DOB/DOD: February 28, 1900 (Middleborough, MA) – May 12, 1942; 42 years old MARITAL STATUS: Unknown LOCAL ADDRESS: Glastonbury SERVICE NUMBER: Z-019292
FAMILY: Born to Wallace C. (1870-1908) and Mary E. Flinn Collins (1877-1951). Thomas was their only child.
From FindAGrave.com and contributor rcelt
From Seaman’s Protection application
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died when his ship, the SS Virginia, a tanker, was torpedoed in the Gulf of Mexico.
At 2203 hours on May 12, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Virginia (Master Bengt H. Larson) was hit on the port side at the #8 tank by one torpedo from U-507 while lying stopped at the pilot buoy one and a half miles off the entrance to Southwest Pass, Mississippi River. Two minutes later, she was hit on the same side in the engine room by two more torpedoes, which caused a fire in the stern that quickly spread around the ship on both sides. The ship sank within a few minutes, with the superstructure remaining above water. The master, seven officers, and 33 crewmen had no time to launch lifeboats, so they were forced to jump overboard. Only the two officers and 13 crewmen who jumped from the windward side and swam away from the tanker survived, but one crewman later died of burns in the Marine Hospital in New Orleans. The survivors were picked up by the PT-157 after 30 minutes and landed at Burwood, Louisiana. Several crewmen exhibited bravery by saving the lives of men who had severe burns and could not swim. Position was 28° 53’N, 89° 29’W. [from uboat.net]
From uboat.net
The fate of U-507
Sunk on January 13, 1943, in the South Atlantic north-west of Fortaleza, Brazil, in position 01.38S, 39.52W, by depth charges from a US Catalina aircraft (VP-83 USN/P-10). 54 dead (all hands lost).
Memorial headstone in East Cemetery, 220 E. Center Street, Manchester, Connecticut.
DOB/DOD: 1903 (Connecticut) – September 24, 1942; 35 years old MARITAL STATUS: Married to Mae Coleman. No other information could be found. LOCAL ADDRESS: 33 Hickory Street, Waterbury SERVICE NUMBER: Z-097275
FAMILY: Unknown
CIRCUMSTANCES: The SS Losmar was torpedoed and sunk about 250 miles west of Cape Comorin, India, by Japanese submarine I-165. 25 Merchant Mariners and 2 Navy Armed Guards lost their lives.
Photo from russpickett.com
The fate of Japanese submarine I-165
She was sunk by a United States Navy patrol bomber of Patrol Bomber Squadron 142 (VPB-142) on 27 June 1945 in the Mariana Islands at 15°28′N 153°39′E.
From the Hartford Courant on December 5, 1942
TWO MERCHANT MARINES MISSING
Washington, Dec. 4 – (AP) – The names of two Connecticut men, both of whom are missing, were included today in the Navy Department’s third list of Merchant Marine casualties. Covering the period from October 22 to November 21, the list carried 305 names. Seventeen were listed as dead, and 288 were missing. There were 12 others whose names were not listed because their next of kin live in foreign countries. The Connecticut men missing were Boatswain Patrick Daniel Coleman, husband of Mrs. Mae Coleman of 33 Hickory Street, Waterbury, and Galleyman John William Hastings, son of Mrs. Margaret Hastings of 244 Arthur Street, New Haven.
DOB/DOD: August 15, 1905 (Orrville, OH) – January 9, 1942; 36 years old MARITAL STATUS: Married Ruth V. Barbour Bingham Bachmann (1913-1981) on April 6, 1932, in Norwich, CT. Divorced in February 1938. Married Delcini Louise Daniels (1918-1990) on March 5, 1938, in New London, CT. CHILDREN: One daughter, unnamed, only lived a few hours and was buried in February 1937. Two sons with Ruth, Cletus Arthur Chilcote (1933-present) and Gene R. Chilcote (1935-1995). One son with Louise, Arthur E. Chilcote [U.S. Navy, 1963-1969] (1940-1971). LOCAL ADDRESS: 20 Division Street, New London SERVICE NUMBER: Unknown
FAMILY: Born to Arthur E. (1872-1955) and Gertrude Rutter Chilcote (1883-1965). Three sisters, Mildred (1907-1968), Ida Mae “Mary” Chilcote Fetherolf (1912-1991), and Eleanor Chilcote Edwards (1917-1995). Five brothers, Ralph E. (1909-2000), Floyd D. (1914-2006), Robert R. (1919-2005), Melvin E. (1921-1997), and Lester (1923-2007).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Cletus served as a Mate on the Mine Planter General Richard Arnold, U.S. Army, during World War II. The General Arnold, after successfully saving another Army mine planter that had suffered engine trouble while heading to Portsmouth, sprang a leak in a storm and sank off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The only survivor of the General Arnold was the Captain of the ship, William H. Chasteen. When they first tried to rescue him, he shouted, “Never mind me. Save the others! ” He, however, was the only one left to rescue, and he also survived the war. [from russpickett.com]
From The Day (New London, CT) on January 10, 1942
CHILCOTE LOST HIS LIFE ON FIRST TRIP AS ARNOLD MATE
Mrs. Dulcie Chilcote of Oswegatchie road, Waterford, disclosed today that her husband, Cletus A. Chilcote, was making his first trip under his new appointment as mate of the army’s junior mine planter General Richard Arnold, when he lost his life, with nine others, in the sinking of the Arnold off the New Hampshire coast Thursday.
