Last evening I received an email from Janet Weld, daughter of Don Fawcett, F1c on the STRONG DD 467. Janet sent me a link to the obituary for Mr. Fawcett. He passed on June 11th this past weekend. I first had contact with Don in early June of 2014. He had found my website and emailed me. Because I keep records of such things, I know we had our first phone conversation on June 6th of 2014. In talking, he mentioned his time on the USS STEPHEN POTTER DD 538 after his recovery from the STRONG sinking. I mentioned to him that I had been in contact for a while with a HELENA survivor who had also served on the STEPHEN POTTER.




“You know a POTTER man?”, he said.
“Yes, we've been emailing for a while now,” I said.
“Well, who is it?”, from Don.
“His name is Francis Rieber”, says I.
“BONES!?! You know Bones Rieber?”
​
As it turns out, he and Fran had met on the STEPHEN POTTER and became fast friends, both having survived the sinking of their ships from the same destroyer squadron. They had not seen each other or spoken in over 70 years. I hooked them up via email and they began corresponding again. Later, in late June of 2016 Don and his family were traveling and stopped in to a STEPHEN POTTER reunion. There, Bones and “Spiggot” Fawcett were reunited for the first time since 1945. Both men were happy to see one another, and I wrote a blog story about that on July 6th of 2016 with a photo of the men together from the reunion. Don called me as soon as they got home from the trip, so very excited and happy to have seen Bones again. I was happy to be a part of getting these guys back together.

I met Don, his wife Carol and daughter Janet in person in Groton, Connecticut at the 2014 STRONG reunion. We had a wonderful week and he got to meet and speak with Jim Merriman, the only other survivor from the DD 467 attending. Don also got the opportunity to speak with Stephen Harding, who was writing The Castaway's War at the time. We had a wonderful week and I was so pleased to be able to meet him and his family.
​
See the link below for the obituary and details. Feel free to send condolences and love to the family.
http://www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituary/187703/Donald-Fawcett/

Rest well and in peace, Don. 

Tammi

A member of the Mullane family recently contacted me through the website contact page. Danny and Frank Mullane were brothers serving on STRONG together. Frank was one of the survivors, and Danny was not. Danny was with the group of young men who landed on Arundel Island and responsible for saving the life of Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. Their nephew Bob has shared photographs and letters with me. More notably though, is a piece of 8 mm family film showing the Mullane boys and five other STRONG sailors at the Mullane home just prior to shipping out in December of 1942. I have no way of knowing who these young men are, but I took some screen captures from the DVD. The quality is sketchy at best, however if any of you recognize any one of these men, please notify me with an ID. It would be amazing to put a name to one of these laughing, smiling handsome faces, in addition to Danny and Frank.

-Tammi
*Danny is featured on the middle top frame and Frank is top right. Frank is also in the image top left.
​

Over the years I became curious about the other ships that accompanied STRONG into the Kula Gulf that fateful night of her sinking to support “Operation Toenails”. In the Cactus Strike Force there were approximately 21 ships total, all various classes of destroyers and light cruisers. I wondered about the fate of these ships and what happened to them after the war was over. Many had a second life in the navy of a foreign country. Some served through the Korean War and Viet Nam before being decommissioned and scrapped, including the two most decorated destroyers in the history of World War 2, the O'BANNON and the NICHOLAS. One of the ships that rescued survivors of both the STRONG sinking and HELENA was sunk in atomic testing in the South Pacific, the USS RALPH TALBOT. I created a spreadsheet of the ship, the class, type of vessel and their role on July 5th of 1943 while they were landing troops and bombarding targets on Kolombangara and New Georgia Islands. The ones colored in aqua are ships that were lost in 1943. There's much more information out there on these ships and their history. If you want to learn more about that evening or the other ships, this table gives you a starting point.

If I've omitted any ships I hope someone will let me know.  

​-Tammi
*As a footnote, the Artigliere recently discovered and filmed by Paul Allen and Vulcan Inc. is not the vessel once known as the Woodworth, but a previous version of the Italian Artigliere. 

