From the July 23, 2011, Press of Atlantic City "Sunken WWII destroyer off Cape May holds family's fascination and its fate" by Michael Miller.
Retired US Navy Master Chief Joseph Tidwell, 91, will be returning to Cape May for the first time since he was rescued during a submarine attack off the coast almost 70 years ago. Back then, he worked in the engine room of the USS Jacob Jones, a destroyer out hunting for German U-boats who were very active along the coast in those first months of the war for the United States.
He was one of only eleven survivors of his crew when the ship sank February 27, 1942. That day, 131 died.
His grandson is also in the Navy on current duty. Commander Eric Tidwell has dived on the wreck of his grandfather's ship in 120 feet of water, 25 miles off Cape May.
The Jacob Jones was named for Commodore Jacob Jones, a War of 1812 naval hero who defeated the HMS Frolic off Delaware Bay. (I'll have to write about this man in my War of 1812 blog.)
The destroyer Jacob Jones was 300 feet long and built in Vamden, NJ, and launched in 1918. The War of 1812's great-granddaughter was there for the event.
More to Come. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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