April 13. When I start thinkingabout my year in the US, it seems sosurreal, like a dream which happened toturn true. Everybody was really nice tome, even when I had rough times here.Thatone yearwillstayinmylifeforever.Yours, [email protected]

� � � � � � � �

Dear Mr. Lloyd,Here is some news from Murmansk. OnJuly, 25 a big group of British, Canadian,Australian and other Allied veteranscame to our city on board the liner DIS-COVERY. They visited ‡ Memorial tothe Defenders of Soviet North andMonument to those who died in ArcticConvoys to Murmansk. I went thereand made some pictures (you'll find thelinks after the letter) They are not reallygood, I'm an amateur photographer, butsome of them seem to be OK.

Also, a monument to the seamen whodied on the KURSK submarine inBarents Sea in 2000 was opened the nextday. It is a part of her conning tower anda tablet with the names of those whonever returned home.Yours, Alex

� � � � � � � �

Dear Mr. Lloyd April 23, 2009Thank you very much for the copy ofthe “POINTER”. It was a real pleas-ure to see out postcard in the maga-zine. We got the letter from Mr.Fogel from California. We havereceived crucial information due toyour help. We appreciate it emensely.

On May 8th, our guides are going tothe war cemetery to put some flowerson the convoy Participant’s graves.Then we are planning to the “VAL-LEY of GLORY.” This place is situ-ated about 70 kms West ofMurmansk in the valley of theWestern Litsa River. The Germantroops were stopped there inSeptember of 1941. The battles wereso hard fought that the water in theriver was red with blood. There was afront line from 1941 to 1944. At first, the place was called the “VAL-LEY of DEATH.” People ofMurmansk visit it every year when wecelebrate “VICTORY DAY.” Ourguides took part in the city festival offoreign languages. Their presentationswere successful.Now, they are doingthe research devoted to the traditionsof the Russians, American and Britishnavies.

We are sending our kindest regards toyou and all the American Veterans.Take care.

God Bless You. With best wishes,Yermolina Yekaterina and the pupils,15 Ivechenko St.Murmansk 183034 Russia

� � � � � � � �

Cal Lloyd May 21, 2009Sending a little aid to continue thePOINTER. My wife has had lungcancer for over one and a half yearsnow and, thankfully, it is in remissionand our life is getting back to normalagain. We want to thank you for all theyears of keeping the Armed Guardalive to the world. A tear still comes to

LETTERS FROM THE CREW...Armed Guard Poem The ships were old – the men were young,

A war came in between.

With guns and grit, they proved they were The bravest ever seen.

Their foes were tough, professionals,

But young men, just as well

A thousand U-boats sallied forth,

Three-quarters went to Hell.

As did too many Allied ships

Before the shooting ended,

Those gunners blunted Doenitz’s lads,

And freedom’s sake defended.

From Halifax and Liverpool –

To Murmansk or to Crete,

The Armed Guard was a shield of Hope, Defying grim defeat.

With passing years the circle fades,

Its radius grows smaller,

But at memories of sacrifice,

You may stand a little taller.

Armed Guardsmen played a signal role

To save Red, White and Blue -

I pen these words of grateful thanks -

My dad was one of you.

LETTERS FROM THE CREW...over an hour before we could get to the wounded. Some of themfroze their arms to the elbows. We moved the wounded underheavy artillery fire---We marched 36 miles without a stop. Restedover night and was on the go again. We had marched 98 miles. Welosr of of our equipment and casualties were heavy.”

Beat back under superior numbers, the embattled Allies retreat-ed toward Murmansk, while Russia proclaimed the as a great vic-tory over the “capitalist inperialists.” The uneven fight ended inlate June when American troops were recalled, a full seven mothsafter the war was supposely had ended. The Americans did noteven receive a campaign medal for their efforts, although WhiteRussian officers cited all of them. There is a monument in Detriot,Michigan erected to their honor. The dew survivors are in their90s now, and American public recognition is long, lomg overdue.Every other American soldier who fought Communism has beenremembered.

By Francis X. Sculley (Paper unknown)This is dedicated to the 5500 men who fought, bled, froze todeath in Russia in 1918-19.

Sent in by: James Everly, 5935 Clover Lane, Walbridge, Oh. 43465


LETTERS FROM THE CREW...

my eyes when I reflect on where wewent, what we went through and whatwe did and had to do.

I was aboard two T-2 Swan Islandtankers, the S.S. TONTO and the S.S.SAGUARO. We covered about everyisland in the Pacific and twice throughthe Panama Canal. The TONTOhauled 120 octane to New Guinea ,Hollandria, Finchaven and the islandof Biak where we launched our attackat the Phillipines. We then came backto the States for more fuel. We were ina convoy of twelve from Eniwetok toSaipan.

We hauled 120 octane to Saipan four orfive times and I watched as the nightlyas the B-29’s from Guam, Tinian andSaipan would come together and headfor Japan. And their secondary targetwas Okinawa and an Island we hadnever heard of—Iwo Jima.

Every full moon, the Jap planes camedown to bomb the runways, trying tostop our planes from flying.

On Christmas Day of 1944, we werehaving a party of sorts on the fantail.On the full moon was their time to droptheir bombs on the runways but that

night, they dropped their bombs off ofour fantail. Had they hit us, Lord onlyknows what would happened to us andall the ammo ships around us anchorednearby. We supplied the fuel for the B-29s to help win the war. I would sat outeach night and watch them return.

I had been in the service for one year onDecember 43 and I had just turned 16on Nov.16, 1944. I had attended as sig-nal school striker at University ofIllinois for 16 weeks and I was aSignalman Striker. I was sent toTreasure Island and then to Portland,Oregon to go aboard the S.S. TONTO.


Page 5Page 48

As the years go by, wars come and go and most veterans feel thattheir Unit did the most to win the war; or, at least they often bragto each other that they did. One such case is below:

In referring to Capt. Rollin H. Baker, MSC USNR (Ret) andbeing under his command during WW II, the American ArmedForces, although victorious in the early action in the South WestPacific, they were beseiged by an array of crippling medicalproblems in that tropical hot, hunid environment. Servicemen,responding poorly to the climate contracted numerous ailmentsfor which there were little natural resistance. Especially trouble-some were skin rash, malaria, scub typhus, dengue and manyother foreign deseases. The Japanese apparently had similairproblems.

As a result, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2(NAMRU-2) came into being in 1944 as a major effort to helpprevent and alleviate such medical hazards and keep our forcesfit for carrying out their missions in the Pacific War theater.

Before mid-1944, NAMU-2 Commanding Officer Capt.Thomas M. Rivers, MC-USNR, got an array of biomedicalexpertise to include every conceivable aspect of laboratory andfield epidemiology. Specialist, either already on active duty or incivilian life, were engaged in research-oriented work in pathol-ogy, bacteriology, chemistry viral and rickettsial diseases,malarialogy, entomology (vector such as mosquitoes and flies)and many other groups that delt in ticks, mites, lice and fleas.The NAMU-2 headquarters was first established at theRockefeller Institute for Medical Research , now part ofRockefeller University. Many famous doctors and scientistswere assigned early duties with NAMRU-2. Some were sentwith Pharmacist Mates from the enlisted ranks to differentplaces in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the main Pacific headquarters

for NAMRU-2 was gaining momentum. This was being takenplace in the middle of dense jungle and the enemy still nearby attimes.

Upon arriving on Guam, NAMRU-2 personnel, including 39officers with designations as scientists, 9 as administrators, andmore than 250 rated men were first housed in jungle-shroudedtents. By mid-February, they were moved to newly built facilityand began to work in earnest at their research labrotories.NAMRU-2 as stated earlier, went to work on ways to keep ourtroops from contacting and spreading crippling diseases towhich they had little or no natural resistance. If, for example, alarge sector of an invasion force aquired vector-borne diarrheaon D-Day, the enemy may well have been the cause.

The lab immediately began a systematic survey of introducedrodents, native fruit bats, migratory birds as reservoirs of med-ical importance diseases and parasites on Guam and otherstrategic islands in the Pacific. After voucher specimens of birdsother things were collected, identified and examined biomed-ically, they were preserved as museum specimens and laterdeposited in the Smithsonian Institute. The atomic bombs weredropped ending much of the work in research. Capt. Baker andChuck later visited Guam and found many of the endemic birdswere now gone.

Stories could go on forever how these men helped win the war.Every person did their part in winning the war regardless oftheir branch of service, rating or job they had to perform. Everyserviceman played their part and we must remember he or she assuch. Just a note that every group should enjoy, as NAMRU-2enjoys every year, reminiscing and enjoying the close compan-ionship and fellowship they had in doing their part and workingtogether to win the War in the South Pacific.

ANOTHER GROUP FROM WHICH WW II WAS WONCharles “Chuck” Davidson • 1122 Holmes Pl. • Dekalb, Il . 60115 • 815-756-2618

When Russia surrendered to Germanyin 1917, it created tremendous appre-hension among the Western Allies.First and perhaps foremost, scores ofcrack German Divisions would betransferred to the Western front. TheAllies were run-ragged, and the greenAmerican troops were an unknownquanity, even enough of them shouldarrive in time. Second, there were mil-lions of tons of war material along theroute from Moscow to Archangelwhich must not fall into Germanshands. The Russians had not paid forit, and the Allies, particularly Englandwere suspicious of the Bolsheviks.Had they not threathened to bringbloodshed to every Capitalist Nation?Something must be done---and atonce.

England took the first step when itlanded 600 “advisors” in Murmanskin June, 1918. They immediatelybrought pressure on the United Statesand France to send troops. On June 11,1918, 150 Americans Marines were putashore to guard the railway. The Allieshad in mind 3 battalions of infrancy, 2batteries of field artillery and 3 com-panies of engineers. France sent a colo-nial regiment in July---their only con-tribution. The Allies were desparate.

In the meantime, 4500 Americantroops had landed in England, and atonce, placed under English command.The comprised the 339th Regiment,3109th Engineer’s Battalion, and the337th Field Hospital Company, plusseveral smaller service units. The boysfrom Michigan and Wisconsin weretotally lacking in combat experience,and were as hapless---though will-ing—an outfit ever assembled.History has proven the forgottenAmerican unit, to have been one of thebest, although largely forgotten. They were issued uniforms by the

British and old Russian rifles, many ofwhich were inoperable, and more of ahazard to the riflemen than the enemy.They were given training, which wasrudimentary at best, and then loadedonto 3 boats and headed for NorthRussia.

The influenza epidemic became ram-part and many of the doughboys werestricken, scores of them perishing.Their route was through frigid Articwaters, and many suffered dread-fullyfrom seasickness, those who didn’thave flu. The emaciated troopsarrived at Archangel on September 4,1918, and the Yanks were quicklyrushed to the front lines. The

Bolsheviks had formed a vast perime-ter around the Allies and wereincreasing pressure dailey. Theirartillery barrages were furious. As thepuzzled dog-faces got the news, manyasked the same questions, “hy are vefighting the Bolos, weren’t they ourAllies, just a year ago? Hell, there’s nowar with the Russia.” On November11, 1918, the war ended---except inNorth Russia.

On February 1, 1919, there were 5000American troops stationed inArchangel—all of whom cursed thefates that had sent them there. Thepeople were postively hostile, but thefierce half-breed dogs dogs wereabsolutely intreactable, and they out-numbered the peasants. The tempera-ture often dropped to 45 degree belowzero, or even worse. The standarduniform was a heavy sheepskin coat,fur cap and mittens, white cowls forcamouflage, and the thick cumber-some boots known as mukluks.Aspecial diet had been devised for theYanks by Sir Ernest Shackleton. Itconsisted of fatty foods supplementedBy flint-hard dried fruit. The battle-

field ranged over 400 miles in an arc.It was a brutal war. American, Britishand Canadian troops would moveacross frozen wastelands, careful notto blunder into swamps that couldswallow a man instantly; always underintense artillery fire. With the burst-ing of flare shells, the aurora borealis,the whinnying of the

little Russian ponies, plus the howlingof wolves, the Allies wondered if therewere ever a war like. They hadn’t.

When the rumor came that Bolos weregoing to use captured German gasshells, and a number of dead Americansoldier’s bodies were recovered withthe head and limbs beaten by blowsfrom an axe, the defenders had almosthad it. The “Chicago Tribune” pro-nounced the Russian campaign a fail-ure, use some very strong words, andthat brought America to an awarenessof its forgotten soldiers. The war hadbeen over 3 months and yet men werestill dying and freezing to death.Americans would be relieved some-time in June, 1919. As the weatherbegan to warm to a mere 30-below,America sent two more engineeringcompanies to Murmansk to help withgetting the railway in shape.

Bolshevik artillery and infantryattacks intensified, and the heroicCanadians out-duelled the massiveBolo barrage, permitting the Allies towithdraw. One hundred and ninety-one Americans were dead, 252 wound-ed, hundreds suffered minor frostbitesand mostof all Despondency. Oneweary doughboy wrote home:

“Two weeks ago this morning, aBolshevik artillery of six 18-poundersshelled our village for two hours. The500 infantry men advanced on an out-post. Eight of forty got away. It was

MONUMENT IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN---TRIBUTE TO FORGOTTEN HEROES


I still have a picture of all the crew andremember them fondly.

Thanks again for all you do and havedone to keep us united.Lewis (Jack) Hagerman 1603 Gladys Dr. Las Cruces, NM. 88001

� � � � � � � �

To all the Armed Guard and MerchantCrews by: Carolyn Cochran

Ernie and I have been helping C. A.Lloyd-Chairman USN Armed GuardWW II Veterans for quite a few years.We were able to go to about 15 A. G.Reunions and always enjoyed meetingand talking to "shipmates" from allparts of the country. When we were inone of the meetings, C.A. Lloyd askedfor volunteers who had a computer tohelp send out letters matching up ship-mates that had scattered all over thecountry. Ernie went up to C. A. and"volunteered" my services. Over theyears we have sent out many letters toshipmates and heard from many A. G.who were in contact with shipmates theyhadn't seen or heard from for 50 years ormore.

Three years ago Ernie health gave wayand he had to go into a nursing home,but he wanted me to continue sendingout letters and I promised him I wouldand I will do so as long as I am able.Ernie & I spent many hours running,folding, stuffing, and mailing letters.This is one of my "good" memories ofour time together. C. A. always reim-burses us for our expenses such as boxesof paper, envelopes and stamps from theArmed Guard bank account that is fromdonations by you. We furnished thelabor gratefully and for the enjoymentof helping other A. G. find their ship-mates. Many have sent in checks andmoney to me and I have always forward-ed it on the C.A. to put into the AGchecking account which he has done.Ernie served on 4 different ships,

including going to Murmansk Russia.He served in both the European andAsiatic Pacific theaters, and was on aconvoy to Murmansk, Russia. He wasable to meet about 10 of his shipmatesand usually at least 5, with their wives,went to the Reunions. These are thememories we will never forget. I will behappy to help Lloyd with sending outletters as long as I am able and he is able.

