WW II Alabama Soldier Identified and Returned Home-- Part 1 Bill Morrison

From WKRG 5 CBS News "World War II soldier from Alabama accounted for; will be buried in Spanish Fort."

The Defense Department POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Jan. 26 that an Alabama soldier killed in action during WW II was identified July 9, 2021.

Army Pfc.  Bill Morrison, 29, of Birmingham, Alabama,  will be relocated to his home state and buried in Spanish Fort.  A date has not been chosen yet, however.

Morrison was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division in November 1944.  His unit fought Germans in the Raffelsbrand sector of the Hurtgen Forest in Germany.  Morrison was reported KIA on November 8, 1944, and they were unable to recover his body.

After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with  investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe.

--GreGen

Two Brothers Who Died on the USS Arizona: Charles Cecil and Milton Homer Kennington

From the USS Arizona Mall at the University of Arizona Face Book page by Bobbie Joe  Buel.

Rosa Sowell Kennington and Van Arthur Kennington lost three sons in wars.   Their oldest,  child, Lloyd, was killed in France in 1918 during World War I.

Two of their youngest, Charles Cecil and Milton Homer were killed at the start of World War II, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  They were both aboard the battleship USS Arizona.

The morning after he received news that Charles and Milton were dead, their father told a newspaper reporter, "I would give all of my boys and I too would fight to pit down such sneaking and deadly enemies as the Japs, Hitler and Mussolini."

He had four more sons and at least one, Marvin, served on a Navy gun crew on a merchant ship.

The father, V.A. as he was known, was a framer and his wife, Rosa, a homemaker.  They had fifteen children and resided in Humboldt, a town of about 5,000 in western Tennessee.

Charles, their third youngest, was born March 10, 1920, and enlisted in the Navy on December 5, 1939.  Milton was born  January 11, 1922, and enlisted  in March 5, 1940.  Both brothers were Seamen 1st Class on the USS Arizona  when they were killed  December 7, 1941.

--GreGen

One of the USS Arizona's Dead: Edwin Carrell Hamilton of Colorado

From the January 11, 2022, USS Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona Face Book Page by Bobbie Joe Buel.

Reposted the profile of EDWIN CARRELL  HAMILTON.

Edwin Carrell Hamilton was born Jan. 11, 1922.  His mother, Ethel, was a homemaker and his father Carrell C., a railroad worker.

The 1930 census said the family lived in Pueblo, Colorado,, but by 1935, they had moved to Denver.  That same census said Edwin was adopted.  He was the Hamilton's only child.

Edwin graduated from East High, where the yearbook said he was in the class of 1941.

Mr. Hamilton enlisted in the Navy 27, 1941.  He was a Seaman 1st Class on the USS Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

--GreGen

Orange County's Last Pearl Harbor Survivor, John Hughes, Dies

From News Nation

Major John Hughes.

He died one month before his 103rd birthday. and was the last Orange County, California, Pearl Harbor survivor after another one recently moved to Oregon.  Afterwards, he went on to fly 150 dive bomb missions during the war.

In the process, he received four Distinguished Flying Crosses, the nation's highest award for  extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.

He later helped develop the famed Sikorski helicopter and flew MEDEVAC missions throughout the war.

Death came to him on January 7.  His funeral service was held   on January 19 in Orange.

--GreGen

USS Oklahoma Unknown Frank Nicoles Buried in Texas

From the January 24, 2022, KENS 5, CBS, "Decades after perishing  at Pearl Harbor, World War II sailor's remains return to San Antonio

Frank Nicoles' remains were buried Monday, January 24 in San Antonio, Texas.  He was a Fireman in the U.S. Navy and just 24 years old when he met his death.   Fir decades, his remains were buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in the Honolulu, one of 394 sailors and Marines from the American battleship USS Oklahoma.

It wasn't until modern technology using DNA from descendants and relatives that the event in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

Christopher Thompson, one of Nicoles' only living  was there who was born before the sailor's death, was there.  "It's an emotional moment," he said Monday.  "The family is very gratified at the work the military  has gone to to try  to identify and bring home casualties from the war."

