Related Reading: Frey Frey’s Maritime Monday 98 and Eagle1’s Sunday Ship History: Special Monday President’s Day Edition.

BT

He wasn’t on the battlefield, in his utilities doing construction under fire. He was on TWA Flight 847 on June 14th, 1985, enroute the States from Nea Makri, Greece. He, for no other reason than he had chosen to serve his nation, was picked out to be murdered.

SW2(DV) Robert Dean Stethem, USN, Underwater Construction Battalion ONE He was born in 1961. His father and brothers were SEALs. I’d say salt water ran in his veins. A tribute to Robert is posted here. A shipmate has his remarks posted there, about the day Robbie died. More detailed info is found at Black Five’s site about the circumstances aboard 847. The killer? His justice came a few days ago, but not in time to have saved the lives of many others in the years in between.SW2 Stethem is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

A ship, full of fight and the sensors and weapons to back it up, sails the oceans bearing the name “STETHEM” in steel letters on the transom. Commissioned Oct 21st, 1995, the USS STETHEM (DDG-63) is an ARLEIGH BURKE Class Guided Missile Destroyer.Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, STETHEM has been an intergral part in the GWoT. A fairly detailed account of the STETHEM’s operations, from commissioning to 2003 are listed on her Wikipedia page.

“Steadfast and Courageous” a fitting motto for a vessel.

Related reading: Sunday Ship History: U.S. Navy in Africa and Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 97.
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CDR David Connole, USNCommander Connole made his mark on US Naval history as a submariner and the skipper of USS TRIGGER (SS-237) in WWII. As with many heroes of the submarine force, CDR David Connole and his crew were lost at sea due to enemy action on March 26th, 1945. It was the TRIGGER’s 12th and last war patrol. A more detailed story of the TRIGGER’s war record is found in Submarine!” by Edward Beach. CDR Connole was awarded two Silver Stars for his wartime record.Who was David Connole? Here is what I could find:

The Connole family name is Irish with David Connole’s grandfather, Anthony, immigrating from County Clare, Ireland in the mid-1800’s LO Carroilton, Illinois. David R. Connole was born on September 8, 1912 in Madison, ILas the first son of Henry Connole and Mary Rickart Connole. He did well in school and also became an Eagle Scout. After attending llinois College for two years, he gained entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1932 and graduated in 1936. For the next three years, he served aboard the cruiser USS Boise then entered Submarine School.

From December 1939 to August 1943, Commander Connole served aboard the submarine USS Pompano which was involved in numerous war patrols in the Pacific. He then became executive officer of the USS Cuttlefish. In 1944, he took command of the USS Sennet and in 1945, he became the commanding officer of the USS Trigger. The U.S.S. Trigger was lost in battle off the coast of Japan in March, 1945.

Commander Connole was awarded two Silver Star medals, the Bronze Star medal and the U.S.S. Trigger earned the Presidential Unit Citation for three war patrols.

Vida Wimbrow was born on June 8, 1917 and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. She and David met in 1935 and were married in 1938. This young Navy couple lived in New London, Connecticut, San Francisco, California and Honolulu, Hawaii. During the war years, Vida lived in Annapolis. Their only son, Rickart Alan Connole, was born in September, 1944. David last saw his son at Rick’s christening in November, 1944.

In 1949, Vida married Captain Roy S. Benson who, by coincidence, commanded the U.S.S. Trigger in 1942 and was an instructor of navigation to David Connole at the Naval Academy.

Commissioned on August 30th, 1969, the USS CONNOLE (DE-1056) (Later FF-1056) was the ship that honors the memory of CDR Connole. The CONNOLE served in the Atlantic Fleet, and was decommissioned on August 30th, 1992 and transferred to the Greek Navy as the HHMS Ipiros (F-456), being decommissioned in that navy in 2003.A cruise book for the 1981 Med cruise was found here. Photos of the commanding officers from 1969 to 1992 were located here.

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Found while “surfing,” but it rings so true for me:

From the USS KIRK (FF-1087) website:

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* I liked standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of the globe – the destroyer beneath me feeling like a living thing as her engines drove her swiftly through the sea.

* I liked the sounds of the Navy – the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship’s bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh squawk of the 1MC, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

* I liked Navy vessels – nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers.

* I liked the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge – memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.

* I liked the lean angular names of Navy “tin-cans” and escorts – Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy, Damato, Leftwich, Mills – mementos of heroes who went before us. And the others – San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Chicago – named for our cities.

* I liked the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pulled away from the oiler after refueling at sea.

* I liked liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.

* I even liked the never ending paperwork and all hands working parties as my ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies, both mundane and to cut ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water to float her.

* I liked sailors, officers and enlisted men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me – for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they were “shipmates”; then and forever.

* I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: “Now set the special sea and anchor detail – all hands to quarters for leaving port,” and I liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier side.