Ernie & Carolyn Cochran 43821 740-754-1589 [email protected]

� � � � � � � �

CAL: Thank you for the e-mail whichreminds me that I owe you some moneyfor the hat, bumper sticker, some pastissues of the Pointer, which I will putin the mail today. No I have notreceived that info as yet, but will advisewhen I receive it. Thanks for the greatjob you are doing to keep the ArmedGuard memory alive. Not many of usold timers around.

I am interested in a circular U.S.NavyArmed Guard patch which shows asailor loading what looks like a 4”50shell is there a patch made up like theone on the bumper sticker with theeagle? If there is, I would like one also.I am making up a display case with mymedals, ribbons, pictures and othermemorabilia, which my family hasasked me to do a long time ago and am

now in the process of doing it. My wifeKathleen of 57 years passed away onJanuary 27, 2009 after a five year illnesswith Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

I have enjoyed reading the Pointer andit has jogged my memory of the past.Reading about some of the exploits,which I also experienced and have real-ized it was just part of my life that Itook for granted, that it was part ofNavy life at war. Such as GQ twice aday, submarine attacks, depth chargesby the Destroyers and Corvettes, aerialbombings in South Hampton, theBuzz bomb attacks in Antwerp, stand-ing watches in all kinds of weather,storms at sea, etc. We were young thenand could take it in stride or we did notknow any better and thought it was anadventure.

I enlisted in the Navy on April 21, 1944and was placed on in-active duty until Igraduated from high school. I reportedfor active duty on June 8, 1944 to NTSGreat Lakes, IL. On August 10, 1944 Iwas transferred to the Armed GuardSchool NAVTRCEN Gulfport, MS.On September 7 1944, I was trans-ferred to Anti-Aircraft TrainingCenter, Shell Beach, LA. I served onthree merchant ships as Armed Guard:SS John Howland September 22, 1944till May10, 1945; SS William Maclayfrom June 21, 1945 till September 5,1945; SS Joseph H Martin from

LETTERS FROM THE CREW...12/16/1944 Aboard the S.S.CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN

0920 Inspection of all guns.Satisfactory condition.

1800 Two men, MasLaren, Robert G.,BM2c, and Vogel, Oscar M., GM3c wenton shore patrol duty, according to direc-tions from Port Naval Office, 1800-2400.

1545 Report of bomb exploding in cen-ter of buildings containing two theatersand other amusement places. After inves-tigating,found that three Armed Guardcrew members were missing: Conners,George Joseph, S1/c, 814-70-97, USNRHagerty, William Freeman, Jr., Cox 821-48-74, USNR Long, Charles William,S1/c, 821-48-70, USNR MerchantMarine crew member, W. Breece,escaped with minor injuries from bombexplosion, Companion of Connors,George Joseph, S1/c and last person tosee him in the theater.

12/17 Search made for missing men atscene of destruction, at Hospitals, and all

temporary morgues. United States PortNaval Office notified concerning missingmen, with their names, rates and serialnumbers. Many bodies still in debris ofbuilding.

12/18 Truck transportation, largeenough to hold thirty-eight ton cranebody, necessary to finishing unloading.Number two hold still contains sevenhundred tons of material, awaitingremoval of the three cranes. --- Twocranes removed today.

Inventory made and belongings packedof all personal and Navy gear gear of thethree missing men of the crew. Inventorymade by Gregory, G.W., BM2/c,Thomas, W.E. Jr. SM2/c; King, J.C.

GM3/c; and Richer, J.R. SM3/c.

Gear stored in forward gear locker underlock.

12/20 Notified that body of Connors,George J. had been found.

12/21 Many buzz bombs coming overregular. Amount sent over has beenstepped up lately. Mail received.Telegram for Hagerty, deceased.

12/22 Notified that the bodies of thethree missing men of the Armed Guardcrew have been found. Burial of the fol-lowing men will be in the AmericanCemetery at Fosse, Belgium (half waybetween Liege and Namur; (All USNR)

12/23 1045 Koegler, Walter A., Lt.(jg),from Port Director‚s Office, came aboardto give more details about missing men.

1100 Memorial ceremony, honoring thememory of the lost comrades, was heldon the aft gun platform. Ensign wasflown at half mast all day.

12/25 Anchor raised and voyage downthe Shelde River to the English started.Christmas celebrated by Armed Guardwith 2nd Lt. Hervey present as guest.Gift boxes given out to the crew.

Excellent Christmas Dinner

S.S. CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN

Page 47


Page 7

POTENT WEAPONS OF THE TIME

September 18 1945 till January 3, 1946.I was then transferred to ShoemakerCalifornia on January 10, 1946 forreassignment to the regular Navy. I wasthen assigned to the USS Fanshaw Bay(CVE-70) to prepare her for the mothball fleet. On March 1, 1946 I was eli-gible for discharge but I opted to re-enlist for another two years so I could

receive my four years of advancedschooling. I also served on the USSSitkoh Bay (CVE-86) to prepare herfor the moth ball fleet. I was tired ofshore duty and put in for sea duty andwas assigned to the USS Hawkins(DDR-873) out of San Diego, CAwhere I remained until my dischargeon March 30, 1948 from the US Naval

Hospital in San Diego, CA. While onthe Destroyer we traveled to Hawaii,China, Korea, Manchuria, Okinawa,Guadalcanal and numerous islandsthat I cannot remember. So ended mynaval career as a GM 3/c. I had passedall my tests for GM 2/c and was wait-ing for an opening when I was dis-charged.


DRAFT BAIT: Drafting Guys over 65New direction for any war: Send Service Vets over 65! Wewouldn’t be rookies, or raw recruits.

I am ‘way ‘over 65 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old totrack down terrorists. I’m not whacked out yet. You can't beolder than 42 to join the military. They've got the whole thingbackwards. Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, theyought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a mili-tary unit until you're at least 35. Many of us ‘old guys’ were con-scripted for military service by the Selective Service Act of1940. We’ve already had our basic training.

Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds.Many are exceedingly ‘wooden’ in performance. Old guys onlythink about sex a couple of times a day, (been-there-done-that!)leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to con-centrate on the enemy.

Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a sailorboy is a dangerous gob. 'My back hurts! I can't sleep, I'm tiredand hungry'. We are impatient and maybe letting us kill somejerk that desperately deserves it will make us feel better andshut us up for a while.

An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10 a.m. Oldguys always get up early to (censored) so what the hell. Besides,like I said, 'I'm tired and can't sleep and since I'm already up, Imay as well be up killing some fanatical SOB. We’d give them agood working over. A lot of ‘lead medicine.’ If captured wecouldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where we put them.In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteas-er. Another boot camp would be easier for us old guys. We'reused to getting screamed and yelled at and we're used to softfood. Oh that good old S.O.S. No need for a G.I. haircut, we arealready “skin heads.” We've also developed an appreciation forweapons. We've been using them for years as an excuse to getout of the house, away from the screaming and yelling.

They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've beenin combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hangingover the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completingboot training. I can hear the CPO In the 'New Navy' now, 'Get

down and give me ... er .. One.' Actually, the running part is kindof a waste of energy too. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.

An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's stilllearning to shave, to start up a conversation with a pretty girl. Hestill hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to shade hiseyes, not the back of his head. These are all great reasons to keepour kids at home to learn a little more about life before sendingthem off into the television war. The war on every channel.

Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists.The last thing an enemy would want to see right now is a coupleof million teed off old (censored) with attitudes and automaticweapons who know that their best years are already behindthem. We won’t need any new “Veteran’s Benefits.” At our age,we’ve already had our share. If young guys were smart, they’dmiss half the fun. Know that by the time you learn to behaveyourself, there is nothing else to do.

We find the trouble with ‘getting-up-there’ and knowing whatlife is all about, we don’t want to.

So where do I go to, to “Re-up” Tell me. Charlie Adams Jr. E-mail: [email protected]

ADAMS APPLES THE BARKING OF AN OLD SEA DOGCharles J. Adams Jr. • 100 W. 46 ST. • Reading, PA 19606

40MM CALIBER MARK 1 AND MARK 2

One of the best Heavy MG AA weapons ofWWII, the Bofors 40mm Model 1936 is still inservice in some nations. This weapon wasused on almost every US and UK warship ofWWII and was a very potent AA gun. TheGermans also used the Bofors design to devel-op the 40mm Flak 28 and the Japanese copied aBritish Army type Bofors captured atSingapore to produce the 40mm Type 5.

20MM/70 (0.79") CALIBER AA MG MARK 2, 3 & 4

Widely used by the Allied nations, the Swiss-designed 20mm Oerlikon AA MG was proba-bly produced in higher numbers than any otherAA weapon of WWII. The USA alone manu-factured a total of 124,735 guns. The firstUSA built gun was test-fired on 8 June 1941and 379 had been delivered by 7 December1941. These guns were air-cooled and used agas blow-back recoil system.


William Goodness 841 11th Street NorthWisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 715-423-7897

***********Sorry, don’t have any more patches otherthan New Orleans, too old to order. (cal)

� � � � � � � �

John L. Haynes 10942 Pine Valley Path Indianapolis, IN 46234 Tel: 1-317 852-3622 2/7/09

Mr. William P. Short102 Thistle StreetDunfermline, Fife KY 12 OJA, Great Britain

Dear Mr. ShortI read your story in the February –May 2005 issue of the POINTERtelling of the harrowing experience ofyour surviving the sinking of theINDUNA during the voyage ofConvoy PQ-13 in the North Atlantic toMurmansk in March 1942. What aheart wrenching story. I pray you arewell at this writing.

I, too, was in that same Convoy PQ-13aboard the SS ELDENA as a US NavyArmed Guard gunner. The ELDENAdid not suffer any substantial damageeither going into Murmansk or return-ing to Iceland after off loading ourcargo. We did encounter many near-misses from enemy surface vessels, U-boats and aircraft. I saw a number ofships hit and sunk. While in port inMurmansk we were under constantattack by enemy bombers and had toman our guns sometimes as often as 5times a day. Our gun crew was creditedby the Russian Government withshooting down 3 German bombers andthe entire crew was given an extramonths pay.

At the same time you were suffering thetraumatic conditions in that poorexcuse for a hospital, we were manning

our guns and trying to stay alive andprotect our ship. I am so glad you hada good experience aboard the USSTUSCALOOSA. I wish to express mydeepest gratitude for your service andhappy to hear that you survived andwere fitted with artificial limbs. InJuly 1996 my wife and I visitedScotland to celebrate our 50th wed-ding anniversary. We loved Scotland.We both have a Scottish heritage. Mymother was a MacDonald and her par-ents were Hamilton and Hunter. I was86 years old this past May and am stillin excellent health

God bless you is our prayer. I hope tohear from you. Sincerely, John

� � � � � � � �

Subject: Nebraska Armed Guard UnitDisbands

After almost 30 years of continuousoperation and fellowship, theNebraska Armed Guard Unit hasvoted to disband. The Unit has metfaithfully, on a monthly basis, for allthese years. As a group we have per-formed at every Patriotic Ceremony atthe Veteran's Garden, Lincoln,Nebraska and for years we were custo-dians of over 35 American Flags thatwere displayed at the Garden onHolidays, and other Patriotic Events.

Our last official meeting was held inLincoln On June 1sr and was attendedby 35 Armed Guard, Merchant Marineand spouses. And while we will notmeet on a monthly basis we over-whelmingly agreed to meet once ortwice a year.

The group wishes to officially extendour love and gratitude to the tirelessand faithful service rendered by Moeand Jeanne Carlton. Without theirdevotion to our Nebraska ArmedGuards we would have never enjoyedall these years of patriotic fellowship.

John F. Higgins in behalf of theNebraska Armed Guard Unit.

***********Dear Y'all,So sad to hear of shutting down theNebraska Armed Guard monthly meetingbut I understand. One day I will have tocome to the conclusion to shut down here ---but I won't be around to tell you. Should Ishut down before I go or get my printer tosend the obit? If you decide on certain dates tomeet, send time place and hosts. Thanks toMoe and all for serving and getting together.I have been Blessed of knowing so many good"YANKEES"!!(cal)

� � � � � � � �

Dear Mr. LLoyd,I'm Roger Bourgea from SouthBurlington, VT and this morning onour Burlington Free Press I saw anarticle about another Armed Guardveteran - Fred Greeno, 138 GrandAvenue, Swanton, VT 05488. He neverknew anything about The Pointer orthe meetings in Concord. I told him Iwould ask you to send him the Pointerand maybe some old editions. I'mwondering if you could do that for me.I would appreciate your letting meknow. It would be greatly appreciatedas I enjoy this so much. I'm sure hewould also. He lost his first ship WestMadaket on May 5, 1943. They weretorpedoed by a German U-boat. Theywere rescued by a British corvette. Thecommander was Sir Robert Atkinson.His daughter found him through theinternet and they are now in touch witheach other and he always wanted tothank him for saving his life and wasfinally able to do it. Thanking you foranything you can do.Roger Bourgea

� � � � � � � �

CAI talked this morning with an AnneMarsh. She is the Chief Archivist,Institute on World War II and Human

LETTERS FROM THE CREW... THE JERSEYMAN

Page 45


Experience, Florida State University.This is an integral part of the HistoryDepartment of Florida StateUniversity. If you visit their website, ittells more: Http://www.fsu.edu/~ww2 They are most interested in gettinganything they can get their hands onrelating to World War II. When Idescribed your activities and theArmed Guard, I thought she wouldfaint on the phone. This is the otherside of the merchant marine story in thewar and she did not know what youwere doing. Would you do severalthings? She would love to talk withyou. She is the one who makes deci-sions and will take all you have. Heraddress is:Institute on World War II and HumanExperience Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306-22Attn: Anne MarshHer phone is 850-644-9545Her Email is [email protected].

They are anxious to expand their col-lections and research possibilities onWorld War II. The head of this areawrote to AJ Witcha about a year agooutlining their interests, but never gota response. You can send her some ofyour publications, but perhaps if youcalled her first and outlined all youhave at your place, that might expandher understanding of the trove of

information at your place. They arequite concerned that time is takingaway the men to talk to, and who hasother information. I believe havingyour records and publications at a uni-versity for review and study is critical.People are starting to write a thesis onus, and where better to get the infor-mation than at one university. Havingpaper in an airconditioned location willsave the publications and records youhave maintained. She will wait to hearfrom you. She is very delightful overthe phone.

