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 Author  Topic: Aussie PT Boat men
TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Dec 12, 2012 - 7:08am
Micheal;
For full story go to :http://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboat/PT-346.html
Howlett is listed as WIA.
It has a link to Dan Williams(son of PT 347 Skipper) excellent website.
Take care,
TED


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Chris Whitney

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Chris Whitney  Posted on: Apr 24, 2022 - 4:04pm
Quote:

Thanks Ted,
much appreciated,i believe they had both lived in New Guinea,so both knew the lay of the land and the surrounding waters like the back of their hands.
Early tour guides if you like
cheers

Michael



I’m very interested to hear the memories regarding these two gentlemen. My name is Chris and I’m the grandson of James Herbert Throsby. I have many memories of him as a wonderful grandfather, so down to earth and family orientated. He was a Major with the 36th Battalion (dubbed Ike’s Marines). The battalion had a lot of heavy service in PNG. My grandfather was attached as a liaison to the USN PT operations. It’s so nice to hear the perspective of the USN. It’s ANZAC Day today here in Australia and one of my sons who is an Army Cadet had his role in the ceremonies along with his unit this morning, early. Just thought I’d share a comment. Kind regards, Chris


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Chris Whitney

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Chris Whitney  Posted on: Apr 26, 2022 - 8:21pm
Quote:

Thanks Ted,
much appreciated,i believe they had both lived in New Guinea,so both knew the lay of the land and the surrounding waters like the back of their hands.
Early tour guides if you like
cheers

Michael



I’m very interested to hear the memories regarding these two gentlemen. My name is Chris and I’m the grandson of James Herbert Throsby. I have many memories of him as a wonderful grandfather, so down to earth and family orientated. He was a Major with the 36th Battalion (dubbed Ike’s Marines). The battalion had a lot of heavy service in PNG. My grandfather was attached as a liaison to the USN PT operations. It’s so nice to hear the perspective of the USN. It’s ANZAC Day today here in Australia and one of my sons who is an Army Cadet had his role in the ceremonies along with his unit this morning, early. Just thought I’d share a comment. Kind regards, Chris


Total Posts: 6 | Joined: Apr 9, 2022 - 11:23am | IP Logged

Chris Whitney

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Chris Whitney  Posted on: Apr 27, 2022 - 5:56pm
Quote:

Thanks Ted,
much appreciated,i believe they had both lived in New Guinea,so both knew the lay of the land and the surrounding waters like the back of their hands.
Early tour guides if you like
cheers

Michael



I’m very interested to hear the memories regarding these two gentlemen. My name is Chris and I’m the grandson of James Herbert Throsby. I have many memories of him as a wonderful grandfather, so down to earth and family orientated. He was a Major with the 36th Battalion (dubbed Ike’s Marines). The battalion had a lot of heavy service in PNG. My grandfather was attached as a liaison to the USN PT operations. It’s so nice to hear the perspective of the USN. It’s ANZAC Day today here in Australia and one of my sons who is an Army Cadet had his role in the ceremonies along with his unit this morning, early. Just thought I’d share a comment. Kind regards, Chris


Total Posts: 6 | Joined: Apr 9, 2022 - 11:23am | IP Logged

Chris Whitney

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Chris Whitney  Posted on: Apr 28, 2022 - 6:06pm
Quote:

Thanks Ted,
much appreciated,i believe they had both lived in New Guinea,so both knew the lay of the land and the surrounding waters like the back of their hands.
Early tour guides if you like
cheers

Michael



I’m very interested to hear the memories regarding these two gentlemen. My name is Chris and I’m the grandson of James Herbert Throsby. I have many memories of him as a wonderful grandfather, so down to earth and family orientated. He was a Major with the 36th Battalion (dubbed Ike’s Marines). The battalion had a lot of heavy service in PNG. My grandfather was attached as a liaison to the USN PT operations. It’s so nice to hear the perspective of the USN. It’s ANZAC Day today here in Australia and one of my sons who is an Army Cadet had his role in the ceremonies along with his unit this morning, early. Just thought I’d share a comment. Kind regards, Chris


Total Posts: 6 | Joined: Apr 9, 2022 - 11:23am | IP Logged

Dick

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Dick   Send Email To Dick Posted on: Apr 29, 2022 - 2:26pm

Chris . . .

It has probably been 25-years ago when I received a document you might be interested in. But because of the length of time, I’m having troubles trying to find the electronic file. Probably within a day or so and after searching through dozen of hard Drive I hope to recover it and will post it hear as soon as I can.

As memory serves me I had received an unpublished document given to me by a pen-pal friend, Earl Palmer Brown, a skipper of PT 122. This document was a photocopy, of a photocopy, of a photocopy and probably even more copy generations of a document, which was written by Major James Throsby, a war-time friend which he knew. This document was given to me so I could reproduce it in a readable condition. Since the document sent to me was in a barely readable condition, I had my wife Mary Ann, attempt to reproduce it on my firm’s phototypesetting equipment. After struggling with it for several days, she had the document completed and several copies made, When finished I sent the copies along with a copy of the original electronic files back to Earl, probably early 1997. At the time, It was his desire to provide copies to the members of the Peter Tare organization during their 1997 Reunion.