* The work was hard and dangerous; the going rough at times; the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the “all for one and one for all” philosophy of the sea was ever present.

* I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship’s work, as flying fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night.

* I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness – the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters – they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars overhead. And I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that told me that my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.

* I liked quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee – the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere.

* And I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.

* I liked the sudden electricity of “General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations,” followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war – ready for anything.

* And I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.

* I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones, and Burke. A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman’s trade. An adolescent could find adulthood.

* In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods – the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief’s quarters and mess decks.

* Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful about their Navy days, when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.

* Remembering this, they will stand taller and say, “I WAS A SAILOR ONCE.”

Author Unknown

Well done, Unknown.

Tracked back @ Cao’s Blog

It seems the work of CDR Hesham Islam, USN (Ret), has been undone. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is good news.

The Congresswoman has been investigating the reported firing (see here, here, here) of Major Stephen Coughlin (USAR) by the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Staff.

First and foremost, Rep. Myrick confirms that Major Coughlin will now be retained by the DOD, and “…associated with another office program within the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he will continue to spread his message.”

The Congresswoman, one of the handful of stalwart individuals on jihadism in either the House or Senate, also highlights in her statement, the seriousness of what she terms, “…the nature of the radical Islamist enemy that we face today and how they are seeking to infiltrate all elements of our society.”

Rep. Myrick further lavishes deserving praise upon Major Coughlin’s thesis, “Major Coughlin’s thesis must be read by everyone responsible for ensuring the safety of America,” for which we now learn he has been retained, and arguably even promoted, within the DOD.
[…]

Score one for common sense and BZ to Representative Myrick for keeping DoD’s feet to the fire on this issue.

Other related reading: Fred Fry International Maritime Monday 96 and Sunday Ship History: Putting RADAR on ships.
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His name is Vice Admiral Lawson “Red” Ramage, USN. As Skipper of the USS PARCHE (SS-384) while wearing the rank of Commander, he led his crew in such an action as to be awarded the Medal of Honor(text of the Citation is here). According to Wikipedia, VADM Ramage was awarded the MOH, two Navy Crosses and the Bronze Star.From the NAVAIR website, some information about this combat leader’s career:

The third Medal of Honor awarded to a submariner in World War II was earned by then-CDR Lawson P. “RED” Ramage for a blistering night surface action against a Japanese convoy south of Taiwan in July 1944. For sheer excitement, it ranks among the greatest “shoot-em-up” tales in our Navy’s proud history.

A tall, genial redhead, Ramage was born in Monroe Bridge, Massachusetts on 19 January 1909 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1931. After several years on surface combatants, he entered the Submarine School in mid-1935 and served for two years on USS S-29 (SS-134). Following a year at the Postgraduate School and a tour as Executive Officer on the destroyer USS Sands (DD-243), Ramage found himself on the Pearl Harbor staff of Commander, Submarines, Pacific, when war broke out on 7 December 1941.

He made his first war patrol as Navigator of USS Genadier (SS-210) in early 1942 and then assumed his first command- USS Trout (SS-202)- in June of that year. In his initial war patrol on Trout, in August 1942, now LCDR Ramage scored several hits on the Japanese light aircraft carrier Taiyo near Truk, the first damage inflicted by a U.S. submarine on a Japanese carrier. Although Taiyo survived the encounter, Ramage went on to sink three ships, totaling 5,800 tons, during his four war patrols on Trout. This total might have been significantly higher were it not for the duds and premature detonations that plagued U.S. torpedoes early in the war, and after seeing several of his attacks thwarted in this way, Ramage became an outspoken and effective critic of torpedo performance.

He returned to the United States in May 1943 to assume command of the Balao-class submarine USS Parche (SS-384), which he commissioned in November and brought out to the Pacific early in 1944. Parche departed Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol in March 1944, teamed with USS Bang (SS-385) and USS Tinosa (SS-283) to form “wolf pack” preying on Japanese shipping in the Luzon Strait, between Taiwan and the northern Philippines. After several unsuccessful pursuits, Parche drew her first blood on 4 May in a joint attack on a Japanese convoy in which two sinkings were credited to Ramage and his men, for a total of 11,700 tons.

“Red” Ramage’s Medal of Honor exploit occurred during Parche’s second war patrol, when she joined USS Steelhead (SS-280) and USS Hammerhead (SS-364) for another “wolf pack” patrol in the Luzon Strait during June and July 1944. For six weeks after leaving Midway on 17 June, the group had little success in locating the enemy, and their only kill was a small patrol craft sunk by Ramage with his deck gun. On 30 July, however, Hammerhead encountered a large convoy and moved in to attack after attempting to send its position to the other two boats. Hammerhead failed to score any kills, and even more unfortunately, her sighting report was so confused and misleading that Parche and Steelhead spent a full day searching for the convoy while being harassed by enemy aircraft. Finally, early on the morning of July 31, Parche and Steelhead found their quarry on radar, and the Steelhead – under CDR Dave Whelchel – attacked first, scored several hits, and withdrew to reload torpedo tubes.