I am not sure whether you plan to go toTampa, but she will be there.This is all good.Mark Gleeson

***********Thank you Thank you Thank You for send-ing this as I have lost everything since Jan 12009 in my computer. I will save it immedi-ately and follow up as soon as I can get thingsleveled out. WHEWW!! (cal)

� � � � � � � �

Charlie; I had just received SCUT-TLEBUTT, and right after that I gotyour e-mail. Thanks for the accolades,and the suggestion. Each issue of SBgenerally brings a comment or twofrom across the U.S. Your idea is just

great. (Makes my retirement writing‘career’ worth the time.) Editor Buschdid OK by me this issue. (Pages 9 10 2833 37 )

The SCUTTLEBUTT newspaper,carries quite a bit of my writings inevery issue. Forty two pages this issue.Like everything else: I remember ahigh of 64 pages. I continue to write aweekly column for six PA. newspapers.Most of my Scuttlebutt columns/arti-cles have been published in my week-lies. The “MY DIARY OF D-DAYPLUS 65 YEARS,” (Page 28 in SB) hasbrought a large response. It was pub-lished locally the week of June six. I amsending the ‘Sea Dog’ column with thise-mail, and I am putting together a fewcartoons that I will send ‘snail-mail.’As long as I’m able, I write and drawevery day. Hundreds of cartoons onany subject. Columns and articlesgalore.

Thank goodness my six papers use myoutput weekly. ”We have to face theinevitable.” Most of us old (censored)are not getting old. WE ARE OLD!Again thanks, Charlie Adams. (No apostrophe in ADAMS APPLES

See page 7 of The Pointer)Charlie; the following has absolutelynothing to do with any of the above:have you seen the German U-boat film


Page 9

On the eve of the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the foundation that runs the National D-DAY Memorial here is on the brink of finan-cial ruins due to donations in the poor economy. The Primary support base of support, the WW II Veterans, are dying off. The

prospect of being taken over by the NationalPark Service or a college or university hasfound no takers. The Bedford Memorialopened 8 years ago attended by the thenPresident George W. Bush. It’s location isabout 115 miles West of Richmond in a townwho lost 19 boys on D-DAY in a town ofabout 7000 in 1945, the highest casualties percapatia. The cost was $7 million and was paidin full from donations in 2006. It is not only aMemorial to those from Bedford killed but toall Verterans who served. If you read this inthe future and can contribute, please do so. SEE PAGE 16.

NATIONAL D-DAY MEMORIAL BEDFORD, VA.



Page 43

“das boot?” (the boat). I played it lastnight for the third time. I thought of youguys on the merchant ships. The U-boatswere out to sink your ship, that’s for sure.But as the story line went along in thefilm, you had to build up a certain empa-thy and fellow feeling for the nazi subcrew. They were all “nice guys” with fam-ilies performing the third reich fuhrer’scommands. We saw them as an abomina-tion back then. Maybe a bit of acceptationnow? I read that 40,000 german sailorboys went to sea in the u-boats, and that30,000 never came back. Cja

***********Thanks, "ADAMS APPLE" for sharingyour story, Yes, the Nazi were off the Coastof North Carolina within the 200 MileZone killing boys from the East and West---North and South for their "FATHER-LAND." I had studied history and I neverknew the Rhine River ran into Wilmington,N.C. or Myrtle Beach, S.C.. So, why werethey over here killing boys from the North inour territory. That was our job, as we never finished our first battle!! Forgive and forget.We have a great nation and worth fightingfor. God Bless all Freedom loving people.(cal)

� � � � � � � �

The Sailors' Resting PlaceIn unmarked graves˜And graves they are˜Rest in the deep On the shore and bar.

Those oceans and seasWhere crosses should layAre but a glimmer in sunlight Where restless graves shimmer and stray.Chaplain Lyle N. Kell

� � � � � � � �

BEST POEM IN THE WORLD

I was shocked, confused, bewilderedAs I entered Heaven's door,Not by the beauty of it all,Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in HeavenWho made me sputter and gasp--The thieves, the liars, the sinners,The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade

Who swiped my lunch money twice.Next to him was my old neighborWho never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thoughtWas rotting away in hell,Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?I would love to hear Your take.How'd all these sinners get up here?God must've made a mistake.

'And why's everyone so quiet,So somber - give me a clue.''Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

� � � � � � � �

Dear Charles, Enclosed, I am sending you an inter-esting clipping regarding the ArmedGuard written by Tim Blagg in thelocal paper, THE RECORDER.Also, another written by Tim of myArmed Guard life. I have also beeninterviewed by Elise Tripp, Historianof Sunderland, Ma. Who is writing abook on WW II. I am amazed as tohow many people in my area who didnot know of our outfit, even those inthe navy. I had a call from a friend ofmine who tells me that he lost his ship(MINOTAUR) in the Dutch Guianaarea on his first trip with a loss of 10merchantmen. -SEE NEXT ISSUE.

Walter T.Kostanski, 8 Davis St. Turners Falls, Ma. 01376413-863-4042

� � � � � � � �

NOW HEAR THIS OLD SALTS!Have your Congressman/lady printyou a Certificate like this one.Chaplain Lyle Kell

2821-180th St. NEMarysville, WA 98271 (360)652-1884

MRS. ROOSEVELT TO HONOR AGsLETTERS FROM THE CREW...


MRS. ROOSEVELT TO HONOR AGs“SPECIAL LETTER TO LYLEKELL”

Dear Lyle,You may not remember me but I hadwritten you about how to obtain a“CERTIFICATE of APPRECIA-TION” from Congress and you toldme how to go about it. I am aHAPPY person for as of today,

5/20/09, I have received the said cer-tificate. To say THANKS is notenough to tell you how I feel. ManyTHANKS for your help.

Raymond Boettcher 4735 Wrem Ct., Lebanon, Oh. 45036

� � � � � � � �

Veterans serving in the Caribbean1937-1948 and would like to contributeyour history for schools and collegesand books, contact RebeccaGoldstone, Sweet Patootee Ltd, 28cLoraine Rd., London, Eng. N7 6EZUK Tel. 01144 207 686 5101www.sweetpatootee.co.uk

� � � � � � � �


Page 42



Page 41Page 12

Mr. Lloyd,Thank you for making the POINTER available to us oldsalts. It brings back many memories. Also, thank you forgetting me in touch with an old shipmate from New Jerseyby the name of Frank Lebrato. I have enclosed a photoshowing me pointing at the ensigna printed on our ship’sstack of the S.S. JOSHUA A. LEACH signifying the down-ing of an enemy plane off of Crete. I would have to call 911 toget me down from that perch nowadays. We had survived anair attack, 2 days into the Med Sea. It was getting dark whenthis German plane flying low to the water came down ourstarboard side when our 20mm opened fire on this plane. Itcaught fire and crashed about 500 yards in front of the con-voy. We proceeded on to Calcutta, India without incident.

On our return trip from Calcutta, we brought back approxi-mately 200 live monkeys for polio research. Dr. Jonas Salkfound a cure for polio, so you might say the Armed Guardand Merchant Marine helped stamp out Polio. I do appreci-ate the work you have done in getting shipmates togetherand other things you have done. May God Bless you and

your family and giveyou a long life andhealth.

Charles, I also haveincluded a photo ofmy son. He fought ina different war thanwe did. Our son waskilled in the line ofduty in 1967 at age 22.This was very hard onmy wife and I.

William “Bill”Birchem, 8594 Cheshire Rd.Sunbury, Oh. 43074

ABOARD THE S.S. JOSHUA A. LEACH


MRS. ROOSEVELT TO HONOR AGs

� NOTICE: Moe Carlton and theLincoln, Ne. crew has folded after manyyears.

Lou Tew,s NE REUNION ONLYCrew has folded . Their regular meet-ings will go on.

Little Ferry, NJ Crew that Ray Quinawas host has folded as far as I know.

NOTICE: If you host a meeting and itdoes not show here, please write whatneeds to be placed as to: Time-DatePlace.

PLEASE NOTICE: Morris Harvey ofthe Florida MM Crew E-Mailed meand wanted to know if anyone was spon-soring HOSPICE for the CHAP-TERS Of Armed Guard or MerchantSeamen’s dying Chapters. He said thereseemed to be a need and I E-Mailedhim back and told him we had 3Chapters where it was too late to call inHospice. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; Lincoln, Ne.and I FORGOT the other one. (Do youever have that problem?) They will beholding a Mini-Convention and busi-ness meeting for the SE-Region Oct.29-31, ’09 in the Kissimmee area.Contact: 352-564-0267 [email protected]

The Rhode Island Armed Guard aremeeting only twice a year now. Once atNoon on the First Thursday in Octoberand again in 2010 on the first Thursdayon April 1 which is April Fool’s Day andmy birthday. (cal) Each time they willmeet at BUGABOO CREEK onJefferson Blvd at Noon. Contact: GerryGreaves 1287 S. Broadway,E.Providence, Ri. 02914 Tel. 401-431-0011 [email protected] Since Lou

Tew’s crew will not be meeting anymore,Gerry invites all the NE crew to join inwith him and his crew in October TheIl/Wi Luncheon will be held at noon atthe Sturdevant/ Driftwood Restr. Aug.11 and Nov. 11, 2009. Contact: Jane andJay Wildfong, 13211 Durand Ave., Sturtevant, Wi. 53117 [email protected]

Illinois/ Wisconsin Chapter of the USNARMED GUARD Veterans will holdtheir Mini-Reunion on Friday Oct. 2 &3, 2009 At the Holiday Inn Express,3031 Finley Rd., Downers Grove, Il.Room Rates $69.00 include Cont.Buffet Breakfast. 1-800-Holiday or630-810-9500. Be sure to mentionNAVY REUNION. ReservationDeadline Sept 28th. For more info, callJoe Esposito 630-638-3837.

The Richmond, Va. AG/MM Chaptermeets on the 2nd Sat. at 12 NOON at thePiccadilly Cafeteria 8004 W. Broad St..Hosts Albert Ligon, (AG) 3900 LyndalePl., Richmond, Va. 23235 804-276-4762and Wayte Huffer (MM) 3102 Aqua Ct.,Richmond, Va. 23230 804-262-6710.

LSM-LSMR Association will holdtheir National Reunion Aug. 27-31, 2009at the SHERATON WESTPORTHotel, 191 Westport Plaza, St. Louis,Mo. 63146 1-800-822-3535. Contact;Armed Forces Reunions, Inc., 322Madison Mews, Norfolk, Va. 23510.

Iowa/Minn/Dakotas Crew meets 2ndWed. of the Month at the MACHINESHED RESTAURANT 11151 HickmanRd. Des Moines, Ia., located at Exit #125of I-80 on the West Side of the City..Meeting starts at 10 AM and stay forlunch according to Host Arnie Latare

4400 E.P. True Prky Unit 59, W.DesMoines, Ia. 50265 515-225-1084 [email protected] ARNIE also has informed methat they will be having their AnnualReunion Sept. 18-19, 2009 at theHoliday Inn, Merle Hay Rd., DesMoines, Ia. just South of I-80 on theNorth Side. Anyone else who would liketo join in are WELCOMED.

GULFSTREAM CHAPTER ofMerchant Marine Veterans 1221 S.Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33316954-759-9985 welcomes all USN ArmedGuard and Merchant Mariners to their3rd Sat. of the month,(Excluding Julyand August) to attend their meetings atthe S.I.U. Hall, 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft.Lauderdale, Fl.. Contact Joe Colon 954-370-8161 or Mercedes Frassetti 954-720-1613. Colon says we talk the same lan-guage-let’s talk together of what we did.

The American Merchant MarineVeterans has re-located their NationalHeadquarters from Florida to the homeof Sindy Raymond, P.O.Box 186,Ferndale, Ca. 95536-0186 800-545-4173Ext 1 [email protected]

The Armed Guard Cleveland, OhioChapter holds their meetings atDENNY’S W 150th Exit off I-71 4331West 150th St. Cleveland. Contact BillJoyce. 440-937-6487 See their story inthis POINTER. Located 4 more [email protected]

W.VA AG/MM Mini-Reunion will beheld again Saturday Sept. 26, 2009 atthe Ranch House RestaurantConference Room RT 55 Craigsville,WV.. 304-742-6117 Contact: ForrestFlanagan, P.O.Box 119, Craigsville,WV. 26205 304-742-3160 or Robert

REUNIONS

Page 13

PLEASE NOTICE!! MANY ADDRESSES, TEL.#, E-MAILS, Etc.may change anytime so it’s up to you to find out!

REGIONAL---MINI-REUNIONS ---GET-TOGETHERS-- MEMORIALS, ETC SUPPORT THESE LOCAL MEETINGS

NOTICE: ANY CHANGES or additionals will be in the next POINTER IF NOTIFIED.If still holding meeting,

Write down , Or E-mail WHERE-WHEN-HOSTS as I deleted my list in error.Include address-Tel-E-Mail if available


Wheeler, 203 Hunt Ave., Beckley, WV.25801 304-255-0879 They had theirlargest crew in 2008. Lodging will be atthe Comfort Inn, Summerville 1-800-228-5150.

The NJ Pinelands Armed Guard Creware still active and still meet at THECAPTAINS INN Forked River, NJ.They still get about 30 at their meetingand they extend an open invitation to allAG and their ladies to have dinner at theNJ seashore where they say the food isgood and reasonable. Host is BillWilkie, PO BOX 548, Manahawkin,NJ 08050 [email protected]

Florida’s SUNCOAST AG/MM WWII Veterans still meet at Kally K’s 3383US 19 Springhill Fl at 11:30 A.M. 2NDSat of Month..Host: Bob Bouschor 73Hichory Branch Ln. Safety Harbor Fl.34695 727-725-1930 or Hal Conn, 6625W Seven Rivers Dr., Crystal River, Fl.34429 352-795-6257 [email protected]

Il/Wi LUNCHEON for 2009 will beat NOON in the Sturtevant/DriftwoodRestaurant on: August 11 and Nov. 17.Hosts are Jane and Jay Wildfong 13211Durand Ave., Sturtevant, Wi., [email protected]

Southwest Virginia Chapter ofAG/MM plan to continue meeting in2009 at the famous ANTHONY’S onthe 2nd Friday of each month. ContactRocky (MM) Rhodes 5390 MerrimanRd SW, Roanoke, Va. 24018 540-772-7212 [email protected]

NOW HEAR THIS: The MichiganArea is having a POTLUCK/PICNICNOON Wed. 9/16//09 at the Don andCathy Flegel Farm, 1 mile West ofBrant, Mi. and all ArmedGuard/Merchant Seamen are invited.They will furnish the meats, drinks,tableware, etc. for $5.00 each. Don has a

barn 60X100 ft. so weather is not a fac-tor. You can make it a fall vacation andvisit Frankenmuth, 30 miles East andvisit the Military Museum, Bonner’sChristmas Winter Wonderland and thelovely downtown shopping area. TheHenry Ford Museum is located inGreenfield Village, Dearborn, Mi..QUESTIONS? Contact: Carl Mescher,508 Wayland Ave., E. Lansing, Mi.48823 517-332-1027 [email protected]

The 2010 Texas Reunion of ArmedGuard will be held at the Holiday Innon Highway 290 in Brenham, Texas.The host will be Hilmer Schmidt 800Indian Hill Ln., Brenham, Tx. 77833-2386 Tel. 979-836-7672. More to followin the next POINTER. Hilmer and hiswife Faye volunteered at the TexasMini-Reunion in Fredericksburg thisyear to host next year’s Reunion butFaye departed this life on July 1, 2209and condolences has been extended toHilmer by me for all of the ArmedGuard Crew. Hilmer has some friendswho will carry on in her honor. If youare in the area and can assist, please do.