Officials at the Department of Defense said in September that, at that point, fewer than 50 of the initial 394 Oklahoma Unknowns remained unidentified.

Such A Great Thing the Government Is Doing.  --GreGen

A Woman Looks for Backgrounds of the Men Killed on the USS Arizona

From the January 21, KJZZ 91.5    "After 5 years, an Arizona woman has compiled stories about most who perished aboard the USS Arizona" by Mark Brodie.   More than 1,100 people died on board the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.  The shop itself has become a national memorial and there are other memorials to those who died on her.

That includes one on the mall at the University of Arizona. and it is that one that inspired Bobbie Joe Buel to learn more about those who died on the ship.

Both agreed that there should be more information than just the names of those men.  Bobbie was sure that someone had already done that, but found out they hadn't so this became a project.  She has been doing this now for 5 and a half years.

She began searching records and even getting in touch with their families.  The hardest thing was finding out about the mess men who were from Guam, the Philippines or were Blacks.

She has a Facebook page at USS Arizona Mall  Memorial.

I agree with her thoughts.  When I get notification of the identification of a USS Oklahoma Unknown, usually all I get is the name, rank, where they're from and when or where the burial will be.  There is so much more to the story.  I have to go digging and sometimes come up empty.

Thanks Bobbie Joe Buel.  --GreGen

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted for from World War II, Frank E. Nicholes

From Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Press release  August 27, 2020.

The DPAA announced today that Navy Fireman 1st Class Frank E. Nicholes, 24, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was accounted for on May 5, 2016.

He was onboard the USS Oklahoma when the attack came.

His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing  at the Punch Bowl.  A rosette will be placed  next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

The Nicholes family has yet to determine a funeral date.

*******************************

FOLLOW UP

He will be buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas, on January 24, 2022.

--GreGen

Defense Agency Identifies Pearl Harbor Victim 80 Years After Attack: Billy Turner

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced it has identified another member of the USS Oklahoma's crew, Navy Seaman  1st Class Billy Turner, 20.

They identified him on October 1, 2021.

He was the first Carter County resident killed in World War II and was born  November 18, 1922, in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to Ardmore in 1926.  Inducted into the U.S. Navy  in Oklahoma City January 4, 1940, and sent to San Diego for training.

He will be buried in his hometown of Ardmore, Oklahoma.  Turner Street in Ardmore is named for him.

--GreGen

Pioneering Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee Dies at 102

From the January 16, 2022, Reuters by Kanishka  Singh.

Retired Brigadier General Charles McGee, part of the pioneering  all-black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II died on Sunday, January 16 at age 102.

McGee, who flew 409 combat missions spanning World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam died in his sleep.

He was born  December 7, 1919, in Cleveland, Ohio.  His plane was hit twice in combat, once in Korea and once years later in Laos, both tomes in his right wing.

McGee battled racism and segregation during his military career.  He was called to service in 1942 at age 23 and became one of the first black military aviators with the Tuskegee Airmen.  "We were just as interested in supporting that (war) effort as anybody else at the time and so we turned out back in the fact that there was segregation, if you will, and took advantage of the opportunity to prove that we can fly airplanes,: he said.

The Tuskegee Airmen's success helped lay the groundwork for the civil tights movement and influenced President Truman's decision to desegregate the military in 1948.

Like I Say, One of the Greatest Generation With the Added Obstacle of Segregation and Racism.  --GreGen

USS Arizona Memorial Boat Tours Are Back, But For How Long?

From the January 7, 2022, Forbes "Hawaii:  Boat tours to the Arizona Memorial are back... but for how long?" by Will McGough.

Boat tours were canceled for nearly a month, but are back again.  The closure this time stemmed from on-going issues with the  dock that attaches to the Memorial, making it unsafe for boats to dock and unload.

In 2018, a same-but-different problem with the dock resulted   in the Arizona being closed for fifteen months, much to the dismay of the thousands of people who visit Pearl Harbor each day.  The boat went out, but just passed by.

Plans are to replace the dock completely later this year at which time the Memorial will be closed again.