Seeing his own chance, Ramage took Parche into the middle of the convoy on the surface and precipitated a 46 minute melee in which he single-handedly took on booth enemy escorts and merchantmen, firing 19 torpedoes in the process. Clearing the bridge of everyone but himself, Ramage threaded his way through two escorts and attacked first a freighter and then two tankers, scoring hits on all three. By now thoroughly alerted, the Japanese formation dissolved into confused welter of wheeling ships and escorts, with Parche maneuvering violently in their midst, both to get off shots of opportunity and to avoid a storm of enemy deck-gun fire of every caliber. At one point, while Parche was engaged with two anti-submarine escorts, a small freighter loomed out of the night attempting to ram her. Ramage slammed the rudder hard over, and the two vessels passed port to starboard at a distance of only 50-ft. This maneuver put Parche directly in the path of an oncoming passenger-cargo ship, the Manko Maru, and with little other choice, Ramage loosed three bow shots “down the throat” of the oncoming threat. Two torpedoes hit, slowing the victim down, but it took a quick turn to bring the stern tubes to bear for the coup de grace that sent Manko Maru to the bottom. At this point, as the remaining Japanese vessels fired fruitlessly into the night in all directions, and with no valuable targets nearby, Ramage pulled Parche out of the fight totally unscratched. Meanwhile, Whelchel, in Steelhead, returned to the fray on the other side of the convoy and sank at least one more ship before being forced out under hostile aircraft at first light.

While several other ships were damaged in the relentless attack, postwar reconstruction credited Parche and Steelhead with sinking two merchantmen each and collaborating on a fifth for a total of 39,000 tons of enemy shipping. And for his utter fearlessness, daring, and extraordinary tactical skill in successfully challenging an entire Japanese convoy to a night surface action, “Red” Ramage was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by a grateful nation.

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Painting by John Meeks. Click on the picture to go to the Sub Art Website Attributed to Red was the comment “I got mad!” From the PARCHE website:

During the Parche’s second war patrol, she engaged in a predawn attack on a Japanese convoy on July 31, 1944. During this daring night surface action Parche worked her way in inside two escorts and began an approach on a medium AK at 0354. The target slid by about 200 yards away and then turned to avoid two torpedoes Parche had fired at her. That move effectively blocked an escort who had sneaked in behind her and also opened up an opportunity for shots at two tankers and the AK. A stern shot took care of the cargo carrier and four bow tubes knocked out a tanker. CDR Ramage ordered “Right-Full Rudder” to bring the stern tubes to bear on the second oiler and fired three torpedoes. One missed ahead of the ship but the other two fish hit the forward section slowing down the tanker but not stopping her completely.

The escorts opened up with deck guns, machineguns and flares firing in all directions. The convoy started to mill about smartly with Parche in the middle. Suddenly a medium sized merchant-man with a sizeable superstructure came in sight. The torpedo reload crews forward and aft reloaded tubes as fast as they could and Parche fired two tubes as soon as the outer doors were opened. The two torpedoes broke the merchant-mans back, which sent her down within a couple of minutes.

With the merchant-man out of the way Parche came back after the first tanker to finish her off. Parche crossed her track astern at only 200 yards. At 500 yards the tanker opened up on Parche with everything she had, but her trim down by the bow kept her from depressing her guns enough to do any good. The small arms fire was peppering the bridge enough that Ramage sent all hands below except the quartermaster, who stuck to the after TBT until he had the set-up. At 800 yards Parche fired three torpedoes from the stern tubes at the tanker. All hit the tanker with terrific explosions effectively silencing the gunfire from that quarter. With five torpedoes in her the big tanker gave and went down leaving only a small oil fire.

The two escorts on the port quarter were now concentrating their machine gun fire on Parche. Ramage was about to come right to put them astern and head for the prize of the evening, a huge transport, when she spotted a ship coming in sharp on the starboard bow apparently intent on ramming. Ordering a full bell, Ramage sent the boat shooting across in front of the on-rushing enemy, then halfway across its track he ordered “Right-Full Rudder” swinging right the stern of the boat out of its path. The Japanese were screaming like a bunch of wild pigs as Parche barely missed being rammed by less than 50 feet. All hands exchanged mutual cheers and jeers.

Parche, now boxed in on both sides by several small craft and the big transport dead ahead had no alternative but to fire straight down the transports throat. The first fish started off to the right, so Ramage checked fire, spotted on, and fired two more. These were right in the groove and both hit the transport stopping her cold. Closing in on her starboard bow, the Parche swung hard left and fired one stern shot at 800 yards for a bull’s eye.

