March 20, 2010 - 89 Days Under Water - USS Seahorse

      

 Call To Order

Sick Call – Please remember Bob Bouscher, Gerry Korker and Tom Vitale in your prayers.

Prayer – Walt Steinsiek offers a prayer to begin.

The Pledge – Every month these proud WWII veterans stand and recite The Pledge of Allegiance. I have taken the liberty of inserting The Pledge of Allegiance done by Red Skelton this month. It holds as true today as when he did this, circa 1960. I hope that you enjoy it.

In Memorial - The Loss of the SS WILLIAM C. GORGAS – by a survivor

About 2330 hours, the SS WILLIAM C. GORGAS was struck by a torpedo in the engine room killing the watch on duty and completely disabling the ship. The weather was very rough and getting the lifeboats away was very difficult. One of the boats was smashed, spilling all of the men in it into the sea. The boat I was in was picked up about 0500 on March 11th by HMS HARVESTER.

Upon going aboard the destroyer, we found most of the crew as well as members of the Armed Guard already on board. Twelve men were missing including the Chief Mate, 2nd Mate, 3rd Engineer, and the Radio Operator. The Captain and most of the crew had been rescued.

During the attack on the convoy, the HARVESTER had rammed the U-444 and in doing so rode up on the sub and broke a propeller shaft and destroyed the submarine detection system which was located on the bottom of her hull. Due to this she had been assigned the task of picking up survivors. At 0800 on March 11 the other shaft broke thus leaving the destroyer helpless. At 1100 hours, while lying dead in the water, the HARVESTER was struck by a torpedo on her port side, the lee side.

Some of the men had been below attempting to sleep. I had found it so cold that I could not sleep so when the ship was hit, the Chief Engineer and I were on deck. Captain Ellis had been below and now came on deck and he appeared to be in a dazed condition. He was without his shirt and life jacket. One of our men offered him his life jacket but the Captain told him, "That belongs to you, son." Someone gave him a life ring and he put it on. Some of the men had started going overboard by now and the Captain also started to go. I said to him, "Captain, don't go now, we have plenty of time!" He looked at me and then jumped into the sea. He was caught by a large wave and when the sea cleared, the life ring was floating but the Captain was not in sight. Captain Ellis was a good and brave man.

British warships did not carry lifeboats in wartime and as far as I could see the only life saving gear on board was the life belts. The crew and others were busy throwing everything that would float overboard. The Chief and I went to the stern and began to think about how and when to abandon ship. I had some unhappy experiences in the Barents Sea when the SS BELLINGHAM was sunk and I did not want to leave a dry deck until the last possible moment. The Chief decided to go off the stern but I decided to go off the starboard side about 4 feet from the stern. There were two British officers standing on the bridge and one of them shouted through a horn, "Yanks, don't wait too long!" The Chief and I wished each other luck and we stepped off into the sea. While I was sinking in the water another torpedo hit the HARVESTER breaking her in two. The after section of the ship came back with such force that I was struck behind my ear and for a little while I was not in control of my senses. When my vision had cleared, I could see what had happened. The after section of the ship had run over the Chief and now stood in a vertical position on her stern. The forward section was in a vertical position also with her bow in the air. My head at this time was immovable, probably due to the blow and the icy cold water.

The sub now surfaced and waited. It did not molest anyone. In about an hour, the French Corvette ACONIT  came upon the scene and attacked the sub. The fight lasted for about an hour. Finally, the ACONIT got the sub to the surface and landed six direct hits causing the Germans to run up the white flag. Thirty-one men were removed from the disabled sub. The Captain of the sub refused to leave when thrown a line and went below. He went down with the sub (U-432). His First Officer told us his Captain was only 21 years old.

The ACONIT now began to pick up the survivors of the HARVESTER and as the weather had scattered the men over a large area of the water, it was slow going. I was picked up just before dark and the last thing I remember while in the water was an officer shouting at me in French. I woke up in a bunk none the worse for wear. I was told that I passed out and seaman was sent down to tie a rope on me, then I was pulled aboard.

The ACONIT rescued 61 survivors from the HARVESTER including 52 English, 8 Americans, and a German who had been taken off the U-444, the sub she had rammed the night before. We were taken to Gourock, Scotland, without any more trouble.

Yancey N. Hall Ex. First Assistant Engineer

From The Armed Guard and Merchant Marine website

 
This image is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

89 Days Under Water

Talking to the group this month was Tony Reese, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, retired. Tony started out by saying that he “didn’t know what I can say about my time in the Navy. You guys (the WWII vets) are the heroes!”

When Tony joined the Navy about 30 years ago, he thought that becoming a submariner might be the thing for him.  He began submarine school and found out that not everyone that started submarine school made it through. Military doctors poked him and prodded him trying to determine if he would be able to handle life on a submarine.

