http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/02...hts_for+.shtml
Recalling another voice on what US fights for
By David M. Shribman, Globe Columnist, 1/28/2003
WASHINGTON - Almost everybody believes that some incident faraway will lead to war within the next 60 days. I cannot get my mind off an incident that occurred 60 years ago this week, during World War II.
It took place in a dangerous place in a dangerous war. There, off the northwest tip of Guadalcanal, 11 PT boats worked the waters. One was PT-109, and its story is well known. One of the others was PT-111, and its story is worth telling, too.
It was the second year of World War II, and PT-111 was patrolling at a slow pace with a westerly heading. Two Japanese warships came into view, and then a Japanese destroyer, heading on a southeasterly course, appeared at the horizon. The PT boat - one of the tiny craft known as a ''devil boat,'' capable of moving at 45 knots - closed to within 500 yards of the destroyer and fired two torpedoes. It kept moving, ever closer, and then fired two more.
Less than 15 minutes later, PT-111 was hit by a shell and burst into flames. The commander, Lieutenant John Henry Clagett of Bowling Green, Ky., was hurled to the deck and eventually crawled into the water. The burns to his face and arms were so severe that he was unable to swim. Two of his men came to his rescue. One of the other men was blown into the water, suffering compound fractures to his legs. Two men stayed with the injured sailor for 21/2 hours, working to keep off the sharks that made repeated attacks. The declassified action report of the incident cited the two for bravery ''at extreme hazard to their own safety.''
A Japanese ship was destroyed in the incident. Two Americans from PT-111 were killed. One of them was Philip A. Shribman of Salem, Mass.
I never knew him, of course, but his short life and violent death have been with all of us for many years. One of the reasons was the sheer tragedy of it all: A young man goes off to a good war for a good cause and comes to a terrible end. But one of the reasons is that Lieutenant Shribman left behind evidence that he knew exactly what he was doing, knew exactly what he was fighting for, knew exactly what the risks were, knew exactly what the stakes were.
Here is his testimony: ''You know it's the things I and everybody else always took for granted that are the things the country is now fighting to keep, and it's going to be terribly hard to do.''
Sixty years on, the things that everybody takes for granted are the things the country is now fighting to keep, and it is going to be terribly hard to do. That is the message of my uncle's war, and that is the message of our own war on terrorism.
At stake are not only the freedoms that the nation was founded on and the freedoms that generations of Americans have fought to add to our national culture, but also, as the World War II generation used to put it in an evocative shorthand, the right to boo the Dodgers. At stake are all those things, plus - and this is what makes our home-front war different - the right to go to a Dodgers game or to the mall or to the airport in safety.
This is a frightful time, in some ways no less frightful than World War II. The looming war in Iraq is not the center of the peril, merely a symptom of it. All around the world the alerts are on, against terror, against strangers, against the unknown. Only a dozen years ago, when the Cold War's end promised what President George H.W. Bush called a ''new world order,'' the world began to breathe easy. Now it holds its breath in fear.
My uncle, at the first anniversary of his commission as a US Navy officer, wrote a letter to his parents, my grandparents. It arrived five months before his death, though they could not know that, only perhaps dread it. The letter assured them that he was doing fine in his brutal war, that he had grown ''neither more handsome nor more ugly,'' but a lot thinner, and that, most of all, he had grown.
He talked about how proud he was that he ''got in,'' enlisted in the Navy, before the war started, and he said that the war had aged him, had aged him in the way that only wartime does:
''I seem to think that I'll never complain again about the food at home or having to go visit relatives or having no excitement or any of the million and one things I used to think were abusing.''
I have much more in my file on my uncle. It is now several inches thick. I have been collecting material for years, interviewing his college classmates, his shipmates, his friends. I spent a teary afternoon in Topeka with the woman he might have married, had there been world enough and time. But nothing in that file is as powerful as this, the notion that the great struggles are about great issues and, sometimes, about the little liberties, too.
I think my uncle understood that notion, and I think that the 26-year-old from Massachusetts who took charge of PT-109 some six weeks after this incident understood that as well. That scrawny young man survived war injuries and became commander in chief, and as President Kennedy he gave voice to America's idealism and its belief in freedom. From the Pacific my uncle, eloquent in understatement, unwittingly composed an overture to Kennedy's inaugural call to valor and vigilance. He wrote: ''One always has to protect the valuable in this world before he can enjoy it.'' It was the soundtrack of his time, and of ours.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
http://www.webandwire.com/Casualties...%20WW%20II.htm
US Navy Warships sunk during WWII: Motor Torpedo Boat (PT)
PT-22 scrapped after being badly damaged in a storm at Dora Harbor, Alaska, 11 June 1943.