Stopping to take account of the situation, Ramage counted eight ships still visible on her RADAR screen. The bewildered escorts were still busy firing weapons in the darkness at Parche and at each other. The big transport was stopped and down by the bow, but showed no further signs of going down. Just as Parche started back to deliver the felling blow, the transport suddenly raised its stern into the air and went straight down, head first into the cold depths of the ocean. Parche then began an egress from the area yet one of the escorts continually challenged her with weapons fire amid the sounds of loud explosions in the darkness. The entire attack took 46 minutes.

When Parche was finished, she had gotten the Japanese ships to open fire at one another, and had sunk a 10,238 ton tanker, a 4,471 ton passenger-cargo ship, damaged several thousand tons of Japanese ships ,and had disrupted yet another convoy. She also worked together with Steelhead in sinking an 8,990 ton transport. Steelhead sank two other ships, a transport and a cargo vessel. What made this more incredible was that this all occurred from the middle of a convoy of ships, on the surface, and at night. For this action Parche received the Presidential Unit Citation and Commander Ramage was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Submarine Combat Insignia was also authorized for the patrol.
[…]

Note to readers: That’s my kind of XO. Doing what the CO didn’t have time to do in the battle: Conducting “international relations.” Add to it CHAOS reigning supreme, and it being on your side. 46 minutes in combat as the target and not a casualty?

“Red” Ramage continued to serve, as did the PARCHE, when she was a target for the OPERATION CROSSROADS tests in 1946.

Again, from the NAVAIR site:

After the war, Ramage served in a number of Submarine Force positions, including command of Submarine Division TWO and Submarine Squadron SIX, as well as venturing into surface navy as Commanding Officer of the attack transport USS Rachin (AKA-103) following his promotion to Rear Admiral in July 1956, he served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations; as the Commander of Cruiser Division TWO; and as Deputy SUBLANT. In the latter capacity, he directed the successful search for the sunken USS Thresher (SSN-593) in April 1963. Later promoted to Vice Admiral, Ramage became the Deputy CNO (Fleet Operations and Readiness) and served as Commander, FIRST fleet, during the Vietnam buildup in 1964-1966. He retired in 1969 as the Commander, Military Sea Transportation Service. VADM Ramage died in 1990 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The guided missile destroyer USS RAMAGE (DDG-61), commissioned in July 1995, honors VADM Lawson Ramage’s service.The official website for USS RAMAGE (DDG-61) is here.Commissioned July 2nd, 1995, a ship of the ARLEIGH BURKE guided missile destroyer class, she is assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and has made here deployments to the Med and Arabian Sea to support Operation Enduring Freedom (in 2002). Her maiden voyage to the Med in November 1996 included joint anti-submarine warfare operations with countries around the Med. I was aboard for a week to evaluate the use of and train the crew on the test installation of the Computer Aided Ded Reckoning Tracer (CADRT).I can’t find much history beyond 2002 on the web, but I’m certain RAMAGE has been an active deployer in operations since then. In 2006, she was attached to CTF 150 as noted in this press release.

Today in Naval History: We fired a rail gun at Dahlgren.

Cool! Shove a piece of metal at a target at Mach 5 to 7. Forget about having to handle hazardous explosives, just route some juice to the rails and send some good old, time tested “F=M*A” at the bad guys for effect. Can you say “10.8 megajoules ON THE WAY!”

The Military Times video, with CNO’s remarks is here.

embedded by Embedded Video

Other maritime reading: Maritime Monday 95 for today (or when you find this).
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It’s about connections. Several months back, in October to be exact, one of the people highlighted in this series was RM3/c Otis Dennis, an early hero of the Pacific, who had a DE named for him, that was a player in the Battle off Samar. Then I got a comment from Otis’ nephew, Don Dennis, who pointed me to the family website, which also contains a wealth of information of Otis’ wartime service, but also that of his pilot, who perished with him, LTjg Carleton Fogg, USN, and some detailed historical records from the USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) and the squadrons who flew from her by CAPT “Dusty” Kleiss, USN (Ret).

And that site is a massive compilation of family history, reaching back into the times of WWII with the story of one of the families who were captured (all of them) by the Japanese in the Philippines.

That being said, today I will cover the story of LTjg Fogg and his floating legacy.

From the Dennis Family site, the only place I found significant detail about the life of Carleton Fogg:

Lieutenant (j.g.) Carleton Thayer Fogg, U.S. Navy
Received from the U.S. Navy Archives

Lieutenant (j.g.) Carleton Thayer Fogg was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on August 19, 1917 and died February 1, 1942 in the Pacific area (Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll) from enemy action (Japanese attack).

On October 6, 1937, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve and from 15th to November 13, 1937 he was on active duty and was discharged on December 21, 1937.

