“LOST MUSKET DIARY” Monday
May 25, 2015
Cloudy 66°F/19°C in Rancho Santa Margarita
Buongiorno,
Tomb of the Unknowns - Arlington |
When I was a little
boy, Memorial Day was still called Decoration
Day and fell on May 30th and November 11th was still Armistice
Day, and on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month of the year there was a moment of silence to commemorate the end of World
War I. Now, they have been rolled up into a pair of three-day weekends,
declared by Congress in 1968 when it reorganized the observance of our national
holidays. Decoration Day is Memorial Day and Armistice Day is now Veterans
Day. Most of us still pause to honor those who fought for their country,
especially the men and women who made the supreme sacrifice. But, the real
meaning of both days is sometimes lost in the holiday atmosphere that accompanies
any long weekend. That’s why I want to reach
Lt. Charles Botula 1944 |
Surviving Bow Section LST 921 |
Monday, 14 August 1944 -16:54 hrs. - USS LST’s
920, commanded by Lieutenant Harry N. Schultz and USS LST 921, under the
command of Lieutenant John Werner Enge were underway in convoy EBC 72 from
Milford Haven, Wales to Falmouth, England when they were attacked by the German
submarine U667, under the command of Kapitӓnleutnant Karl-Heinze Lange. LST 921
was hit by the first torpedo and broke in two with the aft section sinking a
few minutes later, taking half of the ship’s crew to the bottom. General Quarters was sounded and the LST
920’s Captain, Harry N. Schultz came to the bridge. Seeing that there were survivors from the LST 921 in the water, he ordered his radioman, Seaman Fred Benck to send a message requesting permission to turn the 920 around to pick up survivors. Schultz’ request was denied and he was ordered to proceed to Falmouth. Years later, Benck recalled what happened next. “In about two minutes he came in the radio room and said, Benck
send that message again! This time he waited for the answer which was the
same, DO NOT BREAK CONVOY! H. N.
Schultz then used these words: TO HELL
WITH HIM! And we pulled out of convoy to turn back and pick up survivors! A
message came from the Commander of the convoy to get back in formation. This
message was never answered.”
Radioman Benck |
LST 920 Skipper Schultz |
LST 920, he spotted a torpedo wake coming straight at him. Just then, a British escort vessel, LCI (99) came alongside and took the full brunt of the torpedo and was blown out of the water.
As the 920 came
about, Schultz ordered two small boats into the water with Ensign John Waters
in one and Ensign Harold Willcox in the other, along with nine other sailors to
rescue survivors from the British ship and the LST 921.
Willcox tied a line
around his waist and jumped into the water numerous times to help pull
survivors aboard. In his After Action Report, Captain Schultz singled out Waters
and Willcox and the nine seamen for outstanding performance during the action.
In all, 48 survivors were rescued and brought aboard the LST 920. Seaman Joe Wallace tells this part of the
story. “I remember one of the 921 crew members coming up to the bridge all wet
and oily. I gave him my locker keys and location, and he showered and put on
some clean dry clothes. By this time it was dark. We gathered the survivors and
were on our way to Falmouth. There, I had the task of counting the departing
survivors - 42 walking and 6 stretcher cases.”
LST 921 Captain John W Enge |
A number of other
survivors from the 921 as well as the LCI (99) were rescued by a British ship
that joined in the rescue operation. All told, about 65 survivors were picked
up, but fully half of the LST 921’s complement of 107 officers and crew had
been lost. And so, on this Memorial Day, I would like us to remember:
Baker,
Thomas A., USNR Seaman
First Class
Banit,
Roman J., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Bennett,
Frederick W., USNR Seaman
First Class
Bent,
Eugene E., USNR Seaman
First Class
Clements,
Charles M., USNR Seaman
First Class
Dove,
Raleigh J., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Enge,
John Werner, USNR Lieutenant (survived)
Feeney,
Lawrence E., USNR Fireman
Second Class
Fitton,
Edward Joseph, USNR Seaman
Second Class
Freely,
James Joseph, USNR Boatswain's Mate 1st Class
Furino,
Louis A., USNR Coxswain
Guthrie,
Edward J., USNR Ensign
Guziak,
Walter V., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Hoak,
William K., USNR Gunner's
Mate Third Class
Jerzewski,
Chester R., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Jones,
Oscar R., USNR Coxswain
Kozlik,
John H., USNR Seaman
First Class
Lowe,
Samuel M., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Micheline,
Carmine A., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Mindlin,
Daniel, USNR Ensign
Monaco,
Robert Chester, USNR Radioman
Second Class
Moore,
Charles H., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Mulholland,
William P., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Newberry,
Clyde, USNR Seaman
Second Class
Pizon,
John J., USNR Seaman
First Class
Potasky,
Joseph E., USNR Seaman
First Class
Progy,
Henry, USNR Motor
Mach Mate 3rd Class
Richard,
Donald James, USNR Gunner's
Mate 3rd Class
Siring,
Ronald John, USNR Ship's
Cook Third Class
Smith,
Kenneth J., USN Boatswain's
Mate 2nd Class
Smith,
Lee I., USNR Seaman Second
Class
Smith,
Ray R., USNR Seaman
First Class
Sprague,
Herbert K., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Suazoe,
Ray M., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Totulis,
Albert G., USN Gunner's
Mate 3rd Class
Trachsel,
Ernest W., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Van Why,
Henry, USNR Seaman
Second Class
Verity,
Edward C., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Vitense,
Glenn, USNR Seaman
First Class
Widmer,
Richard C., USNR Seaman
Second Class
Yavornitzky,
Andrew J., USNR Shipfitter
Second Class
There is an important postscript to this story. The attacking submarine, U 667, had sunk four ships including the LST 921 and LCI (99) on what turned out to be its most successful cruise. But as it headed back to its base and a hero’s welcome, its jubilant crewmen could not know that their luck was about to change. In all of the research I did for this story, the US Navy and German Kriegsmarine archives revealed only that U 667 struck a mine on or
about August 25th on the way back to at its home base at La Rochelle,
France. Digging further, I found the answer on a specialty internet site: uboat.net, which
is devoted to the archives of the Kriegsmarine and its unterseebooten.
According to the archives, the RAF had carried out a series of aerial
mine-laying missions off the coast of France in an area code named Cinnamon right after the U 667 left port
on its final cruise. The RAF dropped mines into the U 667’s outbound route. A
report on the August 1944 mine-laying sweep shows the map coordinates of the
area sown match the location where the U 667 was finally located and examined
by diving crews. The loss of the U 667 was recorded by the Kriegsmarine after
it missed a scheduled radio check-in on August 25th. With that,
Admiral Karl Dönitz’ high command assumed that the sub had been lost.
Ironically, neither my father nor his Captain, Harry Schultz, nor any of the
survivors from LST 921 ever knew what happened to the submarine that attacked
them.
U 667 |
Two weeks after the
August 14th attack, the U boat was headed back to its base at La Rochelle,
France when it struck a mine on August 25th. The explosion sent U 667 to the
bottom of the Bay of Biscay, where it remains with its entire crew of 45 The
wreckage is now a war grave. Apart from the sub’s captain, Karl-Heinze Lange,
the other sailors in his crew are unknown, or they would be listed here as
well. It’s fitting that we remember all who perished on this Memorial Day.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
-Navy Hymn
Ciao,
MikeBo
©Mike Botula 2015