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» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic: Where was this PT base? "Camp Walker"
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I was looking through Bob Jackson's photos and found this one of an aerial view of a PT base, and also another that shows a sign called "Camp Walker". Does anybody know what base the aerial view is and where was Camp Walker located? I know Bobs Boat the PT181 was in RON11. From the HQ KOTS website, it says this about RON11: "The squadron saw action at Rendova, Vella Lavella and other areas. After transfer to the Southwest Pacific, the squadron had action in the Halmaheras area." Here are the pictures to help you see what I mean.

Camp Walker
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT658%202014/181campwalker.jpg[/image]

Aerial view of unknown base
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT658%202014/181base.jpg[/image]

Thanks for your help in identification.
Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jul 5, 2014 - 9:38pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Jerry;
Just a guess here but using the written description of the base, the bottom photo might be a later photo of Morotai.
"On nearby Soemsoem Island, a base to service three PT-boat squadrons was established. The camp consisted of tents, except for four quonset huts which were used for storehouses. Here, also, a dispensary was established with a capacity for 1000 men.

The outstanding project for this area was the assembly of a pontoon Liberty-ship pier. The 431-foot wharf section was made up of four 6-by-18-pontoon barges and six 3-by-18-pontoon bridge sections, with necessary hinges, piles, cable, and incidentals, completely fabricated at Milne Bay by PAD 3. All sections and equipment were towed by two Navy tugs from Milne Bay to Morotai, a distance of 1,700 miles. The first ship used this facility on October 8, 1944, just 11 days after the battalion arrived. The pier was used thereafter by the 84th Battalion, which took over all stevedoring of Army and Navy cargo. Enemy action during the construction period was confined to night air attacks."

The pier mentioned is in photo to the left, also using some of the background in photos you posted in your post: Some new photos from Bob Hostetter RON25 and RON40 Morotai/Samar AUG 29 2010

Maybe Earl remembers the photos.


Take care,
TED



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Jul 6, 2014 - 7:55am
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



sorry/can,t oplacwe the photos but they are not rendova/sterling/base 17/treasyry.this base was too advanced and clean.also wasn,t sessapi at tulagi.
take care all

earl richmond

Posted By: earl | Posted on: Jul 6, 2014 - 8:11pm
Total Posts: 197 | Joined: Oct 18, 2006 - 12:13pm



Hi Ted,
Yes I believe it must be Morotai as well. The thing that gives it away is that framework of a house on stilts out in the bay can be seen in the background of the photo posted below showing the natives in canoes trading with sailors from the stern of PT349 You can see the same house on stilts in the aerial view of the base. Plus the statement that says RON11 "saw action around Halmahera" which denotes the Morotai PT base. This base was officially called Advanced Base 4, established in Sept of 1944. I now know it was also called "Camp Walker"
Thanks again Ted for your keen powers of observation! This is why i am proud to be a member of this board, it has such a depth of knowledge about these wonderful boats and the men who sailed them!

Aerial view of base see the house on stilts in the water?
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT658%202014/181base.jpg[/image]

Is this the same house on stilts in the background? Known location of this photo was Morotai
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Jerry%20Gilmartin/9d107246-ce51-405c-b589-2dea13b37571.jpg[/image]

Excellent!



Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jul 7, 2014 - 10:35pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Another possibility for the base. I was at the Michigan Bull Session this past weekend and one of the guys had a picture in his scrapbook of the base in question. He says he got it at the end of the war and the notation on it is not something he put on it, that is the way it came. Labelled as Zamboanga.

[IMAGE]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/CharlieJones/zamboanga.jpg[/IMAGE]

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 13, 2014 - 4:14pm
Total Posts: 598 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm



Charlie;
That was my second guess, but, Then I found Jerry's earlier posted photos, somebody has their photos mislabeled. This is why I said ask Earl, I believe he told me he was at Zamboanga for awhile. But I still think it's Morotai.
Take care,
TED




Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Jul 13, 2014 - 5:13pm
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



They Guy I talked to said he didn't think it was Morotai because he said Morotai didn't have the land across the way from the base as it was an island and went straight out to sea.

Time for more analysis.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 13, 2014 - 7:07pm
Total Posts: 598 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm



KOTS has the same aerial photo on pg 38, with a caption
'Samar's Bobon Point, The Philippines'.