On December 10, 1937, he was appointed Aviation Cadet, U.S. Naval Reserve, from December 3, 1937 and accepted appointment and executed oath on December 21st. He was assigned to active duty for training involving flying at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, on the 10th of December and detached on January 7, 1939, and assigned to the Scouting Squadron Two USS SARATOGA for temporary active duty involving flying, reporting on February 23, 1939. He was detached from this duty on June 14, 1939 and assigned to the Scouting Squadron Seventy-one (USS WASP) for active duty involving flying.

He was appointed Ensign for Aviation duties, US Volunteer Reserve, from January 1, 1939 and accepted the appointment and executed oath of office on August 19th. On September 11, 1939, assigned to Scouting Squadron Six USS ENTERPRISE to active duty involving flying. Commissioned Ensign, U.S. Navy, from June 1, 1939 and on March 28th, accepted the appointment and executed oath of office. On December 13th, appointed Lieutenant (j.g.) for temporary service to rank from November 1, 1941 and accepted on January 7, 1942.

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the AIR MEDAL posthumously to Lieutenant (j.g.) Carleton T. Fogg, U.S.N. for service as set forth in the following:

CITATION:

“For meritorious conduct in aerial flight while in action with the enemy. As a member of a Scouting Squadron he participated in the initial attack on Kwajelein Atoll, Marshall Islands on February 1, 1942, which was executed in the face of enemy fighter opposition and heavy anti-aircraft fire. He pressed home his attack in a determined manner and contributed to the damage to enemy installation on Roi Island. He gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country. His conduct throughout was in accordance with the best traditions of the Naval Service.”

LTjg Fogg and RM3/c Dennis flew a Dauntless dive bomber. This is a drawing of theirs:

LTjg Fogg was overhead Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941, and this is his after action report:

Pearl Harbor Report of ENS C. T. Fogg – 7 December 1941

from USS Enterprise CV-6
SCOUTING SQUADRON SIX
U. S. S. ENTERPRISE
At Sea
14 December, 1941
From: Ensign C. T. FOGG, USN, (Pilot of 6-S-11).
To: The Commander, Scouting Squadron SIX.

Subject: Report of Action with Japanese on Oahu on 7 December, 1941.

Reference: (a) Art. 874 U.S. Navy Regs.

1.

I completed my scouting sector with no contacts and proceeded to Oahu, arriving over Barbers Point at about 0840. I flew towards Pearl Harbor and got as far as Ewa Field before I realized fully that Oahu had been bombed. I immediately turned back towards Barbers Point and rendezvoused with five other Scouting Squadron SIX planes who had completed search. This group was lead by Lieutenant W. E. Gallaher, USN. After circling at sea for an indefinite time we sighted two large groups of enemy aircraft rendezvousing about 20 miles south of Barbers Point. After reporting them, we attempted to land at Ford Island but were mistaken for enemy and fired upon by own anti-aircraft. The formation broke and I turned back and landed at Ewa Field. Damage to my plane was slight, only a hole in the main spar of my right wing and another in my tail surfaces. At Ewa Field I found that they had suffered two strafing attacks and that all aircraft but two (2) F4F’s had been destroyed by incendiary bullets. Personnel casualties were light, approximately three dead and eight to twelve seriously wounded.
2.

I remained at Ewa Field by direction of Wheeler Control until about 1000 the next day (Monday) when I took off and proceeded to Ford Island by orders from Patrol Wing TWO Operations Officer.

(Signed) C. T. FOGG

In honor of his sacrifice, the USS FOGG (DE-57), a ship of the BUCKLEY Class destroyer escorts, was named fro Carleton Fogg and was commissioned on July 7th, 1943, with his mother as the ship’s sponsor.Here is what history I could find on FOGG’s operational record at the Dictinary of American Fighting Ships:

Fogg’s first cruise on convoy duty began with her departure from New York 13 October 1943. She escorted unladen tankers to Aruba and Curacao in the Netherlands West Indies, crossed to Algiers guarding loaded tankers, then returned by way of Curacao and Trinidad to New York 4 December 1943. Between 26 December 1943 and 20 August 1944, she made six escort voyages from New York to Londonderry and Lisahally, North Ireland, guarding the flow of men and material which made possible the invasion of Europe and the push across the continent which followed.

The escort put to sea once more from New York 12 September 1944, to escort a convoy through the English Channel to Cherbourg, France, then called at Portsmouth, England, before returning to New York 9 October for a brief overhaul. After special training at Charleston, she sailed 6 November to escort a slow towing convoy to England and back. Homeward bound, on 20 December, one of the LSTs in the convoy was torpedoed, and as Fogg began to search for the submarine, she, too, was torpedoed. Four of her men were killed and two wounded, and the ship badly damaged [losing the rear third of the ship, breaking off just aft of the Engine Room #2 bulkhead]. For two days the crew fought to save their ship, but when on 22 December the stern sheared off, all but a skeleton crew were taken off. These men restored buoyancy, and Fogg reached the Azores in tow the next day. A first attempt to tow her back to the United States failed when bad weather tore away the temporary bulkheads replacing the stern but she at last arrived at Boston for repairs 9 March 1945.