Finally, we get the information on the reunion in Virginia Beach/Norfolk!  We are staying at the Best Western Plus Sandcastle on the Beach hotel, literally with the beach out the back door. Couldn't be better! And the guys have planned for some really great trips around the area, there's so much to see. To download the forms for attending, go here: ​http://www.uss-strong.com/1reunions.htm

Hit the link for PDF's below the photo images of the forms. I hope to see some new people with us from the DD 467 this year. I believe we have much to look forward to, and the more people on board, the better!

​-Tammi

I’m constantly trolling Ebay for books or artifacts related to STRONG, WW2, or DESRON 21. Most recently, I found a book titled United States Destroyer Operations in World War II by Theodore Roscoe. The book looked interesting, but before buying I wanted to have a look at a physical copy. I got an inter-library loan locally and brought the book back to my office. Within 5 minutes of opening this tome, I had decided it had to be added to my ever-growing library. Ebay had a few copies and I was lucky enough to find a first edition from 1953 in great condition. Why is this book so special? There are never-before seen (at least by me) photographs of destroyers in action, charts of Naval maneuvers, maps, drawings, diagrams and the early histories from both theaters of the war. STRONG is in here, Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. is in here and so much more. The information is wonderfully overwhelming. 

Another thing that makes the book interesting is the author himself. Theodore Roscoe (1906-1992) was born in Rochester, New York and died in Florida.. Roscoe was known as primarily as a pulp fiction story writer. Educated at Columbia University and a world traveler all his life, he wrote over 400 articles and stories for magazines such as Argosy, Wings, Flying Stories, Far East Adventure Stories and many other publications. After WW2 he ventured into non-fiction territory with several substantive histories commissioned by the US Navy, including this book and a comprehensive study of submarine actions in WW2, United States Submarine Operations in World War II published in 1949. His own biography was published in 2012 by Audrey Parente, Pulpmaster: The Theodore Roscoe Story. A list of his other publications can be found on Wikipedia.

To learn more about the extraordinary and eclectic career of Theodore Roscoe: http://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2015/12/theodore-roscoe-1906-1992.html

Also see Pulpflakes: http://pulpflakes.blogspot.com/2012/08/TheodoreRoscoe.html

If you are interested in buying this book for your own collection, there are several copies on eBay ranging from $17.00-105.00 from both US and European sources. Amazon.com has several copies available from just under $17.00-48.00, including a handful of first editions.  

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=united+states+destroyer+operations+in+world+war+II+by+theodore+roscoe

If you want to learn more about how destroyers operated in WW2, get some early accounts and see photos and diagrams of task force formations and beach landing operations then this is a must have volume. The 581 pages also has a comprehensive list in the Addenda of the destroyer fleet, listing the name, the date commissioned and the first commanding officer of the ship. Also included are lists of the division commanders for both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, citations earned, and lists of lost ships with maps of locations. Incredible. I can’t wait to go through this entire volume!

-Tammi

Over the years I’ve been working on this project, I’ve been very fortunate on many counts. More recently, I’ve had the pleasure of helping some historians/authors with books they have in production. The first and my favorite was as a research partner on The Castaway’s War: One Man’s Battle Against Imperial Japan by Stephen Harding. This was a very personal project close to my heart, and I will never adequately be able to thank Steve for even considering doing this book. We have work to do yet, as the film gets under development (soon we hope!), so our friendship will be long standing. 

There are two other authors I’m currently helping (shout out to Clint and John B.!) with books about Fletcher-class destroyers, one focusing on the history of another ship in Desron 21. This March however, brought the release of Tin Can Titans: The Heroic Men and Ships of World War II’s Most Decorated Navy Destroyer Squadron by WW2 author and historian John Wukovits under Da Capo Press, the same group producing Steve’s current books. I helped John briefly with some contact information and he used my website, so I got a mention and reference of my website in the back of the book. Not to mention, I got a free book with a signature and a nice note. I really like this thing of helping these guys out and getting free books. Works for me!