Steve

Posted By: Nuge210 | Posted on: Jul 18, 2014 - 10:18am
Total Posts: 323 | Joined: Jun 4, 2008 - 7:50am



All;
Go to google earth, look at the small island between Sacol Island and Tictabon Island, does this look like the same location? it sort of does to me, allowing for some erosion and land shifts due to tides.
I think it is called Pangapuyan Island(see elementary school photo attached)

[url]https://www.google.com/maps/place/Zamboanga,+Philippines/@6.9204023,122.2214843,12z/data=!4m7!1m4!3m3!1s0x32506a09d96fc175:0x35526ebbce01e7a2!2sZamboanga,+Philippines!3b1!3m1!1s0x32506a09d96fc175:0x35526ebbce01e7a2[/url]

Take care,
TED



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Jul 18, 2014 - 10:48am
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



This is what the book "Building the Navy's Bases in WWII" has to say about Zamboanga:

Mindanao

Zamboanga, on the southern tip of the Zamboango Peninsula in Mindanao, was the site of a naval section base. Ten miles across Basilan Strait, a major PT operating base was built on Basilan Island.

The 118th Construction Battalion arrived at Basilan Island on March 29, 1945 to erect facilities for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of 24 PT boats. These included a 1450-man camp complete with mess and recreation facilities, one 370-foot pier for small craft, two 400-foot piers for mooring the large speed boats, a marine railway capable of handling three boats at a time, seven 1,000-barrel and one 2,000-barrel steel fuel tanks, with facilities for fueling which included a 90 foot fuel pier.

While this construction was under way, a 120-man detachment from the 118th was sent to Zamboanga to construct buildings and other facilities for the headquarters of the naval section base. These included communications, supply, and a 10-bed dispensary.

[url]http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/buildbaseswwii/bbwwii3.htm[/url]


Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 18, 2014 - 1:58pm
Total Posts: 598 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm



PT Base 16 was at Port Isabela, Basilan.

PT Advance Base 3 was at Malamavi, Island, Basilan (across from Port Isabela).

PT Base 17 was at Bobon Point, Samar.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 18, 2014 - 2:19pm
Total Posts: 598 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm



Thanks Charlie!
Yes that makes a lot of sense. So Camp Walker was most likely on Basilan? I was looking at Google Earth and it is hard to see where it may have been since things are so different. I appreciate all of your expertise in this research. It surprises me how little info is available about the PT Boat Bases.



Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jul 19, 2014 - 9:18pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Hey Charlie and Ted,
I think I found the place where this photo was taken. On Google maps, it has coordinates 6°44'24.9"N 121°59'11.6"E
It is on that little island called Malamawi just north from Isabela, Basilan, on the channel side. White Beach is on the north side of the same little island. If you spin the perspective around so you are looking east and then tilt the view, the aerial photo almost matches up to the Google maps view. Pretty cool. Thanks Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jul 21, 2014 - 5:22am
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



My name is Alexis Strong. I was born in the Philippines and was there during the Japanese occupation. My Father had a rubber plantation which he developed after the Spanish American war he was a marine corps man.
All these pictures was of Base 16 on the Island of Basilan,.The town is Isabella. The structure on stilts visible in all the pic was a Spanish naval hospital built to quarantine those sick with the plaque and cholera.
On mar.1945 during the invasion of Zamboanga 12 miles north the P.T.,s was supported by the mother ship Oyster Bay.
I have a picture of the hospital and the town before it was destroyed and If somebody will show me how to upload the picture. or I can send it as an e mail attachment to somebody.

A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.

Posted By: Alexx | Posted on: Aug 12, 2014 - 6:41pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered




Alexis, welcome aboard . . . I'm very happy you found our great forum.

Please click on my email icon above this post and please send me the photos, I will be more than happy to post the photos here on the board.

Thanks,
Dick . . .





Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Aug 12, 2014 - 11:02pm
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm



The first photo was taken from the Stone fort.( Note the battlement on the lower right side.) the second photo taken from near the hospital. the approach to the bridge is also visible on lower center of the second of the already posted photos.

The Hospital was quite an imposing structure that is until the PBJ (B-25) VMB 611 from Moret field Zamboanga and 2 PT boats took turns tearing it apart. I know I watch them do it. While this was happening the boats were operating from mother ship Oyster bay anchored north of Malamawi island.