After refresher training, Fogg sailed out of Norfolk between 2 and 30 June 1945, acting as target ship in battle problems with a cruiser, serving as plane guard for a carrier, and training men in combat information center duty. On l July, she entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion to a radar picket, which was completed 2 October. Duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean, primarily in antisubmarine warfare development and as combat information center school ship, continued until 26 July 1947, when she arrived at Charleston, S.C. There, Fogg was decommissioned and placed in reserve 27 October 1947.

There is a note on the Dennis site indicating a 2 volume book titled “History of USS FOGG DE-57” by Salvatore J. DiMilla was written. It appears the book can be found at the East Carolina University Special Collections. I suspect it has plenty of information on DE ops in WWII.

I close with an excerpt from the memorial service for LTjg Carleton Fogg, held at his alma mater the North Yarmouth Acaemy:

[…]
What man, whatever his need, can grouse and grumble at the rationing of rubber when his friend has made the supreme contribution; what civilian club-room admiral or barbershop general can revise and rearrange with his pitiful HALF-information battle lines, worldwide in their extent, entered by his neighbor who, like a brigade famous in history, knew and acted upon the military axiom “Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to DO, – and die!”?
[…]

Good advise for all time? I think so.

The credit for this posts detail goes to the families of Otis Dennis and Carleton Fogg for taking the time and effort to collect and organize a tremendous amount of history.

Related maritime links: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 94 and more stories of “skyhooks” from Eagle1.
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CDR Samuel D. Dealey, USNWhile digging about last week on the topic of Fresh Water Submarines, I found the story of this valient man from the annals of submarine warfare. While Skipper of the USS HARDER (SS-257), he made his place in history and quite lofty place it is, complete with these two medals: The picture is misleading: Dealey wore three stars on his Navy Cross (indicating 4 awards of that medal) and also had been awarded the Silver Star, as well.Born September 13th, 1906, Samuel Dealey graduated from the US Naval Academy, class of 1930, and went to the fleet, first as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the USS NEVADA (BB-36). He then went to submarine training, and was in command of S-20 when WWII broke out. He assumed command of the newly built USS HARDER on December 2nd, 1942 and took her on 6 war patrols.CDR Dealey did not get off to a great start. He initially “bilged out” of the Academy for low grades, but was re-instated, finally graduating. Of the submariners awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, Samuel Dealey was the one who sunk the greatest amount of tonnage during his time in the combat zones of the Pacific:

After a shakedown off the East Coast, Dealey survived a “blue-on-blue” attack by a Navy patrol bomber in the Caribbean to bring Harder to the Pacific in the spring of 1943.

Harder left Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol on 7 June, bound for the coast of southern Honshu. Dealey In his first attack on a two-ship convoy late on the night of 21 June, Dealey was driven deep by an aggressive escort and crashed into the muddy bottom – an inauspicious beginning, even though it now appears that one target may have been damaged. Dealey backed himself out of the mud, and two nights later had his first real success in torpedoing the ex-seaplane tender Sagara Maru (7,000 tons) and crippling her so badly that she was beached on the Japanese mainland and abandoned as a total loss. Over the next four days, Dealey made seven attacks on three different convoys, but post-war analysis credits him only with possible damage to one ship.

Harder returned to Midway on 7 July with one of her four diesel engines completely broken down. She was one of 12 Gato-class boats fitted originally with the troublesome Hooven-Owens-Rentschler (HOR) engines, whose original design was licensed from the German firm MAN (Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nürnberg) in the 1930s. After some hasty repairs and bearing a generous inventory of spare engine parts, Harder returned to sea for her second war patrol off Honshu in late August and in 14 days made nine attacks, which netted Harder a total of five ships for 15,000 tons in the post-war accounting. Once again, the ship suffered engine problems throughout the patrol but returned safely to Pearl Harbor, via Midway, on 7 October 1943.
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The best detail of the USS HARDER’s war record I found on the web is contained on the page linked above.

Patrol reports, for HARDER’s first two, are here and here. Those reports were found at a page where a number of links take you to submarine war patrol reports. A lengthy synopsis of HARDER’s patrols, listing subs in company and with information on her targets is found here.