Mrs. Chilcote said the 35-year-old officer received his promotion last Tuesday and assumed his new post on Wednesday, the day before he put out to sea for the first time as mate.
The Arnold formerly was a passenger and freight boat plying between this city and harbor defense posts of Long Island sound. Recently she was converted into a junior mine planter and assigned to Portsmouth.
Planned to Move to Portsmouth
The Chilcotes planned to move to Portsmouth. Pending the finding of an apartment there. Mrs. Chilcote and her two-year-old son, Arthur, had been staying with Mr. and Mrs.
Wilfred J. Gelinas in the Oswegatchie road.
Mrs. Gelinas said that Chilcote’s young son became aware of the tragedy Thursday night when news of the sinking was received, but before Chilcote’s death was announced. She said the little boy, lying in his crib, cried over and over again: “Daddy’s gone: Daddy’s gone,” and could not be comforted until, after being picked up, he fell asleep from exhaustion.
Besides his widow and son. Arthur, Chilcote leaves another son by a former marriage, Cletus Arthur Chilcote, Jr., of this city. He also leaves his parents, five brothers, and three sisters in Ohio.
Before entering the Army boat service, Chilcote served 12 years in the Navy.
He was one of ten members of the crew of the Arnold who lost their lives. Five besides Chilcote were residents of this city and vicinity, as follows:
Robert H. Larkin, chief engineer, married, of 5 Farnsworth Street of this city Harry N. Reeves, deckhand, of 8 Thames Street, this city John J. LoGioco, deckhand, of 77 Belden Street, this city Robert E. Gaboury, fireman, married, of 404 Poquonoe Road, Groton Nicholas M. Robinson, fireman, married, of Niantic William H. Chasteen, 32, of Glenwood Avenue extension, Waterford, Master of the Arnold, the only survivor.
Chasteen today was reported to be suffering from severe shock, and he has not been told of the loss of the members of his crew. He is a patient at the Camp Langdon post hospital at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
WEBMASTER NOTE: William Chasteen lived to be 70 years old and died in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1982.
DOB/DOD: December 28, 1923 (West Haven, CT) – January 1, 1943; 19 years old MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried LOCAL ADDRESS: Canterbury SERVICE NUMBER: Unknown
FAMILY: Born to Denniston (1892-1930) and Louisa M. Wibberly Charlton (1893-1991). One sister, Lois E. Charlton Woodell Lemond Plassman (1920-2000)
Photo from USMMAAlumni.com
CIRCUMSTANCES: Cadet Dennis Charlton, Jr. was a deck cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He left to go to sea on the SS Arthur Middleton in 1942. The ship was built specifically for wartime efforts in a shipyard near Mobile, AL. The German Submarine, U-73, torpedoed and sank the SS Arthur Middleton on January 1, 1943. The ship was just three miles off the coast of Oran, Algeria. The cargo aboard was ammunition from New York headed to Oran. [from kp142.tripod.com] Only three armed guards survived of the eight officers, 34 men, 27 armed guards, and 12 passengers (one US Army security officer and 11 crewmen from USS LCT-21).
