Blog about the sailors in WWII who served on the USS Boston
In an earlier post, I mentioned that a few copies of the ship’s weekly newsletter, the Bean Pot, were sent to me by family members of seaman Augustus Harris. I waxed on about how words can touch us – even when they float across a period of 65 years . . . Well, here are a couple of cartoons that appeared in the March 3, 1945 edition :
Little slices of life aboard a combat ship in the height of the Pacific War.
Steve
Based on my work at the National Archives, I’m excited to announce and have implemented a new crew list for the Sailors of the USS Boston. If you click on the ‘Crew List’ in the navigation menu, you’ll see a current listing of the database of the Sailors of the Boston. I included a crew list from a source outside the the archives and that gave me about 1,500 names. I am now systematically adding names and information starting with the commissioning on June 30, 1943. I am working my way alphabetically and I’ve entered all the names up to the last name starting with “F”.
It looks like we will have about 2,500 to 3,00o names. If you click on the name, and I’ve enterted the information for that sailor, you’ll see individual sailor record which currently includes name, rank, enlistment date and place and when the sailor left the boston. I will be adding records and filling in missing information as I go.
I’m hoping to add pictures to this database. Also, I will be including subsequent promotions (and demotions), discipline issues, and sick bay issues.
that’s all for now….
Bill
1944: On the 18th and 19th, the ships of Task Force 58 steam west towards New Guinea. The dawn fighter launches from the carriers on April 20 marks the beginning of Operation Reckless — the support of General MacArthur’s invasion of Hollandia. On the 29th, the ships left the area and began heading north and east toward the anchorage at Majuro. On the way, however, they would attack enemy bases in the Carolines, especially Truk. During this action, the ship came under attack several times by enemy dive-bombers, and the Boston’s gunners splashed more than one “Jill.”
The action continued into early May. On May 1, Boston formed up with several other cruisers into a bombardment group and they pounded enemy targets on the Caroline Islands of Satawan, Ponape and Truk.
I arrived today at the National Archives in College Park Maryland. This is a world like no other. If you’d like to visit here and look at some of these records for yourself, it’s a wonderful place. It’s a wonderful place with it’s own rules, pace, and structure. Because of a parking shortage, your encouraged to arrive early, preferably by 8am, then at 8:30 you get to get a photo ID identifying yourself as a researcher. Wait around some more and you can store your stuff in a locker (you can’t bring anything but a computer or approved scanner into the archives), and wait until the archives open at 9am. From 9am until 9:55am you research tombs of written record indexes and you get to write ‘requests’ for stuff you’d like to see.
It takes about an hour, from 10am until 11am for your records to be pulled. So about 10:50 you get to see the first records. Did you guess correctly? You have 4 chances a day at record roulette!
I spent today looking at 3 major record collections for the Boston, the Deck Log, the War Diary, and a variety of Action files. I’ll blog more about content later. The photo I included here is the bottom of first page of the Deck Log on commissioning day of the USS Boston.
If you come to the National Archives, bring a quarter for each person, so you can store things in the lockers, and be prepared to ask dumb questions; the people here are very helpful, but they generally get experienced people, so us greenhorns get to ask questions like, “How do I know when my records arrive from the archives? Do you announce them?” or “Who do I ask how to make a copy?” The archives have a process for everything, you just have to figure it out, then you can follow it!
Courtesy of: the family of Robert O. Heidl, EM2C, CA-69
Born: April 14, 1923
Died: January 27, 1994
Robert attended boot camp at the USN Training Station, Great Lakes, IL.
He was a plank owner, serving on the USS Boston from pre-commission until he was transferred for discharge December 20, 1945.