Just a view from the top of one of the mountains overlooking Gatlinburg.  It's lovely here now.

Last night the hospitality room was buzzing again with the men of Strong and their families sharing stories and getting to know new people.  It's one thing to communicate primarily over email and an occasional phone call, and quite another to finally meet face to face.  Peter Karagines recently passed, and I've been emailing with his daughter, Linda.  Last night Linda and I met for the first time and it was like meeting an old friend.  Their family came to the reunion, and will stay for the memorial service today at 1:00.  We had a great time talking about her Dad, his life in the Navy and all the things I've unearthed in my research over the years.  Andy Hoder, my hubby Greg and Linda's nephew Ricky were all enjoying the company.  Got to spend some time talking with Richard Rodriguez and his lovely wife Jane who provided me with photos of the champagne bottle that was used to christen Strong on August 7th, 1942.  At the end of the night, I had a word with Mr. Merriman who received some wonderful photos of Strong as she was being built in the Bath Iron Works yard in Bath, Maine.  I have some of these photos and may add them to the Memories gallery.  We're headed down to meet them for breakfast this morning, for a little more talk over some coffee - I need coffee!

Tammi

It's beautiful here in Gatlinburg.  The mountains are smoky as usual, large and looming.  In the morning the mountain air smells fresh and a bit like early morning hickory fires.  Lovely place to be!

Last night we met with the men of both 467 and 758 in the hospitality room.  It was great to see Jim Merriman again after first meeting 13 years ago.  And finally meeting Andy Hoder, son of Stanley from the 467, was like meeting an old friend.  Jim Kelly, Bill Kiminski, and Joe Monza were equally welcoming and all wanted to share stories.  We bugged out about 10:30, but there's no telling how long some of those folks stayed up talking and as one guy put it, "they get together and tell the same stories over and over again.  They love it."

The family of Peter Karagines came this year, even though Pete passed away recently.  They will participate in a memorial service here at the hotel on Friday.  I hope to meet them today, as i have been in touch with two of Pete's daughters. 

Today is a "free" day and we're off to see the sights, then back to the hospitality room tonight to share more stories.  Wish more of you could have been here.

Tammi

  It's a beautiful and cool Sunday afternoon here in Kentucky, and I'm fixin' to go (can you tell I'm from the south?) to Gatlinburg with my husband Greg next week for the reunion of the USS Strong DD 467/758 Association. I wanted to post a blog update prior to the trip, and remind you that if you want to follow what I learn and who I meet during the week that I'll be posting updates from the event. I won't send any email updates out until I get back, so if you want to follow the action feel free to check in.

I have a lot of expectations for next week. The last reunion we attended was in Pigeon Forge back in 1999. That was where I met James Merriman and Lee Gray, even got a photo taken with the gentlemen. Mr. Merriman and I have stayed in touch over the years and I truly hope to see him this year. The son of Stanley Hoder, Andrew Hoder, has become a partner in crime, so to speak. I will finally get to meet him face to face and thank him for all his help with research over the years (and we'll be bringing you a little surprise, Andy. And sorry, it doesn't have anything to do with Ashley Judd).

So, back to my expectations. When I spoke with Bill Kiminski, the president of the Strong Association, he asked me, “What do you think we can do to help you?” A valid question, and one I had to think about because the answer is complicated. There's more to this than just letting people know what I'm doing, trying to put together support for an expedition and all the other reasons I'm doing this you can find on the first page of my web site. But what I want from the men at the reunion, both the men of the 467 and the 758 – is to understand a bit more about the experience of a sailor at sea. I'll never be in the Navy, never spend time at sea on a destroyer, never know what it feels like to spend day after day on GQ, at the ready with the responsibility of watching the sky, sea and water for overt threats to my health and safety and that of my shipmates. Unless I get a chance to travel to the Solomons, I'll never know what it's like to pull into port in Tulagi, Rice Anchorage, or head to the New Hebrides and Espiritu Santo for some time on shore, just to get my two tickets for beer and maybe play some softball on the beach to let off steam. Or know the pleasure of the escape from a few hours on deck on a starry night watching Hollywood's latest hit with my crew – or know the mindless and numbing feeling that this sense of being on alert will never end and that I'll never get off this boat and back home to my loved ones. These men can share these experiences with me if they choose to, and through them I can learn more about my uncle during the last 7 months of his life. I also want to acquire some contacts in the Navy, and pick their brains for ideas on how to raise funds to actually pull this off. Over the few days we're together, they can get to know me and understand my commitment to this project. I hope to be blissfully overwhelmed with information and new friends.

