Member Profiles

"Any man who may be asked in this century
what he did to make his life worthwhile,
I think can respond with a good deal of pride
and satisfaction:

Carl Martz, US Coast Guard, reads from his diary, the travels of his ship, USS Savage, DE-386, for each corresponding month Savage spent in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea escorting convoys and making several ports of call in those foreign countries. Carl, very interestingly, has recorded and relates all events that occurred during his hitch. His ship, USS Savage, circumnavigated the globe during the war landing in many ports of interest, some friendly and some not so friendly.

Ruth and Carl Martz

Lawrence Smith,

aboard USS Frankford, DD-497, ("Hotdog" to her crew), stirred up the gravel at the bottom of Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion 6 JUNE 1944 while engaging, point-blank, German shore batteries that were inflicting immense casualties upon US troops landing on the beach. Frankford, at slow speed, after hitting the German defenders serious blows with her accurate gunnery, did it again, only this time while *backing down at slow speed.* Frankford's unauthorized action induced other destroyers to follow suit, which successfully neutralized enemy gunfire to the point that General Bradley changed his mind about canceling the landings on Omaha Beach. At age 28, Lawrence was among the oldest of the crew. His previous experience with electronics got him to Chief Petty Officer quickly as a Radioman, which was a misnomer since he was a technician, not an operator, but the navy didn't have an ET designation at the time. The electronics aboard Frankford were in poor condition and Lawrence was responsible for and got the systems back in operation.

Henry and Barbara Hight

Henry Hight, a radioman aboard USS Portland, CA-33, a heavy cruiser, was torpedoed during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands at Guadalcanal, 26-27 OCT 1942. Portland had her damage repaired and later returned to action, but Henry had transferred to USS Kalinin Bay CVE 68, an escort carrier. Two years later at 0730 on 25 OCT 1944 Henry, as he puts it, "Went from the frying pan into the fire," when Yamato, the world's largest battleship, nine 18.1" guns and her overwhelming force of destroyers and cruisers opened fire on Taffy III. One, of several hits by Japanese warships on Kalinin Bay exploded in the radio room killing three men, breaking Henry's arm and inflicting a serious head wound to another sailor who was carried by Henry to medical attention, thus saving his life. Dead in the water, Kalinin Bay drifted toward Japanese held Samar Island whereby the crew was issued firearms and standing by to repel boarders. With the firearms supply exhausted Henry was issued a sheath knife, which he still has, with which to help defend his ship, broken arm and all. Before possibly going aground Kalinin Bay restored power and limped into Pearl Harbor, then the States for repairs.

Henry B. Hight RM1, received this medallion from the people of the Northern Marianas in appreciation for his participation in the Marianas Campaign, June 1944, which involved the taking of Guam, Tinian and Saipan in the Marianas Islands while serving aboard USS Kalinin Bay CVE 68. The battle was a great naval air victory known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" where the Japanese lost hundreds of aircraft and pilots.

The medallion was presented to Henry and others who served there, by the Escort Carrier Sailors Association at their meeting in Gilbert, Arizona 19 FEB 08

Charles Finch, USS Andres, DE-45

Charles Finch, Fire Controlman 2nd class, served aboard USS Andres DE 45 from enlistment in March 1942 to the end of WW II. While on shakedown in 1942 in the Bermuda area Andres made contact with enemy subs on a few occasions and attacked with possible results, but no confirmed kills. Andres did considerable escort work in the Atlantic and Mediterranean covering for many supply operations to North Africa in support of the aftermath of Operation Torch, the invasion of that continent against Rommel's German forces. Charles was discharged in October 1945.

Wilbert Reed, USS Aaron Ward, DM-34

Wilbert was aboard when the ship was attacked by a swarm of Kamikaze aircraft, six of which penetrated the defenses and crashed onto Ward's decks at Okinawa. In the same attack three Kamikazes crashed into and sank USS Little, both ships on picket Station 10. Listing and with starboard deck awash, the Ward limped back to New York on one engine. The war ended as repairs were begun and Aaron Ward was subsequently scrapped. Wilbert, as a radioman for Commander Air Support Group, was attached to the Ward for communications. He was subsequently transferred to USS Bradford DD 545 for a time then completed his hitch on board USS Frazier DM 25.

Tom and Barbara Alexander, USS McGinty, DE-365, married 55 years, on the hanger deck of the USS Midway Museum, San Diego, California, September 2006

<--- Summer 1952 - alongside USS AJAX, repair ship, Yokosuka, Japan

June 1953, Sasebo, Japan - the hat was "liberated" from a Brit sailor - it reads HMS CONCORD - Tom still has the hat --->

Right after his 18th birthday in December 1950 in Phoenix, Arizona, Tom enlisted in the Navy and departed for recruit training at NTC, San Diego. As Tom puts it, he signed up for a harbor cruise, but no one told him the harbor was in Korea.

