In Harm's Way

USS Hazelwood (DD-531)

Before we get started, this post started by being all about a particular ship, then I did some more reading. Spent a lot of time at the U.S. Naval Academy Memorial Hall website, where I spent time reading about graduates of the Academy who had been lost at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 (24 killed in action on that day, from ensigns to a rear admiral). Then I dug into the history of the ship I planned on posting about, things got dusty in a hurry. (Still kinda dusty as I type this.)

The ships by themselves are nothing. It is the crews of those ships that turn them into warships, instruments of national power. This is the story of the crew of one such ship. So how did this post get started? As often happens, it was a comment from a reader...

LL blogs over at Virtual Mirage and is a man with experience in defense of the Republic. Damned fine writer as well. As his dad served in the Pacific, I thought to honor his and his shipmate's service. As I started digging, and reading, I was amazed. Where do we get such men?

"Struck by a kamikaze..." doesn't begin to describe the Hell those men went through on that day.

Here's an account* from a man who served aboard USS Hazelwood (DD-531) with LL's Dad, Ensign Frederick C. Butler -

On Sunday, 29 April 1945, Task Force 58, under the command of Adm. Marc Mitscher, was defending the Army and Marine amphibious forces that had landed on the beaches at Okinawa on 1 April. Hazelwood was one of the nine destroyers in Destroyer Squadron 47 (DesRon 47) in the outer screen, 10-mi from the fleet center, defending the carriers and battleships against submarine and low-flying air attacks. During the period 1-29 April, the task force’s aircraft had been busy providing bomb support for the land forces and defending against Japanese air attacks.

At about 1650 on 29 April, their sister ship, USS Haggard (DD-555) was hit by a kamikaze about 10 mi from them and the Hazelwood was ordered to stand by her. On their way to assist the Haggard, they were at general quarters with all hands at their battle stations, and the author's station being in the after engine room. Soon, all of the Hazelwood’s 5-in/38-cal guns began firing, along with the 40mm and 20mm guns, too. After a lot of firing, the author felt a small explosion off the port stern and a couple of light bulbs in the engine room were shattered, as a kamikaze flew by at close range but missed the Hazelwood.

Soon, a second plane came in from astern, low on the water, and hit the Hazelwood at 1731. One of the kamikaze’s wings struck the #2 stack and knocked the 40mm director off its mount and down to the main deck. The plane crashed into the port side of the superstructure, just above the main deck and a fire started.

In the after engine room, the crew, including the author, neither felt nor heard anything. However, they lost communication to the bridge and the forward engine room. They did not know they had been hit until, about 10-min after the hit, they started taking smoke into their space through the ventilation system, not a lot but certainly noticeable. A little later, it was noticed, by the author for some unknown reason, the system was losing water. The Chief [Chief Trunkhill] was asked if he could see any leaks in the engine room and, after a quick check, he said no. The Chief was instructed to shut down the main engines. This chain of thought quickly went through all of our minds: We are losing water and will be losing steam and electric power; the lubricating pump for the main engines is motor-powered and if they lose lubrication, the main bearings will be ruined in a New York minute. They shut down the after engine room and notified the after fire room by phone.

Many of the crew was below deck....and did not learn any details of the disaster until they went topside, where they was to see the raging fire. The ship was dead in the water and had little with which to fight the fire. Lieutenant (jg) Chet Locke, the engineering officer, was directing the fire-fighting from the starboard deck, throwing cans of foam on the blaze - the only fire-fighting tool they had until about 25-min later, when other ships came alongside to help them out. The author helped with assisting and supervise the damage-control parties. Of the 18 officers assigned to the ship, 10, including the commanding officer, were killed in the attack; four were wounded, leaving four able-bodied surviving officers, including the author. Of the approximately 310 enlisted men, 67 perished and 30 were wounded. (Source)

Three USNA graduates were among the officers killed in action that day -

(Source)

Commander Douw was in the process of turning over command of USS Hazelwood to Lieutenant Commander Hering -

From "Aircraft Carrier" by J. Bryan, III

April 28th [1945]. At sea

As we stood away, one of the Hazelwood's officers took me up to the bridge and introduced me to their skipper, Comdr. Volckert P. Douw, a crisp, smart-looking man, with the warmest smile I've ever seen. We chatted a few minutes, then he said, "I bet you don't know who you're talking to. No? I'll tell you: you're talking to the happiest guy in the whole goddamn Navy! See that man standing there?"—he pointed to the other wing of the bridge—"That's my relief. He's going to take over in a couple of days, and I'll go home and see my wife and kids for the first time in God knows when."

We were coming alongside another CVE, the Attu, which was giving me a lift to Guam, so I told the skipper goodbye and wished him well. He had no messages for me to send his wife; he thought he'd get home before I would.

…

April 30th [1945]. At sea

… This morning [my friend] Hays took me up to the bridge and gave me the long glass and pointed to a destroyer on our starboard beam. "Look at that mess," he said.

Her bridge was smashed flat. Her foremast was hanging over the side. The starboard 40mm mount was lying on the deck.

