Naval History Blog

On 13 November 1942 the light cruiser Juneau (CL 52) sank off Guadalcanal, with the loss of all but ten of her crew. Among the dead were all five brothers of the Sullivan family from Waterloo, Iowa. Albert, Francis, George, Joseph, and Madison Sullivan had enlisted together on 3 January 1942, with condition that they be allowed to serve on the same ship. News of the deaths of all five brothers became a rallying point for the war effort, with posters and speeches honoring their sacrifice, extensive newspaper and radio coverage, and war bond drives and other patriotic campaigns which culminated in the 1944 movie, “The Sullivans.”

Their sister Genevieve enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Specialist (Recruiter) Third Class and, with her parents, visited more than 200 manufacturing plants and shipyards under the auspices of the Industrial Incentive Division, Executive Office of the Secretary, Navy Department. According to a 9 February 1943 Navy Department Press Release, the Sullivans “visited war production plants urging employees to work harder to produce weapons for the Navy so that the war may come to an end sooner.” By January 1944 the three surviving Sullivans had spoken to over a million workers in sixty-five cities and reached millions of others over the radio.

On 10 February 1943 the Navy officially canceled the name Putnam (DD 537) and assigned the name The Sullivans to a destroyer under construction. Sponsored by Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers, and commissioned 30 September 1943, The Sullivans served the Navy until decommissioning on 7 January 1965. In 1977 the destroyer was donated to the city of Buffalo, New York, as a memorial in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen’s Park. The second The Sullivans (DDG 68) was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Co. and launched on 12 August 1995 sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert Leo Sullivan. Commissioned on 19 April 1997 at Staten Island, New York, under the command of Commander Gerard D. Roncolato, the ship’s motto, “We Stick Together,” echoes the determination and dedication of the brothers for which the ship was named.

While on neutrality patrol in the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator on 6 November 1941, the light cruiser OMAHA (CL 4) and the destroyer SOMERS (DD 381) sighted a suspicious vessel.

Although flying the American flag and carrying the name WILLMOTO of Philadelphia on her stern, the freighter refused to satisfactorily identify herself and took evasive actions. The Americans ordered the stranger to heave to. As OMAHA’s crew dispatched a boarding party, the freighter’s crew took to life boats and hoisted a signal which indicated that the ship was sinking.

When the OMAHA party pulled alongside they could hear explosions from within the hull, further arousing their suspicions. Upon boarding they soon discovered that their quarry was the German blockade runner ODENWALD. Only one of the ship’s generators was operating and selected watertight doors were open, clearly indicating that the crew was attempting to scuttle her. In spite of the dangerous conditions, in short order the men from OMAHA salvaged the vessel, rendered her safe, and had her underway for Puerto Rico.

In 1947 the crews of SOMERS and OMAHA were awarded salvage money by the United States District Court for Puerto Rico for their prize.

This week, the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial is celebration the commemoration of the Port Royal Expedition.  The expedition, which entered the sound on 3 November 1861, was the largest assemblage of ships (77) by the U.S. Navy at that point.  The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Union, as well as a testament to combined Army/Navy operations that would subsist for the remainder of the war. 

CWN 150 bloggers are focusing their attention on the battle this week HERE.

The blog will show the most up to date information.  There are now several posts about the history of the event, anecdotes and profiles of pivital figures involved, and special programs offered for the sesquicentennial anniversary in South Carolina.   Port Royal blog posts will appear until 7 November. 

The following is the list of current Port Royal Blog posts at the Civil War Navy 150 blog (in order of most recent): 

Brother Against Brother at Port Royal

Storms off the South Carolina Coast

Navy Leadership at Port Royal

Port Royal Week for CWN 150 Bloggers

The Port Royal Expedition and the NY Times

The 1861 “Expedition Hurricane” and Port Royal

EXECUTIVE ORDER 8929

DIRECTING THE COAST GUARD TO OPERATE AS A PART OF THE NAVY

November 1, 1941

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of Congress approved January 28, 1915, 38 Stat. 800 (U.S.C., title 14, sec. 1), as amended by sections 5 and 6 of the act of July 11, 1941, Public Law 166, 77th Congress, 1st Session, it is hereby directed that the Coast Guard shall from this date, until further orders, operate as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy.