More specifically, John’s book covers the history of Destroyer Squadron 21 (Desron 21), the very same squadron STRONG joined in January of 1943. After reading this book, I gained a new appreciation for the work done, the sacrifices made by this squadron and the men who served. Fletcher-class destroyers were the largest produced (175 ships) most successful class of war ships produced in WW2. They won more battle stars and awards, sunk more submarines and ships and all this while protecting the capital ships like HONOLULU, HELENA and ST. LOUIS and more. John takes the history of the squadron from their involvement in the battle to take back Guadalcanal, all the way to the end of the war as the last three remaining destroyers from the squadron, O’BANNON, NICHOLAS and TAYLOR steamed into Tokyo Harbor in August of 1945 to prepare for the signing of the peace accords. Admiral Halsey made sure his destroyers led the way ahead of the entire Naval armada gathered for the event. From page 238: “Besides engaging the enemy, Desron 21 made other significant contributions to the war. Admiral Halsey’s belief that Desron 21 was a key factor in holding the line in the Solomons until help arrived, an achievement of the admiral’s that may have saved the Pacific war, led to Halsey selecting the final three destroyers from the squadron to lead his armada into Tokyo Bay.”
This one gesture by the man who commanded them speaks volumes for their importance in the efforts to keep the Japanese from victory.

STRONG and her demise are covered in the book, along with references to the story of Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. One thing I noticed is he referred to Miller as a quarterback in the 1931 Rose Bowl game, when records show he was a “back”. He got the QB information from a magazine article that was in error. Otherwise, it was nice to see Miller profiled once again. At the end of the book he gives a chronology of the actions of each ship during the period between December 1941 through the time the last ship steamed home to San Francisco by November of 1945. Twelve of the ships that served are listed with the number of battle stars and awards won. O’BANNON was the most decorated with 17, with NICHOLAS at 16. Our STRONG lived long enough to earn 2 battle stars.

The book gets into some very personal stories and details of the horrors of their experiences. One story towards the end involves a sailor on the USS HOWORTH DD 681, a ship late added to help with the actions at Okinawa. I won’t post any spoilers here, but just know you may need a tissue or two when you read about this young man, Orvill Raines. What the families went through cannot be forgotten. Overall, I learned much about the history of the squadron and the part each ship played in winning the war of the Pacific theater. Even more importantly, I’m more determined than ever to have STRONG listed as the first casualty in the Battle of the Kula Gulf and get her loss assigned to the battle, not just the HELENA. Not giving up on that. Capital ships were not the only important ships.

The book is available on Amazon.com and other in-store and on-line sites. If you want to see a comprehensive view of the entire squadron, I recommend this book. I’ll also post up a reference on the resources page of the website.

-Tammi

Recently I read the entire book of Captain Joseph H. “Gus” Wellings’ memoirs from his time with the British Royal Navy, On His Majesty’s Service. Previously, I had just perused it for information on the HMS HOOD. The book covers his time from September of 1940 until early June of 1941 as an American “observer”, working to research the operations conducted in Europe during WW2. The most momentous event he was involved with was of course the sinking of the German warship BISMARCK on May 27, 1941. Not only was he present, but he was the only American to witness and be an active part of the event, even going up in the scout planes to search for BISMARCK. BISMARCK sunk the HMS HOOD just 3 days prior. In December of 1940 through mid-January 1941, Wellings had been aboard HOOD for 5 weeks working with them and befriending her officers and men. He was on the HMS RODNEY headed toward Halifax, Nova Scotia and home when they were ordered to turn around and join the fight to take down BISMARCK. History proves they were successful. However, I had no idea until recently that BISMARCK had a sister ship, the TIRPITZ.

TIRPITZ was the second of the two Bismarck-class ships built. Named for Alfred von Tirpitz, architect of the German Imperial Navy she was slightly larger than BISMARCK. At 823.5’ in length, a beam of 118’ her general size was comparable. Her top speed was nearly 35 knots/40 mph. What made the difference was tonnage. She had a displacement of 42,200 tons, but fully fitted out with armament it shot to over 52,600 tons, 2,000 tons more than BISMARCK.  This made TIRPITZ the heaviest battle ship ever built by a European navy. The ship was commissioned February 25th of 1941, less than a year after BISMARCK. Her life was short as well, sunk on November 12, 1944.

