Part 1.4 Henry Irvin DeGraw His Service with the US Navy - South Pacific
Henry DeGraw provided
some clues as to his Military Service, enough clues to be able to paint a far
more detailed picture of involvement in World War Two.
Henry DeGraw enlisted in
the US Navy in April 1941. But he was
not in the Navy per see, he was in the elite and very dangerous force involved
with Merchant Shipping. He was a member
of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard. It seems
that not much is known about their role in World War 2. They faced immense danger on the high seas,
all the while protecting the supply ships, particularly in the Arctic Waters.
What then brought he, and
his fellow brave servicemen to Glasgow?
The reasons prove, just how dangerous his life was, while he served in
the early years of the War.
U.S. Navy Armed
Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II - A Little-Known Story
The
U.S. Navy Armed Guard was
a service branch of the United States Navy that was responsible for defending
U.S. and Allied merchant ships from attack by enemy aircraft, submarines and
surface ships during World War II. The men of the Armed Guard served primarily
as gunners, signal men and radio operators on cargo ships, tankers, troop ships
and other merchant vessels. Disbanded following the end of the war, the Armed
Guard is today little known or remembered by the general public, or even within
the Navy. But without the courage and sacrifice of the men of the Armed Guard,
victory in World War II would have been much more difficult and taken much
longer.
The merchant
marine is
collectively those non-naval ships that carry cargo or passengers or provide
maritime services, and the civilian crewmen and officers who sail those ships.
During World War II the ships and men of the United States merchant marine
transported across the oceans of the world the vast quantities of war materiel,
supplies, equipment, and troops needed to fight and win that war. The men of
the U.S. merchant marine were civilian volunteers who nonetheless died
proportionally in numbers that rivalled or exceeded any branch of the uniformed
military. Like the Armed Guard with whom they sailed, the men of the merchant
marine made possible the Allied victory in World War II.
The Armed Guard and the merchant
marine were uniquely dependent upon one another; they were literally in the
same boat. One cannot tell the story of one without telling the story of the
other.
Joint
Expeditionary Base–Little Creek (JEB–LC),
formerly known as Naval Amphibious Base
Little Creek and commonly called simply Little Creek, is the major operating base for the Amphibious
Forces in the United
States Navy's Atlantic
Fleet.
They had a motto: "We Won't Surrender"
Henry DeGraw was a member of
Convoy PQ17.
United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II in an attempt to provide
defensive firepower to merchant ships in convoy or merchant ships travelling
alone. This was done because of the constant danger from enemy submarines, surface raiders, fighter aircraft and bombers, and because of the shortage of
Allied escort vessels necessary to provide the merchant vessels with adequate
protection. he United States Navy Armed Guard (USNAG) were U.S. Navy gun crews consisting of Gunner's Mates, Coxswains and Boatswains, Radiomen, Signalmen, an occasional Pharmacist's
Mate, and toward
the end of the war a few radarmen serving at sea on merchant
ships.
Armed Guard crews served on
Allied merchant marine ships in every theatre of the war. Typically the crew
was led by a single commissioned officer, but earlier in the war chiefs and
even petty officers had command.
Hazardous
duty considerations
The assignment as an Armed
Guardsman was often dreaded because of the constant danger. Merchant ships were
slow and unwieldy despite being priority targets for enemy submarines and
planes. Furthermore, merchant ships were among the last to receive updated
equipment. Early on in the war, some ships only had a few machine guns
installed, so the crews painted telephone poles to imitate the barrels of
larger guns. The most common armament to be installed on merchant ships during
the war were the MK
II 20mm Oerlikon autocannon
and the 3"/50, 4"/50, and 5"/38 deck guns.
Cross-training
for crew members
When practicable, the Navy Armed
Guard aboard a merchant ship would provide cross-training to merchant crew
members in the use of the guns in the event the Navy personnel were killed or injured.
Scheduling
The Navy Armed Guard unit would
travel with the merchant ship to its destination and return Stateside on the
same ship, or another, depending on convoy schedules.
First use
in convoy to Russia
The first merchant ship to make
the eastbound convoy to North Russia (PQ-8 out of Iceland) with a Navy Armed Guard was the
3800-ton freighter SS Larranga. At the insistence of the ship's master,
Captain Cameron Dudley Simmons, she was installed with a Navy Armed Guard
consisting of Ensign H. A. Axtell, Jr. and eight enlisted men under his
supervision. Ordnance placed under their charge on the
SS Larranga was one 4-inch gun and eight .30-caliber machine guns. The Armed Guard crew of the SS Larranga
has the distinction of being the first to fire on an enemy submarine from an
armed merchant vessel.
Assignment - South Pacific
After Henry DeGraw returned to New York but no sooner had these men completed their Arctic venture, they were sailing towards another. In the South Pacific.
