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Topic: Cape Oransbari POW Rescue - Alamo Scouts |
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Alamo Scout
New Member
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Posted on: Oct 1, 2008 - 5:06pm
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Hello everyone, looking to find any of the 4 PT boats that assisted Nellist and Rounsaville Teams with the liberation of a Dutch Governor and his family, and 52 Javanese (along with 12 French), from an internee camp at Cape Oransbari on 4-5 October 1944. Seventy-eight people in all. Have the mission report, but no names or boat numbers mentioned. All I know is that a M.M. 1/c K.W. Sanders (USN) was part of the contact team and that the boats were operating from Woendi Island. Anyone know Sanders or the boat he was on? The evacuees were returned to Biak Island and turned over to NICA personnel. A Dutch officer, Louis Rapmund, worked from nearby Roemberpon Island, and assisted Alamo Scouts and other Army and Navy units in the Geelvink Bay area. He was killed in Oct 1945, but I have found and spoke with his daughter who is interested in speaking with anyone who had contact with Rapmund.
Thanks!
Lance
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Randy Finfrock
Advanced Member
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Posted on: Oct 23, 2008 - 11:03am
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Hello Lance, I haven't visited the message board for awhile until last night and the word 'Oransbari' jumped out at me. My father-in-law, RM1c Bill R. Tatroe, was with Squadron 16-B at the time. He was assigned to PT-299
but also rode on the 300 & 301 quite often (before and while at Mios Woendi, PT Base #21).
He kept a brief handwritten record from Sept-19th to Oct-23rd in 1944 (which he titled "PATROL DOPE"). He included a letter legend which
showed: NC=No Casualties, ND= No Damages, LS=Landed Scouts, and PSB= Picked up Survivors off Beach.
Here are his entries for those days:
Oct 4 = "300 is on the Oransabari job tonight".
Oct. 4/5 = 300 = NC- ND- LS- PSB (60 dutch)
A little notation to the side says: "Scouts killed 22 Japs All Dutch OK"
Oct 5 = "Well, our boys did all right last night. The Alamo Scouts landed, cleaned up 25 Japs (no prisoners) and the boats evacuated the sixty some odd dutch men, women, and children, all in a pretty bad state, they had been held prisoner for over three years. I guess they were glad to see our gang."
So, this tells us that at least the 300-boat was on this patrol. Also, in an entry of Sept-24th he writes: "300 outlast night with the 525, caught two Type-A Jap barges and shot hell out of the barges... We sustained one casualty aboard the 525 due to sniper fire."
The 525 boat was in a different squadron - so this could open up the door to another group of boats that may (or may not) have been involved.
Anyway, hope this helps you.
Randy Finfrock |
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Alamo Scout
New Member
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Posted on: Jan 19, 2009 - 10:35am
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Hello everyone. I need your help finding PT boat crews to interview for an upcoming book!
As the historian for the Alamo Scouts Assn., I am compiling an oral history of the unit to include accounts by PT boat members who had contact with and/or who supported Scout missions in New Guinea from Dec 43-Oct 44 and in the Philippines from Oct 44-Oct 45. I believe that including accounts from PT boat veterans adds balance and perspective to the Scouts incredible record of some 110 missions behind the lines without losing a man killed or captured, and will help shed light on the importance of PT boats and their crews in the Scouts success. It is hoped that the book will be published late this year. I have already interviewed over a dozen men and hope to continue for another six months.
Those Alamo Scouts missions supported by PT boats operated mostly from Fergusson Island, Mios Woendi, Biak, and Roemberpon Island in 1944, and from and from numerous advance PT bases on Leyte and Luzon. Those PT boats and other naval craft known to have supported Alamo Scouts training and live operations are:
PTs 74, 127, 132, 190, 193, 194, 300, 312, 317, 321, 326, 331, 363, 379, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 494, 495, 497, 522, 523, 524, 546, 551. LCIs 364, 432. LCS 10, LST 708.
If you served aboard one the boats listed above or on another boat which supported the Alamo Scouts, please drop me an email. Thanks for your help…and for your service. Please visit our website at: www.alamoscouts.org
Lance |
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Alamo Scout
New Member
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Posted on: Apr 20, 2009 - 6:46pm
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Guys,
Thanks for all of your help. I've nailed down two of the PT boats that supported the Alamo Scouts on the rescue mission at Cape Oransbari. PTs 74 and 300 dropped off the Scouts, and the same two boats PLUS two unidentified boats (probably from Ron 13), assisted in transporting the 78 liberated Dutch, Javanese, and French to Biak on 5 October 44. Have even located three of the Dutch POWs. Thanks again to the PT Boat community for helping a plan come together!!
Lance |
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