Like BISMARCK, she saw limited true action. TIRPITZ armed with 8-15” guns spent most of her time stationed in the waters around Norway as a threat to allied ship convoys headed to Russia. In September of 1943 she was working with SCHARNHORST, acting against allied forces working off of Spitzbergen, a northern island off the coast of Norway. British submarines in the area planted mines under the heavily armored ship, causing damage that required six months to repair.
 
There were other attempts to take her down that caused damage, however her demise was a well formed plan devised over years. Sir Barnes Wallis had designed a heavy bomb, dubbed the “Tallboy”. Realizing that the concussion force of a bomb could be more devastating than the actual detonation, this bomb had the ability to detonate below ground causing an earthquake effect felt within a 29 acre radius.  The 21’ long, 38” diameter bomb was initially designed for terrestrial use in disabling munitions plants, bridges, canals and other facilities that supplied the Germans during the war. It was decided they’d use it to take out the large battleship.

On November 12th of 1944, 30 Lancaster bombers, "Dam Busters" from the Royal Air Force (RAF) deployed the bomb from 15,000 feet against TIRPITZ. At least two of the Tallboys dropped on TIRPITZ made direct hits and pierced the heavy armor, killing approximately 1,000 of her men. She capsized in the shallow Norwegian fjord west of Tromso, and that was the end of the supership era for Germany. An interesting aside, it was women munitions workers who built this bomb. Another indicator of the importance of women in the effort to win WW2.

I’ve barely scratched the surface here for brevity’s sake. Below are a few great resource links, one a documentary on YouTube that tells in entirety the British operations to take out TIRPITZ.

Tammi

On His Majesty’s Service by Joseph H. Wellings: http://www.ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/1002wellings_onhismajestysservice.pdf
Photo of TIRPITZ from Bomber Command Museum of Canada: http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/tirpitz.html
KBismark.com: http://www.kbismarck.com/tirpitz.html
Tirpitz: The Battle for Hitler’s Supership: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GJGZov-ZOM

Hey families and friends,

It's been a while and I have some catching up to do. I'll try to keep it brief. But first, an announcement - a director has been chosen to take Stephen Harding's book The Last Battle to the big screen!  Director and screenwriter Peter Landesman will take on the job, and after making some adaptations to the script, production will begin in June of 2017. And, Steve feels that once the ball gets rolling for TLB, that the work will commence on The Castaway's War. No news yet on if they have a screenwriter, but I've picked up a couple of books to learn about the process. Congratulations Steve, and here's hoping his wonderfully talented and handsome son, actor Ian Harding will have a key role in the film. To see the announcement and learn about Landesman's body of work, check out the link: http://deadline.com/2017/01/peter-landesman-the-last-battle-wwii-drama-studiocanal-the-picture-company-1201894006/

One of my key resources over the years I've done my research was Dave McComb and his Destroyer History web site (destroyerhistory.org). Dave left the earthly plane a couple of years ago, a huge loss. The site he built is unparalleled in its information content. Over the holidays recently, the domain expired. I was contacted by another historian who noticed and asked me to help track down Dave's widow to see about getting things back on line. I had a little knowledge about his lovely Meredith, and used it to find her. Upon talking with her, she agreed to take the steps and get the site active again. What she was missing however, were persons knnowledgable about Navy history like Dave to answer questions and inquiries. Luckily, some former shipmates from the USS NICHOLAS DD 449 (a member of DESRON 21 with STRONG) stepped up and will be there for anyone who needs them. It's hoped that the website will soon include their contact information, but for now if you are doing any research on your own these guys are who you want to contact:

John Bailey [email protected]
Ritch Day    [email protected]
John O'Neill [email protected]

I have also agreed to help out if needed. So, that's it for now. If anyone has a contributiion they'd like to make to the blog, something you've written and would like to post just let me know.

Tammi

For your enjoyment, a recent video interview of Stephen Harding about his latest release, Dawn of Infamy!

http://www.militarytimes.com/video/author-stephen-harding-on-dawn-of-infamy