--GreGen

Chicagoland Pearl Harbor Survivor Everett 'Jim' Schlegel Dies at 102-- Part 2

Not only did Mr. Schlegel witness war, but he was also a lifelong Chicago Cub fan.  He witnessed Cubbie history at Wrigley Field twice.  "He talked about the Cubs 365 days a year.  It wasn't just from April to September," according to his son Bill.  "It was all the time."

The first time he watched a Cubs game was in 1945 when he saw games 6 and 7 of the World Series and he still had the tickets to prove it.

Then in 2016, when the Cubs went to the World Series, the family started a GoFundMe page for him, but Marcus Lemonis gave him and his son some of the best seats in the house.

Quite the life.

Bled Cubbie Blue.  --GreGen

Chicagoland Pearl Harbor Survivor Everett 'Jim' Schlegel Dies at Age 102-- Part 1: Tending Mules Near the Base

From the January 14, 2022, 7ABC Chicago News  "Chicago area survivor of Pearl Harbor attack laid to rest in Norridge" by Stacey Baca.

World War II veteran Everett "Jim" Schlegel, of Norridge, Illinois,  was one of the last-known Pearl Harbor survivors from Chicago.  He was remembered today for his service and fun-loving personality.

He died December 31, 2021 and after a memorial service at  Cumberland Chapels in Norridge, he was laid to rest at  Irving Park Cemetery. He is survived by his son, Bill Schlegel and daughter Beverly  Capiga and  six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

"He really tried to make people smile.  He never was negative, he was always a positive person," his son Bill said.

When he got drafted, he had three choices as to assignment.  He picked Hawaii, not knowing that a war would find him first.  The day of the attack, he was  in the U.S. Army tending mules and making sure his fellow soldiers had supplies.  They were based in the hills near the base at Pearl Harbor.

He recalled that nobody knew what was going on.

--GreGen

Oldest WW II Vet Dies, Lawrence Brooks, 112, Dies-- Part 4

After the war, Mr. Brooks worked as a forklift operator until he retired in the 1960s.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home when he was in his late 90s.  He had to be evacuated from his home's roof via helicopter.

Starting with his 105th birthday, the National World War II Museum began throwing him annual birthday parties.  His favorite part of those parties was watching the Victory Belles trio performing  music of the 1940s.

During the coronavirus years of 2020 and 2021, the museum  organized a parade in front of his home  with brass bands and the Krewe of Zulu warriors in full regalia.

"Even at age 112, Mr. Brooks stood up and danced a little.

Truly One of America's Greatest Generation.  --GreGen

Oldest WW II Vet, Lawrence Brooks Dies-- Part 3: I'm Jumping with You!!!

Mr. Brooks often told the story about the time he was a passenger on a C-47 aircraft delivering barbed wire to the front when  one of the planes engines went out.  After they dumped cargo to conserve weight, he made his way to the cockpit and told the pilot and co-pilot that since they were the only two with parachutes, if they were going to jump that he would grab onto one of them.

"We made it though," he said.  "We had a big laugh."

Despite not being in combat, he said he sometimes faced enemy bombs as the Japanese would attack Owen island where he was stationed.  He said he learned to tell the difference between approaching Japanese, American and German planes.

"We'd be running like crazy, trying to hide."

He was discharged from the Army in August 1945 as a private first class.

Truly one of the Greatest Generation and with the added problem of overcoming racism and segregation.

--GreGen

Oldest U.S. World War II Vet Dies, Lawrence N. Brooks, 112-- Part 2

Later in the war, troop losses caused the U.S.. military to begin using black troops in combat situations.  In  1941, there were fewer than 4,000 Blacks serving in the military.  By 1945, that number had risen to more than 1.5 million.

The 91st, where Brooks served, was an Army unit that built bridge, roads and airstrips for planes.  Brooks' job in it was  to cook, drive and  take care of the clothes of three white officers.

Brooks did not often speak publicly about the discrimination that he met in the war or back at home.  Brooks was treated better as a black man in Australia than he was at home.