The San Antonio, Tx. Chapter of theNavy Armed Guard WW II Veteransended their meetings Feb. 21, 2009 as itnow stands unless someone steps for-ward to be the Host. If so, it will beannounced in a future POINTER. Iwould like to THANK Dan and LizMock for their dedicated service overthe years in keeping them together. Age,aches and pains is taking it’s toll as trav-eling begins to take it’s toll, also.

The Victoria, Texas hold their monthlymeeting at RAMSEY’S IN VICTO-RIA hosted by Norman Neureuther,4507 N. John Stockbauer #13, Victoria,Tx. 77904 361-578-7900 [email protected] All wel-comed!!

The Rochester, NY area ArmedGuard/Merchant Marine meet at JAY’SDINER. 2612 W. Henrietta Rd.

Rochester, NY 424-3710. Host JohnShevlin 37 Winfield Rd., Rochester,NY 14622 585-467-2057 who says he isassisted by AG Walter Mace 585-394-7165; MM Frank Hutter, 585-473-8103and Joan Lucci 585-388-0576. They area lot of help since John’s wife Mary, of61 years, passed on to a better place,10/29/08.

DESA (Destroyer Escort Assoc.) willhold their 2009 Convention at theCrown Plaza Hotel, Old Town,Alexandria, Va. @ $99 Sept. 10 –14,2009. Contact: Dori Glaser, P.O. Box3448, Deland, Fl. 32721 386-738-6900with a Memorial Service at the NavyMemorial on Pennsylvania Ave.. AllArmed Guard and Merchant Seamenhave been invited to attend and share thecomradry together. Many have neverbeen able to see the Sites such as theNavy Memorial, World War IIMemorial and many other sites there.Contact Tom Kidd 3636 Chipshot Ct.,N. Ft. Myers, Fl. [email protected] if you can’t get Dori.

USN CRUISER ASSOC. Contact:Robt. Polanowski 5996 Country Rd. 16,Belfast, N.Y. 14711 585-365-2316 Albany,NY Area Armed Guard and MerchantMarine meet the 4th Thursday ofMonth at the SCHUYLER INN, 545Broadway, Menands, NY at 11:30 AM.Hosts are Art and Marion Fazzone,3936 Albany St., Schenectady, N.Y.12304-4371. [email protected] and Peter Falasco,49 Monroe Ave. Latham, NY 1-512-785-7890.

THE BUCKLEY , WA. Contact:Hank and Sandy Harrison 27014Lower Burnett Rd., E. Buckley, 9832136O-897-9381. [email protected] Theystill meet 2nd Wed. of each mo. at 12noon at ELMER’S 7427 Hosmer,Tocoma, Wa. 98408-1220 253-473-0855.

LST CREW CONTACT: LindaGunjak, 6641 Spring Beauty Ct.Curtice, Oh. 43412 1-8OO-228-5870

HISTORICAL MUSEUM

YOU

REUNIONS

Page 39Page 14


Cross of Merit , 3rd class, 1935 CentralLithuanian Cross of Merit andGallantry, 1921 Silesian Cross, 1921September 1939 Cross Polish Forces inthe West Cross with Sea Battles andConvoy Bar Silesian Uprising Cross,1944 Medal for the War with theSoviet Union 1918-1921 Medal for theRestoration of Independence, 1935Navy Medal, 1945 Merchant MarineMedal, 1945 Medal for the September1939 War Medal Rodla 20 YearMilitary Service Medal for Long andFaithful Service 10 Year MilitaryMedal for Long and Faithful ServiceSilesian Grand Cross Wolyn GrandCross Wolyn Cross of Valor with

Swords Volunteer Army Cross ofValor Balachowicz Cross of ValorCross of Freedom and IndependenceVeterans of Freedom andIndependence Cross Regimentalbadges; 16th Infantry RegimentHussars of Death Disarming Germansin Warsaw Lwow Orleta badge LwowDefense Cross with Swords and VirtutiMilitari Lithuanian-White RussianFront Silesian Star for the 3rd SilesianUprising Army Volunteers UNITEDSTATES OF AMERICA The BronzeStar for Valor Certificate of Merit. USArmy Meritorious Unit Citation, USArmy Merchant Marine CombatMedal Merchant Marine Atlantic War

Medal Merchant Marine Pacific WarMedal Merchant MarineMediterranean-Middle East WarMedal Merchant Marine World WarII Victory Medal Conspicuous ServiceCross, The State of New YorkCitations and Commendation awardsENGLAND The 1939-1935 Star TheAtlantic Star The War Medal, 1939-1945. The Defense Medal WWIIFRANCE Croix de Guerre with PalmCHINA War Memorial Medal forWorld War II NORWAY The 1940-1945 War Medal EUROPE EuropeanCombatants Cross, WW II SOVIETUNION Refused to accept two deco-rations.

HERO OF TWO NATIONS REUNIONSE-Mail: [email protected] Web Site.www.uslst.org

The MO/KS Crew holds theirmonthly meeting on the 3rd Tuesdayof the month at the DAV Chapt 2 8787Old Santa Fe Rd. Contact: Bill Sears8505 NE 56th St #167, Kansas City,KS. 64119 816-453-2179

Topeka, Ks. Area ARMED GUARDAND MERCHANT MARINE meeton the "FIRST THURSDAY" ofEACH MONTH at 8:3O A.M. at theAMERICAN GRILL on Gage St.with DON Gleason, 24O5 NWCROSS ST, Topeka, Ks. 666O6-24O1 785-234-6O87 as [email protected]

Delaware Valley Armed Guard meetsthe 2nd Tues. at Noon starting inSept. 2009. Contact: Pete and MaryCugasi, 55 Indian Red Rd.,Levittown, Pa 19057 215-547-2450.

Wilkes Barre, Pa area host DelbertLennon. PO Box 772, Wilkes Barre,

Pa. 18703 570-287-1101 and crewmeet on the 4th Sat. of each mo. at theMark II Restaurant 1020 WilkesBarre Township Blvd., Wilkes Barre.Harrisburg, Pa. Hosts Alvin andThelma Kemble 8150 Chamber HillRd., Harrisburg, Pa. 17111-5412 717-566-8728 armedguard@earthlinkholds a 12 Noon First Thurs. month-ly meeting at the “HOSS’S SteakHouse in Hummelstown.

The FARRAGUT NAVAL TRAIN-ING STATION will hold anotherReunion at the Farragut State Park,at Athol, Id. 9/12/09. Contact: JaniceLauer 208-660-0660 or Bob Moore208-683-5707 for info.

Contact the following HistoricalShips for sailing dates. S.S.JERE-MIAH O’BRIEN, PIER 45,Fisherman’s Wharf , SAN FRAN-CIS CO, CA 415-544-010 0.www.ssjeremiahobrien.org Mngr.Elizabeth Anderson list NEWAdministrative Office address: 1275Columbus Ave. Suite 30 0, San

Franciaco, Ca. 94133

Cruises May 23;July 18;Aug 22,2009 $100. ppd. Traditional FleetWeek/Blue Angels Aerial Show withall day Cruises Oct. 10 & 11, 2009 @$150. ppd.

S.S. JOHN W. Brown Box 25846Highland Station Baltimore, Md.21224 [email protected]

S.S.LANE VICTORY BERTH 94,P O BOX 629 SAN PEDRO, CA.9O733-0629 Tel. 31O-519-9545www.lanevictory.org They supportthe ship with summer cruises offCatalina Island in memory ofMerchant Marine and Naval ArmedGuard lost at sea during time at war.

Contact S.S.AMERICAN VICTORY7O5 Channelside Dr., Tampa, Fl.336O9 813-228-8769 for sailing dates.

� � � � � � � �

ConvApril

S.S.The freighter MS City of Rayville, carrying a cargo oflead, wool and copper from South Australia to New York,hit a German mine and was lost on November 8, 1940, ayear before the US entered the war.

One sailor died in the sinking off Cape Otway, southeastVictoria, while 38 other crew were rescued in lifeboats.

The US entered the war on December 8, 1941, the day aftera surprise Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbour naval base.

Researchers mapping the seabed for Australia's DeakinUniversity said they located the wreck almost 69 yearsafter its sinking, lying upright on its keel and forming anartificial reef covered in marine life.

"A hatch cover near the stern is missing, consistent withreports that covers were blown off the hatches through theforce of the explosion," Heritage Victoria maritime archae-ologist Cassandra Philippou told local media.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

The 6000 tonne Rayville hit a minefield laid by theGerman commerce raider Passat, formerly a Norwegiantanker captured in the Indian Ocean and converted to anauxiliary minelayer.

The wreck's general location had been known since2002, but it was finally pinpointed using advanced sonarequipment.

The wreck lay around 14km south of Cape Otway in70m deep water.

The Rayville was the second ship to be sunk by mineslaid by the Passat, with the British steamer SSCambridge destroyed off Wilsons Promontory a dayearlier.

US WWII wreck found off coast THE wreck of the first American ship sunk during World War II

has been located off Australia's southern coast, ocean researchers said today.

Page 15


A Day at the D-Day Memorial

He walked with his cane to theguard rail and looked over thewater and bronze figures . Thewater spouted in random acrossthe black marbled shallow poollike bullets skipping on the water.The ball cap that covered his grayhair read "D-Day Veteran."

He gazed across the memorial, thenewly dedicated one, the one dedi-cated this past Wednesday byPresident Bush on June 6th for themen who stormed onto NormandyBeach in France the same day in1944. His eyes focused on the stat-ue of the bronze soldier comingout of the water, then to the sol-dier already on the beach helpinghis fallen comrade, and then therewas the bronze soldier laying facedown on the b each...clutching aHoly Bible. He seemed to relivethe entire war in that shortmoment. A nice looking older ladytouched his sleeve and he seemedto come out of a trance. He lookedat her lovingly and simply said,"Momma, I'm not ready to goyet...I need look a little more." Shesmiled and stepped aside.

A young 10 year old boy stoodbeside the man looking at the samestatues, but surely seeing some-thing very different. The olderman looked at the young boy andhesitantly asked, "Do you knowhow much that packed weighed?"pointing to the backpack on thesoldier helping his fallen comrade.The boy shook his head, no. "Well,they were mighty heavy...and thewater was mighty deep...and wellyou see that thing around the mid-dle on the belt....it was a flotationand when it filled up would turn aman so that all you saw was his feetin the air. A man would drownbecause he was carrying too muchweight." The boy's eyes began toget large and his focus was on thesoldiers. Then the man said, "S eethat man there on the ground, theone with the Bible.. . .that man'sb elt is already deflated...that'swhat's hanging down." The boyfiddling with the disposable cam-era in his hands, looked again atthe soldiers and asked, "Were youthere? Did you know them?" "Yes,"the man said quietly, "and I camehome...many of us didn't." Bothyoung boy and old man gazed overthe memorial together never

saying a word. Maybe the boy wasseeing a different picture in hishead now. Maybe the man was see-ing something different too.

"Well, it's time for me to leave,"the old man said "...I'm taking upspace for others to look....it's timefor me to go now." As the man began to walk away, theyoung boy bashfully asked, "Can Itake your picture?" The old man, alittle humbled and quite proud,said, "Why, yes, I would be hon-ored for you to take mypicture....thank you..."

The boy held the camera to his eyesteadied his image and took thepicture of a Real American Hero.My nephew, Hunter, extended hissmall hand into the large hand ofthe D -Day Veteran and said,"Thank you. Thank you, sir."

Note: by: Mary Loose DeViney,US Coast Guard Auxiliary

Page 16 Page 37

FAMILY REUNITED

On March 18, 1946 CaptainWesolowski was in Frankfurt, WestGermany arranging a flight to Warsawon the first available US. Army AirForce aircraft. He was able to secure aseat on the airplane, however a youngmother with a little girl pleaded withhim to give up his seat because she hadto get to Warsaw on that day because ofa death in the family. Touched by theirplea, Captain Wesolowski agreed andgave up his seat. Moments after the air-craft took off, it crashed and all per-sons on the plane were killed. His gen-erosity had saved his life. Destiny andGod watched over him, as it hadthrough all the war years. The next dayStefan was able to get another seat andarrived safely at the Warsaw airport.The base commander at that time com-mented that Stefan lived a charmed lifeand indeed was lucky to be alive. AfterAntonina received the telegram thatStefan was arriving, she left Gdyniawith the boys and set off to Warsaw tomeet him. The joy and anticipation ofthe reunion after all the years of sepa-ration and suffering was almostunbearable. Zdzislaw and Jeremiiwondered aloud whether they wouldrecognize their father but Zdzislawwas sure that he would. When Stefan’soriginally scheduled flight failed toarrive when expected, Antonina andthe boys returned to their relative’shome to await further word on the newarrival time from Frankfurt. Shortlythereafter, Stefan arrived, unan-nounced, and went directly to the rela-tive’s home in the Warsaw-Praga dis-trict. On the way he was spotted by hisson Zdzislaw, who was playing out-side, and who immediately recognizedhis father in the uniform of anAmerican naval officer. No words candescribe the reunion of the whole fam-ily. The long, heartbreaking separationwas finally over!

Several days later, Stefan madearrangements to have his family leave

with him for the United States. Upontheir arrival in France via Berlin, Stefanreceived orders to return to his ship,the USAT Ganandoc, an auxiliary air-craft carrier that he commanded, for itslast voyage home. Antonina and theboys had to wait their turn to board theArmy transport ship, the SSWashington, for the trip to the UnitedStates. By that time Stefan was alreadyin New York, making arrangements fortheir new home in Staten Island. On theearly morning of July 20, 1946 the SSWashington with Antonina and theboys aboard, made its way past theStatue of Liberty and the New Yorkskyline. The family will never forgetthe joy of arriving in the United Stateswhere on the dock awaiting them wasCaptain Wesolowski, surrounded bymany newspaper reporters. The fol-lowing day the New York and nationalpapers published stories and photosabout the Wesolowski’s and especiallyabout Captain Stefan - the first for-eigner, who was not a citizen of theUnited States, to command anAmerican warship during war time.The Wesolowski family who treasuretheir American citizenship and are veryhappy to live in a democratic societywill always remember July 20, 1946.They are also proud of their Polishheritage, a nation that has for a thou-sand years fought for its right to existagainst one tyranny or another.