So now, I'll just share some excerpts from Captain Wellings' last letter home before the ship was lost.  Dated July 1st, 1943, it turned out to be painfully prophetic:

“Today is the first of July – the start of the second half of 1943.  I feel sure that when the second half is finished this war will be closer to the end.  We should have made definite gains in Europe with Hitler seeing the beginning of the end.  Out here in the Pacific we should have enough re-enforcements to start carrying the war to the Japs.

I sincerely hope that before the second half is half over I will be back with my sweetheart again.  I intend writing to Bill at the first opportunity and tell him that I want to be detached next month (August), get some leave and then get a division on the east coast – if I can get a big boat division or go with him if I can get a month or two in the States while the Division is fitting out and training.  I don't want to rely on going with Bill because he may be forced to stay ashore at the last minute and if I am going to operate out here I want a good squadron Commander.  Incidentally my present Squadron Commander – Captain (recently promoted) MacInerney (Friend of Teds) is a peach.”

During Welling's tenure on Strong, he was always hoping to be called back.  He saw many of his contemporaries head home to other duties due to seniority, and hoped the same could happen for him, to serve closer to home or stateside. He got his wish, just in the most painful way possible.

Have a great week wherever you are, and check in when you can. As always, I welcome comments, suggestions, ideas and any information you would care to share about your Strong sailor.

Tammi

  On the CBS Sunday Morning show today they were talking about an upcoming PBS documentary on the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, this Monday September 17th. One of the letters they read in the news piece was a grief-stricken wife writing to the husband's commanding officer and asking for news of his fate after not hearing from him for weeks as he lay wounded in a hospital bed. It reminded me of another few letter copies I have that hit close to home – letters written by my family to Captain Wellings, letters written by the sisters of Lt. Benjamin Frazier Jetton and Robert Gregory to the mother of survivor St. Julien Barnwell – again, desperately seeking information about their brothers who did not come back from the sinking of Strong on July 5th, 1943. Though I'm far removed from the event itself, every time I pull these letters out and read them, I'm overcome with a sense of sadness and heartache that makes me feel like I'm channeling the emotions of these women from 70 years ago. The letter written by Billy's sister Naomi is on the Memories page of the web site, next to the response from Wellings. Below are excerpts from Lt. Jetton's sister Mary Missio and Robert Gregory's sister writing on behalf of Robert's parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Gregory:

“Dear Mrs. Barnwell, (from July 26, 1943, Tampa, FL)

     I received a clipping from a SC. Paper this morning which stated that you had received a letter from your son who was stationed on the Strong. I know how glad you were to hear from him.
     My brother, Lieut. (j.g.) Benjamin F. Jetton was on the same destroyer and we have not been so fortunate as to hear from him. We are trying to do everything possible to find out something about him and in hopes that your son might be able to give us some information concerning him I would appreciate it very much if you would send us address if you know it or send it as soon as you do.

Dear Mrs. Barnwell, (from August 8, 1943)

…....On July 10 we received a wire from the Navy Department stating that my brother was missing in action and this week we had another letter saying that he was still missing. From the information that we have, Commander Wellings has not been accounted for, but following your suggestion I have written friends in Boston asking them to contact his relatives to see if they could give us any information.......We are still hoping and praying that we will hear some good news. 
    I want to thank you for your kindness again......It was a big help.

Sincerely, Mary Missio”

“Dear Mrs. Barnwell, (from July 22, 1943, Mauch's Corner, S.C.)

     I read in the paper this morning about you receiving a letter from your son saying that he was safe after his ship, the USS Strong was sunk. I know your grief when you heard from the war department saying that he was missing in action because my brother was on the same ship and we got a notice from the war department, too. If you would be so kind as to send me your son's address I would like to write to him and see if I can get any information about my brother who is Robert Franklin Gregory, because I feel sure that being on the same ship that your son must know him.

     Please do this for me Mrs. Barnwell, and God bless your son and send him home to you.

Yours very sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Gregory”

I don't know if I'm empathic or just have an ability to tap into their emotions, or if it's just being a mother myself of two extraordinary adult children, and I realize what it would be like to lose either one of them in such a situation, but sometimes the realization of this is overwhelming. Over the thousands of years of recorded history, how many of these letters have been sent to commanding officers, to hospitals, to families of survivors? Many of these men were later discovered to be alive, such as Robert Gregory, Captain Wellings and Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. Many were never heard from again and their remains deemed unrecoverable, such as Lt. Jetton who died alongside my Uncle Billy. Lt. Jetton was Billy's superior officer, Sr. Communications Officer, and both either defied the abandon ship order, or were trapped below decks when rammed by Chevalier. In all probability they are still sealed together in the compartment of the ship that held the classified documents and equipment they had been charged with destroying.