One half of Tom's four year hitch was aboard a small seaplane tender, USS Onslow, AVP-48 (at 309' in length) where he rose to the lofty rate of Radarman 3. Onslow tended a squadron of PBM Martin Mariners from harbors in Iwakuni, Japan, near Hiroshima, and Chinhae, Korea, west of Pusan. Onslow made two tours in those waters starting in mid-July '51 until Tom transferred in late March '53.

While at the Naval Receiving Station, Treasure Island, California, Tom requested a transfer to any destroyer on the west coast. Why a destroyer? Because they were much larger at 367' to 390' depending on class. Tom had no interest in a ship larger than a 390' Gearing class destroyer or as slow as Onslow. The US Navy applied its usual machinations and ordered Tom aboard USS McGinty, DE-365, home port Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. Now Hawaii is the westernmost state in the USA, so that part of Tom's request was a little more than bargained for, however, not only was McGinty 3 feet shorter than Onslow, but was only about two knots faster.

Tom's claim to fame came one night as the mid-watch was coming up to relieve the evening watch. Tom was on the radar when he spotted an object in the water dead ahead of McGinty at 1500 yards and appeared dead in the water. The contact showed up as a floating metallic object on the radar A scope. The contact was reported to the bridge as such and Tom was certain the object was a floating mine. The Skipper and XO were called to the bridge and as we radarmen plotted the contact while drawing closer to it, GQ was sounded and the crew was rousted out of their sacks at about 0030. As McGinty closed with the object she veered to starboard and stopped engines. Tom was thinking in terms of receiving the Medal of Honor or at least the Navy Cross for saving ship and crew from that potentially explosive mine, when the Skipper called down the voice tube for the radar operator to come out on deck and see the target. Tom stepped out on the 01 deck and his jaw dropped when he saw, illuminated by the ship's searchlight, a wooden potato crate with its wires and steel straps sticking up in the air. It was the steel straps the radar signal picked up, which prompted Tom to think "floating mine." Two destroyers had lost their bows when hitting mines in the same general area off Wonson Harbor, Korea. After securing from GQ, the Skipper called down the voice tube telling us we had better put a jock strap on the radar gear. The whole crew had a shorter than usual night's sleep that night.

One day after his 22nd birthday in November 1954, Tom divested himself of the navy and went back to work and school where he had left off in December 1950. Tom and Barbara raised three daughters and a son who are all doing OK for themselves. Two live in Arizona and two in Washington on or near Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Their four children produced six grandchildren and and two of those produced six great grandchildren, four girls and two boys.

Del and Olga Krause, USS Robert L. Wilson, DDE-847

I joined the Navy on 18 July 1956 in Chicago, IL, my home town. Did 14 weeks at Great Lakes, Camp Moffet CO. 481. Took a train to Norfolk, VA. and went west aboard the USS Robert L. WIlson, DDE-847. On my first crusie we were off Cape Hatteras when a loud hissing sound and a thump was heard and felt. Then GQ was sounded and folks were running all over the

place. Since I didn't have a GQ station I went to be nosy and found that an air line on the torpedo mount had broken and the thump was our only 'live' fish that had taken off and stuck in our #1 stack. What a way to start out in the Navy. We bounced around the Atlantic and the Med, even got to sail the St. Lawrence to Toronto, Canada on a NATO cruise. During my time on the Wilson I made BM3. I guess, like most everyone else, I couldn't wait until my hitch was over so I could go home. Hind sight, being what it is, I always wondered what my life would have been like if I would have stayed in. Well, I guess I'm pretty lucky though, got three good kids, a wife that keeps me in line and a group of little rug rats that keep me young.

Mel and Eileen Kowal, USS Savage, DER-386 Web Page Tora,Tora,Tora Movie

Al Guier

John Weber

Bob and Barbara Tull

In March, 1951, I was a college sophomore when along with 8 of my classmates, we decided (over lunch one day) to join the Naval Reserve in Kansas City, Missouri. I stayed in the active reserve, going on 2-week reserve cruises at the Great Lakes Training Center, Lake Michigan, on a DE and 2 weeks at Norfolk on a DD. After college graduation I went to work for the General Motors Corporation, in Kansas City, as an accountant. While in the Kansas City Reserve I was promoted to DKSN and handled the reserve payroll. In July, 1954 I went on active duty and was assigned to the USS McGinty DE-365. We sailed to Japan in November, 1954. Returned to Pearl Harbor, May 1955. I was promoted to DK3 in March, 1955 and DK2 in March, 1956. I was transferred to the USS Edmonds DE-406 in April, 1956 and released in July, 1956 to inactive reserve.

John Rusinek and daughter Lynda

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