PT-28 damaged beyond repair in a storm at Dora Harbor, Alaska, 12 January 1943.
PT-31 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 19 January 1942.
PT-32 destroyed to prevent capture, Tagauayan Island, Philippine Islands, 13 March 1942.
PT-33 grounded in enemy waters, 15 December 1941, and destroyed to prevent capture, Cape Santiago, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 26 December 1941.
PT-34 sunk by Japanese aircraft strafing attack off Cauit Island, Cebu, Philippine Islands, 9 April 1942.
PT-35 destroyed to prevent capture, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippine Islands, 12 April 1942.
PT-37 sunk by Japanese destroyer Kawakaze off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 1 February 1943.
PT-41 destroyed to prevent capture on road to Lake Lanao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 15 April 1942.
PT-43 damaged by Japanese warships, beached, and destroyed to prevent capture on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 11 January 1943.
PT-44 destroyed by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 12 December 1942.
PT-63 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in port, Hamburg Bay, Emirau Island, 18 June 1944.
PT-67 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in port, Tufi, New Guinea, 17 March 1943.
PT-68 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture near Vincke Point, New Guinea, 1 October 1943.
PT-73 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Baliquias Bay, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 15 January 1945.
PT-77 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham (DD-371) and USS Lough (DE-586) near Talin Point, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1 February 1945.
PT-79 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham (DD-371) and USS Lough (DE-586) near Talin Point, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1 February 1945.
PT-107 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in port, Hamburg Bay, Emirau Island, 18 June 1944.
PT-109 sunk after being rammed by Japanese destroyer Amigiri off Kolombangara Island, Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands, 2 August 1943.
PT-110 sunk after collision in Ablingi Harbor, New Britain, 26 January 1944.
PT-111 destroyed by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 1 February 1943.
PT-112 destroyed by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 11 January 1943.
PT-113 destroyed as a result of grounding, not in enemy waters, Veale Reef, near Tufi, New Guinea, 8 August 1943.
PT-117 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Rendova Harbor, Solomon Islands,
1 August 1943.
PT-118 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, off Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, 7 September 1943.
PT-119 destroyed by fire in port, Tufi, New Guinea, 17 March 1943.
PT-121 destroyed by Australian aircraft, mistaken identification, Bangula Bay, New Britain, 27 March 1944.
PT-123 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands,
1 February 1943.
PT-133 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, near Cape Pus, New Guinea, 15 July 1944.
PT-135 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Crater Point, New Britain, 12 April 1944.
PT-136 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Malai Island, Vitiaz Strait, New Guinea, 17 September 1943.
PT-145 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Mindiri, New Guinea, 4 January 1944.
PT-147 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Teliata Point, New Guinea, 20 November 1943.
PT-153 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Munda Point, New Georgia, 4 July 1943.
PT-158 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Munda Point, New Georgia, 5 July 1943.
PT-164 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Rendova Harbor, Solomon Islands,
1 August 1943.
PT-165 lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-17, 100 miles south of Noumea, New Caledonia, 24 May 1943.
PT-166 destroyed in error by US Army Air Force B-25 bombers, mistaken identification, off New Georgia, 20 July 1943.
PT-172 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, off Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, 7 September 1943.
PT-173 lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-17, 100 miles south of Noumea, New Caledonia, 24 May 1943.
PT-193 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Noemfoor Island, New Guinea, 25 June 1944.
PT-200 lost after collision, 22 February 1944, off Newport, Rhode Island, and sank
23 February 1944.
PT-202 destroyed by enemy mine, off Point Aygulf, France, Mediterranean Sea, 16 August 1944.
PT-218 destroyed by enemy mine, off Point Aygulf, France, Mediterranean Sea, 16 August 1944.
PT-219 damaged in storm and scrapped, near Attu, Aleutian Islands, 14 September 1943.
PT-239 destroyed by fire in port, Lambu Lambu, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands,
14 December 1943.
PT-247 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 5 May 1944.
PT-251 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, off Bougainville, Solomon Islands,
26 February 1944.
PT-279 lost in collision, off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 11 February 1944.
PT-283 damaged by Japanese shore batteries or wild shot from U.S. warship, 18 March 1944, and sank off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 19 March 1944.
PT-300 destroyed by Kamikaze attack, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 18 December 1944.
PT-301 damaged by explosion in port and scrapped, Mios Woendi, New Guinea,
7 November 1944.
PT-311 destroyed by enemy mine, Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, 18 November 1944.
