Author: steve

2-20-16

Did you notice that George noted on his “Dog Day” entry that this was the “10th Amphibious Operation”   that the Boston had supported?   In one year!   The ships left Pearl Harbor in late January 1944, assembled into Task Force 58 and tore up and down the Pacific   – everywhere from the Marshalls to Hollandia to Marianas through the Philippines . . . .

Frank Studenski (February 20, 1945):   This morning we met tankers and refueled, we were through by the afternoon. Tonight we got word that we would join up with the cruisers San Francisco, Pasadena, Astoria and Wilkes Barre as a bombarding group.   We left the Task Force at 2400 hours.

Since the reports for the next couple of days are long, I’m adding this Action Report and Enclosure B now.

steve

 

2-20-16

Several years ago, my brother Bill took a week+ trip to Washington DC to visit the National Archives.   His primary interest was to access all the deck logs and personnel archives related to the Boston –   so that he could (painstakingly) create an accurate “Crew List” of the men who served aboard the Boston.   Through his programming wizardry, he created the database that now sits in this website.   Before he left, he asked me if there was “anything I wanted him to retrieve for me while he was there.”   I added at least a couple of days of solid photocopying and photo-reproduction to his agenda!   I was working on the beginnings of the Baked Beans books . . .   His research is the foundation upon which those books are built.

I plucked the following two documents from the trove he brought back:   [the Boston was a unit of Task Group 58.2, a subset of Task Force 58 during the Iwo Jima Campaign.] {Below is the Action Report of CA-69, and the subsequent Enclosure A}

Pretty cool, right?

2-19-16

2-18-16

Hope you’re enjoying this look at the Iwo Jima Operation from the diary of signalman George Pitts.   The entry for today (2/18/45) is short, so I’ll take advantage of the opportunity . . .   Tomorrow (1945) is ‘D-Day’ on Iwo Jima.   The ships of TF58 provided firepower support for the landings, and the Boston is involved right through the last day of February.   Notice that George is waiting “any day now” for the ship to be ordered back to the States . . .

By the time we get to the end of February, you’ll also hear from other shipmates, see a Top Secret bombing map, and you’ll get to see a fantastic “summary drawing” that George did of the Iwo Jima encounter.

steve

2-17-16