The USS HARDER (SS-257) was lost at sea during combat on August 24th, 1944 under depth charge attack of Luzon in the Philippines. Some info from the sub in company, USS HAKE (SS-256), indicates the HARDER’s loss. CDR Dealey’s citation reads:

Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy. Born: 13 September 1906, Dallas, Tex. Appointed from: Texas. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross with 3 Gold Stars, Silver Star Medal.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Harder during her 5th War Patrol in Japanese-controlled waters. Floodlighted by a bright moon and disclosed to an enemy destroyer escort which bore down with intent to attack, Comdr. Dealey quickly dived to periscope depth and waited for the pursuer to close range, then opened fire, sending the target and all aboard down in flames with his third torpedo. Plunging deep to avoid fierce depth charges, he again surfaced and, within 9 minutes after sighting another destroyer, had sent the enemy down tail first with a hit directly amidship. Evading detection, he penetrated the confined waters off Tawi Tawi with the Japanese Fleet base 6 miles away and scored death blows on 2 patrolling destroyers in quick succession. With his ship heeled over by concussion from the first exploding target and the second vessel nose-diving in a blinding detonation, he cleared the area at high speed. Sighted by a large hostile fleet force on the following day, he swung his bow toward the lead destroyer for another “down-the-throat” shot, fired 3 bow tubes and promptly crash-dived to be terrifically rocked seconds later by the exploding ship as the Harder passed beneath. This remarkable record of 5 vital Japanese destroyers sunk in 5 short-range torpedo attacks attests the valiant fighting spirit of Comdr. Dealey and his indomitable command.

That’s quite an accomplishment. Our submarines, strategically, were mostly in place to cut off supplies and troops. They took on the combatants when they had to.

Two books about the USS HARDER, “Through Hell and Deep Water” by VADM Charles Lockwood, USN and COL Hans Adamson, USAF, (published in 1956) and “The Destroyer Killer” by Edwin Hoyt tell of the war record this storied submarine.

In honor of Samuel Dealey, the USS DEALEY (DE-1006) MAX Payne release was commissioned on June 3rd, 1954, as the lead ship of the DEALEY Class of destroyer escorts.USS DEALEY (DE-1006) was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and made cruises to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and around South America, exercising with navies from that part of the world. One of her duties assigned was to “escort” Russian merchants into Cuba, observing their cargo loads, and wait for their departure, to observe the differences.She was decommissioned July 28th, 1972 and transferred to the Uruguayan Navy the same day, being re-commissioned as ROU 18 De Julio (DE-3). I suspect I operated with DE-3 during UNITAS XXIV in 1983, as I recall doing surface gunnery exercises with a Uruguayan ship. If that was the case, then this sea story happened while in company with the ex-USS DEALEY.The USS DEALEY’s website is here.

Bonus link: the Sub Art site.

Here’s the paper done by MAJ Stephen Coughlin, USAR Bra Boys download that got him shoved out the door as a consultant for the Pentagon, because a retired Naval Officer didn’t like his tone in meetings….

Update: You know, just because his accuser, a high ranking civil servant now (GS-15) didn’t like him, can we ever expect him to be called a “Muslim zealot with a pen?” I didn’t think so, not in the age of American guilt.

Update: Navy CAPT Gordan E. Van Hook, in a letter to the Editor of the Washington Times on 1/15/2008, suggests the dismissal of Stephan Coughlin was an issue fiscal responsibility, Major Coughlin being pad for on a “bloated” contract:

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Mr. Gertz and Miss West may want to further investigate what the American taxpayers were paying for Mr. Coughlin’s product and who the good steward was that decided to terminate the bloated contract.

If the issue was mis-sepnt taxpayers dollars, I’d suggest the Gordon England has far bigger targets to be investigating than a single contract for a consultant (who happened to upset a Muslim on his staff), such as the cost overruns in the LPD-17 and LCS procurement contracts. Far better return on the taxpayers dollar getting some of those multi million dollar issues solved. I’m sure Stephen Coughlin’s man year didn’t cost us anywhere near $1M/year.

And, CAPT Van Hook acts like no one understands how the system works when people disagree because of personal issues:

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Yes, Mr. Islam is a Muslim, and yes he has a view of the religion that does not necessarily coincide with Mr. Coughlin’s, but those who suggest our Defense Department cannot hold different points of view do not understand how the system works.
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How it is supposed to work is the people who object because it offends their faith should be told that’s not a consideration. On top of that, you could always toss in the “separation of church and state” argument, and a civil servant is a part of the state…

How it really works is how it did: Golden boys or girls get ahead at the whim of their patrons, and then the other gloden boys/girls chime in to justify the inappropriate behavior.

Nice going, CAPT Gordan E. Van Hook, USN: Score one for supporting a personal view, that is in fact detrimental to our National Security, win the day. Looking for some stars for your collar, are you? Better be kissing up to other than those put in place by President Bush, or haven’t you gotten the Early Bird lately?

Extra reading: And what is a skyhook?” From Eagle1 and Fred Fry International Maritime Monday 93!
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Here is the new course of Monday Maritime Matters I promised, brought on by non-coincidental coincidence. That led me to a story about sea going vessels that, like the well done “Six Frigates” by Ian Toll, is far more than a story of the Navy; It’s a story of business, shipbuilding, pre-WWII political and economic history, with seamanship on linland waterways tossed in.

