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Topic: Kelly and Bulkeley letters |
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Mark Culp
Advanced Member
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Posted on: Dec 14, 2010 - 2:09pm
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Some information within the letters I found.
Kelly letter dated 12 Sep 46: Returned to US in May 42. Short stay in hospital followed by a month at Melville then assigned to MTB Squadron 9. Spent 18 months on the front line mostly Cebu and northern Solomon Islands before retuning to the US in May of 44. Assigned as officer in charge of a PT shake down in Miami. Next assigned C.O. of a destroyer which participated in the Okinawa campaign and the occupation of Japan. Returned to the US in November 45. Assigned to an inactive fleet in Washington then down to San Diego for decommissioning of the Irwin. Assigned to Department of Marine Engineering, Naval Academy as an instructor.
Bulkeley letter dated 14 November 46 states He is the Assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and he is unsure at this time how Delong met his end.
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Jerry Gilmartin |
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Dec 14, 2010 - 8:06pm
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Hi Mark!
This is interesting, but I have to ask....is this in response to another post? Could you give us some background info about these letters? How did you find these letters? Did somebody ask you to research them or something? It is unclear from your original post what your conclusions are in reference to some previous event or question. Like for instance, did somebody want to know about the PT boat crewman Delong? Wasn't he on one of the RON3 boats in Cavite on 8 Dec 1941? Thanks for answering all my silly questions! Jerry
Jerry Gilmartin |
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TED WALTHER
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Dec 15, 2010 - 7:00am
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Jerry;
LT. Edward G. "Grover" DeLong USNA '37 (0-27903), was one of Bulkeley's originals he was also in pre-war RON 2 and PTC RON 1. In RON 3 he was Skipper of PT 31 when 31 was lost he stayed with RON 3 until they left with GEN MacArthur, then he was given command of USS TRABAJADOR in Feb 1942. Trabajador was serving for a time at Sisiman Cove, Bataan, as the tender to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, prior to the withdrawal by American and Filipino forces from that beleaguered peninsula.
Trabajador was ultimately sunk off Corregidor, probably by Japanese artillery fire coming from Bataan, and remained on the bottom of Manila Bay until after World War II ended. She was subsequently raised, repaired, and renamed Resolute. She apparently remained in operation as a tug, in the Philippines, into the late 1970's.
On September 25, 1947, the Navy Department wrote to Mrs. DeLong; the letter said, in part:
It is with deepest regret you are now informed that information has been
received showing that your husband was killed in the garden of Lie Boen
Yat, Saris Manado, the Celebes on 2 July 1942. According to evidence
received … your husband, together with a fellow officer, was attempting
to escape from Mindanao Island, Philippine Islands, in a native boat. They
were captured on the Island of Bangka, North Celebes, and were taken by the Japanese to Manado, where they were executed and buried in a common grave.
On July 2, 1942 LT DeLong was Killed as a Japanese Prisoner of War in the Garden of Lie Boen Yat
I also found this, but At Close Quarters does not reflect(but it has his Silver Star, his recieving this award:
DELONG, EDWARD GROVER (MIA-KIA)
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Edward Grover DeLong (0-27903), Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession while Commanding Motor Torpedo Boat THIRTY-ONE (PT-31), (Code Name Trabejdor), Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron THREE (MTB-3), in action against the enemy from 25 February 1942 through 10 April 1942, in the Philippine Islands. While exposed to frequent horizontal and dive bombing attacks by enemy Japanese air forces, Lieutenant DeLong directed the anti-aircraft battery of his ship and conducted operations of strategic importance in the Manila Bay area involving hazardous missions such as to bring great credit to his command and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
more can be found on Mark Culps website, GM 1/C James D. Culp was a crewmember of PT 31.
Take care,
TED
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Jerry Gilmartin |
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Dec 15, 2010 - 8:49am
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Thanks Ted! I was already aware of who Mr Delong was. I was just curious why Mark posted the original post? Did somebody ask a question about this subject in the first place? Thanks Jerry
Jerry Gilmartin |
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