Fri 21 May 2010
Posted by bill under Naval Records
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A few of you have let Steve and I know that the there is a new policy from the Naval Personnel Records administration to charge $60 to copy your father’s records. I think this charge is new and I want to let the readers of this blog know that there is a fee!
-Bill
Sun 16 May 2010
Posted by steve under Uncategorized
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1944: On May 5, the ships pull into Majuro, the southernmost deep lagoon anchorage in the Marshall Islands. The fleet is regrouping and preparing for the upcoming campaign to capture the Mariana Islands. On May 19, the Boston regroups outside of the lagoon into a new Task Group, 58.6, with the heavy carriers Wasp, Hornet, Essex and Franklin and the light carrier San Jacinto. The Boston is joined by two sister cruisers of the Baltimore class; Baltimore and Canberra, as well as light cruisers Reno and San Diego. This formidable Task Group, screened by 14 destroyers, steams north for Operation Persecution – a quick and deadly raid on the Japanese stronghold islands of Wake and Marcus. By midday on May 24, the raiders are back in Majuro. The men on the Boston stay in the lagoon until June 6 – the beginning of Operation Forager - the opening act of the heaviest 6 months of naval combat action of the Pacific War.
1945: The Boston is moored in San Pedro still; undergoing upgrades and repairs in preparation for the final push against Japan and the planned massive invasions of the Home Islands. The second half of crewmembers have returned from leave and are onboard by May 7. May 8 is V.E. Day - great news for the soldiers and sailors fighting in the Atlantic Theatre, but a grim reminder for the men on the Boston who are preparing to re-embark and sail to Japanese waters. The news from Okinawa is gut-wrenching; wave after wave of massive kamikaze attacks are reducing American ships to melting fireballs and twisted wreckage. The sailors know this: the folks back home do not. Military censors kept a very tight wrap on this horrific story.
The Boston remains in San Pedro until June 1, when she heads west and sails to Pearl Harbor.
Sat 8 May 2010
Posted by steve under Uncategorized
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In an earlier post, I mentioned that a few copies of the ship’s weekly newsletter, the Bean Pot, were sent to me by family members of seaman Augustus Harris. I waxed on about how words can touch us – even when they float across a period of 65 years . . . Well, here are a couple of cartoons that appeared in the March 3, 1945 edition :
Little slices of life aboard a combat ship in the height of the Pacific War.
Steve