“Fresh Water Submarines” by RADM William T. Nelson. It came to me when the widow of Capt William J Godfrey, USNR (Ret) (Plankowner on USS POGY (SS-266)), loaned me some of his files to look through for some first person history for the blog. The book was in the first set of papers she left for me.First off, having now finished the book, it is a story that begins in 1836 with the establishment of shipbuilding on the shores of Lake Michigan by Captain J.V. Edwards, tracing the lineage of the establishment of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in 1902 (originally named the Manitowoc Drydock Company). From there, the history describes the business strategies of the owners, primarily Mr. Charles West and his continual work to look to the future and keep the business viable.The result? The company remained alive through the Depression, with a skilled workforce, and, when President Roosevelt decided to begin building the Navy up (in FY 1937) from the post-Washington Treaty demise, Mr. West lobbied to build destroyer escorts, figuring they would be small enough to get from the Great Lakes to sea. Recall, at the time, the St Lawrence Seaway was not developed. He kept connected to the Department of the Navy, letting them know he was ready to work and his staff had been busy making the initial plans.So what do you do, when the Navy summons you to DC in early 1941 to give you a contract for building 10 GATO Class submarines? The book tells you.Besides the fact you have never considered building a combat submersible hull, how do you get a vessel that draws more than 9′ of draft from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico with 21 locks to transit? Oh, yes: You have always launched hulls sideways and no one is sure if a sub hull will be able to be put in the water that way successfully in the narrow water ways around the shipyard.Well, you build it, commission it, train the crew in Lake Michigan, decommission it, load it on a drydock, hook up the tug and send it on it’s way south, around bends, under bridges, stopping on the river banks when necessary (sometimes not intentionally), deliver the boat to New Orleans, reinstall the periscopes and their shears, recommission it, load food, fuel and torpedoes and send the sub to war. That’s the executive summary.

The book is a study in the men, machinery and families who made this happen, covering the excellent foresight of the shipyard owners, who not only built ferries and ore ships, but cranes and specialized shipbuilding machinery to keep the skilled workforce in place, so when this requirement arose, they were up to the challenge, and, as it turned out, were able to deliver the boats faster than Electric Boat! Bonus information includes details of the operations of the river pilots and tow skippers, along with the issues of navigating rivers.

The Navy was so impressed with the early performance, a second contract, for more subs was ordered, before the first sub was built. Toss in the complication that the war had now begun and the strategic imperative took on a entirely new meaning. The story proceeds to tell of the complications of building up a work force, getting skilled labor in place to augment the generational workers already there. Building special jigs to rotate the 9 hull sections to allow welders to work in the best position for the best quality of their beads. Later, a third contract was given to the Manitowoc company, too.

The Navy then tasked, in February 1942, out of the blue, the construction of 450 LCT-5 craft to support amphibious landings. Later, the added requirement came to design and build the LCT-6s. Toss in a contract to build 6000 cranes for the Navy and Army for forward deployment, all as a result of keeping a company positioned and ready to aggressively take on new tasks with great efficiency.

A total of 28 submarines were built, short of the 41 tasked in original contracts, because it became apparent the war was coming to a close. The 28th submarine, the USS MERO (SS-378) wasn’t commissioned in time to reach the war zone and was tasked with conducting a public affairs cruise around the Great Lakes so the people could get a good look at what they had helped to build.

The book discusses, in depth, the specifications of the contracts, the interactions with Electric Boat, the costs and profits, equipment provided, special items and arrangements, and the transit of the USS PETO (SS-265) (the first Manitowoc boat) to the Gulf of Mexico and Panama for combat training. Interaction with the on site SUPSHIP reps and descriptions of the commissioning parties are there, too (complete with commentary reminiscent of my own experience in Pascagoula, MS).

The boats earned a reputation among the crews who took them into combat, and the maintenance units who serviced them as well built hulls, constructed with the understanding sailors lives were at risk.

RADM Nelson completes the story with some excellent analysis of the contract performance, showing specifics of costs, profits and the associated issues in the financial realm.

I highly recommend this book, not because it is a book on submarines, but because it is a wonderful case study of a business that grew and thrived in bad times and good, and when they had to perform, they successfully adapted and exceeded expectations. In the early part of the book, the story of the national mood and decisions regarding the size of the Navy, puts the history of the Navy in context for the time between WWI and II. Some details of the difficulties facing our submariners in the combat theater are also discussed, in the context of how the shipyard managed to re-engineer the dive planes and some other system to allow faster diving times and periscope vibration problems.

The company lives on today, still with it’s hand in the shipbuilding/repair business and building cranes, among other diversified operations, such as a major operation in food service machines. Checking this page, the Manitowoc Company currently has it’s hand in the LCS project, building improved lighterage barges for the Navy and the construction of USCG Great Lakes Icebreakers.

Not only is this book available from Amazon, I also found this site, Submarine Books, that has a lengthy list of books on submarines, old and new!