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» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic:
Richard Charles Edgar, PT Boat engine mechanic in the Pacific
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The closest my grandfather came to personal glory was the distance that separated his PT Boat base from the one that JFK was serving in. I don't know much else about Dick Edgar's service except that he served, probably in the Solomons, at the same time. He would have been in his mid-40's when he was there, and his experience as an auto mechanic back home must have landed him the job of keeping those beautiful twin Detroit Diesels, as he called them, in top shape.
And that's all he ever told me about his war service. Okay, in my youth I wasn't interested in war stories, and so many men from that conflict didn't volunteer their own stories. My P-51 Mustang Recon pilot father didn't tell me much more himself, until decades later when I learned he flew over D-Day. So now I'm interested in learning what I can about my long-deceased grandfather, or at least the life he would have led as a shore-based PT Boat mechanic.
I tried asking for my father's military records and what I got was just his home-based service transfers, with all mention of overseas action missing. Nothing about his year in Korea. I thought of asking for my grandfather's records, but I am not next of kin (as I understand the term). Can someone suggest a way for me to get my grandfather's service records, and can someone suggest some reading material that would illuminate the life of an island-based PT Boat mechanic in the South Pacific? I'll read anything actually, if it is well-written.
Richard Arnold
Posted By: Grandson of Dick Edgar | Posted on: Aug 7, 2009 - 4:01pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered
Greetings Richard and welcome.
As I read your post and saw the mention of your grandfathers term "twin Detroit Diesel" my first thought was "a PT boat has 3 v-12 Packard gas engines". But I don't think that is what he meant, the Detroit Diesel Corp made a highly regarded inline 6 engine that was used in tanks, landing craft, generators, etc.. So my guess is that his nickname likens two of these put together to the v-12 Packard.
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Diesel[/url]
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Aug 9, 2009 - 2:53am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Hi Richard,
I have just recieved my Grandfathers USN service papers.He too was a Motor Mac in the Pacific on the Bases.
Because i live in Australia,i found a bloke who was kind enough,for a small fee, to visit NARA in St Louis and photograph all records found,he put them on a CD and posted em to me (123 photos).Heres what you do,
Contact MPR.center@nara.gov giving them the man's name, service number, WWII era, that he was enlisted and what ship or duty assignment location he had in your request. They may require you to use a form, but essentially, that is the information that they need to find the person's military file.
You then have a couple choices. You can:
1) pay them $60 to pull and copy the entire file plus maybe shipping and handling
2) make an appointment, drive to St Louis and pay 20 cents a page to copy the entire file
3) find someone in St Louis to do the work for you.
Good luck Mate,its worth it.
Michael
Posted By: Michael | Posted on: Aug 9, 2009 - 1:30pm
Total Posts: 218 | Joined: Aug 6, 2007 - 7:25pm
Thanks Jeff D for setting me straight about the engines. It's more likely that I have faulty memory of what he said 45 years ago, than that he got it wrong. Of course, for all I know he may have embellished his account of his job out there in the Pacific, since he was more talkative about PT 109 than any of the PT Boats he may have worked on. But I really have no reason to doubt him. He did have a valuable skill they needed. Heck, I don't even know if he volunteered or was drafted.
I wish I had asked him or my grandmother any questions about his part in the Pacific war. All I have are his Pea coat and some memorabilia that my sister has and can't lay her hands on just now. I have no idea whether I could come up with a service number, and am pretty skeptical that I could name a base. Too bad that I waited so long, because a while back there would have been people who served with him still kicking around.
I'm currently reading books that I can find in my county library system that were written by sailors about their part in the Pacific War. Pretty fascinating and well-written so far. Can anyone suggest a book about PT Boat island life?
Richard
Posted By: Grandson of Dick Edgar | Posted on: Aug 9, 2009 - 7:22pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered
I think you got it right Richard, A nickname like "twin detroit diesel" sounds just like what a mechanic would call the v12 Packard, especially if he was familiar with the respected 6 banger.
Cool, I have my dad's pea coat. He served from 1947 to 1953.
If you haven't read it already, "At Close Quarters" by Captain Robert J. Bulkley, Jr., USNR (Retired) is considered one of the best of the PT books. You can read it online here:
[url]http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/CloseQuarters/index.html[/url]
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Aug 10, 2009 - 2:52am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Jeff D.
Thanks for the book recommendation. It's a terrific and hair-raising read. I wish I had it in hardcover so I could have it in my lap on the couch surrounded by snacks and drinks and not get up all day except to go to the bathroom.
So each engine drove it's own propeller. Was steering by rudder only, or by rudder and engine rpm? I haven't yet found any information about the interior of a PT Boat, or it's mechanical operation.
Richard
Posted By: Grandson of Dick Edgar | Posted on: Aug 10, 2009 - 5:51pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered
When underway steering was done with the rudders. When docking the boat the engines were frequently used. A bow line could be secured and the stern could then be brought alongside the dock by shifting one outboard engine to reverse while he other outboard engine was in forward gear.
Posted By: QM | Posted on: Aug 10, 2009 - 6:17pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered
[blue]I wish I had it in hardcover so I could have it in my lap on the couch surrounded by snacks and drinks and not get up all day except to go to the bathroom.[/blue]
Sounds like my computer area except for the funnel, hose, and empty jug used to avoid having to get up. Pity me.
An excellent book would be Allied Coastal Forces of World War II: Vosper MTBs and US ELCOs v. 2, lots of good info and images about the inner workings. The steering linkage is quite complex. One of the authors is Al Ross, a well-known expert on PT boats that posts here often.
There are several PT manuals here that will give you a good idea of PT construction:
[url]http://www.hnsa.org/doc/[/url]
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Aug 10, 2009 - 9:09pm
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Richard
Click on the Ship's Store link above, then books. Many a good read. They have At Close Quarters also, but a softcover reprint.
Posted By: Ed B | Posted on: Aug 13, 2009 - 12:08pm
Total Posts: 91 | Joined: Oct 26, 2006 - 5:31am
My county library has At Close Quarters, so as soon as I finish Little Ship, Big War: the Saga of DE 343, I'll be reading it next. I guess I'm infected with the need to read right now.
Richard
Posted By: Grandson of Dick Edgar | Posted on: Aug 14, 2009 - 7:03pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered
Two other excellent books about living with a PT are "PT 105" by Dick Keresey and "Death Was Our Escort" by Ernest G. Vetter. "Death" was published in 1944 and so tends to reflect the attitude of the country at that time towards the war and our fellow citizens who fought it.
C. Marin Faure
Sammamish, Washington
Posted By: C Marin Faure | Posted on: Aug 14, 2009 - 11:08pm
Total Posts: 27 | Joined: Dec 20, 2006 - 11:43pm