[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Alexx/FLOATINGHOSPITALIsabelaBasilan1901.jpg[/image]


[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Alexx/Fort_Isabella_Segunda.jpg[/image]




A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.

Posted By: Alexx | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 10:15am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered



Hoping somebody else remembers this incident. April 1945. When not out on patrol with the army I used to hang around the pier to the left of the 2 Quonset huts of the 1st. posted picture of Base 16. When the air raid siren sounded. I headed for the bull dozer for protection, but the operator got to it first and started it up. I finally cornered a sailor. who told me one of the boats coming back from a raid to Borneo was in trouble. The bulldozer started to make a ramp at the shore line left of the Quonset huts . all of the retuning boats had tied up except for one that was going around in circles. The dozer got done and moved away. Then the circling boat headed for the ramp as it got closer it was obvious what happened. a Jap cruiser blew off the front 1/4 of the boat and for it to slow down would would sink it. The boat hit the ramp and skidded a good 100 feet into the parking lot.If you saw it ,you would never forget it.

A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.

Posted By: Alexx | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 11:45am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered



Alexx;
Welcome Aboard and thanks for sharing, It is always read from someone who was there. Where are you located now? Do you remember when the war ended and many of the boats were stripped and burned? Well, several boats that remained were sold off locally in the Philippines and many became house boats or fishing boats, did you know of any of these?
Take care,
TED



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 1:03pm
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



Ted, My brother -in law bought 2 of them for $1000.00 for ferry service between Zamboanga and Basilan. Roofed them, moved the bridge on top He replaced the 3 gas engines with a gray marine diesel.
Muslim smugglers also bought them stripped them of every thing except the 3 Packard Allison(I believe) They could out run any thing the Philippine Navy could field no telling what speed the boats attained.. Later sales was minus the engines.
The wife and I now live in Oregon closer to our family.
Alex

A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.

Posted By: Alexx | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 4:14pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered



Alexx;
That is great! Do you think any of the boats sold in the Philippines have survived to this day?
Take care,
TED
P.S. Since your in Oregon, you should contact Jerry and go see PT 658, if you haven't already.



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 7:51pm
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



Hi Alexx,
Where are you located in Oregon? I would love to give you a tour of the boat. We are up in Portland.

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Aug 24, 2014 - 10:03pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Jerry,
We are in the city of Rouge river Right now Norma is under the weather. it will be some time before we can take the tour.
Looking forward to meeting you and PT 658.

A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.

Posted By: Alexx | Posted on: Aug 28, 2014 - 7:47am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered



Glad to hear it Alexx,
Several of our crew members have strong ties to the Phillipines and would love to meet you and your whole family if they want to come up and see the boat. Hope your wife is feeling better soon. You can email me at jerry.gilmartin@ comcast dot net
(replace the word dot with a period)
and email me to arrange for times and dates, etc.


Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Aug 28, 2014 - 5:01pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm




Ted, My brother -in law bought 2 of them for $1000.00 for ferry service between Zamboanga and Basilan. Roofed them, moved the bridge on top He replaced the 3 gas engines with a gray marine diesel.
Muslim smugglers also bought them stripped them of every thing except the 3 Packard Allison(I believe) They could out run any thing the Philippine Navy could field no telling what speed the boats attained.. Later sales was minus the engines.
The wife and I now live in Oregon closer to our family.
Alex

A fire arm is a lighter load to bear than regret.



Alexx;
That is great! Do you think any of the boats sold in the Philippines have survived to this day? Do you have any photos of your brother in law's boats? Thanks again.
Take care,
TED



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Aug 29, 2014 - 8:30am
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



Wow, what an awesome first hand story. Alexx, thank you so much for joining in and sending the photos to Dick. You should make it a point to visit the PT 658 in Portland and meet with Jerry and the guys.



Posted By: Roy Forbes | Posted on: Aug 29, 2014 - 9:02am
Total Posts: 371 | Joined: Sep 5, 2012 - 4:57pm



Jerry;

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Ted%20Walther/BasilanIslandPTBASEMap.jpg[/image]

Here is a map of the island the location of the Port Isabella is in the top left between small island and main island. It is now known as Fuego-Fuego, Isabella City and beach.
TAKE CARE,
TED




Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Oct 6, 2014 - 4:41pm
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am