Hello Falcon,

Well, anything that would sink did so very quickly, I still had my sidearm, knife, and wrist watch. If someone were to dive that location with a camera one of these days, they may find quite a collection of items rusted and fossilized into the coral right where we dropped them.

The destroyer's name was Shaw, apparently they were awaiting orders, or trying to decide what to do next in the shallows. We had nothing to signal with, and standing up waving our arms was not an option. After some time the destroyer got under way and worked over the shoreline with most of her starboard guns, turned and headed back to us clearing her port at guns at the shoreline. She swung out and launched two motor whale boats to gather us up. Two smaller vessels came along and began searching for anyone else in the water.

Falcon, you once asked about humorous things in those situations, when we saw the destroyer go into action, I remember someone on the raft said something along the lines of; "I'll bet the Navy just found out what happened to their rubber boats".

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All the Best
Jack

hahaha! I get what you mean about the rubber boats. One can find humor in almost any situation. My late uncle told me once that "It's good to laugh. It means you're still alive."
Thinking about that destroyer... maybe the crew hesitated from moving in because they didn't trust the charts or they aren't familiar with where the reefs really are.

Jack,
Can you relate to us how tracer ammo was used in night conflicts? Was it preloaded at a certain ratio? Which weapons was it loaded in? Were you instructed how to use it? Was it effective?
Thanks!

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Have a great day!
Lefty

I could be wrong but I thought it was every fifth bullet?

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Members of the Dutch Resistance with 101st AB, Eindhoven. Operation Market Garden.

Scott

Hello Lefty,

No real training comes to mind, they were used in belt fed machine guns, for us it was the .30 water cooled, .30 light air cooled, and the .50's, either a.p. or ball, there were incendiary rounds as well, aircraft used them 1 in 3 or 4.

I think they were loaded 1 round to 4 rounds ball or a.p., referred to as 1 in 5, or 1 in 4 in some boxes, not much use really, no accuracy to them, they lost weight in flight as they burned, when they hit something solid they would zing off in any direction. Effectively, they also point out the weapon's position in the dark of night, which would draw return fire. Some gunners would pull tracers from the belts, when time permitted, sometimes there was no choice other than grab a can or belt and keep the weapon going. When manning one it's was a good idea to run the thumb of your free had along the heads of each round to ensure none of them had backed out of the belt, those cloth/canvas .30 belts would get loose when they were wet or slimy.

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All the Best
Jack

Falcon,

They could have hesitated due to not knowing if any of us had made it ashore, and awaited conformation or instructions. Lone destroyers like that were used as early warning pickets to protect the main force, and fire support to those ashore. Shaw had some history at Pearl during the attacks, she had a forward magazine explosion while in dry dock which blew her bow off, she had been refitted with a new one and rebuilt by the time she was with us.

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All the Best
Jack

Mr. Jack, How close where you to the destroyer when she opened fire? What was it like being on the water near a ship when it fired?

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"When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." -General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
"The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed."-Karl von Clausewitz

Well known picture of the attack showing the USS Shaw exploding.
The USS Nevada is visible to the right, as she makes her way down the channel in her bid to clear the harbor.

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Best Regards,
JW

Hello Mike and Jeff,

Mike we faced her starboard side as she passed perhaps 150-200 yards from us, then commenced fire after she cleared the second group of us to the west, about twice her own length in distance, forward batteries first, with the aft gun barrels coming around, when her stern became visible to us. Puffs of brown and black smoke from 5 inch batteries, with muffled booms a split second or so later as she moved farther away, joined in with rapid reports by batteries of 40mm with the rounds tracing toward shore. She turned around, came back and did the same with her port side guns while heading back to us.

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All the Best
Jack

Jeff,

Hard to imagine anything of the ship would be rebuildable after a detonation such as that. Thank you again, you're Johnny on the spot with that photo.

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All the Best
Jack

It sure is a nice picture, incredible that someone took the picture at the very moment it exploded. I hope there was no crew or workers on board while it was in dry docks.

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Not trying to drag this thread off subject, here is a link showing the Shaw during recovery and repair. Destroyer Photo Index DD-373 USS SHAW
While the front was heavily damaged, the engineering spaces back were in good shape.

I would imagine that at the time, you had no idea what had happened to this ship a few years earlier, did you?

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Best Regards,
JW

Hello Jeff,

That's right, I certainly had no idea at the time, I remembered Shaw because that was my football coach's name in school. Those photo's are interesting, she was re-floated fitted with a temporary bow, and underway by Feb. '42. Then dry docked stateside, fitted with a new one, and ready for sea trial by June the same year, amazing use of manpower on just one ship with all the other events taking place in 1942.

The temporary bridge looks like one of the tripod structures removed from one of the battleships at Pearl.

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All the Best
Jack

it seems incredible what men can do with some motivation. Incredible that it was repaired in about six months.

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Skipper,

It boggles the mind to consider all the preparations that were needed and accomplished over the whole country in the time available. The acquisition of items, development, and production requirements, building the factories, and facilities, training all the personnel.

Imagine just the common place items like shoe laces, belt buckles, uniforms, blankets, spark plugs, anchor chains, light fixtures, flashlights, field glasses, shaving kits, etc. How many feet of dock line, or steel cable did just the Navy require?

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All the Best
Jack

Jack,
When did you leave Parker for California? After growing up on the farm, what was your occupation after you left it? When did you retire?

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Have a great day!
Lefty

Jack,
I know you would have been decorated with at least one bronze star as all combat infantrymen received one. Did you receive more than one? Do you know specific reasons some men were awarded the bronze star?
Thanks!

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Have a great day!
Lefty

Hello Lefty,

I left Parker in '46, I worked at Douglas while attending school, I worked at Hughes aircraft as a project manager until I retired in 1980.

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All the Best
Jack

Lefty

There are campaign stars which are bronze, if you were to be in 5, you receive a silver campaign star, those I have. I have also the purple heart medal with clusters from the three occasions I was wounded, the combat infantryman's badge, I have the bronze star medal with clusters, and the silver star medal. It's something we called fruit salad, truly nothing more than that really.

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All the Best
Jack

Fruit salad because of all the colors? Clusters meaning oak leaf clusters?
The silver star is really prestigious isn't it? For what exactly is it awarded? I'm truly sorry to hear about your combat wounds and glad that you recovered well from them.

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Have a great day!
Lefty

That's right, all in a nutshell, colorful fruit salad. A cluster is added for more than once. Any of them and the right change will buy you a cup of coffee anywhere. Thank you Lefty, but don't be sorry for me about the wounds, you didn't put them there.

Take care,

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All the Best
Jack