Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2017 U S N N


Day, 1942, 1,000 Houston men volunteered to join the Navy to replace the crew of USS Houston (CA 30). Each speaker emphasized the ded-


ication and courage every allied Sailor displayed despite language barriers, being outnumbered by the Imperial Japanese naval force during the battle, and the hardships of captivity experiences later as prisoners of war.


“It is you, in whom the blood of Houston


H. L. Hunley, a small hand-powered submarine, was built privately at Mobile, Alabama, in 1863, based on plans furnished by Horace Lawson Hunley, James R. McClintock and Baxter Watson. Her construction was sponsored by Mr. Hunley and superintended by Confederate offi cers W. A. Alexander and G. E. Dixon. Drawing, Pen and Ink on Paper; R.G. Skerrett; 1902. (RELEASED)


Navy Releases New Research into Civil War Sub Hunley


WASHINGTON – Just ahead of the 153rd anniversary of the loss of civil war subma- rine H.L. Hunley, the Naval History and Heritage Command Underwater Archaeolo- gy Branch released online an archaeological report on the recovery of the boat Feb. 15. H. L. Hunley Recovery Operations, A


Collaborative Project of: Naval History and Heritage Command, South Carolina Hunley Commission and Friends of the Hunley, by Robert S. Neyland, Ph.D., principal inves- tigator and Heather Brown (2016 ISBN: 9780945274902) is a comprehensive report that covers the recovery of Hunley, from the planning stages through execution. The report also provides detailed de-


scriptions of objects excavated from the seabed and provides in-depth analysis of the submersible’s hull condition at the time of recovery. Further reports documenting the excavation of the interior, including crew re- mains, personal eff ects and hull components will be forthcoming. The book can be downloaded for free


from NHHC’s website here:https://www. history.navy.mil/research/underwater-ar- chaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wreck- sites/hl-hunley/recovery-report.html Additionally, NHHC released a web-ar-


ticle detailing the collaborative eff orts of archaeologists at the Warren Lasch Conser- vation Center at Clemson University; ship engineers at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division; underwater explosive specialists at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head EOD Technology Division; and a research team from the Marine Structures Design Laboratory at the University of Michigan. Using advanced digital modeling and simulation techniques, the team studied the eff ects of the explosion on Hunley and its crews, and the hull’s seagoing characteris- tics, to help understand the mystery of what caused Hunley to sink immediately after it carried out an attack on USS Housatonic off Charleston harbor on Feb. 17, 1864. Find out more from the article, available


on the NHHC website here: https://www. history.navy.mil/research/underwater-ar- chaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wreck- sites/hl-hunley/hunley-incident-analysis. html


On Feb. 17, 1864, after months of


practice runs and weather delays, the Con- federate submarine Hunley, under cover of darkness, silently approached USS Housa- tonic, a 16-gun, 1,240-ton sloop-of-war, on blockade duty four miles off the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Carry- ing a torpedo packed with explosive black powder bolted to a 16-foot spar, Hunley rammed Housatonic below the water line, detonating the torpedo, tearing a hole in the Union ship’s hull and sending her to the


bottom along with fi ve of her crew. Hunley was not seen again for more than a century. The wreck of the boat was discovered


131 years later by a team of scientists spon- sored by best-selling author Clive Cussler, after a 14-year search. Research on the site continued until the summer of 2000 when a large team of professionals from the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Under- water Archaeology Branch, the National Park Service, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology excavated the site, measuring and documenting the hull prior to preparing it for removal. Once the on-site investigation was complete, custom- ized slings were slipped underneath the sub one by one and attached to a truss designed by Oceaneering, International, Inc. The truss was then hoisted from the murky waters by crane from the jack-up barge Karlissa-B. On August 8 at 8:37 a.m., the sub broke the surface for the fi rst time in more than 136 years. Hunley was installed at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, now part of the Clemson University Restoration Institute, in a specially designed tank of fresh water. Conservation eff orts continue today, with support from Clemson University and the Friends of the Hunley. To learn more about the Confederate


submersible H. L. Hunley, visit the NHHC website here: https://www.history.navy.mil/ research/underwater-archaeology/sites- and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley. html


Hundreds Commemorate 75th Anniver- sary of USS Houston Sinking By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cliff ord L. H. Davis,


Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division HOUSTON, Texas – Hundreds gathered at the Sam Houston Park on March 4 to witness the USS Houston Survivors Association and Next Generations’ 23rd Memorial Service for USS Houston (CA 30). The ceremony set to honor those who


lost their lives during the Battle of Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942, including the Sail- ors from the Australian, British and Dutch nations who attempted to stop Japanese naval forces from landing in Java. After the presentation of colors by


the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Houston Division, the national anthem was sung by Matt Rejmaniak, cousin of the late Edwin Dombrowski, USS Houston Sailor, fol- lowed by a Boatswain’s Call by Wayne R. Thompson, Chief Warrant Offi cer Four, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.). Trudy Schwarz, the widow of Houston


survivor Otto Schwarz, presented Director of the City of Houston Offi ce of Veterans Af- fairs Carl Salazar with a framed photograph depicting 1,000 men of when on Memorial


fl ows. You have grown up with the stories of the valor of her crew, you know far bet- ter than I how the Sailors and Marines of Houston struggled against overwhelming odds, how they stood for fl ag, country and American civilization against an overawing enemy who, at that time seemed nigh on unstoppable,” said Stacpoole. Multiple wreaths were positioned in


front of a granite monument to the USS Houston, which incorporates the ship’s bronze bell that was recovered from the wreck and erected in Sam Houston Park in 1998.


