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Topic: New photo of PT 109 under JFK comes to light |
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Dick
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 Posted on: Mar 17, 2015 - 10:04pm
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Jerry - I’m not sure what link you're referencing. I was able to visit the site from my own bookmarks and also the Gene Kirkland link on this sites “PT Boat Link” page. Please advise as to actual link you are referring to - thanks
The following paragraph is directly copied from Gene Kirkland’s webpages concerning the PT 109 - this the actual link to that five page section:
http://pt-king.gdinc.com/PT109article.html
Partial text is as copied: “ On the morning of April 25, Ensign Thom took the boat to Sesapi to pick up 109's new CO--a twenty-six year-old product of Harvard who introduced himself to Thom as Jack Kennedy. That same day, the men who would make up the nucleus of the 109's new crew--Firemen Edmund Drewitch and Leon Drawdy, and Gunner's Mate Charles Harris--also reported to the boat. The rest of the new crew--sailors with names like Maguire, Kirksey, Galeweski, Kowal, Mauer, Burchheit, and McMahon--reported for duty within the next two weeks. A few of these men would only stay for a short period, being transferred to other boats, or wounded in action and sent to hospital; those who remained would sail with the boat throughout the spring and summer of 1943 until the 109 met her ultimate fate one dark, dangerous night in August of that year. But that was in the future; for now, the boat was in need of major maintenance after five months in the combat area. The boat needed new engines, and the entire boat needed to be camouflaged in green to match the surrounding jungle, a job the previous crew had no time for when the boat originally arrived in the Solomons the previous November. Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Thom, and 109's new crew set to the task of refurbishing the now-veteran torpedo boat; and in the process, the boat's officers had the additional duty of forging the new men into a team ready for the challenges to come. With the departure of the remnants of the boat's original crew, this little known phase of PT 109's career was over; a new and much more heralded chapter was about to begin. “
If its been awhile since anyone has visited please take the time and do so.
Dick . . . .
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Jerry Gilmartin |
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Posted on: Mar 18, 2015 - 11:52am
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Thanks Dick,
I tried it on a different computer and it worked just fine. Sorry fo rthe false alarm!
Will,
By the way, that passage you quoted saying the PT109 was painted in November 30 [1942] in Noumea? Wasnt the boat already in Tulagi/Sesapi area going out on Patrols by 30 November 1942? I wonder if they made a special trip all the way back to Noumea in order to paint the boat? Near the end of Chapter 2 it says
"Squadron Two's second division, including Ensign Larson's 109, left Noumea on the [Nov] 20th, [1942] under tow of another pair of ancient four-stackers, USS Manley and USS McKean. They arrived at Espiritu on the 23rd and at 1930 that evening the convoy hoisted anchor and sailed for Tulagi. After reaching a point some 300 miles from their destination the PT's were turned loose and proceeded to complete the rest of the trip under their own power. The boats arrived at Tulagi on the 25th, tying up to the dock at the former Chinese village of Sesapi. The following day,[November 26th] Lieutenant Westholm came aboard 109 and took over as boat captain, while Bryant Larson reverted back to his original position as the boat's executive officer."
I saw earlier in the same paragraph that on November 11th they painted the boats green so perhaps the book just got the date wrong.
The convoy arrived at the harbor of Noumea, on the French possession of New Caledonia, on November 11. [1942] There the boats were unloaded, camouflaged in dark green paint, made combat-ready, and then towed to their next destination,
Jerry Gilmartin
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Will Day
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Posted on: Mar 18, 2015 - 5:42pm
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Hey Jerr, you didn't expect anything on the topic to make sense, did you?
Will |
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Jerry Gilmartin |
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Posted on: Mar 18, 2015 - 6:28pm
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Good point Will! I just wanted to be accurate for all the PT109 rivet counters out there!
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
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Drew Cook
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Posted on: Mar 19, 2015 - 11:02am
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This info of the boats being painted green while at Noumea jibes with John Clagett's -- skipper of the 80' Elco PT 111, originally in Ron 5, transferred to Ron 2 and lost in combat near Guadalcanal on February 1, 1943 -- description of the PTs in his (quasi-autobiographical) novel "The Slot" being painted green there.