Eventually he was crew on the "Chicago", a ship which had been ordered to Honolulu where they were to be stationed, at Pearl Harbour. But by December 1941, they had not reached Honolulu.
The Chicago
On 2 February 1942, Chicago departed Pearl Harbor for Suvla, where she joined the newly formed ANZAC Squadron, later redesignated as Task Force 44. During March and April, the cruiser operated off the Louisiade Archipelago, covering the attacks on Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea. In a position to intercept enemy surface units which attempted to attack Port Moresby, Chicago also provided cover for the arrival of American troops on New Caledonia
On 1 May, Chicago was ordered from Nouméa to join Commander, Southwest Pacific, and on the 4th she supported Yorktown in her strike against the Japanese on Tulagi, Solomon Islands during the Battle of the Coral Sea. On 7 May, she proceeded, with the Support Group, to intercept and attack the Japanese Port Moresby invasion group.
The following day, the group underwent several Japanese air attacks, during which Chicago suffered several casualties from strafing, but drove off the planes and proceeded ahead until it was clear that the Japanese force had been turned back
On the night of 31 May – 1 June, while in port in Sydney Harbour, Australia, Chicago fired on an attacking Japanese midget submarine. Chicago's captain, Howard D. Bode, was ashore when his ship opened fire. After coming back aboard on his ship, he initially accused all the officers of being drunk. Shortly afterwards, the presence of the submarine was confirmed.
Three Japanese midget submarines had attacked Sydney Harbour. One became entangled in an anti-submarine boom net, and two were able to pass through. One was then disabled by depth charges, but the other managed to fire two torpedoes at Chicago. One torpedo passed near Chicago and destroyed the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, nearby, killing 21 sailors, while the second torpedo failed to detonate, and skidded ashore onto Garden Island.
During June and July 1942, Chicago continued to operate in the Southwest Pacific. From 7–9 August, she supported the initial landings on Guadalcanal and others of the Solomon Islands, beginning the US counter-offensive against Japan. On 9 August, she engaged in the Battle of Savo Island. Early in the engagement a hit from a Japanese destroyer's torpedo caused minor damage to the ship's bow. Chicago fought damage while continuing to engage until contact with the enemy was lost. Capt. Bode's actions during the engagement were questioned in a subsequent inquiry headed by Admiral Hepburn. Though the report was not intended to be made public, Bode himself learned of its implications and shot himself on 19 April 1943, dying the following day.
After Savo Island, Chicago was repaired at Nouméa, Sydney, and San Francisco, where she arrived 13 October.
Early in January 1943, Chicago departed San Francisco, action-bound once more. On 27 January, she sailed from Nouméa to escort a Guadalcanal convoy. On the night of the 29th, as the ships approached that bitterly contested island, Japanese aircraft attacked the force and the Battle of Rennell Island was underway.
During the attacks, two burning Japanese planes silhouetted Chicago, providing enough light for further torpedo attacks; two hits caused severe flooding and loss of power.
By the time the attack ended, work by the crew had checked Chicago's list. Louisville took the disabled ship in tow, and was relieved by the Navajo the following morning. During the afternoon, the Japanese attacked again.
The ship was hit by four torpedoes, one forward of the bridge and three others in her engineering spaces. Captain Ralph O. Davis gave the order to abandon ship shortly before Chicago sank stern first, 20 minutes later at 11°25′S 160°56′E Coordinates: 11°25′S 160°56′E. Navajo and the escorting destroyers rescued 1,049 survivors from Chicago, but 62 of her crew died. A final attack force of Japanese torpedo bombers failed to find the remaining U.S. ships.
The Japanese widely publicized the results of the engagement, claiming to have sunk two battleships and three cruisers, while only Chicago and a destroyer, USS De Haven, were lost.
U.S. cruisers of Task Force 18 at sea en route to Guadalcanal on 29 January 1943, just hours prior to the Japanese night air attack off Rennell Island. Photographed from USS Wichita. USS Chicago is in the right center, with Louisville in the distance.
An Australian coastwatcher in the Solomon Islands warned the U.S. forces of the bombers, and estimated their arrival time as 16:00. However, Halsey ordered the other cruisers to leave Chicago behind and head for Efate in the New Hebrides. They departed at 15:00, leaving behind six destroyers to protect Chicago and Navajo.
At first, the Japanese bombers appeared to be trying to approach and attack Enterprise but turned toward Chicago after six Enterprise CAP fighters began to engage them.
Four other CAP fighters chased the 751AG aircraft as they entered the anti-aircraft fire from Chicago's escorting destroyers. Two of the bombers were shot down before they could release their ordnance. Six more were shot down moments later, but not before they dropped their torpedoes.
They planted a hybrid coconut Plantation, and it is an eerie feeling standing in the sport known to the world as Red Beach.
President John F. Kennedy landed there, as a young marine, along with many others, including Henry DeGraw.
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