The ceremony ended with a rifl e salute


performed by the Marine Corps League, McLamore Detachment, and the playing of Echo Taps by the Community Band of Southeast Texas and a rendition of “God Bless America” by Rejmaniak. “Even when the ship fi nally took its


fi nal dive to sink, the fl ag was still fl ying and that stayed with many of them,” Schwarz said.


Chicago Remembers WWII Navy Fly- ing Ace


By Lt. Cmdr. Jeff rey S. Gray, Navy Re- serve Public Aff airs


CHICAGO (NNS) -- Representatives from the U.S. Navy and the City of Chicago joined family members and well-wishers of the late Lt. Cmdr. Edward “Butch” O’Hare for a ceremony honoring the 75th anniversary of O’Hare’s heroic actions during World War II Feb. 17. Vice Adm. Philip H. Cullom, deputy


chief of naval operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics, joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, 14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke, Aviation Commissioner Ginger Ev- ans, along with 36 members of the O’Hare family at O’Hare International Airport to commemorate Butch O’Hare’s legendary achievement. Additional Navy participants in the commemoration ceremony were Navy Chaplain Lt. Eric Bryan, the Navy Band, Great Lakes, Navy Junior ROTC cadets from Chicago’s Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy and sailors from Navy Operation- al Support Center, Chicago. Standing in front of the Butch O’Hare


exhibit in the airport’s Terminal Two, sev- eral speakers refl ected on the signifi cance of O’Hare’s legendary mission and most im- portantly why the public needs to remember the selfl ess deed of a humble and ordinary man of extraordinary character. “That is why we are here today,” said


Cullom. “To remember and never forget a man who demonstrated the qualities of courage and selfl essness when his shipmates and nation needed him most. It was those collective qualities that made Butch O’Hare a hero-these are the qualities that made Butch O’Hare a legend.” “Butch O’Hare’s remarkable story is


one that our sailors, as well as the youth of our nation, need to learn, appreciate and to be inspired by,” said Cullom. The legend of O’Hare began Feb. 20,


1942. On that date, O’Hare single-handedly took on nine Imperial Japanese bombers barreling inbound toward USS Lexington (CV 16). For various reasons O’Hare found


himself alone and the only thing between the Japanese bombers and Lexington. As his Congressional Medal of Honor


citation put it, “Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attacked this enemy formation, at close range in the face of intense combined machine gun and cannon fi re ... one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation.” While O’Hare’s skill as a pilot and


marksman are indisputable. The event provided an opportunity for an audience of young people to hear testimony as to O’Hare’s exceptional character. “We speak of qualities of courage,” said


Burke. “We hear a great deal about valor and self-sacrifi ce. But still we must ask ourselves what kind of man summons the strength of character, fortitude, the inner resolve to fl y into the most perilous of conditions.” Burke continued, “Imagine knowing


that death was almost a near certainty. Re- treat was not an option for Butch O’Hare. He knew and understood that the lives of every sailor and offi cer aboard Lexington that day were on the line. Butch and his tiny Grum- man fi ghter, fl ying solo, were the last line of defense against a disaster of immeasurable magnitude. This, ladies and gentlemen, I submit was a truly remarkable man.” Further testimony of O’Hare’s remark-


able character came from Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. “The thing that has struck me always


about Butch O’Hare wasn’t that fl ight,” said Emmanuel. “The fl ight was signifi - cant because of what he single-handedly accomplished through an incredible act of courage--an incredible act of sacrifi ce--that saved the USS Lexington.” “What impressed me most is that after


his famous fl ight he was sent to work pro- moting support for the war eff ort-selling war bonds and inspiring enlistments. After a short while he felt the need and decided to get back in the fi ght for his country,” said Emmanuel.


Emmanuel continued, “And that to me


speaks not just to the training, I don’t want to take anything from the Navy, not just the courage, but it speaks to the character of the man. That he thought more of himself. He thought more of his country. He thought that more was needed out of Butch O’Hare.” At the conclusion of his remarks, Cul-


lom noted, “Apart from his gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat Lt. Cmdr. Ed- ward Henry “Butch” O’Hare was known as a humble man who never sought recognition for his contributions. “He most likely considered himself an


ordinary person. But isn’t that the defi nition of a hero, an ordinary person accomplishing extra-ordinary things,” said Cullom. In honor of his distinguished service the


Navy named a destroyer, the USS O’Hare in honor of Butch, and in September of 1949 Chicago’s Orchard Field was renamed Chicago-O’Hare International Airport as a tribute to his heroism. As a side note, O’Hare International


Airport has been inextricably linked and synonymous with today’s U.S. Navy, be- cause almost 100 percent of all enlisted personnel have passed through the airport on their way to the quarterdeck of the Navy--the Navy’s only Boot Camp at Naval Station, Great Lakes.


Keel Laid for Future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr.


From Team Ships Public Aff airs


PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- The keel of future guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG 121) was ceremo- niously laid Feb. 21 at Huntington Ingalls


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32