He did say that he was treated well by the white officers and that he was lucky he did not have to actually fight in combat.  "I got lucky.  I was saying to myself, 'If I'm going to be shooting at somebody, somebody's  going to be shooting at me and he might get lucky and hit [me].' "

--GreGen

Oldest U.S. World War II Veteran, Lawrence N. Brooks, Dies at 112-- Part 1

January 5, 2021, ABC News.

Not only the oldest World War II veteran, but also believed to have been the oldest man in the country died Wednesday, January 5 in New Orleans.

His death was announced by the National World War II Museum and was confirmed by his daughter.

He was born on September 12, 1909, and was passionate about his beloved New Orleans Saints and his church, never missing a service there until the coronavirus.

Originally from Norwood, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, his family moved to the Mississippi Delta when he was an infant.    He was one of fifteen children and lived too far from the nearest school so his parents taught him what they could.

Brooks was working at a sawmill when he was drafted into  the U.S. Army in 1940.  After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was mostly stationed with the 91st Engineer General Service Regiment in Australia.  This was a mostly black unit.

--GreGen

USS Orleck (DD-886)

From the January 7, 2022, Florida Times-Union "Announcement scheduled for  Tuesday about plans to bring destroyer to Jacksonville" by Tom Szaroleta.

The USS  Orleck was launched in 1945  and later earned the nickname "The Gray Ghost of the Vietnam Coast" and has been undergoing a seaworthiness test in Texas.

It was transferred from the Turkish Navy in 1982 and finally retired in 2000  It had been berthed in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where it broke loose from its moorings  during 2020's Hurricane Laura and suffered about $250,000 in damage.

It is now in Port Arthur, Texas and being inspected to see if it can make the ten-day trip to Jacksonville, Florida.

The Jacksonville Historic  Naval Ship Association wants to turn it into a museum ship.  The project had an initial $2.6 million cost, but they have gone up a lot.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 5: Action Off the Philippines and Iwo Jima

The McCall spent most of November 1944 off Leyte supporting  land operations there.  She sortied  27 December to Lingayen Gulf to support the Luzon invasion.  In mid-January 1945 she was attached to  TG 78.12 for transport convoy escort duty and on the 28th for fire support duties.

From February to March the McCall was off Iwo Jima screening transports and providing shore bombardment, harassing and illumination fire services.

On 27 March, she departed for Pearl Harbor and then to the west coast  to San Diego, arriving  22 April.  Within a week she got underway for a scheduled overhaul in New York where her yardwork was completed by  4 August and was undergoing exercises at Casco Bay when Japan surrendered.

Two months later, she entered Norfolk Navy Yard where she was decommissioned. 30 November 1945 and struck from the Navy Register 28 January 1947 and sold for scrapping in 1948.

The McCall was quite the busy ship during World War Ii and received nine Battle Stars.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 4: Rescue of George R. Tweed and Further Operations

1944

In July 1944, the Gridley, along with sister shop the USS Gridley took up patrol off Guam.  On July 10, the McCall observed  signals from  the island and rescued George R. Tweed, who had been evading the Japanese on the island for two years.  In the meantime, he had acquired a wealth of information on the enemy forces on Guam.  Information that was put to good use.

During the next nine weeks, the McCall guarded the carriers as they attacked Iwo Jima and then supported offensive actions against  the Palaus, Yap and Ulithi.  By 10 October, she was off  Okinawa and also moving to and from  Formosa and Luzon.

On 23 October, the ship was supporting  forces in Leyte Gulf and on the 27th, engaged Japanese forces off Cape  Engano where the Japanese lost three more cruisers and  several destroyers.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 3: Operations in the Pacific and the Battle of the Philippine Sea

1942 and 1943

In February 1842, the McCall escorted the carriers Yorktown and Enterprise for attacks  on Japanese installations in the southern Marshall Islands and northern Gilbert Islands.  Next were surprise attacks on Wake and  Marcus Islands.

March and April, the ship spent patrolling the Hawaiian Islands and then to Fiji and Somoa islands.  On the summer she was involved in the Aleutians.

After an overhaul in Hawaii, she  joined the Battle of Guadalcanal and then was in the Solomon Islands for the next ten months.