The fate of German submarine U-73
U-73 found the convoy GUS-24 off Oran on December 16, 1943, and torpedoed the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship SS John S. Copley. As the damaged vessel returned to port, the destroyers USS Woolsey, USS Trippe, and USS Edison left Mers-el-Kebir to find the U-boat. She was located by sonar at 18:15. Hull turbulence made the U-boat’s hydrophones ineffective at the speed U-73 was leaving the area, so she was unaware of the destroyers until Woolsey’s pattern of depth charges exploded below the submarine at 18:39. Sea water poured in between the bow torpedo tubes and from a salt water inlet valve for the diesel engine cooling system. All ballast tanks were blown to bring U-73 to the surface as inflowing water exceeded pumping capacity. U-73 surfaced in darkness at 19:27, and men manned the heavy machine guns. The destroyers promptly detected her on radar and illuminated the submarine with searchlights. She sank by the stern following a brief exchange of gunfire. 34 of the crew were rescued by 22:10. [Sanders, Harry (January 1969). “Night Fight Off Oran”. Proceedings. United States Naval Institute.]
From The Bulletin (Norwich, CT) on November 2, 2003 By GREG SMITH | Norwich Bulletin
SEARCH FOR WWII CADET LOST 60 YEARS REACHES CANTERBURY
CANTERBURY — It’s been 60 years since U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Denniston Charlton Jr. died. But his chapter in history is not yet complete.
A researcher with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is seeking living relatives in Canterbury, where he hopes to deliver official among 142 cadets who died during World War II.
On January 1, 1943, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the USS Middleton off the northern coast of Africa. Charlton was on board.
“The bottom line is nobody is forgotten,” James Hoffman, a volunteer and former mariner who also served during World War II, said. “The price these young guys paid was so significant.”
Hoffman traced Charlton’s roots to Canterbury, where his mother, Lois Wibberly Charlton, was raised.
“This is an important part of a family history … a way of showing these families that even though 60 years have passed, it’s still a big deal,” Hoffman said.
Like the more than 6,000 other mariners killed during World War II, Charlton gained little notice for his role in the war.
It took 45 years, until 1988, before even a limited veteran status was authorized by the U.S. government for wartime mariners. Many of the mariners by then had passed and families never received any documents or medals, Hoffman said.
The US. Merchant Marine is a fleet of ships that carries cargo during peacetime and becomes a naval auxiliary during wartime.
During World War II, the U.S. government controlled the cargo and the destinations of the ships, contracting with private companies to operate the ships. Ships during the war carried ammunition, troops, and supplies.
In his decade of work, Hoffman said 106 of the 142 remaining families of cadets who never returned from World War II have been located. Contact with Charlton’s family would be the last of about a half a dozen cadets from Connecticut, and would close one chapter in his search.
If found, relatives can expect to receive government-issued certificates, updates on medals earned during service, and pictures. Denniston also is a part of the Mariners Memorial at the Merchant Marine Academy’s Kings Point, New York, campus, which was dedicated in October.
The academy also carries a Battle Standard as part of its color guard to perpetuate the memory of the 142 cadets.
To date, Hoffman has had little luck finding a direct descendant, despite a number of Wibberlys still living in the area.
“It’s difficult, taking bits of information and trying to glue them together,” Hoffman said of the search. “Oftentimes, third parties help me a great deal. And usually when I find the families, it’s so rewarding.”
Canterbury resident Andrea Skurcenski, daughter of Maxwell Wibberly, who was a nephew of Lois Wibberly, said Hoffman’s task might prove to be a tough one.
“I think it’s great they’re putting the time into it. It’s just a shame there really is no direct family,” she said.
She doesn’t believe that Denniston Charlton or his sister, Betty, had any children.
Hoffman said the search will continue.
He said he is encouraged by the discover of Charlton’s name being listed as a grandchild of the late Samuel Wibberly of Echoland Farm in Canterbury in a 1939 Norwich Bulletin obituary.
Memorial stone in Plainfield Cemetery, 117 Cemetery Road, Plainfield, Connecticut.
DOB/DOD: March 27, 1903 (Brooklyn, New York) – March 3, 1942; 38 years old MARITAL STATUS: Unknown LOCAL ADDRESS: Bridgeport SERVICE NUMBER: Unknown
FAMILY: Born to Joseph A. (1873-1963) and Margaret M. Scheuerle Cerabone (1879-1953). Two brothers, Louis A. (1898-1946) and Victor J. (1911-1966). One sister, Rose M. Cerabone Rush (1908-2003).
CIRCUMSTANCES: The steam tanker SS Otho was built and completed in 1920 by the Todd Drydock & Construction Corp., Tacoma, Washington, for the American-West African Line Inc., New York.
On April 3, 1942, the unescorted Otho was enroute from Takoradi, Gold Coast, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a cargo of 4400 tons of manganese ore, 1300 tons of palm oil, and 750 tons of tin and a crew of 53 (10 officers, 26 merchant mariners, 10 U.S. Navy Armed Guards, and 7 passengers).