Hopefully, I can find the files and convert them to a PDF so the file can be copied and shared. If memory serves me correctly (very doubtful at my age) it was 40 to 50 pages of typeset text and it’s title was something containing With Cousin Sam or something similar. Keep your fingers crossed as I attempt to find the drives, let a lone read them.

Dick . . .





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Dick

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Dick   Send Email To Dick Posted on: Apr 29, 2022 - 2:36pm
Chris . . .

Here is an excerpt from “At Close Quarters, PT Boats in the United States Navy”
by Captain Robert J. Bulkley, Jr. Naval History Division, Washington 1962. pages 210-211

“Commander Mumma built up his staff gradually over a period of months. Commander Munroe was his Chief Staff Officer; most of the other members of the staff were drawn from the squadrons. Two staff officers who should be mentioned were Maj. James T. Throsby, AIF, who joined the task group late in December 1942, to provide liaison between the PT's and the Australian ground forces, and Lt. Eric M. Howitt, RANVR, who joined the boats at Morobe as a pilot. Major Throsby had longer continuous service in Task Group 70.1 than any other person, American or Australian. He accompanied the boats all the way up the New Guinea coast, into Morotai in the Halmaheras, and finally to Balikpapan in Borneo. Lieutenant Howitt, who in peacetime had been, among other things, a master of vessels engaged in inter-island trade, knew the New Guinea and New Britain coasts like the back of his hand. He guided the boats through reefs and into harbors at night with uncanny accuracy, and usually was the coolest person on the boat when the shooting began. For their invaluable assistance both of these officers were awarded the Legion of Merit; Throsby in the degree of Legionnaire, Howitt in the degree of Officer.”



Here is another excerpt from “Knights of the Sea” published by PT Boats Inc.,
This from the “Knights of the Sea” publication This material was probably derived from the “At Close Quarter” book in which I have posted above.

JAMES H. THROSBY, Major,
Australian Imperial Forces.


Served as Coastwatcher and liaison officer, 7th Fleet Staff, between PTs and Australian ground forces from Dec. 1942 to Jan. 1944 with longer continuous time in Task Group 70.1 than any other individual, American or Australian. Provided information of most probable points of contact against Japanese water borne supply lines and evacuation where they connected with supply lines on land. Accompanied by Rons 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 all the way up to the New Guinea coast into Morotai and Balikpapan in Borneo. Participated actively in 30 combat patrols frequently far behind enemy lines. Contributed greatly to the operations that resulted in the successful amphibious landings at Nassau Bay, Lae and Finschhafen, on Papua New Guinea .

For invaluable assistance, awarded Legion of Merit in the degree of Legionnaire on 3/29/44. Jan. and Feb. 1943 operated under command of MTB Division Seventeen, which became part of Ron 8. Tent-mate of Barry Atkins in Papua and New Guinea. Died in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia in May 1981.


The above information was taken from, page 470, “Knights of the Sea” publication, 1982, produced by PT Boats, Inc. It was a short history / facts of PT Boats and those that served on, serviced, and maintained during World War II. It includes a listing of all known PT Boat veterans at the date of publication as well as member-friends of the organization, in which Major Thorsby, being one of those members.


Dick . . . .







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  Jerry Gilmartin

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jerry Gilmartin   Send Email To Jerry Gilmartin Posted on: Apr 29, 2022 - 10:03pm
Hello Dick
I copied the Along with Cousin Sam story to my PC and will post it here tomorrow. I missed the part where you dont actually have it. I think I saved it directly from the Peter Tare website when it was still active.
Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

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Dick

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Dick   Send Email To Dick Posted on: Apr 30, 2022 - 11:41am

Hi Jerry . . .

Yes if you have an easy copy to get, please post it. In the mean time I have which drive the file is stored on, now to the garage attic and dig through the 50 or so Hard Drives stored there.

When Earl Brown was the president of Peter Tare, I prepared two different copies for him. One he could give to their web designer to post in the site., and an other, more formatted for printing. I’m not sure what I have, but will post what I hopefully find if it is different from your copy.

Thanks again Jerry.

As another note, a couple of earlier post in this topic had missing files because of the Photobucket’s hostage program. Well I have been able o find those items and updated the posts to there original, or some what original state. Two post, one with a pdf file and a image, the other with a single image.

Dick . . .



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  Jerry Gilmartin

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jerry Gilmartin   Send Email To Jerry Gilmartin Posted on: May 1, 2022 - 12:46am
Dick I will email it to you and then perhaps you can post it? or put it into our library? It is too large to post into the forum.
Thanks Jerry


Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm | IP Logged

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