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 Author  Topic: PT 127
Alamo Scout

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 22, 2008 - 10:22am
Hey Guys,

Trying to contact anyone who served aboard/with PT127 to verify mission with Alamo Scout team. Have a photo and the inscription reads "Alamo Scout" on the back, but no further info. Any help would be appreciated. And thanks to all the PT members who have come forward with info on the Alamo Scouts. Keep it coming!

Lance

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Russ Blaise

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 22, 2008 - 10:57am
The photo below is aboard PT 127. The two guys in camo in the foreground could be Alamo Scouts but we can't identify them as of yet. The person standing in the back to the left in the picture is the Skipper, Lt. Edmund L. McNamara.

On the back of the photo it reads: "in cockpit left to right: McNamara, Alamo officer.  2 alamo scouts on front."



(Photo courtesy of James McNamara of strikehold504th.com)

Russ Blaise
Executive Director
Alamo Scouts Association
asa at alamoscouts dot org

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Russell Pullano

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Russell Pullano   Send Email To Russell Pullano Posted on: Jul 22, 2008 - 5:27pm
Hey Russ, Is MacNamara the third officer that was on the 162 boat in Ron 9?? Is he from Boston,and I believe played football for Boston College?


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Russ Blaise

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 22, 2008 - 6:09pm
Hi Russell,

I almost feel like I'm saying hi to myself...

I have a short bio on MacNamara from his nephew, James of strikehold504th.com website: "Lt. Edmund McNamara is son of Mrs. Catherine A. McNamara of Clinton, Mass, and was graduated from Clinton High School in 1938 and from Holy Cross College in 1942. He was a football player while in college and following his graduation was assistant coach for one season at Hudson High. He was commissioned an ensign in 1943."

Could be the same guy. I'll have to ask his nephew.

Russ Blaise
Executive Director
Alamo Scouts Association
asa at alamoscouts dot org

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Russell Pullano

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Russell Pullano   Send Email To Russell Pullano Posted on: Jul 22, 2008 - 7:48pm
Russ, I'm sure it's the same guy. I said Boston college. I guess it was holy cross.. If i am correct I think he became police commissioner of boston back when PT boats had their first reunion .
His picture looks familar but I wouldn't swear to it today. I am almost positive about it. Is he still living.
If he is the one, I could tell you a story about a jerk we had for a skipper and a stupid incident that happened one night and MacNamara spoke up and silenced this jerk.
It happened at Mios Woendi in 1944


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Michael

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Michael   Send Email To Michael Posted on: Jul 23, 2008 - 12:13am
Tell us the story anyway Russ,im sure we would all love to hear it
Cheers Mate

Michael

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Ray Wilbur

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 23, 2008 - 4:21am
Funny you mentioned the PT boat reunion in Boston. I was just talking to a friend of mine yesterday about that. He found a photo from that reunion and in the picture was JFK!

Ray

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Russell Pullano

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Russell Pullano   Send Email To Russell Pullano Posted on: Jul 23, 2008 - 1:34pm
Ray.I bet the board would like to see the photo.. How about posting it.
Michael, you asked for it, so here's the story. It's going to be a long print.
First, I will not divulge the name of the skipper or exec. because I am going to degrade this skipper to no end. In my opinion he acted unbecoming of an officer. I don't know how he was ever given a commission.
He was a football player from ,I believe, Columbia. University The most arogant phony that I ever met. He was young and good looking. He was a LT.JG and was skipper of our boat above and an older complacent, low profiled wonderful full LT. I didn't know that such a condition was allowed in the services.
I never saw him at the helm, but every time one of the crew maneuvered the boat to a perfect docking, he would say "Great job, just like the skiopper"
At the end of this story I will give you another incident that personally caused me to dislike this asshole.
Now for the unbelievable story that MacNamara could verify.
Apparentally there wasn't much patrolling at this particular time frame. The officers were going to have a party, or such, at their officer's club with some nurses and Red Cross women. The big hearted officers gave each boat a quart of whiskey and assigned two or three men from the base force to each boat for this occasion. That amounted to at least 15 to 17 men to share one quart of booze.
I wasn't much of a drinker so I let my share be consumed by the others. However our torpedoman tapped one of the torpedoes. I felt that this was the most stupid things to sabatage some of our firepower. Mixing torpedo alcohol with grapefruit juice wasn't uncommon.
When it came time to crap out, I slept topside on the deck.
Later that night or early morning,I don't recall the exact time, the skipper charged aboard with some of his stupid followers who apparently thought he was their glorious leader. They jumped into the water for a swim.
After a very short time our exec decided that he had enough and climbed aboard to retire for the night.
When MR. Wonderful realized that the exec was not returning, he waved his admirers to exit the water and climb aboard. While doing so , he arrogantly kept shouting "The skipper is the last one aboard" When the others cliombed aboard, he started up the exhausts to come aboard when a couple of his followers jumped back into the water. Of course, he he was the skipper and traditionally was to be the last one aboard, so he pushed himself away from the boat and started again whith his verbal command.
When they finally all got aboard they followed the winner of "MR. Universe Asshole Contest"below deck. Theskipper summond the exec from the stateroom and told hiom to join the rest of the clowns. The exex said that he was much older than the group and that he had had enough for the night.
Now comes the part where this impersonator of an officer showed that he would have been the unanimous vote getter in a Mr.. Universe Asshole Contest.
After he put his face up to the exec's face,this skipper clenched his fist, put it about six inches from the exex's face and said "Hit me and I'll give you one, six inches and you'll be singing with the birds" When the exec refused the skipper kept repeating it.
I happened to be standing directly behind the skipper in the crowded space and MacNamara was directly behind me. I weighed 129 pounds. The jerk turned around to me and proceeded the same scenario with me. He said "Pullano, you're small. Hit me twice and I'll give you one six incehs and you'll be singing with the birds".
OH, How I wish I had weigjed 250 pounds, but of course I wouldn't dare hit a co called officer. When I declined, he said to me,"Go get Grimes, (one of the crew) he's big and I'll give hi six inches and he'll be singing with the birds. Of course, I didn't go. Just then MacNamara leans over and wispers in my ear. "Tell him I'll hit him".
I felt brave enough to do just that , so I then told the skipper "Mr. MacNamara said that he'll hit you".
I don't recall how the group of his cronies broke up and departed. I guess they crapped their skivvies thinking probably MacNamara would do it , or perhaps they would be the recipient of a blast from Mac.,regardlessThat was the end of the story
Do you think that this Madonna had the decency to apologize to the crew for waking them up in the middle of the night and putting on such a spectable unbecoming of an officer....... NO CHANCE!