He graduated from submarine school in 1980 and was assigned to the fast attack sub, USS Seahorse, a Sturgeon Class submarine. Tony was awed and excited anticipating life aboard a submarine, and found that submarine life was both comfortable and stressful.

One exercise in which he participated in was taking out a perfectly good boat and sinking it, while they were on board. Then they prayed that it would come up again.

While deployed, there was constant drilling all day long. When “dive, dive” was heard, everyone went into action. Since it was peacetime, the crew of the Seahorse spent a lot of time “playing” with the Russians.

The USS Seahorse was the 5th submarine to navigate around the world. During that time, Tony and his crewmates spent 89 days underwater. Their only contact with the outside world were the occasional “family grams” that they received. These for short three-line messages that their families could send them. The family grams were all screened before they were delivered to the men. No bad news was allowed to get through. The men could only contact their families when they were in port, which was rare.

The 150 men on board would eat, sleep and stand watch. The “coffin rack” was their home. Around the world underwater. Tony had wanted to see the world!

The morale of the crew was kept high by feeding them well. Tony said that he has never eaten so much lobster in his life.

They did participate in some under ice operations, too. The submarine would break through the ice and then the crew could get out. They played softball and they lost a lot of balls on the ice!

In case of any illness or injury, the boat had a chief corpman on board. In emergencies, the corpman would keep the ill or injured man comfortable until the submarine could surface.

How deep a submarine can actually go is “classified”. One thing they did was draw a string tight from one bulkhead to another, then watch it sag as they submerged. The more it sagged, the deeper they were. That showed how pressure can compress a thick steel hull.

Tony now works as a counselor in the Veterans Service Office. He also works with Honor Flight which provides free flights for World War II veterans to Washington to see the World War II Memorial.

Thank you for sharing your submarine stories with us, Tony!

Honor Flight – The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to honor our nation's veteran's for their service and sacrifice. The veterans are flown to  Washington D.C. to visit their monuments and to reflect on their memories. Priority is given to senior veterans from WWII and those veterans that are terminally ill. If you would like more information about the Honor Flight Network, click here.
If you are a south Florida veteran and would like to submit an application for an Honor Flight originating in south Florida, please click here to download the application.

The Pointer - The U.S.N. Armed Guard World War II Veterans Association adopted The Pointer as the name of its publication. The name itself had its origin in the World War II Armed Guard. If you, or someone you know, is interested in viewing The Pointer, issues are available on this website from 2000 onward. There is no cost to receive The Pointer. It is supported solely by donations. If you are interested in donating to The Pointer, please click here.

February 20, 2010 - B-17 Flying Fortress and the USAT Dorchester

Let’s Get Started 

Sick Call – Please remember Bob Bouscher, Gerry Korker and Tom Vitale in your prayers.

Pledge and Invocation

B-17, The Flying Fortress

Guest speaker, James Coker, is a WWII veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corp. Stationed out of Knettishall, England, he flew 30 missions over Germany aboard a B-17, aka the Flying Fortress. The B-17 he flew on, named Lady Godiva, was part of the 388th Bomb Group.  Coker was a waist gunner on all missions, except for his last one on which he was the tail gunner.

The 388^th mainly hit industrial targets because of their precision bombing capabilities. The crew of the Lady Godiva encountered flak on every mission that they flew, which explained why they were told that they had only a 1 in 4 chance of surviving 25 missions.

While on one such precision bombing mission to Amiens/Gilsy Airfield in northern France, the group encountered barrage flak as well as track and flak. Flying at an altitude of approximately 26,000 feet, the target area was about a 6 – 8 minute run. The Lady Godiva released her bombs but was hit by flak. The #1 engine was on fire and the oxygen had been blown out. They had to peel out of formation to put out the fire in the engine and to get to a lower altitude for oxygen. They made it back to England but not all the way to Knettishall. This photo below shows the “safe” landing that the crew had. Fortunately, no one was injured during the flight or the landing.

A notable flight was a shuttle mission to Poltava, Russia, on June 21, 1944. It was Coker's next to last flight and they encountered little opposition from the enemy. A force of 114 B-17s which were being escorted by 70 P-51s, bombed an oil plant south of Berlin and then continued on to the Russian bases where the planes would land. The Americans were unaware, however, that a German aircraft had followed the group to the Russian bases and that the German pilot reported that information to his superiors.

Coker said that after landing in Poltava, they were taken to a “tent city”, which would be their quarters for the evening. During the night, acting on the information received earlier that day, the Luftwaffe bombed the airfield at Poltava, damaging every aircraft that was there. Forty-three B-17s and fifteen P-51s were lost that night, including the Lady Godiva.

There were only seven aircraft that were capable of flying after the bombing raid. It was two months before Coker could get out of Russia and during those two months, his family did not hear anything from him.

