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Then and Now - Norman Bayley, Lt. Col., USMC

5-12-12                                                   Commanding Officer, Marine Detachment, USS Boston (CA-69) Norm came to the Boston in an unconventional way.   He was one of the heroic survivors of the Battle for Guadalcanal.   If the horrors of that struggle weren’t enough, he contracted malaria that was so severe they prepared his body to

Then and Now - Bob Knight, RT3, CA-69

3-19-12                           Bob is a plankowner, reporting to the ship on Commissioning Day (6-30-43) He was a Radio Technician in CR Division He left the ship on 1-19-46 Bob is an active member of the Boston Shipmates, and serves on the Reunion Committee. I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon

More about Me

4-10-12 During the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the incredible good fortune to spend time with two men who served on the Boston during the War.   (The visits were on opposite sides of the country.)   The first visit was with Bob Knight, a plankowner who served in Radio

Then and Now - John Farkas, FC3, CA-69

3-31-12                       John is a   plankowner   –   he reported to Boston on Commissioning Day (6-30-43) Left the Boston on 2-10-46 I am happy to report that John is active and well and lives in New Jersey.

NEW BOOK ABOUT THE BOSTON

3-17-12 To those of us who are both blessed and cursed with Irish ancestry, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.   I am working on the new Boston book in earnest now   –   the one I’ve been talking about doing ever since my first book, A Bird’s Eye View was finished.

THEN AND NOW Signalman George Pitts

3-2-12                         (see post of 1-11-12 for the original inclusion of George Pitts) On February 20, less than two weeks ago, I had the the terrific honor and privilege of meeting George Pitts (and his charming wife Mary and daughter Susan) in his home outside of Boston. George was a Signalman

TEMPLE BELL LECTURE - March 18, 2012

2-25-12 Ms. Lola Heiler will present a lecture on the Japanese Temple Bell, Sunday, March 18 from 1 pm to 2:30 at the Emerald Necklace Visitor’s Center (125 the Fenway, Boston, MA   617-522-2700). The theme of the lecture:   The 17th century Buddhist temple bell from the Manpuku-ji Temple

San Pedro 6

2-21-12

San Pedro 5

2-11-12

San Pedro 4

2-4-12 Here’s the fourth picture of this series taken while CA-69 was still in San Pedro preparing to return to the action in the Pacific.

San Pedro 3

1-28-12 This picture makes me think about what it was like to have had battle stations posts below decks.   Men were strategically posted at bulkheads and valves and hatches and stairwells all over the ship.   The lucky ones were posted above deck (and could see what was going on.)   Hats

San Pedro 2

1-21-12

SAN PEDRO

1-14-12 Bill’s first trip to the National Archives yielded a treasure trove of stuff from the Boston, including a lot of photos – many of which have appeared in this blog over the last year or so.   Included in that “first batch” were a half dozen or so pics taken

George E Pitts, SM3c

1/11/12 Compliments of Susan Cowan George enlisted in the Navy on 8/27/42 He reported to the Boston (as a S1c) on 6/30/43 and is a plank owner He separated from the ship on 9/13/45 I am happy to point out that George

Random Stuff - 2011

12-29-11 Another year winds down.   I have the day off, and I’m not quite sure what to do with myself.   The first thing I did was update the excel file that I started a while back of people who have emailed me about the website or the book or

DEATH TOLLS REVISITED

12-17-11 On my 12-7 (Pearl Harbor Day) post, I wrote about the worldwide magnitude of the War, stating that 48,200,000+ people (soldiers and civilians) died.   My source for this figure is http://warchronicle.com/numbers/WWII/deaths.htm. A reader emailed me and asked if this included victims

James "Jimmy" Pranzo, S2c

12-10-11                     Compliments of Cristina Vadala, Jimmy’s great niece James enlisted on 6/29/43 in New York City Arrived on the Boston 9/15/43 just before the ship sailed off to the Pacific Separated from the Boston on 6/1/45 (San Pedro, CA) before the ship returned

December

DEC 7, 1941

12-7-11 The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor minutes before 8 am on that Day of Infamy in 1941 awoke and galvanized our country.   We had been officially “neutral” until that moment, in spite of massive aid flowing from our Atlantic shores to England in the “lend-lease” program.   Pearl Harbor was

THE BELL - part 3

11-20-11 This post will be less controversial than yesterday’s . . .   As promised, here are some pictures.   I was able to download these (and more) from my girlfriend’s camera.         You should not be surprised to learn that Pat Fedele’s story about carving his name atop the bell intrigued me.

MORE ON THE BELL - part 2

11-19-11 The attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941   –   70 years ago changed the world.   On that fateful morning, 1,000+ sailors on the Battleship Arizona sunk with their ship to the bottom of the harbor.   Hundreds of others died horrible deaths that day — some drowned, some burned beyond

MORE ON THE BELL - part 1

11-16-11 I took a quick trip back from San Francisco to Boston last Thursday.   The impetus was to see my youngest son play the role of John Wilkes Booth in Sondheim’s dark yet oddly appealing musical the Assassins.   Thad is a senior in a well-respected University in Worcester, MA.

More on the TEMPLE BELL

10-26-11 Well, the story of the bell gets more and more fascinating!   The previous blog resulted in this comment from Paul Creager: I’d be happy to provide your group some information about the USS Boston bell.   I researched this bell and four others like it for a documentary film

THE TEMPLE BELL

10-22-11 Several weeks ago, we got an email from Bob Knight, who, like my father, is a plank owner — a member of the original crew aboard the Boston.   Bob asked us if we knew anything about a bell that the crew of the Boston brought back after the War.   Naturally,

HOUSTON

10-16-11

OCTOBER 13, 1944

10-13-11 I couldn’t let this day pass without calling attention again to the incredible story of the tow of the Crippled Cruisers during the Battle of Formosa.   I’m not going to spend much time on the details (see last year’s posts several pages back.)   The Boston was