| < | 234567 |
Hello, My name is CMed. With my stories being put up on Storiesonline.net one of the things that I wanted to bring into light were some of my articles that I wrote dealing with history in the Navy. I was originally going to post them for the navy itself but sadly it just never happened. Thankfully, I can go ahead and start getting them put up now in these blogs for anybody that is interested in reading them. These articles were written way before my stories and shows my interest in history. The only sad thing about posting them in these blogs is the pictures and silhouettes that I had for these articles don't get saved. Overtime I will get all these articles posted for anybody that has any interest in reading them. Consider them as early warm-ups for my books now. :)
Article 1: The Strange History of the USS William D Porter
Written by CMed July 11th, 2017
Is it possible to have a ship that is cursed with a bad crew or just have plain bad luck? Well it might have been so for the USS William D Porter (DD-579). When it comes to US Naval History the William D Porter was strewn with a weird history to it.
The USS William D Porter was commissioned on July 6th, 1943 and placed in command under Lieutenant Commander Wilfred A Walter. The Destroyer was a Fletcher Class Destroyer a common built class of destroyers much like the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers of today. The Destroyer was named after William D Porter the foster brother of Admiral David Farragut of the United States Civil War. Porter himself served in the navy, retired in 1855, rejoined the navy in 1859, and served in the Civil War. Once commissioned, the William D Porter was placed into active service as quickly as possible like all ships in World War 2 at the time period. Unfortunately, rushing ships into service could lead to disastrous consequences.
DD-579's first incident at sea happened in November 12th of 1943. Kept under secret orders at the time, the ship was to escort the USS Iowa the new heavy hitting battleship at the time, to the Casablanca Conference. In its first underway while leaving Norfolk, its anchor was not fully raised and caught its neighboring docked ship. It ended up tearing the life railings, various equipment, life rafts, and the captain's gig. The Captain issued a formal apology and the ship continued on its underway rendezvous with the USS Iowa.
William D Porter's second incident at sea occurred the very next day once it rendezvoused with the USS Iowa and its escort. The area was dangerous and U-boat attack was quite possible. During the day a depth charge fell off it rack and into the sea. The depth charge was not properly set to safe causing it go off in the ocean. Scaring the task force all ships took immediate evasive action before DD-579 told everyone that it was an accident. Later on in the same day a wave smashed into the ship washing a crewmember overboard where he was never found again. The wave flooded the boiler room and slowed the ship down and the entire taskforce it was escorting as well. Captain Wilfred A Walter issued an apology to the Taskforce Admiral Ernest King and assured that he would better train his crew to prevent future problems.
The third incident at sea occurred the next day on November 14th. During a gunnery training exercise, the USS Iowa began firing at target balloons to demonstrate the Anti Aircraft capabilities of the ship. Captain Walter seeing the opportunity in training the crew ordered the ship to shoot the target balloons and conduct other weapons training onboard. William D Porter had torpedo tubes onboard for sinking warships or submarines. A common tactic done at the time in torpedo training was to aim the torpedo tubes at the nearest ship in mock gunnery exercises. The nearest ship was of course the USS Iowa. Little to the knowledge of the crew of both ships, one of the William D Porter's torpedo tube primers was removed. This would not hold the Torpedoes in the tubes when the triggers are pulled. During the training exercise the ship fired a live torpedo at the USS Iowa by accident.
Panic stricken, Captain Walter and the crew tried everything to worn the USS Iowa that they fired a torpedo at her. Due to the secrecy of the mission, radio silence was in place. However, a message did reach the Iowa in time that they were able to spot the incoming torpedo. The Iowa conducted a high speed turn and the torpedo detonated at its wake approximately 1000 feet away. In confusion the taskforce thought they were under attack by a submarine but Captain Walter made an immediate reply "We did it."