All Coast Guard personnel operating as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy, pursuant to this order, shall, while so serving, be subject to the laws enacted for the government of the Navy: Provided, That in the initiation, prosecution, and completion of disciplinary action, including remission or mitigation of punishments for any offense committed by any officer or enlisted man of the Coast Guard, the jurisdiction shall depend upon and be in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Department having jurisdiction of the person of such offender at the various stages of such action: Provided further, That any punishment imposed and executed in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall not exceed that to which the offender was liable at the time of the commission of the offense.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

THE WHITE HOUSE,

November 1, 1941.

Exec. Order No. 8929, 6 FR 5581, 1941 WL 4041 (Pres.)

Commissioned on 24 September 1920, the destroyer REUBEN JAMES (DD 245) served in the Atlantic Fleet, operating in the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and off Nicaragua, before decommissioning at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 20 January 1931.

She recommissioned on 9 March 1932, and upon the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939 she joined the Neutrality Patrol, guarding the Atlantic and Caribbean approaches to the American coast. In March 1941 REUBEN JAMES joined the convoy escort force established to promote the safe arrival of war materials to Britain. This escort force guarded convoys as far as Iceland, where they became the responsibility of British escorts.

Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, she sailed from Argentia, Newfoundland, on 23 October 1941, with four other destroyers to escort eastbound convoy HX-156.

At about 0525 on 31 October 1941, REUBEN JAMES was torpedoed by German submarine U-562. Her magazine exploded, and she sank quickly. Forty-four of the crew survived, and 115 died. REUBEN JAMES was the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by hostile action in World War II.

The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands occurred when Task Forces 16 and 17, under Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid and Rear Adm. George D. Murray, respectively, fought numerically superior Japanese forces under Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuichi that supported an overland thrust by Japanese troops at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

SBD-3 Dauntlesses of VB-8 and VS-8 from HORNET (CV 8) damaged the carrier SHOKAKU and the destroyer TERUTSUKI, and TBF-1 Avengers of VT-6 from HORNET damaged the heavy cruiser CHIKUMA. In addition, Dauntlesses of VS-10 from ENTERPRISE (CV 6) damaged the light carrier ZUIHO. Japanese planes from SHOKAKU and the light carrier JUNYO twice damaged ENTERPRISE, however, killing 44 men and wounding 75 more. Aircraft from SHOKAKU, ZUIKAKU, and JUNYO tore into HORNET in a coordinated attack, during which in barely 10 minutes two torpedoes, four bombs, and a crashing Aichi D3A1 Type 99 carrier bomber struck HORNET, setting her ablaze.

While HUGHES (DD 410), which had been damaged by friendly fire earlier in the action, aided the battle against Hornet’s fires and took off survivors, the destroyer collided with the carrier. The destroyers ANDERSON (DD 411) and MUSTIN (DD 413) attempted to scuttle the irreparably damaged HORNET with gunfire and torpedoes, but she defiantly remained afloat. The Japanese destroyers AKIGUMO and MAKIGUMO sank HORNET the following day.

Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft from JUNYO damaged the battleship SOUTH DAKOTA (BB 57) and the light cruiser SAN JUAN (CL 54); a crashing carrier attack plane struck the destroyer SMITH (DD 378); and a battle-damaged TBF-1 from VT-10 accidentally torpedoed the destroyer PORTER (DD 356) as the Avenger ditched. PORTER was deemed beyond salvage and scuttled by the destroyer SHAW (DD 373). The Japanese lost almost 100 planes and the Americans 74.