Antonina was a rare woman, motherand wife, dedicated to her family in thefinest tradition of Polish womanhood.She was responsible for keeping thefamily together in the bleakest oftimes, providing love and care for bothhusband and children. The results ofher dedication and hard labor throughhistory’s darkest days are two sons,both holding doctoral degrees andpositions of responsibility in Americansociety; grandchildren, and a lovinghusband -all whom shall forever cher-ish her contribution. Captain Stefan P.Wesolowski and his wife Antoninaretired to Miami Beach. After many

years of retired bliss, CaptainWesolowski passed away in 1987 andAntonina in 1992. They are buriedtogether at the family gravesite in theMiami Catholic Cemetery. Their con-tributions to both nations will beremembered always.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof. Dr. Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski hastaught at Florida Memorial College inMiami for the last twenty-five years.He is a retired US Air Force Captainand a Colonel in the Reserve of theSouth Carolina State Guard. Col.Wesolowski would be pleased to com-municate with former members of theUSAT Ganandoc who served with hisfather during WWII as well as Polishveterans who served with him aboardthe ORP Blyskawica or other Polishships. Professor Wesolowski can becontacted at PO Box 291465 Davie, Fl.33329 USA. FAX 954-472-0063Email: [email protected]

DECORATIONS OF CAPTAIN STEFAN P.

WESOLOWSKI POLAND

Wound Bar of Honor with three starsOrder of the Virtuti Militari, 5th classOrder of Merit, CommanderIndependence Cross Cross of Valor,1920 Cross of Valor, 1940 Cross ofMerit with Swords, 2nd class, 1942

HERO OF TWO NATIONSA DAY AT THE D-DAY MEMORIAL


W E R E G R E T TO INFORM YOU.

With rising concern about the threat ofJapanese militarism in the Asia-Pacificregion, the Australian Chiefs of Staffsent the 2/22 Battalion AIF to Rabaul,the capital of Australian MandatedTerritory of New Guinea on 25 April,1941. Codenamed, ‘Lark Force’ thebulk of the troops tasked to defendRabaul comprised 900 men and offi-cers and this was later increased toabout 1400. The additions includedapproximately 150 men and officersfrom the Ist Independent Companybased on nearby New Ireland, adetachment from 2/10 FieldAmbulance, six Army nurses, an anti-tank and anti-aircraft battery and acoastal artillery battery plus a numberof militia from the New Guinea Rifles.Ten Wirraway and four Hudson air-craft from 24 RAAF Squadron arrivedjust as Japan attacked the Americannaval base in Pearl Harbor and Malayaon7 December 1941. The war in thePacific had begun. The Chiefs of Staffhad sent this token force in the fullknowledge that it stood no chance ofholding any Japanese attack.

The Japanese bombing of Rabaulbegan on 4 January and continued on adaily basis until their invasion forcestormed ashore at Rabauls BlancheBay just after midnight on 23 January1942. Despite a fierce but brief fight,the outnumbered defenders were over-whelmed and had no choice but to sur-render. The Air Force managed to getaway but the army had to remain.

Approximately 400 soldiers and anumber of civilians attempted toescape southward to New Guinea.Most of the remaining troops and sev-eral hundred civilians including the sixArmy nurses were captured. At the TolPlantation on the narrow neck of theislands Gazelle Peninsula, Japaneseforces rounded up 158 Australian sol-diers and massacred them. Only a few

survived to inform the authorities ofthe atrocity. The loss of Rabaul hadrobbed the Allies of an excellent navaland air base for launching attacksagainst the Japanese fleet at Truk,2800 kilometres north of the CarolineIslands. Truk was the base of theJapanese Navy’s Fourth Fleet fromNovember 1939 until July 1942 when itbecame the forward Headquarters ofthe Japanese Combined Fleet untilFebruary 1944.

On June 22, approximately 845 servicepersonnel, 208 civilians were herdedaboard the 7,266 ton Montevideo Maruat Rabaul where they had been internedsince the Japanese invasion. Amongstthe civilians were 32 Norwegian sea-men from the merchant ship, Hersteinsunk in Rabaul harbour and 31 mis-sionaries. To run the ship and controlthe prisoners, 71 Japanese crew and 62naval guards also went aboard. Theship was bound for Hainan Islandlocated at the south end of China withthe possibility of an onward voyage toJapan. Not included amongst thoseloaded aboard were the Lark Forceofficers and the six Army nurses. Theywere to be the lucky ones as they weresuccessfully transported to Japanaboard the Naruto Maru two weekslater.

Eight days into the voyage, theMontevideo Maru was spotted off thecoast of Luzon in the Philippines in theearly hours of 1 July 1942 by thepatrolling American submarine USSSturgeon commanded by LtCommander William L [Bull] Wright.

Extract from USS SturgeonCommanders log book-30 June 1942.Patrolling northwest of Bojeador as before.Dove at dawn, surfaced at dusk. At 2216sighted a darkened ship to southward at first,due to bearing on which sighted, believedhim to be on northerly course, but after a fewminutes observation it was evident he wason a westerly course, and going at high speed.Put on all engines and worked up to full

power, proceeding to westward in attempt toget ahead of him. For an hour and a half wecouldn’t make a nickel. This fellow was real-ly going, making at least 17 knots and proba-bly a bit more, as he appeared to be zig-zag-ging. At this time it looked a bit hopeless, butdetermined to hang on in the hope he wouldslow down or change course towards us. Hisrange at this time was estimated at around13,000 yards. Sure enough, about midnighthe slowed to about 12 knots. After that it waseasy.

1 July 1942.Proceeding to intercept target as before.Altered course to gain position ahead of him,dove at 0146. When he got in periscoperange, it could be seen that he was larger thanfirst believed, also that his course was a littleto the left of west, leaving us some 5,000yards off the track. Was able to close some1,000 yards of this, and then turned to firestern tubes as; [1] Only 3 tubes availableforward and at this range and with largetarget 4 fish spread desirable.[2] After tubeshad ‘700’ heads while heads forwardwere small ones. At 0225 fired four-torpedospread, range 4,000 yards from after tubes.At 0229 heard and observed explosion about75-100 feet abaft stack. [One of the torpedoeswith a 700 pound warhead explodedagainst the starboard hull ripping open holds4 and five.] At 0240 observed ship sinkstern first. 0250 surfaced, proceeded to east-ward, completing battery charge. Shipbelieved to be Rio de Janeiro Maru, or verysimilar type, although it is possible it was alarger ship; he was a big one. A few lightswere observed on deck just after the explo-sion, but there was apparently no poweravailable, and his bow was well up in theair in 6 minutes. Dove at dawn. No furthercontact.

Historian Bruce Gamble recreates asaccurately as possible the horrorsexperienced by the prisoners duringthe eleven minutes it took for the shipto sink; ‘Aboard the Montevideo Maru, thecrew and naval guards scrambled for theirlives. Those not on duties had been joltedawake in the morning darkness by explosionsand alarms; now they groped along passage-

Page 36

remembers vividly how they escapedthe battle zone by running between theline of fire between the Polish andGerman armies. For a while Antoninaand her children stayed in HeIm-Lubelski and were later able to join herfamily in where they spent most of thewar. Captain Wesolowski was back onactive duty assigned to the Polishdestroyer, the ORP Blyskawica. Hisship and a small flotilla left forEngland, joining the British fleet in itsfight with the German Navy. By theend of September 1939, Gdynia lay inruins and Poland’s armed forces sur-rendered to the Germans. Life inPoland during the occupation was a lifeof utter terror and a constant fight forsurvival. Survival during the war can-not be described with mere words;however, the hardships and responsi-bility for her two sons and elderly par-ents were a heavy burden on Antonina’sshoulders. She and other Poles werepressed into forced labor and she wasable to feed her sons and parents bysharing the rations that she received asa hospital worker.

ARRESTED BY THEG E S T A P O

It was not until years had passed thatAntonina received a letter from Stefanpostmarked London. She and the boyswere overjoyed to learn that Stefan wasstill alive and fighting in England forPoland. This was the first time shelearned that he was well but very wor-ried about them and waiting for the daythat the war would end so they couldbe together again. From time to timeAntonina would receive other lettersfrom Stefan via Switzerland where afriend would forward his letters to her.The Gestapo, in the meantime, wascensoring her mail and became suspi-cious and ordered her arrest. One dayin the Fall of 1944, an armed personnelvehicle stopped in front of the houseand armed German soldiers surround-ed it while the Gestapo burst in andarrested Antonina. Her sons and par-

ents, as well as all the other inhabitantsof the village were alarmed and terri-fied about the final outcome of thisarrest. All too frequently an arrest bythe Gestapo resulted in the disappear-ance or death of the person arrested.During the interrogation Antonina wasquestioned about the letters fromLondon and Zurich. The Gestapoinsisted upon knowing the identity ofStefan. Antonina was sure that theyknew very well who he was but wantedto see what her reaction would be. Shetold them that Stefan was her husband.After a hearing and additional ques-tioning the Gestapo released Antonina.No words can describe the terror feltby the whole family during this ordealbecause in the war year’s people wereexecuted for less reason than that.Antonina and the boys thank God forsaving their lives and those of thewhole family for she and the boyscould have been executed. For the restof the war they lived in constant fear ofbeing arrested again - and having wit-nessed executions at the hands of theGermans, they feared the worst.

Antonina and her son, Zdzislaw, stillcarry vivid memories of one battle inOsiek. This was the day that, after thebattle, they buried a young Polish sol-dier who was no more than 17 years ofage and carried no identification otherthan a wooden cross worn around hisneck; evidently the parting gift from aloving mother. With their bare handsAntonina and Zdzislaw dug the shal-low grave and buried the young sol-dier in the soft earth of Poland. To thisday Zdzislaw wonders who he was andhas pledged to make an attempt to findthe grave on his next visit to Poland.They do remember that it was in thegarden of the Staszewski family onUlica Koscielna in Osiek-Sandomierski. Zdzislaw has vowed tohimself that he will find the grave ofthis Polish Unknown Soldier.Antonina worried about her children’ssafety, their education and their verylives. Since schools were closed, she

started to teach them herself and onseveral occasions there were periods oftime when they were able to attendsmall underground schools beforethey were discovered and closed by theGermans. Antonina did her utmost toprovide loving care for her children aswell as her parents, but by the end ofthe terrible war, both of her parentshad died.

E N D O F W W I I

When the war was finally over,Antonina and her sons journeyed viaopen rail flatbed and horse drawnwagon from Ostrowiec to Gdynia. Inthe spring of 1945 they reached Gdyniaafter a horrifying journey which hadtaken many weeks. On that trip theyviewed the ravaged Polish cities andvillages and saw the dead and unburiedbodies strewn about everywhere. Half-starved, ragged people were a commonsight on the Polish landscape.Returning people searched for missingfriends and relatives, looking for for-mer streets and buildings which nolonger existed; only rubble was evidenteverywhere. The refugees numberedmillions and all were seeking informa-tion about those who were dead oralive. Only God knew the answers tothe questions of many. Several weekspassed and word was spread that thePolish Navy was returning fromEngland and on the 24th of October1945 the small flotilla of the PolishNavy returned to Gdynia. Zdzislawand Jeremii were hoping that theirfather would be among those return-ing; however, standing some distancenear the docks, the boys did not seetheir father getting off any of the ships.

They were disappointed and won-dered whether he was still alive andwhether he would ever return to them.Time passed slowly until Antoninafinally received a telegram from Stefantelling her that he was returning toPoland to take them to the UnitedStates.

HERO OF TWO NATIONS

Page 17

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU...


Page 35

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU...his family shortly after the war. Duringthe passing years the Captain and hisfamily settled in Staten Island, NewYork, and they were able to enjoy thepeace and tranquillity of their adoptedland. His sons grow up in the UnitedStates, the oldest son, Zdzislaw, joinedthe Air Force during the Korean Warand later obtained a doctoral degree.At the present time he is a professor ofaviation, management and economicsat Florida Memorial College inMiami. The youngest, Jeremii, alsoreceived his doctorate and assumedseveral positions of responsibility inmanagement of the pharmaceuticalindustry. He is currently living withhis family in Yorba Linda, California.

Captain Wesolowski selected retire-ment in Miami Beach, Florida wherehe quietly reminisced on former battleswon and lost and of ships of anothertime. His memories are vivid of hismany nationals comrades-in-armsfrom the United States, Poland,France, Great Britain, Norway andLithuania, who fought so gallantly forthe preservation of our freedom. In abook “Under Foreign Flags” writtenby the famous Polish naval historian,Jerzy Pertek, Captain StefanOgonczyk Wesolowski was added tothe annals of Polish naval history forhis service to Poland and the UnitedStates. His decorations were bestowedby the United States, France, England,Norway, Lithuania and Formosa.Amongst the most cherished memen-tos of his career is a letter of commen-dation from President Harry S.Truman dated February 24, 1948.Adding to the list of recognition of hismagnificent service to the cause of lib-erty was the Bronze Star for Valor pre-sented on the 35th anniversary of D-Day. His years of retirement have beenfruitful and full as all sailors the nos-talgia for the sea, and its challenges,will remain forever.

Captain Wesolowski wrote his mem-oirs “Od Gazoliny do Ganandoca” and

they were published in Poland in 1983.This story of courage, faith and inten-sity of love for freedom is one that wasgreeted with great anticipationthroughout Poland and the UnitedStates. One month after publication,the book was sold out.

World War II was a time of extraordi-nary hardships for many families in theUnited States. Separations caused bysons, brothers, fathers and husbands inservice with the Armed Forces, and thesubsequent dangers of loss of life orserious injury, caused torment in thou-sands of families, in thousands of ways.In spite of these horrors of war, the tor-ments were minute in comparison tothose faced by the families who were indirect subjugation to enemy forces onthe soil of Poland. AntoninaWesolowski, the wife of CaptainWesolowski, just as CaptainWesolowski was a hero in every aspectof the word, so too was Mrs.Wesolowski a heroine. Hers is a storythat typifies the courage shown overand over again by so very many Polishwomen and children who existedthrough the war years on the strengthof their faith and courage.

Mrs. Antonina Wesolowski, the wifeof Captain Wesolowski was born inBielcach on May 13, 1913 to a merchantfamily from Poznan. Her family wasalso involved in the fight for PolishIndependence. Her father moved hisfamily to Gdynia in 1932 where heestablished a flourishing business. Itwas in Gdynia that Antonina and Stefanmet, and on September 25, 1933, thetwo were married. At that time,Captain Wesolowski was on the staffof the Gdynia Port Authority as a pilot.Several years later the family hadgrown to four with the additions oftheir firstborn, Zdzislaw, and theiryoungest son, Jeremii. The young fam-ily settled down to a quiet life in therecently built city of Gdynia. All wasquite serene and for a few happy yearsAntonina enjoyed the life of a typical

wife of a naval officer and Polish hero.In 1938 the family was already plan-ning Captain Wesolowski’s retirementfrom government service and had evenstarted to look for a retirement countryestate. Captain Wesolowski planned toretire in 1940, after over twenty yearsin the service of his country, at the ageof 31. He was looking forward to a lifeof quiet leisure as a country gentleman,engaging in his various hobbies andveteran’s group activities. Little did theWesolowski family realize that a yearlater, Hitler had other plans for themand the rest of the Polish people.