The USS Iowa had all the right to aim its guns at the USS William D Porter. The secret mission they were on was to transport President Franklin D Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference. Yes, within less than three days William D Porter participated in three incidents at sea and the accidental assassination attempt of the President of the United States. FDR in horror and confusion watched as the entire scene took place. His aids had braced his wheelchair from rolling off the deck of the ship as he was originally watching the gunnery practice taking place. DD-579 was ordered to go to the U.S. Naval Station in Bermuda. There U.S. Marines placed the entire crew including Captain Walter under arrest the first time ever in US Naval History. Under trial, a crewmember was found guilty but amazingly President FDR pardoned the crew of the William D Porter claiming that inexperience was the leading cause of the incident. However the destroyer would commonly be greeted by the phrase "Don't Shot We're Republicans!" to other ships in the US Navy.
It is interesting that Captain Walter was not relieved of command and actually stayed in command of the William D Porter. He would serve onboard for another year, would command other ships, and ultimately become a Rear Admiral. After the debacle, the destroyer was assigned to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. While in port, a drunken sailor from either the ship itself or from another ship decided to fire one of the 5 Inch Guns of the Porter. The crew managed to subdue the crewmember but the gun went off and the shell landed in the base commandant's yard. Despite a party taking place there nobody was hurt except the ship's reputation even more. Some of the crew by then felt the ship was cursed with bad luck.
The crew of DD-579 started referring their ship as the "Willie D" but it would start to regain its reputation slightly in the next couple of years in the Pacific. Commander Charles M Keyes would assume command of the destroyer in the 30th of May in 1944. The ship and crew would participate in successful escort missions and protecting fleets from submarines and aircraft.
As the war was coming near an end, the Japanese began to utilize kamikaze attacks. On June 10th, 1945 a Japanese kamikaze bomber made an attack on the Porter. The ship and crew fired everything they could at the aircraft and successfully shot it down. However the bomber splashed right next to the destroyer and its bomb went off underneath the ship's keel. For at least 3 hours the crew did everything they could to save the ship but the flooding was too immense and there was nothing left to save the ship. The order was given to abandon the ship and the crew made a complete successful evacuation of the doomed Porter. Despite the bad luck of the ship's two year career, all of the ship's crew was able to abandon ship with no casualties. Some crew still felt by then that the ship was so unlucky that it had the bad luck in claiming any lives as it was going to the ocean's bottom.
It is ironic in writing this article that there are really not that many crazy stories to write about when it comes to the US Navy. This is by many counts a good thing as it shows that in a dynamic and hazardous environment there is a fundamental professionalism that takes place on US Naval Ships. It's obvious also that these crazy stories maybe not recorded at all going by the saying that "what goes on a ship stays on the ship." In my personal experience, crazy things do happen on ships but never to an extent like the William D Porter. But even in this case, DD-579 and its crew can still be celebrated in the history books and make good writing in the end.
Sources
Siggurdsson, (2013, June 10). Destroyer USS William D Porter Sunk by Already-Crashed Japanese Kamikaze. Retrieved from http://www.burnpit.us/2013/06/destroyer-uss-william-d-porter-sunk-already-crashed-japanese-kamikaze
Kit Bonner, (1994, March). The Ill-Fated USS William D Porter. Retrieved from http://www.ussiowa.org/general/html/willie_d.htm
With the advent of Ayida-Weddo and the Tales of Heroes book Part 1 of 2 been uploaded now, I have now created the Tales of the Heroes universe where history and magic are intertwined. All Tales of the Heroes books are linked together but technically don't have to be read in any particular order. Over time I will continue to make more and more books including Part 2 of 2 of the Ayida-Weddo story that is nearing completion. Future books included will be Ryujin and the Tales of Heroes book. I have commissioned artists for the book covers as well.
A sequel for Under the Influence and Warrior of Silence (Not related to this universe but part of Snekguy's Pinwheel universe) is planned.
Both my universe and Snekguy's universe use the concept of size difference relationships including human and non-human relationships.
| < | 234567 |