Tag: December

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LATE DECEMBER ABOARD THE BOSTON

1943: The men spend their first Christmas aboard the Boston anchored in Pearl Harbor.

christmas turkey

1944: The ships of Task Force 38 spent the 19th and 20th of December searching for survivors of the terrible typhoon that claimed three destroyers and 800 men off the eastern shores of Luzon and Samar (Philippines).   Search planes launched from all the   ships continued searching for survivors as the ships reorganized into their task groups for more strikes against Luzon.   Because the ships were still being plagued by the typhoon, the airstrikes were cancelled that night.   The task groups then turned south and east and headed for the anchorage at Ulithi, where they would stay until Dec 30.   After arriving on the 22nd, the men celebrated Christmas in Ulithi Lagoon. While the ships were in anchorage, the Navy convened a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the facts surrounding Typhoon Cobra.

1945: The men still aboard the Boston on Occupation Duty spent their last Christmas together aboard the ship.

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EARLY DECEMBER ABOARD THE BOSTON

1943: December 1st was the last day of Liberty in San Francisco. The ship has been reprovisioned and has taken on some new crewmembers and marines hitching a ride to their first destination: Pearl Harbor. The Boston pulls out of San Francisco Bay on 12/2 heading west. On December 6, the day before the two-year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Boston lines up with other ships waiting to enter P.H. When they enter, the men aboard see the devastation all around.   The Battleship Oklahoma is belly-up and on her side.   Oil is still spewing out. Then the Boston eases into it’s berth on Battleship Row, right next to the sunken Arizona, watery grave of   1,100 sailors. The men spent the next month and a half at Pearl Harbor; daily war exercises and drills with other ships in Hawaiian waters, and weekend liberty in Honolulu.

USS_Arizona_from_port_bow.jpg 500*337 pixels

USS Arizona

1944: After arriving in Seeadler Harbor (in the Admiralty Island of Manus north of New Guinea) the Boston, was in drydock for boiler repairs and a new paintjob from Nov 21 through Dec 9.   The war in and around the Philippine Archipelago raged on unabated while the men and their ship was away.

Image:Admiralty Islands Topography with labels.png - Wikipedia,

1945: After the Surrender of Japan, a Demilitarization Task Group was formed, with the Boston in command. The men spent the month of December ranging up and down the coasts of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, destroying suicide subs and boats and seizing weapons.