Coker flew one final mission after the Poltava shuttle run on August 24, 1944. The 388^th Bomb Group was inactivated on August 28, 1945.

Additional Photos from the 388th Bomb Group, WWII

View Full Album

More photos! These photos of an open house at Edward’s Air Force Base in Texas were emailed to me by a friend. There are some great photos, including a B-17!

Click here: Edward’s Air Force Base Open House Photos

A Memorial – read by Walt Steinsiek

The U.S.A.T. Dorchester and the Four Chaplains

The S.S. Dorchester was launched at 2:15 pm on Saturday, March 20, 1926. She  was one of three identical ships built for the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company. She was an extraordinary luxury liner with accommodations that rivaled the finest hotels
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The Dorchester could carry up to 314 passengers, plus 90 crew. Up and down the eastern seacoast she would carry vacationers, some of them bringing their automobiles, for an  extra fee of course! Rooms were equipped with ceiling fans and telephones, though most homes did not have these luxuries in 1926. There was a freezer on board ship and the passengers could enjoy ice cream, even during the warmest weather!

In 1942, the Dorchester entered the war effort and became the troopship U.S.A.T. (United States Army Transport) Dorchester. Having been converted to a troopship, she now carried 906 troops and crew. She was given four 20mm guns, a 3” 50 caliber gun fore, and a 4” 50 caliber gun aft. She was also giving extra lifeboats and life rafts.

U.S. Navy Armed Guards were provided to man the guns and the messaging lights.

The luxury liner S.S. Dorchester's master, Capt. Kendrick, stayed on after the conversion of his ship for the first five voyages to Greenland in 1942. He retired after that and was replaced by Capt. Hans Danielsen for his first and final voyage. Also on board where four  Army Chaplains, Rev. George Fox (Methodist), Father John Washington (Catholic), Rabbi Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed). The U.S.A.T Dorchester carried a compliment of 904 Merchant Marines, Armed Guard and passengers.

On January 22, 1943, the Dorchester departed Staten Island, New York, for Greenland. The Dorchester made a stop in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, where she picked up two freighters and three U.S. Coast Guard cutters, the Tampa, the Comanche and the Escanaba, as escorts. It was a ragged convoy that was sailing its way through the U-boat infested waters of the North Atlantic.

The seas were heavy on this voyage and when the winds would kick up the seas would toss the ships around like toys. The sea spray froze to everything that it came into contact with, including the faces of the men. In addition, the Coast Guard's sonar had determined the presence of a German submarine, putting the entire convoy on edge.

The convoy was inching ever closer to its destination in Greenland on February 2, 1943. Erring on the side of caution, that night Capt. Danielsen ordered the crew to sleep with their clothes and lifebelts on. Many of the men chose not to follow this order because of the heat below decks caused by the massive boilers and because the lifebelts were too uncomfortable. The captains fears were soon realized.

On February 3, 1943, at 12:55 am, the German submarine, U-223, fired three torpedoes. The Dorchester was hit on the starboard side, below the water line, and immediately began taking on water rapidly. Realizing that the Dorchester was sinking, Capt. Danielsen gave the order to abandon ship. The Dorchester would slip to its watery grave in less than 20 minutes.

The sonar operator aboard the Coast Guard cutter Comanche, immediately knew what he had heard and the Coast Guard swung into action. All three cutters fired a fusillade of star shells, lighting up the night sky and making themselves sitting ducks for the submarine's periscope.

The Escanaba swung around and began looking for survivors. To help prevent another attack, the Tampa began patrolling for the submarine. The Comanche would continue on as an escort for the freighters.

While the Coast Guard was swinging into action, the scene on board the Dorchester was chaos. Men were racing up from below deck without clothes or lifebelts. Lifeboats and rafts were launched, some with no one on them. Frightened men were jumping into the icy waters to escape the sinking ship.

All accounts of what happened on deck are the same. The Four Chaplains, having located a chest full of lifebelts, stood on deck and handed the belts out to the men that didn't have them. When the belts in the chest were all distributed, each Chaplain removed their own  belt and gave it to the next man in line. The Chaplains then locked arms with each other and could be heard praying for the safety of the men in the water. The Chaplains were on deck singing and praying as the Dorchester sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. The Chaplains and Capt. Danielsen were lost.

As the Tampa was screening the area, the German submarine quietly sat on the ocean's floor. The men on board the sub were terrified as they heard the “ping, ping, ping” of the Tampa's sonar overhead. The crew of the submarine had no way of knowing that the Coast Guard could not put depth charges in the water. That would have meant certain death for all of the men in the water.

The Comanche returned to screen for the Tampa, as it continued on as escort to the freighters. The Escanaba rescued 133 men that February morning. The Comanche rescued 97 men. Eleven Armed Guard, 102 Merchant Marines and 562 Troops were lost in those early morning hours.