I've often thought it would be great to locate Jetton's surviving family to see if anyone of them kept letters written home. Since his sister wrote from Tampa (but lived in Miami at the time and was in Tampa caring for her grandfather), I believe he must have been a native of Florida's west coast. If anyone here has connections in Tampa, St. Petersburg or that area, or knows of anyone who might know the Jetton or Missio family, I'd love to speak with you. There could be a letter or other artifact remaining of his time on Strong, and possibly some mention of working with Billy. It would be priceless to have such information.

I'm sure these letters are still being written by the parents of the men and women who serve in our armed forces today. Seeing such really brings home the sacrifices of those who put their lives at risk in foreign countries on a daily basis. And once they get home, they deserve all the help we can give them to return to some semblance of normalcy, and a productive life.

So for any of you who read this blog and follow the project on the web site have ever served in our armed forces, including my father, uncles, cousins and grandparents, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tammi

  One of the things I've found truly enjoyable about research on Strong, and in particular reading through Captain Wellings' letters is when I find him referring to events or people I've read about in some of the books I'm using for the research. One book I've read and that I have listed as a resource is South Pacific Destroyer by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw, Jr. Crenshaw served on board the USS Maury DD-401, the very same ship captained by one Gelzer Sims. Mr. Crenshaw goes into great detail to mention the actions and details of the daily life of a destroyer in the Pacific, including several references to Strong and to Wellings himself. I have copies of the documents from an engagement of Strong with a Japanese submarine and the subsequent sinking in April of 1943 of that sub by the task force that included Strong. Crenshaw makes mention of that event in his book:

    “After the bombardment, Ainsworth divided his force into two groups to sweep the Slot on alternate nights. TG-18.6, which he led, consisted of Honolulu, Strong, Chevalier, Taylor and O'Bannon, while TG-18.7, under command of Tisdale, was composed of St. Louis, Nicholas, USS Jenkins (DD447), Radford and Fletcher. One or other group combed the Slot on six successive nights, but each time they failed to find an enemy force.
     In the early hours of the fifth, however, Strong made a radar contact on a surfaced submarine and O'Bannon, closer to the contact, was ordered to attack.”

     O'Bannon did manage to sink the sub. Later on April 7th, Strong also sank a Japanese sub and later received commendation for their assistance with the O'Bannon incident and their own actions on the 7th.  
     Just for fun, one of Wellings' letters with mention of Gelzer Sims:

“18 March, 1943

 Sweetheart,
This is your little boy reporting “all’s well” from somewhere in the Pacific.  As usual I am feeling grand and as happy as possible without my sweetheart being with me, which is another way of saying that I miss you terribly.

Guess what?? The other day I noticed as we steamed into port (I assume he means Espiritu Santo) that Gelzer Sims' destroyer (USS Maury) was at anchor.  I immediately sent a message (1000) and asked Gelzer over for lunch.  He arrived at 1030 and talked until 1500 when I had to go to a conference – this included all during meal time.  He is the same old Gelzer and his old and new stories are gems.  He kept all my wardroom officers spellbound all during lunch.  He has been out here from the beginning – as he said he arrived here in the Mayflower – it has seemed that long since he has been home.  He reports all well with Sue and the family.  He really looks fine – but says he would not turn down an offer for a few days rest.  Notice the improved ink – my yeoman just cleaned and refilled my pen.

 Well Sweet, I am still getting a thrill over the letters from my darling received a few days (4) ago.  Somehow when the mail comes aboard and I read your letters, life takes on a new outlook, everything seems much clearer and happier.  You don't even seem to be so far away.  Gosh, what do the people do who don't have someone to think and dream about – someone who is also thinking of them.  I guess if they don't know any better, they don't miss this pleasure.  I know you make my life worth living and worth fighting for, the knowledge that after this is all over we will be together again is by itself incentive enough to work hard,  keep fit and get this job over with as quickly as possible.

Enough of being serious – you know I love you and you alone always – but I wanted to tell you again.

Forever yours alone,

Harold”

I love how he uses endearments in his letters, he loved his wife very much and it's evident.

The reunion is in a couple of weeks, and I'm working to get ready to meet with these men and their families.  I plan on being overwhelmed by information and resources, and look forward to talking about them here.