Here's Clagett's version, from his novel: "The morning broke sunny, and all day all hands painted ship. There was no gleam to this paint; it was flat, dark, light-absorbent. A fighting color. By night the...boats of the division were a uniform dull green."
So, it stands to reason that the 109, originally assigned to Ron 5, re-assigned to Ron 2, and arriving at Tulagi via Noumea, may very well have been originally painted green at New Caledonia.
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TED WALTHER |
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Posted on: Mar 19, 2015 - 11:52am
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OK, I will add some more here, This is the time line, As quoted in Gene's Text, as per the individual boat log books and RON TWO History/War Diary:
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**But there was one minor problem--because of transfers earlier that summer, Squadron Two was reduced to six boats, the Elco 77-foot PT's 36, 40, 43, 44, 47, and 59. In order to bring the unit up to strength, on September 22 six of Squadron Five's boats (PT 109-114) were transferred to the Guadalcanal-bound MTB Ron Two. In the United States, the man chosen to lead Squadron Two through the sea battles to come was being detached from command of his new squadron fitting out in New York and was on his way to Panama. Lt. Rollin E. Westholm was relieved as CO of MTB Squadron Seven, and flew to the Canal Zone to take charge of Squadron Two. A 1934 Annapolis graduate, Westholm had considerable experience with PT's, since he had been with the PT program from the early days. Also, in late 1941 hed had been sent to Britain to study MTB tactics used by the Royal Navy's Coastal Forces.
** Eight of Squadron Two's boats--the six 77-footers plus PT's 109 and 110--were readied for their sojourn to the combat theater, while the remaining four boats (PT 111-114) were to follow and join up with the squadron later. The eight boats going to the war zone were divided into two sections; the first division, with Lieutenant Westholm as senior officer was PT 36 (Lt. j/g Marvin G. Pettit), PT 40 (Lt. Allen H. Harris), PT 44 (Lt. Frank Freeland) and PT 47 (Lt. j/g Mark E. Wertz). The second section was PT 43 (Ens. James J. Cross), PT 59 (Ens. David M. Levy) PT 109 (Bryant Larson) and PT 110 (Lt. Charles E. Tilden). The first division's boats were hoisted aboard Liberty ship SS Robin Wently, while the second division was secured aboard another Liberty, SS Roger Williams. The two cargo ships departed(Balboa, Panama) for the Solomons on October 14, 1942.
**Squadron Two's second division, including Ensign Larson's 109, left Noumea on the 20th, under tow of another pair of ancient four-stackers, USS Manley and USS McKean. They arrived at Espiritu on the 23rd(October 1942), and at 1930 that evening the convoy hoisted anchor and sailed for Tulagi. After reaching a point some 300 miles from their destination the PT's were turned loose and proceeded to complete the rest of the trip under their own power. The boats arrived at Tulagi on the 25th(October 1942), tying up to the dock at the former Chinese village of Sesapi.
Take care,
TED
P.S. Maybe we can reach 100 posts on this topic too!
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Will Day
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Posted on: Mar 19, 2015 - 10:35pm
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Yeah, Ted. Everything in Lawrence's book pretty much agrees with your latest post. Whatever the date, I think they were painted green in Nomea en route to the Solomons...
Will |
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Jerry Gilmartin |
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Posted on: Mar 20, 2015 - 11:22am
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So to get this straight in my head, the PT109 was painted green in Noumea sometimes after the 11th but before the 20th of Nov 1942?
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
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TED WALTHER
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Posted on: Mar 21, 2015 - 7:52am
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Jerry;
That's what the "available" documentation says. Too bad I over looked this, for the past 2-3 years, I could have eliminated many posts on our favorite and sometimes "obsessive" subject.
Take care,
TED
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Will Day
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Posted on: Mar 21, 2015 - 5:21pm
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But Ted, then we'd never get to 100....
Will |
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