The heroic actions of the Coast Guard and the Four Chaplains, ensured the survival of 230 men. The Four Chaplains were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. A one-time only posthumous Special Medal for Heroism was authorized by congress and later was awarded by President D.D. Eisenhower. This special medal was intended to have the same honor and hold the same importance as the Medal of Honor.

Carl Sandburg wrote, “Valor is a gift. Those having it never know for sure whether they have it until the test comes.”

Four months after the Dorchester sinking, another tragedy occurred. The Escanaba that performed so valiantly on February 3, 1943, was struck by a torpedo herself. She sank immediately and all 130 crewmen, that so heroically saved the survivors of the Dorchester, went down with her.

http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/search.html
 

Items of Interest

Did You Know – Our very own Walt Steinsiek is a newspaper columnist. You can see Walt’s bowling column every Wednesday in the St. Lucie News Tribune. Walt will keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in the world of bowling on the Treasure Coast and around the nation. If your league high game or high series didn’t make it to the column, be sure to let Walt know.

A Fellow Armed Guard Veteran – CA Lloyd recently put me in touch with Dayla Newton from the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Dayla’s father, Richard Lowe, was in the Armed  Guard during WWII and he was one of the few that served on a Murmansk run. Dayla has put together a wonderful website in honor of her father’s service in WWII. Click here to see the website for Richard Lowe. I’m sure that you will enjoy going through the site as much as I did. Dayla, thank you for sharing this valuable with the world!

Honor Flight – The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to honor our nation's veteran's for their service and sacrifice. The veterans are flown to  Washington D.C. to visit their monuments and to reflect on their memories. Priority is given to senior veterans from WWII and those veterans that are terminally ill. If you would like more information about the Honor Flight Network, click here.

If you are a south Florida veteran and would like to submit an application for an Honor Flight originating in south Florida, please click here to download the application.


The Pointer - The U.S.N. Armed Guard World War II Veterans Association adopted The Pointer as the name of its publication. The name itself had its origin in the World War II Armed Guard. If you, or someone you know, is interested in viewing The Pointer, issues are available on this website from 2000 onward. There is no cost to receive The Pointer. It is supported solely by donations. If you are interested in donating to The Pointer, please click here.

In The News - On Wednesday, March 3, 2010, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced that a joint program between the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will provide a new way for veterans to learn about benefits and services that may be available to them.

According to Alex Sink, the new Florida VetsConnect initiative will make it easier for Florida’s veterans to receive the benefits they may be entitled to through their brave service. This program, which begins in July, will be available anywhere driver’s permits and state identification cards are issued. To begin receiving the information, the veterans will simply have to mark a box on their driver’s license or identification card application or renewal.

TCPalm.com

Veteran's News

New News

There are items that come along that are worthy of immediate posting. I will post these as separate blog items when they become known to me. You will also find these items by clicking the "Information" tab on the regular blog postings. If you have information that you would like posted here, please contact me with the information by clicking on the "Contact Me" tab above.

Russia's 65th Anniversary May 2010

If you were in Russia during WWII, you may be entitled to the Russian 65th Anniversary Medal. Please direct your requests to the following.

To get your Russian 65th Anniversary Medal, address your request with copy of DD-214 and your ship's names and dates to:

Your Excellency Sergey I. Kislyak
Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the USA
Russian Cultural Centre
1825 Phelps Place NW
Washington, D.C. 2008

Dear Sir:

I'd like to get the 65th Anniversary Russian Medal as I was on the __________________ (ship's name)

on ___________________ (dates) etc.

Veteran's Discounts at Lowe's

According to The Navy Times, home improvement retailer, Lowe's, will extend its 10% veterans discount to all day, every day for active-duty, National Guard and Reserve, retiree and disabled service members, and their families, company officials announced.

Those who want to receive the discount must present a valid military ID card.

All other military veterans will receive the 10 percent discount on the holiday weekends of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

For more information, click here.

GI Bill Telephone Hotline

The VA has announced the reopening of the GI Bill telephone hotline. The number is 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). Starting February 17 the phone line is open from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST Monday through Friday. The VA says that improvements have been made.

When it first opened up there were tremendous delays and 90% of the calls never went through. Furthermore it was operating only three days a week. As a result numerous veterans neverwere able to speak to an education counselor.

2010 FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship for the Accredited Financial Counselor(r) Program

Applications for the 2010 FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship for the Accredited Financial Counselor(r) Program are being accepted March 1 - April 15, 2010 for military spouses.

Please pass this information on to any military spouses who may be interested in applying to be a 2010 FINRA Foundation Fellow to earn the AFC(r) certification.

For additional information about the program, click here.