14 August 1944: A Story for Memorial Day!

 “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 30^th and November 11^th was still Armistice Day, and on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th 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

back to the time when I was a little boy and a war story that was first told to me by a young US Navy officer who lived through it – my father, Charles Botula. I’ve shared this story before, but, for the first time I can post the names of the sailors who died on that long ago afternoon.

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

 As my father watched from the bridge of the
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.

LST 921 Captain John W Enge

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.”

  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 3^rd Class 

               Richard, Donald James, USNR                     Gunner's Mate 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 25^th 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 25^th. 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 14^th 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!

-Navy Hymn 

Ciao,

MikeBo

©Mike Botula 2015