IN NAZI OCCUPIEDP O L A N D

Early in August of 1939 Stefan, a navalreservist, set out on his annual trainingcruise. Antonina and the two boys badehim goodbye and left Gdynia for avacation near Osiek Sandomierski towait for his return. Plans called for himto rejoin his family after the trainingcruise for a summer holiday. The fami-ly had no idea that this was to be a part-ing that would last seven long years.Several weeks later, at the home of herparents, Antonina learned that thepolitical situation with Germany wasvery dangerous and a strong possibili-ty existed that there would be a war.Rumors grew all the stronger and soonbecame a terrible reality. Antoninarealized that Stefan would be reinstat-ed to active duty and would be fightingfor Poland. Antonina all too frighten-ingly anticipated the fear of war andthe terrors it would bring. She now hadto assume the role of mother in theworst of times as she indeed was left tocare for her sons alone during the inva-sion of Hitler’s army. At the time,Zdzislaw was only 4 and Jeremii 2 old.

During the battle for Osiek, theirhouse was destroyed and burned down.All the family possessions were lostand Antonina and the children wereleft with nothing except the clothesthey were wearing. Zdzislaw still

HERO OF TWO NATIONSways in absolute darkness, searching forexits. The lights came on for only a minute ortwo after the torpedo struck, and then oilfrom the ruptured tank spilled into the engineroom forcing the engineers to deliberatelyshut down all power. Some of the crewmenmade it to the lifeboat stations as there werethree on each side of the superstructure andtwo more along each side of the aft deck-house. But because the ship was listing rap-idly and going down by the stern, only threelifeboats on the starboard side of the super-structure had a prayer of being launched.The sailors weren’t quick enough. Within sixminutes, the ships bow had risen high out ofthe water and all three lifeboats capsizedfrom their davits with one sustaining dam-age..

‘There is no evidence that any of the hatchcovers were unfastened during the elevenminutes that the Montevideo Maruremained afloat. The Japanese were onlyconcerned in saving their own lives and cal-lously left the trapped POWs to die...Dozens got safely into the water, but twentycrewmen or guards were killed by the explo-sions or drowned. The surviving Japaneserighted the capsized lifeboats and climbedaboard. One boat load headed west, the othertwo remained more or less stationary untildaylight, and then headed east towardsLuzon. For the prisoners down in the pitch-black holds, those last eleven minutes weremeasured quite differently. If any men wereconfined in the aft two holds, they didn’t suf-fer long. Those not killed outright by theexploding torpedo would have been knockedsenseless by its concussion effects and thenquickly drowned as tons of seawater rushedin..

‘The truly unfortunate victims were those inthe forward holds. Before the end came, theyendured eleven minutes of mind-bending ter-ror. No one could see what was happening;they could only feel the ship canting steeplyand their ears were assaulted by the screechof collapsing bulkheads and painful pressurechanges as air was forced from floodedplaces. Some probably attempted to reach thehatches but as they groped upwards, they

found no escape. The effects of adrenalingave them strength only for a short time thenas their black world tilted even more, theyslid aft and piled up against the lowest bulk-head. Under the crush of filthy bodies, thoseat the bottom quickly lost consciousness. Thepanic that surely accompanied those finalfew minutes can only be imagined.Sentimentalists would like to believe thatsome of the prisoners calmly face theirimpending death but the circumstancesstrongly suggest that a contagious, mass hyste-ria swept through the black holds. And whocould blame the victims. They were plungedinto an unfathomable nightmare with eachsecond filled with the sounds of water rush-ing in and the ship breaking apart. As theminutes wore on, the men who were still con-scious would have instinctively tried to clawtheir way upward, their shouts and screamsonly adding to the freakish pandemonium.The terror and their ordeal mercifully endedat 0240 with a final hiss of foul smelling airas the bow of the Montevideo Maru slidbeneath the waves.’.

A few of the Japanese who so callouslyabandoned the helpless prisoners to acertain death managed to survive. In a2003 interview for Australian televi-sion, the last known survivor YoshiakiYamaji, a Japanese sailor describedpeople jumping into oil covered waterfrom the ship which was leaning tostarboard and the screams of thedoomed trapped in the holds. An esti-mated 71 Japanese died. Of the 1,050POW’s and civilian internees, therewere no known survivors. Japaneseaccounts record the captain of theMontevideo Maru and approximatelyten crew in one lifeboat who managedto make it to shore somewhere on thePhilippine coast but some were killed,including the captain, by Flippinoguerrillas. Five survived and set outtowards Manilla, two died enroute butthree made it safely and reported thesinking. A rescue mission was dis-patched but found nothing. Too muchtime had elapsed.

The Montevideo Maru was the first of 15vessels sunk by the Allies that hadPOW’s onboard. Lt –CommanderWright commanding Sturgeon wasunaware of the ships human cargowhen he ordered the firing of the fourtorpedoes which was to result inAustralia’s worst maritime disaster.Historical figures vary but at least20,000 prisoners lost their lives beingtransported to various destinations byJapanese ships unmarked as carryingprisoners of war during the war in thePacific. The most tragic was the sink-ing of the Junyo Maru on 18 September1944 by the British submarine HMSTradewind, with a lost of 5,620 alliedlives possibly more as historical fig-ures vary. As Japan was not a signatoryto the Geneva Convention, they didwhatever they liked with their captivesand marking their ships as carryingPOW’s was not an option. Had theymarked their ships accordingly, notonly the ships but the POW’s wouldhave, in most cases, arrived at theirdestinations safely. Japanese arroganceand the fact that the Allies were able todecipher major Japanese naval codescontributed significantly to victory inthe Pacific. Nowhere where was thismore evident than in the submarinecampaign in which submarines couldbe directed to intercept Japanese shipsalmost anywhere in the vast reaches ofthe Pacific.

After the American submarine hadsunk the Montevideo Maru the Japanesedeliberately maintained a silence aboutthe sinking. It was not until after thewar when documents were uncoveredrevealing the loss of the ship in therecords of Japans Prisoner of WarInformation Bureau. This informationarrived in Canberra late October 1945and finally the Commonwealth wasaware of the terrible tragedy that hadtaken place and what had happened tothose missing from ‘Lark Force.’ The combined elements of Lark Forcewere the first Australians to face the


By 1944 the news spread in the PolishNavy that a Polish officer commandedan American aircraft carrier. On oneoccasion the ORP Blyskawica and theUSAT Ganandoc were docked in thePort of Southampton. Curiosity moti-vated Polish sailors to pay a courtesycall on the Captain of the USATGanandoc. After being escorted to thecaptain’s cabin by a marine guard, thePolish sailors from the ORPBlyskawica were shocked to discoverthat their former petty officer was thecaptain of the Ganandoc. One said.“Stefan what the hell are you doinghere”? They could not believe thatWesolowski held such an importantcommand with the American forces,but was a former noncommissionedofficer in the Polish Navy. The chief ofthe Polish Navy became aware ofWesolowski’s command and extendedan invitation to visit the headquartersof the Polish Navy in London nexttime Captain Wesolowski was in town.Stefan finally accepted the admiral’sinvitation. Upon arrival to the head-quarters, the whole admiralty staffreceived him. During the interview, theadmiral wanted to know how and whyWesolowski became a commander ofan American aircraft carrier when inthe Polish Navy he was only a pettyofficer. Captain Wesolowski repliedthat the Americans must have valuedhis expertise more then the Poles.

JOURNEY HOME T O P O L A N D

As the war drew to a close the thoughtsof Captain Wesolowski became moreand more concerned with the where-abouts and well being of the family leftbehind in Poland. The oppressive ruleof the Hitler forces was only too famil-iar to him and he was constantly belea-guered by the fear that the Gestapowould wreak vengeance on his family.With the war’s end the destiny of a freePoland was still very much in questionand the difficulties of Poland’s armedforces in returning to their homeland

were manifold. However, on February28th, 1946 Captain Stefan Wesolowskiwas granted a compassionate leave ofabsence from headquarters, US ForcesETO, and ordered to proceed to Paris,Berlin and then to Warsaw for the pur-pose of locating and visiting his family.This unprecedented order was author-ized by General Eisenhower andsigned by General McNary. Armedwith this unusual, but invaluable, doc-ument, Wesolowski proceeded on hisjourney of reunion. On March 19, 1946he landed in Warsaw aboard anAmerican Air Force plane in the uni-form of an American captain in thenaval service.

The timing of this visit was dangerousbecause the communist forces weretaking over the government of Poland.Even in the uniform of an Americanofficer, Wesolowski as a Polish citizenwas in danger of being arrested. TheWarsaw that he left in August of 1939was now a pile of dusty and still smol-dering ruins. Searching franticallythrough the rubble of the once magnif-icent city he was able to locate his fam-ily alive and in relatively good health.Stefan had difficulty in obtaining exitvisas for his family. He decided to per-sonally petition the President ofPoland, Boleslaw Bierut. During theinterview the Polish President encour-aged Captain Wesolowski to stay inPoland.

He enticed Captain Wesolowski byoffering him the command of the

Polish Navy with the rank of admiral.Wesolowski declined the invitationand after obtaining official documentsnecessary for expatriation he was ableto move the family to Berlin and final-ly Paris. Wesolowski’s dream ofreturning to Poland had finally cometrue but he never imagined that hewould return to his native land dressedin the uniform of an American officerand to find his country under the con-trol of a communist governmentbacked by the Soviet Union.

The long years of suffering, anxietyand unbearable tension were finallyended and the family spent a few weeksof happiness in Paris, that even in thepost war year of 1946, seemed like par-adise in comparison to Warsaw.Arrangements were made for theirfinal journey to the United States andon July 20, 1946 Captain Wesolowski’swife Antonina, and his sons Zdzislaw11 and Jeremil 9, arrived in New Yorkaboard the S/S Washington. Passingthe Statue of Liberty had a deep signif-icance to them after the 6 years of warand deprivation. On the dock, anxious-ly waiting the final moment of reunionstood Captain Wesolowski with theNew York press corps. Needless to saythe joy of final and definitive reunionwas an unforgettable and overwhelm-ing experience for the entirefamily. Shortly thereafter CaptainWesolowski was discharged from theUS Army Transportation Service; hejoined the American Merchant Marinewhere he sailed for another twentyyears. After the war, CaptainWesolowski was invited by PresidentHarry Truman to the White House.President Truman congratulated andthanked Captain Wesolowski for hisservices to the United States. After set-tling down with his family in StatenIsland, Stefan became involved in vari-ous veteran organizations and assistedPolish refugees in the United States.

The citizenship of the United Stateswas granted Captain Wesolowski and

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU...Japanese on Australian territory andsadly, their final resting places are thesea or the jungle at the Tol Plantation.Telegrams were immediately sent torelatives of the 1,050 military andcivilian POWs who perished with theship. Before the telegrams arrived, thefamily members and friends of the sol-diers and civilians who perished had toendure just over three agonising yearsof not knowing the fate of their lovedones.

The military version of the telegramreads; ‘It is with deep regret that I have toinform you that [number and name]became missing on 1st July1942 and is forofficial purposes presumed to be dead anddesire to convey to you the profound sympathyof the Minister for the Army.’

The civilian version. It is with deep regretthat I have to inform you that the transmis-sion of the nominal roll of the Japanese ves-

sel Montevideo Maru which was lost withall personnel after leaving Rabaul in June1942 shows that [name] was aboard thevessel and I desire to convey to you the pro-found sympathy of the CommonwealthGovernment.-Minister for ExternalAffairs.

Because the Montevideo Maru sankwithout any Allied survivors, conspir-acy theories abound about cover ups,government neglect, massacres and soforth. The tragic sinking of HMASSydney also without survivors is stillthe subject of debate by theorists evennow after the ship has been found andan accurate assessment of her demisehas been presented. Finding theMontevideo Maru and exploring herholds may give final closure to friendsand loved ones of those who perishedand may silence some or all of thedoubters. Because of the publicity sur-rounding the expedition that set out to

find and discovered the Sydney and heradversary, Kormoran, Australians aremore aware of their WW2 maritimehistory. Hopefully the same awarenesswill manifest itself if and when theMontevideo Maru becomes more of asubject of interest than it is now andunderstand the heartache of those ‘Weregret to inform you’ telegrams.Reference.

Gamble. Bruce. Darkest Hour. ZenithPress. USA. 2006.

www.jje.info/lostlives/places/montev-ideomaru.html

www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships.dafs/SS/ss187.html

www.ozatwar.com/usnavy/usstur-geon.htm

[C] Ken Wright. 2009.

HERO OF TWO NATIONS

Merchange Marine ReunionMemorial at Ohio RiverNew Richmond, Ohio

Photos sent in by Bob Ober7115 Dunn RoadCincinnati, OH 45230-4112

Old Glory MobileA/G RepresentationL to R:Vern HerbertBob OberEd HaakeTown Cryer

MERCHANT MARINE MEMORIAL

Page 19


at the headquarters of the PolishMerchant Marine in London. He wasassigned to the crew of M/S Lechistanon February 10, 1942 as a radio opera-tor. This assignment satisfied hisdesire to participate actively in the rag-ing war against the Axis. He sailed on anumber of ships during this periodincluding the Swedish vessel S/SHilmeren and the American tanker S/SFairfax. His reputation as an officergrew continuously and he was com-mended for his seamanship and com-mand ability under fire on severaloccasions.

THE AMERICAN E X P E R I E N C E

In November of 1943, finding himselftemporarily in the Brooklyn NavalShipyard, NY, Wesolowski was sum-moned to the Commanding General ofthe US Army Transportation Corps fora personal interview. Knowing thebackground of Wesolowski’s navalcareer and his capability as a com-mander, the general offeredWesolowski a position as second incommand of an auxiliary aircraft carri-er. This was the only time in US historythat a foreign national was to hold acommand position in the armed forcesof the USA. After expediting the for-malities and procedures necessary toeffect his appointment, Wesolowskiwas assigned to the auxiliary aircraftcarrier, the USAT Ganandoc as secondin command. This ship was built in1940 as an iron ore carrier but was con-verted at the Brooklyn Naval Yard intoan auxiliary aircraft carrier. The lowerdeck held 65 fighter aircraft and 30were in constant readiness on the flightdecks. The mission of the USATGanandoc was to carry aircraft andsupplies to United States forcesthrough Halifax in Nova Scotia, acrossthe Atlantic to Liverpool, Englandserving as part of the protective con-voy against enemy aircraft and sub-marines. During the course of the thirdvoyage the commander fell ill with a

heart attack and Wesolowski replacedhim as commander. After extremelylucky years on the Atlantic andMurmansk patrols the Ganandoc wasassigned to duty with the invadingflotilla assembled for the invasion ofNormandy. There, after delivering itscargo of tanks, planes and ammunition,the ship was hit by shore batteries andwas so severely damaged that the highcommand issued orders for its scuttling.However, Wesolowski and his crewmanaged to bring her limping back toport in England, where after extensiverepairs she was made fit once more.

