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Topic: William H Posey & PT 41 |
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RJC 1990
New Member
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Posted on: Dec 16, 2020 - 3:28pm
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I am seeking any information on my Uncle; William H Posey SC1C who served with Lt. Buckley in Ron 3 on PT 41.
I've read he joined the USN in '37 and went MIA/POW sometime in '42. My grandfather was told of his official death right after the war ended.
He received posthumously the silver star, and purple heart along with appropriate campaign medals.
I am trying to create a memorial for him and any information,pictures or memories will be gratefully accepted.
Thank you
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Jeff D
Moderator
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 Posted on: Dec 17, 2020 - 8:20am
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Welcome RJC! I'm very happy to hear about your project to help keep your Uncle's memory alive. Hopefully the experts here will be able to help you. Below are a few links for some basics available online.
PT 41 was a very famous boat, she carried MacArthur and others to safety early in the war. Some of her history basics and photos can be found here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/05041.htm
A more in-depth look can be found in this PT book classic At Close Quarters available to read online. It has a wealth of information and is considered a PT Bible: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/CloseQuarters/index.html
I don't have any images of the 41 in theater, just a few of her being transported aboard the tanker Guadalupe like this Sept 1941 shot. Note that it is slightly different than the similar photo seen on navsource:
You may run across this one that Al's research found to be doctored:
Good luck with your project and please share if you find anything interesting! 
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RJC 1990
New Member
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Posted on: Dec 17, 2020 - 2:34pm
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Thank you so much for the info!
I'm looking forward to digging into Lt Buckley's book!
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Jeff H
Full Member
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Posted on: Dec 18, 2020 - 5:33pm
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RJC
Welcome to the PT boat forum! Hope you can find some info about your uncle and get a better understanding of what these men went through to preserve the freedom we enjoy today. For that I thank your family for their sacrifice! Thanks for posting the photo’s you found. Looking through them and the captions these look like what they say they are. The only thing that looks odd is the photo of PT41 at the dock looks to be a later model ELCO PT boat? Could some of these photos be from a movie or documentary? I’m sure others will comment that have more knowledge than I do.
Thanks!
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Stearman
Advanced Member
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Posted on: Dec 18, 2020 - 9:03pm
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The boat that is labeled as PT-31 is a 70' Vosper, complete with radar, which wasn't on any 1941,42 77' ELCO, The other photos seem to be from the movie They Were Expendable. Pt-41 is most assuredly an 80' ELCO boat.
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RJC 1990
New Member
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Posted on: Dec 19, 2020 - 5:11am
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Jeff H;
Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the info!
Steerman;
Sad to see a state university with incorrectly stated photos.
I appreciate the information and identification.
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Jeff D
Moderator
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Posted on: Dec 19, 2020 - 6:09am
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Yep Stearman, you nailed it they appear to at the least be mostly TWE movie stills. That's a great PT movie by the way RJC.
Even the dockside shot is a TWE still:
From the movie, Andy Small ID'ed the docked boats and you can see the landmarks are the same as in the above image:
2 more from the FSU site, you can see a microphone boom in the upper right on the 1st one, not sure if the 2nd was from the movie:
From the movie:
I was going through a bunch of screenshots I took of TWE and noticed this .50 cal smoke ring. I'm not sure what's at the tip of the barrel, it almost looks like the bullet coming out but I don't know if that's possible without a special camera setup. It could also be some powder flash:
Lightened up, and John Wayne at the wheel:
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RJC 1990
New Member
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Posted on: Dec 19, 2020 - 6:21am
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Makes you wonder how many other historical items are incorrectly labeled. You often see fake and fantasy items in Civil War displays and they can fool you if you dont have an eye for them.
Looks like its the same with WW2. These items have been labeled as part of a vets collection, and purported to be taken during the war.
So it does make one wonder.
Thanks to everyone. Lots to be learned on this forum
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Stearman
Advanced Member
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Posted on: Dec 19, 2020 - 8:22pm
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To show you how ingrained the fake Hollywood films can become. Just watch any news program when they commemorate Pearl Harbor. You will see footage from John Ford's movie December 7th, complete with Dauntless dive bombers with meatballs on the sides and wings!
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