PT-320 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands,
5 November 1944.
PT-321 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, San Isidro Bay, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 11 November 1944.
PT-322 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Hardenberg Point, New Guinea, 23 November 1943.
PT-323 destroyed by Kamikaze attack, Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands, 10 December 1944.
PT-337 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, Hansa Bay, New Guinea, 7 March 1944.
PT-338 grounded, 27 January 1945, and destroyed as a result of grounding, not in enemy waters, Semirara Island, Philippine Islands, 31 January 1945.
PT-339 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Pur Pur, New Guinea, 27 May 1944.
PT-346 destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft, mistaken identification, near Cape Pomas, New Britain Island, 29 April 1944.
PT-347 destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft, mistaken identification, near Cape Pomas, New Britain Island, 29 April 1944.
PT-353 destroyed by Australian aircraft, mistaken identification, Bangula Bay, New Britain Island, 27 March 1944.
PT-363 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries in Knoe Bay, Halmahera, Netherlands East Indies, 25 November 1944.
PT-368 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Cape Salimoedi, Halmahera, Netherlands East Indies, 11 October 1944.
PT-371 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Tagalasa, Halmahera, Netherlands East Indies, 19 September 1944.
PT-493 destroyed by Japanese warships, Surigao Strait, Philippine Islands, 25 October 1944.
PT-509 destroyed by ramming of a German minesweeper in the English Channel, 9 August 1944.
PT-555 damaged by a German mine off Cape Couronne, Mediterranean Sea, 24 August 1944, and sunk by US gunfire, 8 September 1944..
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-5.htm
PT Boats
PT 109 was one of the hundreds of motor torpedo boats (PT) of the PT 103 class completed between 1942 and 1945 by Elco Naval Division of Electric Boat Company at Bayonne, New Jersey. The Elco boats were the largest in size of the three types of PT boats built for U.S. use during World War II. Wooden-hulled, 80 feet long with a 20-foot, 8-inch beam, the Elco PT boats had three 12-cylinder Packard gasoline engines generating a total of 4,500 horsepower for a designed speed of 41 knots. With accommodations for 3 officers and 14 men, the crew varied from 12 to 14. Its full-load displacement was 56 tons. Early Elco boats had two 20mm guns, four .50-caliber machine guns, and two or four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Some of them carried depth charges or mine racks. Later boats mounted one 40mm gun and four torpedo launching racks. Many boats received ad-hoc refits at advanced bases, mounting such light guns as Army Air Forces 37mm aircraft guns and even Japanese 23mm guns. Some PTs later received rocket launchers.
Originally conceived as antiship weapons, PTs were publicly, but erroneously, credited with sinking Japanese warships during the early months after Pearl Harbor. During the long Solomons campaign, they operated usefully at night and times of low visibility against Japanese barge traffic in the "Slot." Throughout World War II, PTs operated in the southern, western, and northern Pacific, as well as in the Mediterranean and the English Channel. Some served off Normandy during that invasion. Though their primary mission continued to be seen as attack of surface ships and craft, PTs were also used effectively to lay mines and smoke screens, to rescue downed aviators, and to carry out intelligence or raider operations. Almost all surviving Elco PTs were disposed of shortly after V-J Day. One Elco boat, PT 617, survives at Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts.
Although more 80-foot Elco boats were built than any other type of motor torpedo boat, other types were built by the U. S. The British-designed 70-foot Vosper boats which were built for Lend Lease fired 18-inch torpedoes. Since the U.S. produced the heavier and longer 21-inch torpedoes, the U.S. Navy wanted a larger PT boat. After experimentation, the first PT boat built in any quantity was the 77-foot type built by Elco. These boats were used early in World War II. In 1943 in the Solomons, three of these 77-foot PT boats, PT 59, PT 60 and PT 61, were even converted into gunboats by stripping the boat of all original armament except for the two twin .50 caliber gun mounts, and then adding two 40mm guns and four more twin .50 caliber machine guns. LTJG John F. Kennedy was the first commanding officer of PT 59 after the conversion.
Although the Huckins Yacht Company of Jacksonville, Florida, built a few 78 foot boats of the PT 95 class, the 80-foot Elco boats and the 78-foot Higgins boats became the standard motor torpedo boats of World War II. The Higgins boats which were built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana, were 78-foot boats of the PT 71 class. The Higgins boats had the same beam, full load displacement, engine, generators, shaft horsepower, trial speed, armament, and crew accommodations as the 80-foot Elco boats.
[ 04. February 2003, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: Crapgame ]
