steve

Feb 21

2-22-16 Well, I’ve done pretty good so far, staying on task for many days in a row (not my strongest suit.)   But now, today, I am actually a day behind in the “daily” telling of this story.   So, here is “yesterday’s news.” From George Pitts Diary:

Feb 20

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

More Feb 19

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

D-Day Feb 19, 1945

2-19-16 From George Pitts Diary:

Feb 18th

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

Feb. 17

2-17-16 from George Pitts Diary:

Feb 16

2-16-16 The Boston and her task group is still focusing on the Tokyo region on Feb 16, 1945. From George Pitts Diary:

More George Pitts' Diary

2-12-16 The last couple of days, I’ve had a series of frustrating technical “issues” around getting GP’s diary entries posted.   I am happy to say that it wasn’t ALL operator failure!   Many unsuccessful attempts at posting older, stored files, however, caused me to go back to the

G. Pitts - Iwo Jima 2

12-11-16 From George Pitts Diary: steve

George Pitts - Iwo Jima 1

2-9-16 Readers of this website know that several years ago, as I worked on the Baked Beans books, I had the remarkable blessing of meeting, interviewing, and becoming friends with several original crewmembers (and one officer) – all in their late seventies / early eighties. It was fascinating!   You have seen me

More "Before Iwo Jima"

2-3-16 The Boston dropped anchor in the giant lagoon anchorage at Ulithi (Caroline Islands, south and west of Guam) on January 25.   The men rested and the ship was reprovisioned and rearmed over the next several days.   The Task Force changed again from TF 38 to T 58, with Admiral

Before Iwo Jima

1-24-16 In early January 1945, the ships of Task Force 38 were not quite done with the Philippines yet.   They spent much of the early part of the month bombarding Formosa and other targets.   On Jan 9, the Task Force headed into the South China Sea.   Halsey believed the bulk

Full Speed Ahead

1-7-16 Inside joke.   No, really.   Bill is working on the officer list for the site.   He automated the crew list years ago, and was able to access crew data in a way that was relatively “user-friendly”.   Through programming and various tedious cross-checks, he put together the crew records database that

History is a long, slow, burn

January 1, 2016 Happy New Year History is a long, slow burn.  The story of our species on this planet is piled high with ethnic hatreds – sometimes centuries in the making; ambitious and ruthless conquests of peoples and territories, colonialism and long-simmering resentments.  Oh, and the story is also piled

More December 1943

12-19-15 Right from the horses mouths (excerpts): When we first got to Pearl Harbor, when we were first going through the channel, I remember that you could see oil bubbling up, and it looked like smoke here and there. We were tied up next to the Arizona, and you could

December 1943

12-12-15 The Boston crew find themselves in Pearl Harbor among the wrecks of the Sneak Attack. They will spend the month with lots of liberty, which they relish with the energy and abandonment of 18 year-olds. When they are not enjoying liberty, the ship sets sail, joining other cruisers and

December 7

12-7-15 Pearl Harbor.   On December 6, 1943, the USS Boston arrives at Pearl Harbor, one day shy of the two year anniversary of the Day of Infamy. She is guided to her berth by two tugboats and slips in alongside the sunken Arizona; her gun turrets still above the waterline

Panama Canal 1943

11-14-15 In the diaries of Frank Studenski and George Pitts, there are discrepancies as to the exact date the ship passed through the Panama Canal.   There are many explanations for why this happened, and the fact is that it does not matter.   The ship left Boston for the last time

Mid November, 1943

10-8-15 After months of shakedown cruises up and down the east coast, the Boston was finally ready to go.   On November 14, 1943, the heavy cruiser and her crew left Boston for the last time during the war. From Frank Studenski’s War Diary:   November 14, 1943:   This snowy morning

A lull in the Action 10/29 to 11/1/44: A few days in Ulithi

10/31/15 The Boston was several months into the operations to win back the Philippines by the end of Oct. 1944, and would be in related combat until February of 1945, when they left area to support the landings on Iwo Jima. October had been a really rough month:

The Big Stick - USS Iowa, BB61

10/8/15 Michael Harker, son of crewmember James D. Harker, sent me these great shots of the battleship Iowa   –   restored and in residence as a floating WWII warship museum in San Pedro, CA (next to Long Beach, CA) The USS Iowa participated in the same Task Force 38 and

Paul S. Koscielny, S2c

9-5-15 (on this date in 1945:   Sailors aboard the USS Boston learn that despite the fact that three days earlier the Document of Surrender was signed aboard the Missouri, they would not be going home.   The Boston became one of the lead ships in post-war Occupation Duty, staying in Japanese

Jesse E. Bohannan, S1c

8-22-15 Jesse Bohannan reported aboard on 4/2/45, while the ship was under repair in San Pedro. He mustered off on May 14, 1946, after mothballing the ship in Bremerton, WA.   Son Steven Bohannan, who submitted these pictures, tells us his dad died on March 25, 2011. (I included

Clifford R. Jones, SC2c

8-19-15 Clifford Ross Jones, Ship’s Cook, 2nd Class Cliff Jones was an original plankowner, mustering aboard the ship on Commissioning Day (6-30-43).   He left the ship on October 29, 1946, more than one year after the War ended and the men had Occupation Duty. While in the Navy, Clifford

Where was CA-69 when the bombs dropped?

8-8-15 Original crewmember and contributor to the Baked Beans books, Bob Knight, sent this comment in after the re-post of last year’s Hiroshima entry: Fascinating. I didn’t realize we were that involved. Where was the Ca69 at the time of the   bomb drop if our MC Capt was