The whole ship was cited and decorat-ed for this heroic achievement byMajor General Frank Ross, Chief ofthe Army Transportation Corps, ETO.The General wanted to name a shipafter Captain Wesolowski, butWesolowski declined the honor. Hisformer Commander Colonel Robert L.Taylor wrote: “Captain Wesolowskiserved with distinction during theinvasion of Europe between the period6 June to 25 October 1944 and wascited for service to the United Statesabove and beyond the call of duty.During his service CaptainWesolowski’s operational record, effi-ciency and devotion to duty and theAmerican cause during the SecondWorld War was exemplary and above

reproach.” Later in 1985, CaptainWesolowski was decorated with theBronze Star for Valor. Poland decorat-ed Captain Wesolowski after the warwith the Commanders Cross of theOrder of Merit. During the time thatUSAT Ganandoc was under repair,Wesolowski changed command to alarge ocean going tug, the USALT 533,and became involved in salvage opera-tions and convoy duty.

On December 23, 1944 CaptainWesolowski discovered a minefield inthe English Channel and successfullyjudged its location and movementenabling the convoy to clear the fieldwith no loss of ships or lives. For thisheroic achievement he was decoratedand cited by Colonel Samuel A.Decker who wrote: “In recognition ofconspicuously meritorious and out-standing performance of military dutydid promptly and intelligently reportthe presence of enemy minefield in theEnglish Channel, thereby unquestion-ably avoiding loss of life and ship-ping.” Major General Frank Ross rec-ommended the naming of a ship inCaptain Wesolowski honor but hedeclined this gesture. In March of1945, Wesolowski resumed commandof the USAT Ganandoc and servedaboard that ship until the end of thewar in Europe.

USN ARMED GUARD SHIP'S STORE

Page 20

HERO OF TWO NATIONS

USN ARMED GUARD VETERANS ASSOCIATION SHIP'S STORE

COMPUTER NO.______ (NUMBER IS FOUND ON YOUR MAILING LABEL AND MEMBERSHIP CARD)

NAME (FIRST)__________________(MIDDLE)________(LAST)____________________ WIFE_____________

STREET______________________________BOX______ CITY_________________STATE____ZIP__________

PHONE NO (____)______________E-MAIL________________________________(FAX)(____)____ _________

SERVICE #____________________BIRTH DATE________________INJURED IN SERVICE_______________

ARMED GUARD CAPS: ALL ARE $15.00 DONATION AND INCLUDES POSTAGE

WHEN ORDERING, CIRCLE NUMBER, WINTER OR SUMMER AND AMOUNT

01-ARMED GUARD WW II CAP NAVY WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

02-ARMED GUARD WW II CAP WHITE WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

03-A.G. LIBERTY SHIP CAP NAVY WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

04-A.G. MURMANSK RUN CAP NAVY WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

05-A.G. PACIFIC CAP NAVY N/A SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

06-A.G. EAGLE CAP NAVY WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

07-A.G. EAGLE CAP WHITE WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

08-MERCHANT MARINE CAP NAVY WINTER____ SUMMER____ TOTAL_______

GRAND TOTAL_________________

MAKE CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO: "U.S. NAVY ARMED GUARD WW II"

SEND ALL ORDERS TO:

U.S. NAVY ARMED GUARD VETERANS

115 WALL CREEK DR.

ROLESVILLE, NC 27571

ALL ITEMS INCLUDES COST AND DONATIONS HELP PAY FOR EXPENSE OF ARMED GUARD

"ONLY." ON BEHALF OF THE CREW, WE THANK YOU FOR ORDERING THESE ITEMS.

DISPLAY THEM AND HELP FIND MORE OF THE "OL SALTS". WE'RE DOING ALL WE CAN!

ARE YOU? C.A. LLOYD

Page 33


Page 21

mobilization, Captain Wesolowskiwas assigned to the destroyer ORPBlyskawica as a signalist.

Realizing the enormous odds againstsurvival of the small Polish fleetagainst the overwhelming naval forcesof Nazi Germany, the ORPBlyskawica, ORP Burza and ORPGrom with Wesolowski and otherswere ordered to leave the port ofOksywie and head on a straight coursefor England. On the bridge of theBlyskawica with its captainWlodzimierz Kodrebski was PettyOfficer Stefan Wesolowski. CaptainKodrebski directed Wesolowski tosend the following message biddingPoland and their countrymen goodbyeat 1415 on 30 August 1939, SZCZESCBOZE KU CHWALE OJCZYZNY.None realized the agonizing years ofseparation from family and countrythat awaited them. For those who sur-vived the agonies and frustrations ofthe Second World War, it would meansix years of separation from familiesand their beloved homeland.

BATTLES IN THE ENGLISHCHANNEL AND NARVIK

On September 9th, 1939 the smallPolish flotilla of destroyers enteredPlymouth harbor after passingthrough the Baltic Sea, the SwedishSound and the North Sea - alwaysunder pressure as primary targets ofthe German fleet. Assigned to NorthSea patrols, now Petty Officer StefanWesolowski, remained with his shipfor over a year, The winter of 1939 wasparticularly terrible and exerted its tollon the health and lives of the menassigned this dangerous duty. OnNovember 7th, 1939 the ORP

Blyskawica was attacked by Germanaircraft, but fortunately survived thetorpedo attack. In the spring of 1940Hitler launched his attack againstNorway and the Polish ships and anArmy Brigade of Polish Highlanderswere dispatched to Narvik to help inthe defense of Norway. During thecourse of this disastrous battle the sis-ter ship to the ORP Blyskawica, theORP Grom, was bombed and sunk bythe German Luftwaffe. However, bothships inflicted heavy damage to theGerman forces at Narvik by theirintense bombarding of the shore.During the furious battle the shipswere able to shoot down one of theGerman bomber that harassed the fleetand the army. The ORP Blyskawicawas damaged badly and among themany wounded in the battle for Narvikwas Wesolowski who was ejected fromhis position at the antiaircraft gun tur-ret by a bomb explosion. Wesolowskispotted the German aircraft and wasfirst to fire upon it as it attacked theBlyskawica. His instantaneous firingat the plane a long distance away madethe pilot drop the torpedo prematurelythereby the torpedo missed the ship byseveral feet. Upon returning to thehome base in Plymouth he was hospi-talized and never able to return to hisship. For the Battle of Narvik, heearned his second Cross of Valor.Interestingly, on a visit to Poland afterthe war he was able to walk the decks ofthis valiant ship that survived the war.The ORP Blyskawica became a part ofthe Polish Naval Museum in Gdynia.

DUTY ON FRENCH N A V A L S H I P S

After a prolonged stay in the hospital,Wesolowski was returned to activeduty and assigned to a French subchas-er, The Chaser XV on July 26, 1940 aschief petty officer and assistant com-mander. He also served on the ChaserXI on several occasions when the othervessel was out of service. With the fallof France in 1941 the Polish Navy took

over complete operation of these sub-chasers. Polish sailors flooded toPlymouth from all parts of Europe andthe unavailability of ships forced themto serve with various other nationalnaval forces fighting the war againstthe Hitler armies. Wesolowski volun-teered for duty with the French sub-chasers and his valor in this most dan-gerous of naval operations earned himthe Croix de Guerre. The responsibili-ties of these small vessels was to seekout German merchant shipping andsubmarines in the English Channel andLa Manche areas. Coupled with theever-dangerous military missions wasthe added problem of abominableweather conditions consisting of con-stant fog, rain, raw cold and snow.

The elements caused Wesolowski’shealth to deteriorate rapidly and as aresult he was declared unsuitable forfurther military activity. On August 8,1941 Wesolowski was honorably dis-charged from active duty from thePolish Navy and reverted back to theMerchant Marine. After a short periodof rest and rehabilitation Wesolowskichafed at the bit for active duty.Spurred by the fact that his wife andtwo sons were languishing under bru-tal conditions of Nazi occupiedPoland, Wesolowski reported for duty

HONOR AMONG WARRIORS

A WONDERFUL STORY OFLIFE & "CAMARADERIE"

AMONG PILOTS.. .(ALL GERMANS WERE NOT 'NAZI'S")

HONOR AMONG WARRIORSS u b j e c t :

A true story of HONOR

Look carefully at the B-17 and notehow shot up it is - one engine dead, tail,horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.It was ready to fall out of the sky. Thenrealize that there is a German ME-109fighter flying next to it. Now read thestory below. I think you'll be sur-prised.....

Charlie Brown was a B-17 FlyingFortress pilot with the 379th BomberGroup at Kimbolton , England . His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in aterrible state, having been hit by flakand fighters. The compass was dam-aged and they were flying deeper overenemy territory instead of headinghome to Kimbolton. After flying overan enemy airfield, a German pilotnamed Franz Steigler was ordered totake off and shoot down the B-17.When he got near the B-17, he couldnot believe his eyes. In his words, he

'had never seen a plane in such a badstate'. The tail and rear section wasseverely damaged, and the tail gunnerwounded. The top gunner was all overthe top of the fuselage. The nose wassmashed and there were holes every-where. Despite having ammunition,Franz flew to the side of the B-17 andlooked at Charlie Brown, the pilot.Brown was scared and struggling tocontrol his damaged and blood-stained plane. Aware that they had noidea where they were going, Franzwaved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees.Franz escorted and guided the strickenplane to, and slightly over, the NorthSea towards England. He then salutedCharlie Brown and turned away, backto Europe. When Franz landed he toldthe CO that the plane had been shotdown over the sea, and never told thetruth to anybody. Charlie Brown andthe remains of his crew told all at theirbriefing, but were ordered never to talkabout it.

More than 40 years later, CharlieBrown wanted to find the Luftwaffepilot who saved the crew. After years ofresearch, Franz was found. He hadnever talked about the incident, not

even at post-war reunions. They met inthe USA at a 379th Bomber Groupreunion, together with 25 people whoare alive now - all because Franz neverfired his guns that day. Research showsthat Charlie Brown lived in Seattle andFranz Steigler had moved toVancouver, BC after the war. Whenthey finally met, they discovered theyhad lived less than 200 miles apart forthe past 50 years!

http://www.snopes.com/military/charliebrown.asp

THIS WAS BACK IN THE DAYSWHEN THERE WAS HONOR INBEING A WARRIOR...THEYPROUDLY WORE UNIFORMS!THEY DID NOT HIDE INAMBUSH INSIDE A MOSQUE,OR BEHIND WOMEN ANDCHILDREN, NOR DID THEYUSE MENTALLY RETARDEDWOMEN AS SUICIDE BOMBERSTO TARGET AND KILL INNO-CENT CIVILIANS...

...HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGEDFIGHTING A GODLESS CULTOF COWARDS !

HERO OF TWO NATIONS


Page 31

S.S. PAUL H. HAYWOODS.S.PAUL H. HAYWOOD

Molotovsk, Russia to Gourock,Scotland, via Murmansk,

R u s s i a

2/17/45-3/1/45

Lt(jg) Charles E. PoeCommanding Officer

On Feb 1945, a convoy of 8 ships wasjust completing the process of forminginto one column to enter Kola Inlet,Murmansk harbor, an enemy subma-rine attack was launched. The first evi-dence of the attack was noticed when aNorwegian tanker, the third ship aheadof us –we being the last ship in the col-umn, was struck in the stern by a torpe-do and began to settle by the stern.This occurred ay 1505 when the convoywas at about 68-22 N. and 38-42 E..The general alarm was sounded at onceand all Armed Guard and MerchantMarine personnel manned their battlestations. At 1509, the S.S. HORACEGRAY, an American Liberty Ship wasstruck near the stern by a torpedo andbegan to settle by the stern. At the timeof the attack, the escorts were mostlyastern of the convoy because the lead-ing ships were already entering KolaInlet. They had been dropping depthcharges occasionally but there was noevidence that they had any definitecontacts. As soon as the attacks started,our ship and the ship ahead, turnedhard starboard to keep from rammingthe torpedoed ships ahead and andpresent a smaller target to the enemywhich was supposed to be on our star-board side. Soon afterwards, orderswere received from the escorts to pro-ceed into Kola Inlet at our upmostspeed. At 1604, a pilot was picked upand at 1754, we anchored in the harborat Murmansk. When the torpedoedships were last seen, they were stillafloat and did not seem to be sinkinganymore. The enemy was not sightedso none of the ships in the convoy,opened fire. There were no casualties

sustained aboard our ship. At the timeof the attack, the sun was out and vis-ability was good and the sea was calm.The escorts searched the area of theattack and dropped numerous depthcharges but there was no indicationsthat they contacted the submarines.

On 17 February 1945, as the convoywas coming out of Kola Inlet andforming up, an American ship on theport side of the convoy was struck by atorpedo supposely from an enemy sub-marine. The details of this action can-not be given very accurately becausethe action occurred on the port side ofthe convoy and we were on the star-board side. This attack occurred atabout 1152 at the location of about 69-26 N. abd 34-29 E.. The general alarmwas sounded at once and all menmanned their battle stations and werenot secured until 1310 when the convoywas well formed up. When last seen,the torpedoed ship was on fire but stillon an even keel and not sinking. Sincethe enemy was not sighted, no firingwas done by any ships in the convoyand no casualties were suffered aboardthis ship.

On the same date as above attack, adestroyer escort appeared to be struckby a torpedo and was blown to bits. Allthat could be seen from our positionwas a terrific explosion and when thesmoke and sprqy cleared away, theescort at that location could not beseen. This attack occurred at 1525 atabout 69-36 N. and 34-29 E.. At thistime, the Armed Guard was alreadystanding dusk watch at their gun sta-tions so the general alarm was soundedto call the Merchant Crew to their bat-tle stations. Again, the enemy was notsighted and no firing was done. Nocasualties was suffered by our person-nel aboard this ship. At the time ofboth attacks on this day, the sea wascalm and the visability was only fairbecause of the mist in the air. Theescorts were searching for the enemybefore and after the attacks but it is not

known if they ever made any actualcontacts.

