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
Hiroshima 8-5-15 Tomorrow marks the 70th anniversary of the devastation unleashed by the United States upon the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Here is my post from last year: August 6, 2014 Discussing the last days of the war, Pat Fedele says this: We were ordered to prepare for ship-to-ship battle with
William O. Plante, SK3c 7-19-15 {SK3c = StoreKeeper, 3rd class} William enlisted in Providence, RI on March 11, 1943. After boot camp, he was assigned to the Boston. He was a plankowner, reporting aboard with the original crew on Commissioning Day (6-30-43). He mustered off the ship on April 2, 1946, after the ship was
George Pitts 7-10-15 I received an email Tuesday morning (7/7) from Sue Cowan, telling me that her father, Signalman George Pitts, had passed away. On February 20, 2012, I flew in to Boston and met George, his wife Mary, and their daughter Sue, and spent several hours at their Dedham (MA)
Adrys W. Kohl, S1c 7-4-15 Adrys reported aboard the ship on April 1, 1945, while she was berthed in San Pedro, CA. (The Boston was ordered to return to the States for repairs and radar upgrades in advance of the planned Invasion of Japan. She missed the bulk of the Okinawa Invasion, but was
She's ready, Pal, Are you? 6-27-15 In mid-March, 1943, my father reported to the Fargo Building, a USS Navy Receiving Station (and barracks) in Boston, MA. He and hundreds of other fresh-faced recruits waited there while the heavy cruiser, CA-69 (under construction in the Fore River [Bethlehem Steel] Naval Yard in nearby Quincy MA) was
James D. Harker, SF3c 6-6-15 James D. Harker reported aboard the Boston on Oct 29, 1944, while the ship was anchored in Ulithi. Jim arrived just as the ship retired to anchorage after the Second Battle of the Philippine Seas. Two days later, the Boston, reprovisioned, went right back into the thick of things
Memorial Day 5-25-15 Since beginning the website / blog, we’ve been careful to keep politics out of the discussion. Pretty much everything has been politicized over the last decades, frenzy-feeding the deep divide in this country. Today is the day we temporarily put aside the political cauldron and take time to honor
...But not a drop to drink 5-18-15 During the height of the Philippines Campaign, the task force ships, including TG3.1 (the Boston’s task group) engaged in a strong and prolonged air war against targets on the Japanese super-stronghold island of Formosa (Taiwan). TG38.1 was less than one hundred miles offshore when the first
Water, water everywhere . . . 5-9-2015 I grew up in central Massachusetts. My backyard was an urban lake (Indian lake in Worcester). Winters were spent iceskating, summers swimming and boating. Water, water everywhere . . . I now live in the Bay area of Northern California. In case you haven’t heard, we are in year four of
UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE 5-2-15 In the Welcome Aboard booklet, a few things really caught my eye. Let’s take a look at the section on TRAFFIC. So you have a ship full of guys – more than 1,500 sometimes, berthed on several levels below the main deck, and the General Quarters alarm sounds.
Welcome Aboard 4-25-15 Sue Cowan, daughter of George Pitts, sent me this really interesting piece of USS Boston history. It is a 5 x 6″ booklet given to the men before they mustered onto the ship officially for the first time on Commissioning Day, June 30, 1943. The booklet gives the new
Kenneth W. Flisher, MM3c 4-19-15 Kenneth Flisher reported to the Boston while the ship was reprovisioning in the lagoon at Eniwetok (Marshall Islands). While Ken missed some of the earlier engagements of the Pacific Campaign (including the March 1944 Crossing of the Equator Shellback Initiation), he jumped right into the hot seat as the
A Sailor's Prayer 4-12-15 Laurie Wasilewski sent me this: She came across this while perusing the ShipMates’ collection of BeanPots during the reunion (Portland) in 2008. Somehow or other, we were chatting about the Great Typhoon, and how terrifying it must have been for our dads and their shipmates those rough days in
The Easter Bunny 4-3-15 We have seen that Thanksgiving and Christmas were celebrated on the Boston with great feasts. Apparently, the Easter Bunny never made it out onto the ship – it was way too far to hop! Readers of Volume 2 of Baked Beans will remember that Julian Goldstein talked a bit about
