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PT Boats - General
Post a reply to: PT-109 Deck Log
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[StartQuote] NARA is the keeper of the PT log books. As many of you have the book "FIRST-UP: Chronicles " about the PT-157, which rescued the 109 crew, you recall I have all the pages from the 157's log book and Daily MTB logs (RON-9) for the July/August time frame around which the book is based. I got many pages from Nathaniel Smith (Ham Smith son, Skipper of the PT-154) who had visited to NARA in Maryland and saw them himself and the rest I got directly from NARA. (Nat Smith once sent me photo of a stack of PT log books housed at NARA) If you ask NARA to pull log books or MTB Daily Reports and SEND YOU COPIES it does cost money! They charge by the page. In the PT-157 and PT-154 log books (and a few pages of other log books I've seen) it is quickly apparently they were inherently and apparently purposely low on details (very dry reading) except for time out to patrol and time returned, the amount of gas taken on, the security checks being performed. With rare exception they did not note if they fired torpedoes or guns at enemy targets. If there was notable 'action' they would put a note in their log book referring to the MTB report of the day for details. This was, I believe, for self preservation so that in the event of enemy capture there was not any incriminating information to be used against the 'captured' crewman. The night's 'action' details, if you will, were put into the RON's MTB Daily Logs. (which is why I went through the pains to put them into FIRST-UP book. And half of the FIRST-UP book is the 157's log and RON-9 MTB reports so one can get a feel for how this interplay worked) To my question to the Skipper of the 157 (William 'Bud' Liebenow as to how the 157's log book could refer to an MTB report that yet to be generated..... The RON's MTB Daily Deck log was generated after the morning debrief of the Skippers and XOs of the previous night activities. Once that MTB report was created THEN the log books were filled in and completed and the person filling in the PT's log book and could make reference to the MTB reports if they wished. P.S. the PT's log book were of course suppose to be the Skipper but frequently was done another crew member. For example, Skipper Liebenow admitted that his QM (Waldo DeWilde) filled in a signed the PT-157 daily log. I agree the 109's log is at the bottom with the wreckage. Why would Kennedy fill out a [new] log book for a boat that no longer exists. There should be, however, some Naval inquiry into the loss of a boat/ship as that is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for the loss of any vessel which is needed for the records. Someone might want to look for that. [EndQuote]
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