On the morning of 20 February 1945,the convoy was all scattered out due tohigh wind and rough seas the nightbefore. The convoy was just about re-formed at 1015 when an air alert wascalled over the convoy radio-tele-phone. The sea was still rough and thevisabililty was poor because of theheavy mist. At 1018, two enemy planes(JU-88) came in low over the convoyfrom the starboard bow. The escortsand the ships on the front of the convoyopened fire. The planes turned back tostarboard, out of range and out ofsight. No hits on the planes werenoticed at this time. At 1023, three moreplanes of the same type were seenapproaching the convoy from the star-board beam, flying low. They appearedto be making torpedo runs on this shipwhich was the last ship in the starboardcolumn of the convoy. They appearedto be dropping torpedoes about 2000yards on the starboard side of the con-voy but this can not be ascertainedbecause of poor visability. The shipson the starboard side of the convoy, aft,opened fire with both broadside and 20MM guns. This ship opened fire withthe 4”50 gun aft and the 4 starboard 20MM guns. Direct hits were noted onone of the planes from the 20 MMguns and this plane started to smoke alittle and altered it’s course sharply tostarboard and left the convoy on thestarboard quarter. When it passed ourrange of vision, the plane was still fly-ing in a straight course but still smok-ing. The other two planes approachedto about 800 yards and then turnedslightly to starboard and passed aft ofthe convoy. Another plane flying innear an escort on the starboard beam ofthe convoy and it appeared to be shotdown because there was an explosionwhere the plane was flying and it couldnot be seen anymore. The plane wasflying so near the water and the visibil-ity was so poor that an accurate pictureof what happened could not be had.

valor and gallantry under fire. He wasawarded the Order of Virtuti Militarifor the defense of Lwow where he wasinstrumental in taking and holding astrategic position. He received the sec-ond highest decoration, the Cross ofValor for his military contributionsduring the 3rd Silesian Uprising. Therehe conducted nightly reconnaissanceoperations across enemy lines camou-flaged as a girl pulling a cow to pas-ture. No one suspected a little girl ofmilitary activity.

In addition to these decorations, StefanWesolowski was promoted to the rankof corporal at the tender age of 12,becoming the youngest noncommis-sioned officer in the history of Polishmilitary services. He was later award-ed decorations for Silesia, Wolyn andLwow as an additional point of recog-nition for his military service in thesecampaigns.

In spite of this valorous service in theland forces of the newly nascentPoland, Stefan Wesolowski’s futurebecame intrinsically involved in hiscountry’s naval forces. Having listenedto intriguing stories of the sea,recounted by his comrades in arms, heleft the ranks of the army after theSilesian campaign. Young Wesolowski

traveled directly to Wejherowo wherehe joined the crew of the” Abdank”, Helater served on the “Gazolina” the firstship of the fledgling Polish MerchantMarine. He was the only Pole on thecrew. The Captain asked Stefan to sawa Polish flag and in a short flag raisingceremony, Stefan raised the Polish flagon the first Polish Merchant Marineship in over 350 years. In the spring of1922 at the age of 13, Wesolowskidecided to join the Polish Navy andwas inducted with the rank of PettyOfficer. His first assignment was as acommander of a ten-man observationand communication post betweenGdynia and Oksywie. By sheer weightof personality and experience he wasable to overcome his age barrier withhis men and they readily accepted hisleadership. After a period of shoreduty he served on various Polish navalships as well as naval vessels of theFrench Navy. He served aboard “theBourrasque”, “Fortune” and“Condercet” of the French Navy Thisprovided him with specialist trainingin range finding and communication innaval operations.

After eight years of active duty withthe Polish Navy, Wesolowski trans-ferred to the naval reserve and returnedto Merchant Marine duty. In 1930upon receiving his captain’s diploma,Wesolowski became the skipper of theseagoing tug “Pollox” and became inti-mately Involved in the construction ofthe Polish port of Gdynia, assisting Inthe enormous dredging operations thatinvolved the waterways in the port cityof Wladyslawowo. In 1933 he joinedthe Gdynia Port Authority and servedas a pilot at that facility. In 1934 hemarried Antonina and two sons,Zdzislaw and Jeremii resulted fromthis happy union. By 1936, CaptainWesolowski had become establishedin his naval career and life seemed tohave taken a serene pattern of hard, butinteresting work and the additionalpersonal satisfaction of a happy mar-ried life. In 1938 Stefan and Antonina

were looking for a retirement homehaving by then completed 20 years ofgovernment service. Little did theyknow that in Germany, a dictator haddifferent plans for them and Poland.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Suddenly with the consolidation ofpower in Germany in the hands ofAdolph Hitler, and the weakeningresponse of the Western powers to histerritorial demands, Poland found her-self in a state of complete mobilizationon August 24, 1939. The independenceand tranquillity of his country, that hehad fought so valiantly for in the 1918-1921 period, was now, only 21 yearslater, to be challenged once again byher ancient enemy, Germany.

Mobilized with the rest of the Polishforces, Captain Wesolowski receivedhis assignment on board the Polishsubmarine ORP Orzel. However, nei-ther this assignment nor the subse-quent one on the destroyer ORPWicher were successful since duringthe early, confusing aspects of the gen-eral mobilization both craft were bythen fully crewed before his arrival.Interestingly and ironically, both ofthese vessels were sunk during the war.Finally, after the initial confusion of

HERO OF TWO NATIONS


P O L I S H H I S T O R Y A R T I C L E S

H E R O O F T W O N A T I O N S -C A P T A I N S T E F A N P .

W E S O L O W S K I

( 1 9 0 9 - 1 9 8 7 )A U T H O R: PR O F. DR. ZD Z I S L A W

P . WE S O L O W S K I

There are few times in our lives whenhuman beings appear who incorporateall of the flamboyance, courage, andvirtue that we all aspire to within our-selves, particularly as during thechaotic and dangerous years of WorldWar II. The combination of these traitsare nonexistent in the development ofour modern society today which isbased more on cynicism than faith,more on personal gratification than anexaltation of the spirit for the commongood; a loss of moral fibber in the faceof adversity. Tom Brokaw in his book,THE GREATEST GENERATIONeludes to this unselfish love of countryand sacrifice. In his second book,THE GREATEST GENERATIONSSPEAKS he mentions Captain StefanP. Wesolowski. It seems today that themagnificent accomplishments andaspirations of the world during the19th and early 20th centuries have beenreplaced now by an engulfing sense ofself-indulgence and weakening moralresponsibility and self-discipline. Yet,

we cannot despair for the human racewhen we are fortunate enough to comeacross the story of human beings thatfulfill all of the loftiest of humanity’saspirations. We all live by examples,good or bad, of human endeavor. Hereis an example of one story that soars toits highest form of human behaviorand achievement.

Ian A. Millar, an American NavalHistorian noted in an article onCaptain Stefan P. Wesolowski, the fol-lowing; “ Heroes sometimes attain thisexalted status not as the result of a sin-gle act, but rather through a career ofoutstanding accomplishment that earnthem this honor. Heroes may come andgo, but very often we read about anindividual whose values and fortitudereflect that which we as freedom lovingpeople admire. Such is the story ofCaptain Stefan P. Wesolowski whofought for freedom from the age ofnine. One must admire the convictionsof a man like this, and too his heroicservice. Beyond this I find great admi-ration for him and his perseverance inservice while his family remained inthe German occupied land of his birth,Poland”.

SOLDIER OF POLAND AT9, CORPORAL AT 12

Captain Stefan Ogonczyk Wesolowskiwas born on January 31, 1909 inWarsaw during the occupation ofPoland by Czarist Russia. His familybackground dates back to old Polishnobility and is one that is steeped inpatriotism. The Wesolowski familytook an active part in the service of thePolish-Lithuanian Kingdom, at thevery height of Polish historicalstrength in Central Europe. His father,Lucjan participated in the Revolutionof 1905 and his grandfather, Seweryntook part in the January Uprising of1863 against Russia. The great-grand-father, Jozef, participated in theNovember Uprising of 1830. Since1792, twenty-two members of theWesolowski family received Poland’shighest decoration for military valor,the Order of the Virtuti Militari.

Stefan Wesolowski followed in thisfamily tradition of patriotism at theearly age of 9 when he ran away fromhome to join Pilsudski’s Legions. In1918 at the age when most children areconcerned with toys and not nationalissues, Stefan participated as a soldierin the Polish War of Independence. Forhis services, primarily as a scout, dur-ing this turbulent period of Polish mil-itary history, Stefan Wesolowskireceived Poland’s highest honor for

S.S. PAUL H. HAYWOOD

Page 23

Continued on Page 30

There were at least 5 or 6 planes in thisattack and possibly more because onlya small portion of the convoy could beseen due to visibility. The air alert waslifted at 1300. This action occurred atabout 72-46 N. and 19-12 E.. No dam-age to the convoy was observed and nocasualties were suffered by the person-nel of this ship.

On 23 Feruary 1945, there were severalstragglers from the convoy becausesome ships were forced to hove to thenight because of the rough sea andhigh winds. One of the stragglers wasthe HENRY BACON, an Americanliberty ship. At 1421, a radio messagewas picked up from this ship, statingshe was being attacked by planes. Onorders from the commodore, the con-voy was alerted and all men were calledto their battle stations. At 1426, anoth-er message was picked up from theBACON saying she had been torpe-doed. On 3/1/45 Arrived at Gourock,Scotland

********S.S. JOHN A QUITMAN March 12,1945 Departed Kola Bay, Russia 17February 1945 in convoy of thirty fiveships. 15 Escort vessels, two aircraftcarriers and one cruiser.

HERO OF TWO NATIONS


65 YEARS IN THE MAKING...

MUSEUM MEMORIAL OFTHE BATTLE OF THE

ATLANTIC DE CAMARET (29)

This museum located in Camaret nearBrest, is stelled in Berbornn Battery(Penhir Area) bunkers.

Those formers bunkers from theAtlantik wall are put on ruins of a fortfrom the 1800’s, it self build on formerFort network (the Vauban ones)

Considering their sight on Ocean theywere on spot of such aimed battery.

The place is wonderfull, faced to thefaced if on cliff .... (etc from geographicaldetails) ... on the main place there is a amomument dedicated to the 1st sailorswho join the French navy forces.

This museum is the only one to deal withthe Atlantic battle of the seas. If it wouldhave been won by the Germans, Greatbritain would not have been the depar-ture for the liberation of Europe. Troughthis, it gives a real tribute to all sailors,whit an average age of 20 years old, lostin seas.

Maps help to follow where and whenwhere the losses of the merchant navyand German Uboots.

In the small museum, you can have acomplet sight thanks to pics, maps andmodels of what could be the Atlantic bat-tle. Although this museum is made bycollectors, each side is considered (as ihave visited it, they tried to explain whythey have some U boots memorablia withnazi cross, it’s always looks at being thedevil for the French people).

This museum honorate the Free FrenchNaval forces (they have among all othersstuff a former fleet flag). Most of theFree French Naval forces where comingform Brittany (the place where is locatedand where France is the most closer to theUS). Some memorablia also from the

small Ile de Sein where all fishingssailors joined the Free French Navalforces.

A special attention is given to the mer-chant navy crews. Those mens are theunsung heros for victory. In case of tor-pedo attack, they had 1 chance on 2 ofsurviving. This opportunité was close fornone for gasoline ship, ammo ships, andartics convoys crews.

The two men have since exchanged letters.Vogel and Atkinson talk periodically.

"Sir Robert said to my Dad, 'That daywas a turning point in history,'" Vogelsaid. Indeed, the defense of convoyONS-5 was one of a series in May 1943in which escorts sank or drove off manyof the German submarines. The wolfpacks never again commanded theNorth Atlantic sea lanes.In Swanton, Greeno still pushes aside ques-tions from visitors about the last voyage ofthe West Madaket, but talks more with hisfamily about the scars the torpedoing left.

"It is so good he has been able to open up,"Vogel said.

"I never dreamt I'd be talking to him.Never, never, never," her father said of his

conversation with Atkinson. "That meant alot."

Contact Candace Page at 660-1865 [email protected]

GLENN RUSSELL, Free Press

When a German U-boat sank FredGreeno's ship in 1943, he wasplucked from the icy north Atlanticby a British captain who risked hisship to pick up survivors. In a recenttelephone call, the 86-year-old sur-vivor from Swanton finally was ableto thank his 92-year-old rescuer.

TO LEARN MORETo learn more about the Battle of theAtlantic in 1943:THE STORY: Forone full account of the battle in

which Fred Greeno's ship was sunk,go to http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/. Click on"Battle of the Atlantic" in the right-hand column, then scroll down to"The Battle for Convoy ONS-5"

THE MERCHANTMAN: Fordetails about the West Madaket:www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/2910.html.

THE U-BOAT CAPTAIN: Fordetails about the German captainwho sank the West Madaket,Kapitanleutnant Capt. JoachimDeecke, go to www.uboat.net/men/commanders/194.html.

THE RESCUER: HMS Pink,www.oldships.org.uk/SHIPS/SHIP_HTM/Pink.htm.

Page 24

ATLANTIC DE CAMARET

Dear ones, Today I received a phone call from a: William C. Breece (wife-Patricia) 1622 Lienemann Dr., St. Peters, Mo. 63303 636-936-1707 [email protected] Service Number Z-224665(Merchant Seaman) who was assigned to the S.S. ChristopherGadsden on 10/29/44 while in Antwerp, Belgium.

He, being 17 years of age at the time, had made friends with 3of the Armed Guard Crew and they decided to see what theycould of the town together so they went on Liberty and notmuch to see there, they decided to go to the movie. Whilethere, a V-2 rocket hit the opera house killing approx. 596people. The Armed Guard sitting beside of him was killedand so were the other 2. He wants to know if the ship's recordsshow anything on the tragedy. **SEE PAGE 47**

At this late in life, he has turned to me for help and he wouldlike to know the names of those killed and the crew list, AGand MM, so it maybe just a chance that we can locate some ofthe family. I know this is a tough one but it would make my 27years of getting shipmates together if I could one and itwould be a very rewarding dqy.I could do a computer search.Keep up with the cost and E-Mail it to me and I will send acheck. William Thomas 500 W.Rosedale Ave Kings-A-2,West Chester, Pa. 19382

***********This has worried Mr. Breece all these years and if I can help him findjust one of the families of the AG lost, it would be a blessing to both heand I.

Our days are getting shorter and I guess it won't be so long a time, us

WW II Veterans won't be around to worry you. I was on a ship withLawrence and Clyde Camp of Shelby, N.C. in March 1945 , whowas there at the time and news got out for volunteers were needed andthey did not knowing what they were volunteering for and when thegot uptown, they were assigned to retrieve and human pieces that werescattered everywhere; window ledges, in the street. It worried theCamps alot I know while we were together as they would talk of it.They, both are gone now.

Go to GOOGLE and type in: Antwerp Belgium V2 Bomb WWIIto let you know this did happen. (cal)

� � � � � � � �

Dear Skipper, I want to THANK YOU for putting that picture of the eagleof mine in the POINTER. You see, I received a phone callfrom Arnold Latare in West Des Moines, Iowa who was ashipmate of mine on the S.S.ALEXANDER MITCHELLin Charleston S.C. going to Naples, Italy. When we got toNaples, our Lt(jg) Potter asked us to go up to Rome for a fewdays and we did. What a GREAT time we had. LeRoy Diehlalso went with us. Well, we got back to Naples, we left forSaipan and after 60 days we arrived. I had made GM3/c andthey took me off the S.S. Mitchell to instruct 20mm ashore soI was there when the war was over. I have phoned Latare a fewtimes and it’s just wonderful for he and I to talk about thegood old days. Thank you MANY MANY Times! Yourstruly,R.E. Fitz, 34 Sunnydale Ave., Bristol, Ct. 06010

Page 29