1944

Starting early in 1944, the McCall screened carriers for various operations around the Pacific, being involved with seven operations.  In June, after a short repairs in Hawaii, she joined another Task Force headed for the Marianas Islands.  

On 18 June, word was received of a major Japanese fleet headed for them and on June 19, the Battle of the Philippine Sea began.  By the end of the two-day battle, the Japanese had lost three carriers an 72% of its float planes.  This was a disastrous loss for them.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 2: Was Not at Pearl Harbor During the Attack

The McCall was laid down on   17 March 1936 at the Union Plant, Bethlehem Shipbuilding  Corporation, San Francisco, California. and launched on  20 November  1937.  It was commissioned  22 June  1938, Lt. Cmdr. John Whelchel, commanding.

The McCall was assigned to Pacific duty in Destroyers Battle Force on  16 January 1839.  

Less than two years later, in December 7, 1941,  she was steaming with the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise en route to Pearl Harbor from Wake Island when she received word of the attack.  The McCall's  task force (TF 8) immediately began conducting a search for the Japanese fleet.

By the time the task force returned to Pearl Harbor, its planes had sunk the Japanese submarine I-70.

For the rest of 1941, the McCall stayed in the Hawaiian Islands to defend against a possible follow up attack.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 1

It was a Gridley-class  destroyer named in honor of War of 1812 hero Edward R. McCall.  He commanded the brig USS Enterprise in its battle with the British brig HMS Boxer on September 5, 1813, off the coast of Maine after his commander had been mortally wounded.

Launched in 1937, she saw action throughout World War II including at Guadalcanal,  Battle of Philippine Sea and others, earning nine Battle Stars in her career.  She was struck from the rolls in  1947 and scrapped the following year.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Length:  341 feet 4 inches

Beam:  35 feet 5 inches

Depth:  14 feet 4 inches

Speed:  35 knots

Complement:  184

Armament:

Four 5-inch guns

Sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes

--GreGen

USS Montgomery (DD-121)-- Part 6: Service and Then the Mine

The Montgomery attacked an enemy submarine contact on 25 June 1944 without evident success.  After an escort voyage to Eniwetok and return in June and July, she sailed to Guadalcanal to prepare for the invasion of  the Palaus.

Getting underway for assault on  6 September, the Montgomery took station off Peleliu on 12 September to destroy mines swept from the Japanese minefields.  On 17 September, she screened transports landing assault troops on Angaur, and two days later sailed for mine destruction and patrol duties at Ulithi until 14 October.

She bombarded  Ngulu  on 15  October and acted as mother ship for small minelayers during capture of the atoll.

While anchored off Ngulu on 17 October, with her engines secured, the Montgomery spotted a  mine floating close to port.  The wind swung the ship down onto the mine before she could get underway or destroy it.  The resulting explosion flooded both engine rooms and one fireroom, ruptured fuel tanks and killed four of her crew.

Salvage efforts kept her afloat until she could be towed to Ulithi for repairs.  Underway under her own power, on 12 January 1945. the Montgomery arrived in San Francisco on 14 February.  There it was recommended that she be decommissioned, which she was 23 April 1945 and was sold for scrapping  on 11 March 1946.

The Montgomery received four Battle Stars for her service in World War II.

--GreGen

USS Montgomery (DD-121)-- Part 5: One Busy Little Ship

On 11 April 1942, the Montgomery left Hawaii and spent the next 16 months operating from Suva, Espiritu Santo,  and Noumea for escorting and minelaying operations in the Southwest Pacific.    She also assisted in the struggle to take over the Solomons.

One interruption was from  22 September to  12 November, when she sailed north to lay mines in the Aleutians in preparation  for the recapture of Attu and  Kiska.

While laying a minefield off Guadalcanal on the night of  24-25 August 1943, the Montgomery collided with the USS Preble (DD-345) and lost  20 feet of her bow.  Temporary repairs were made at Tulagi and Espiritu Santo before sailing to  San Francisco on October.

Repairs completed,  the Montgomery then  began ten months of activity which included two escort voyages between San Francisco and  Hawaii, defensive minelaying around Kwajalein and two more convoys.

--GreGen