While this battle was a tactical naval victory for the Japanese, U.S. Marines and soldiers repulsed the enemy’s simultaneous land offensive on Guadalcanal, thwarting the Japanese from fully exploiting their triumph and thus conferring a strategic victory to the Americans. The dwindling number of Japanese carrier planes failed to destroy Henderson Field, and fuel shortages compelled the Combined Fleet to retire on Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands and to eventually surrender control of the skies above the sea routes to Guadalcanal.

 At daybreak on 24 October 1944, as Japanese navy forces approached the Philippines from the north and west, Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman’s Task Group 38.3 was operating more than a hundred miles east of central Luzon. With other elements of Admiral William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, TG38.3 had spent the last several days pounding enemy targets ashore in support of the Leyte invasion operation. This morning Sherman’s four carriers, ESSEX (CV 9), LEXINGTON (CV 16), PRINCETON (CVL 23), and LANGLEY (CVL 27), had sent off fighters for self-protection and other planes on search missions. Still more aircraft were on deck, ready for attack missions.

Though the Japanese had sent out many aircraft to strike the Third Fleet, most were shot down or driven away. However one “Judy” dive bomber made it through and at 0938 planted a 250-kilogram bomb on PRINCETON’s flight deck, somewhat aft of amidships. It exploded in the crew’s galley after passing through the hangar, in which were parked six TBM bombers, each with full gasoline tanks and a torpedo. In its passage the bomb struck one of these planes, which was almost immediately ablaze. The carrier’s firefighting sprinklers did not activate and the entire hangar space was quickly engulfed, while smoke penetrated compartments below. PRINCETON was still underway, but at 1002 a heavy explosion rocked the after part of the hangar. This blast was followed by three more, which heaved up the flight deck, blew out both aircraft elevators, and quickly made much of the ship uninhabitable.

With all but emergency generator power gone, and much of her crew abandoning ship, PRINCETON now depended on the light cruisers BIRMINGHAM (CL 62) and RENO (CL 96), plus the destroyers IRWIN (DD 794) and MORRISON (DD 560), to help fight her fires. While alongside, MORRISON’s superstructure was seriously damaged when she became entangled in PRINCETON’s projecting structures. After more than three hours’ work, with the remaining fires almost under control, a report of approaching enemy forces forced the other ships to pull away. By the time they returned, PRINCETON was again burning vigorously, heating a bomb storage space near her after hangar. At 1523, as BIRMINGHAM came alongside, these bombs detonated violently, blowing off the carrier’s stern, showering the cruiser’s topsides with fragments, and killing hundreds of men. There was now no hope that PRINCETON could be saved. Her remaining crewmen were taken off and IRWIN attempted to scuttle her with torpedoes and gunfire, but with no success. Finally, RENO was called in to finish the job. One of her torpedoes hit near the burning ship’s forward bomb magazine and PRINCETON disappeared in a tremendous explosion. She was the first U.S. fleet carrier sunk in more than two years, and the last lost during the Pacific War.

The great success of the Inchon Invasion in September 1950 led General Douglas A. MacArthur to order a second amphibious assault, targeting Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast. After landing there, Tenth Corps could advance inland, link up with the Eighth Army moving north from Seoul, and hasten the destruction of the North Korean army. Wonsan would also provide UN forces with another logistics support seaport, one closer to the battlefronts than Pusan and with greater handling capacity than tide-encumbered Inchon.

Since the enemy army’s cohesiveness collapsed much more rapidly than expected, by the Wonsan operation’s planned execution date of 20 October 1950, its immediate strategic goals had been overtaken by events. However, the forces landed there proved valuable in the push up North Korea’s east side, and the captured port did fulfill its intended mission.

Wonsan’s greatest value, though, was unintended: it gave the U.S. Navy a valuable reminder of the fruits of neglecting mine countermeasures, that unglamorous side of maritime power that, when it is needed, is needed very badly. Admiral Forrest Sherman, the Chief of Naval Operations at the time, remarked, “when you can’t go where you want to, when you want to, you haven’t got command of the sea.” This experience provoked one of the greatest minesweeper building programs in the Navy’s history, one that produced hundreds of ships to serve not only under the U.S. flag, but under those of many allied nations.