If any of you have a story to tell about your loved one, something from their time in the Navy or in particular about their time on Strong, and would care to share it, I'd love to post it here.  Just let me know.

Tammi

Hey all,

     Still waiting to hear if the expedition to find the bell is to get back underway.  The latest tweet from Paul Allen is an image of the Hood crew on the deck of the ship and a caption that only three men survived of the entire crew compliment of over 1400+ men.  I'd post the photo, but am not sure about the legalities of posting a photo from a tweet and have not yet received permission from Mr. Allen to do so.  I've kept a copy though, and may be able to post it at a later date.
     I received a photograph from Chip Cline, son of George Cline, a sailor who survived the sinking and went on to serve on the USS Stephen Potter DD 538.  This is one of the things I really enjoy about this project.  I've heard from more than one person that they have found boxes of stuff, books, photographs and all sorts of memories because they suddenly have become interested in learning more about their family member, and this project has inspired them.  Even if we don't make it to the Kula Gulf, I feel proud to be a part of anything that helps you rediscover your ancestor.  They are worth learning about.
     If you have a photo of your Strong sailor from his time in the Navy as Chip found, pass it along to me and I can post it on the Memories page.
     Wellings daughter emailed me about a book, The Discovery of the Bismarck by Robert Ballard.  She was reorganizing some books at home and found this among them.  She was excited about it because within the book are several references to her father and his role with the British Royal Navy in pursuit of Bismarck after the sinking of Hood.  I found a copy of the book on Ebay and got it yesterday.  Needless to say, it now has paper tabs and highlight marker throughout!  I will post a reference to the book in case anyone is interested in picking it up from a library as well.
     Well, here's hoping they get back to work on Octopus this weekend.  I'll keep you all posted.

Tammi

Not only are they being held up by weather, but in Allen's last tweet he states they are still in Reykjavik, Iceland and undergoing some maintenance on the ship.  The weather window is closing, and they need to get back to the site soon or they may run out of time.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that they will be able to complete this by the weekend and bring the bell to the surface.  I've really missed the live feed and hope they can resume it once they get the ROV back in the water.

Today in an email I received a photograph of the HMS Hood that was in Captain Wellings collection from a representative of the Naval War College.  Thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

Tammi

  While we're waiting for the Octopus to make it back to the Hood site after weathering the storm, I thought I'd post another entry from Captain Wellings book on his time aboard Hood. His first patrol duties were off the coast of Iceland, where David and Paul Allen are working to retrieve the bell of the HMS Hood:
“24 December (1940) – At anchor until 1630 – then underway with (HMS) Edinburgh and 4 destroyers to patrol off Iceland during Christmas holidays. Very fine weather – Christmas Eve – and here I am a long ways from home – Quite disappointed – thought continually about Dolly and Anne, and home. Wish Mother could have had another Christmas with us. Watched clock and pictured Dolly putting Anne to bed – turned in at 0005 – wrote to Dolly. (Wellings mother had died recently)

25 December – Christmas Day – on patrol off Iceland – what a way to spend Xmas. Oh well, if I cannot be with my two little girls I don't mind being here – It is all for the flag??? Grand weather for a change in these parts. Lat 64N Long 2E at noon....

Letter to Mrs. Wellings, 1 January, 1941.  Life aboard the Hood was not all work:
"…..When midnight arrived the dining room was crowded with all the boys. The big boss was among those present. He ordered drinks all around and we drank to 1941 “Victorious and Peace.”
     All hands admitted that 1940 was a bad year from the viewpoint of the war. However, they were all confident that the tide had changed and that 1941 would be a better year. I sincerely hope so because we cannot stand many years like 1940. My personal opinion is that by summer we will know Hitler's latest threat. Whatever it may be I have confidence in the British being able to cope with the situation. By fall I hope and believe England will be in a much better position than it is today. Of course no one knows when it will all be over. Time alone can tell. There are so many “ifs and buts” that a true prediction is impossible.....
     Last night we had another grand dinner with turkey and all the fixings. We all thoroughly enjoyed it but of course we ate too much. I believe I will have to watch my weight or I will be putting on extra pounds. The food quality here is the best I have seen to date over here – outside of the No. 1 restaurant in London......”

     Wellings was a man committed to his duty, but very much a husband and father, committed to caring for and missing his family. I love reading his letters home, he was quite the romantic.
     Here's hoping they will be back to live stream soon, and have no more trouble retrieving the bell. This delay for them has surely been costly, but I know they will succeed.

Tammi