Now for the time which added to my further dislike for this character.

I and two quartermasters were drafted from the receiving station in Noumea, New Caledonia. We were graduates from QM school in Newport RI. with a QM3/c rating. We had never been to Melville for PT training. We more or less stuck together as the three musketeers through out our service on PT boats. We took our test for QM2/c at the same time. Now our waiting time had passed and it was time to test for QM1/c.
It was a couple of days before September. My friends mentioned that they were going to take the exam. I knew nothing about it. I asked MR. Wonderful about it and he said that he didn't recommend me,but when we go on patrol that night, if I did all the navigating successfully, he would recommend me.. Who in hell did he think did the navigating, certainly not him. Now navigating on a PT boat was nothing. We had radar and also used "dead reckoning". Most of the time we could follow the shore line on radar until we left any sighted land and arrived at our patrol station. Then again, we would have the shoreline on our radar. If i had been on a ship, I as a QM1/c wouldn't be able to tie the shoestrings of a first class quqatermaster. That didn't mean only me, but any QM on a pt boat. Since we never were paid any extra pay for hazardous duty, like the submariners and pilots, the officers repaid us by practically handing us promotions.
To continue the story, were were underway for quite a while when the so called skipper came into the chartroom and asked me where we were. He didn't ask because he was testing me, but truley he didn't know where we were.
I showed him on the chart where we were. He contradicted me and told me to wake up the third officer, who I'll refer to as Mr. M. It was not MacNamara, for he moved on, but another officer whose name began with "M"
I awakened Mr. M and he sked me what this was all about. I told him. He just shool his head..
Mr. M went over the dead reckoning and looked on the radar and pointed on the chart and told the skipper that we should be "Here", exactly where I told the skipper. The jerk couldn't do the simple analyzing that Mr M did to confirm or contradict where I said that we were.
MR. Universe then said "Pullano I just wanted to see If I was able to make you back off your position"
GREAT! Now I'll be recommended for the exam. Bullshit! he never mentioned it to me or recommemded me. My ttwo friends took the exam and were QM1/c as of September 1,1944.
About September 13 or 14, the skipper of the 160 boat came across me on the base force. He knew me because I visited his boat many times,because one of my buddies wa the QM of hi soat He asked me why I didn' ttake the exam with my buddies. I told him that the skipper wouldn't recommend me. (Just a note: these two officers hated each other with a passion.) The skipper of the 160 boat said "i'll recommend you . When would you like to take the exam" I responded that he couldn't recommend me. He wasn't my skippwr. He came back with "i'm the education officer and I can give yiou the exam.When do you want to take the exan"
I told him that I was alread prepared and would take it anytime. The next day I took the exam. I was made QM1/c retroactive to September 1,1944.
You know my skipper never mentioned it to me or congratulated me. I don't know if he even knew that I was promoted. Thankfully, about three weeks later I received my orders for a 30 day leave back home.

This is a true factual story. Believe me much more stupid things were done by this so called officer, such as wearing full LT bars when he went to Australia for R&R.
As Paul Harvey would say "Now you haave the rest of the story" UNBELIEVABLE!


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Russ Blaise

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 23, 2008 - 2:41pm
Those were two pretty good stories, Russell. I will have to ask the nephew of MacNamara if he ever heard those stories. If he didn't I'm sure he'd like to.

Just a note... I believe Lt. Edmund L. McNamara passed away somewhere around the year 2001. And I think he was a LTjg in rank.

Russ Blaise
Executive Director
Alamo Scouts Association
asa at alamoscouts dot org

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QM

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 23, 2008 - 6:13pm
Russell:

I too was a QM 3/c who came aboard a PT direct from QM school. I am sorry to hear of your experience with a "rouge" skipper. We were usually blessed with the finest group of officers that could be found anywhere. We had a lot of respect for them and confidence in their ability. Your squadron commander must have been asleep.

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