Hays said, "A kamikaze hit her Saturday afternoon, just after you came aboard. I saw the dispatch, but I've forgotten the exact number of casualties. I know she's requesting a new skipper."

I put the glass on her bow. Her number stood out clearly: "531"—the Hazelwood.

Damn, just damn...

USS Hazelwood after the kamikaze attack.

It's not enough, at least for me, to know the names of the ships and the actions they were involved in, it's also important to know the names of those who gave the last full measure...

Officers

• CDR Volckert P Douw - Commanding Officer, KIA, Body not recovered
• LCDR Walter A Hering - Executive Officer, KIA
• LT James P Lenderink, KIA
• LTJG Edward L Broadwater, KIA
• LTJG John P Dunbar, KIA, Body not recovered
• LTJG Malcolm H Robertson, KIA
• LTJG Phillipp P Sebastian Jr, KIA
• LTJG Joseph J Silhavy Jr, KIA
• LT William E Strube - Ship's Doctor, KIA, Body not recovered
• WO Kenneth R Sturgeon, KIA

Enlisted

• MOMM3 E C Adams, KIA
• Y1 David M Barber, KIA, Body not recovered
• RM2 Kenneth E Barrett, KIA
• SEA1 Joseph Bellas, Died of wounds
• B1 Edward S Bends, KIA
• RDM2 Theodore W Bergstrom, KIA
• CWTP Leo A Bowers, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA1 Ernest J Brady, KIA, Body not recovered
• RDM3 Joseph A Burd, KIA
• QM2 Homer V Callis, KIA
• FCO2 John P Campbell, KIA
• RDM3 William A Carbone, KIA
• CCSP Luigi C Celentano, KIA
• RM3 Edmund J Cieciorkoski, KIA
• MM1 David G Comstock, KIA
• SOM2 Russell L Craven, KIA, Body not recovered
• RM3 Bennie E Damelin, KIA
• TM2 Robert J Fahrig, KIA
• EM2 Eldon G Fisher, KIA
• EM2 Gerald M Green, KIA
• MM3 Swift C Greenway, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA1 Leslie E Gunderson, KIA
• SK1 Paul Gwinn, KIA, Body not recovered
• RM1 Thomas F Hannon, KIA
• WM2 Robert J Hubkey, KIA, Body not recovered
• FC1 Edwin R Johnson, KIA, Body not recovered
• BM2 Albert F Kalkbrenner, KIA
• SOM1 Edward E Kallin, KIA
• SEA2 Nathan F Kett, KIA, Body not recovered
• SOM3 Willard L Kunze, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA1 James R Lanning, KIA, Body not recovered
• RDM3 Robert H Law, KIA
• MOMM1 Kenneth E Long, KIA
• RDM3 George J Lorber, KIA
• RDM2 Edward J Magliochetti, KIA, Body not recovered
• RT1 Paul Mcmills, KIA
• SEA1 Dan F Mcnamara, KIA
• PHM1 Frank Myernick, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA2 William E Newell, KIA, Body not recovered
• SF1 Melvin L Nicholson, KIA
• MM1 Allen E Olson, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA1 Harold B Parks, KIA
• RDM3 Frank Patronis, KIA
• GM3 Richard T Peterson, KIA
• SEA1 Edward A Rafferty, KIA, Body not recovered
• Y1 Harold A Read, KIA, Body not recovered
• SC3 Robert J Reese, KIA, Body not recovered
• RM2 Eugene W Riley, KIA
• SEA1 Kenneth C Riness, KIA, Body not recovered
• QM1 John W Roberts, KIA
• RDM3 Robert L Sarr, KIA, Body not recovered
• EM1 Glenn C Stabenow, KIA
• RM2 Clifford J Stipanovich, KIA
• WT2 Alex G Targonski, KIA
• CBMA John A Vanmeter, KIA, Body not recovered
• EM3 Glenn E Vogt, KIA, Body not recovered
• SM2 Robert K Voisinet, KIA, Body not recovered
• SEA1 Carl E Wainwright Jr, KIA
• BKR3 Arlo H Wanless, KIA, Body not recovered
• F1 Mitchel W Wewiorski, KIA
• TM2 George J Wheeler, Died of wounds
• SEA1 Charles H Wilson, KIA, Body not recovered
• CFCP Joseph W Witkowski, KIA, Body not recovered
• SM3 Clarence G Witzig Jr, KIA
• RDM3 Anthony C Zadrozky, KIA
• WT3 Raymond J Zoska, Died of wounds

(Source)

Requiem

Robert Louis Stevenson

Under the wide and starry sky,

    Dig the grave and let me lie.

Glad did I live and gladly die,

    And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:

    Here he lies where he longed to be;

Home is the sailor, home from sea,

    And the hunter home from the hill.

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

The Greatest Generation indeed.

Godspeed.





* With some minor editorial corrections from Your Humble Scribe
USS Hazelwood survived the war, she was decommissioned in December of 1974. (Source)