They were hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-754 approximately 200 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. The torpedo struck on the starboard side amidship, directly below the stack at the bulkhead between the #3 tank and the engine room. The explosion severely damaged the vessel and caused her to sink after twelve minutes. The Master, six officers, 16 crewmen, five armed guards, and four passengers were lost. The ship Master/Captain of the SS Otho was John Makkinje, who was lost in this sinking. [from russpickett.com]
The fate of U-754
The U-754 was sunk on July 31, 1942, in the North Atlantic south of Nova Scotia, in position 43.02N, 64.52W, by depth charges of a Canadian Hudson aircraft (113 Sqn RCAF/625). 43 dead (all hands lost).
DOB/DOD: August 28, 1916 (Tullahoma, TN) – July 9, 1942; 25 years old MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried LOCAL ADDRESS: Darien (mother) SERVICE NUMBER: Z-055921
FAMILY: Born to Wendell M. [WWI hero; see NOTE below] (1893-1932) and Mary B. Whitmore Schulze (1894-1975). One brother, Francis (1918-1975). One sister, Shirley Butts Norberg Seaver Hesse (1921-2007).
NOTE: Lieutenant Wendell M. Butts was a hero of World War I. He is the recipient of the Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the Legion of Honor medal. He participated in the Seicheprey, Château-Thierry, Marne, and Vosges fronts. He was reported killed in action, but survived the war. He died at 39 years old, when James Butts was just 17 years old.
Berkeley (CA) High School, Class of 1935
CIRCUMSTANCES: Aboard the SS Santa Rita, a refrigerated cargo ship, en route from Cape Town to Charleston, South Carolina. Ship torpedoed by the German submarine #U-172 700 miles off Puerto Rico near position 26°11N 55°40W.
The first torpedo ripped open her hull and destroyed the engines, giving the crew no choice but to abandon her; however, while lowering the boats, one capsized, and a crewman drowned. Three others had been killed by the explosion. The remaining fifty-nine people got into two lifeboats. The U-172 came to the surface and machine-gunned the ship and shelled the radio room. The Santa Rita was then boarded by the U-172 crew, searched, and scuttled with charges.
Henry R. Stephenson, master of the Santa Rita, was taken prisoner by the U-boat and was interned in the Milag Nord POW camp. He survived the war and was released during a prisoner exchange in January 1945. All the other survivors were picked up, thirty-two of them by U.S. destroyers on July 11 and twenty-seven by a U.S. Army boat on July 25.
The SS Santa Rita from maritimequest.com
The fate of U-Boat U-172
Sunk on December 13, 1943, after a hunt of 27 hours, in the Atlantic west of Canary Islands, in position 26.29N, 29.58W, by depth charges and Fido homing torpedoes from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-19 USN) of the US escort carrier USS Bogue and by some 200 depth charges from the US destroyers USS George E. Badger, USS Clemson, USS Osmond Ingram and USS DuPont. 13 dead and 46 survivors.
Ship named for James A. Butts
The SS James A. Butts was launched in 1944. After the war, it remained in government service until 1947, when it was sold to a private company and renamed the SS Lone Star State. It went through more owners and names (SS Anniston, SS Caldwell) until 1958, when an outfit called the “Ridgefield Navigation Company Ltd,” apparently an arm of Seaways Shipping Corporation, acquired it and named it the SS Ridgefield, operating it under the Liberian flag.
From the Norwalk (CT) Hour July 25, 1942
DARIEN WOMAN’S SON DIES IN ACTION
Mrs. Mary Butts Of Cherry Lawn School Gets Word As She Waits For Him On Furlough
James Albert Butts, 25, first assistant engineer with the U.S. Merchant Marine Fleet, was killed in action at sea recently, according to an official notification received from the Navy Department yesterday by his mother, Mrs. Mary Bello Butts, business manager of the Cherry Lawn School in Darien. Mrs. Butts disclosed today that her son was to arrive in Darien on furlough on Wednesday to visit her. The telegram received on Friday was at first thought to be a message from Butts notifying his mother of his coming to Darien. The youth was scheduled to receive his chief engineer’s papers in August. Butts graduated from the California Nautical School in June 1938. He received his engineer’s degree and simultaneously a commission as ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He enlisted in the Merchant Marine soon after his graduation from the Nautical School and had served with the Merchant Marine fleet for the past four years. Butts resided in California most of his life. Although he was not a resident of Darien, having enlisted with the Merchant Marine before his mother came to Darien, he had been a frequent visitor. His last visit in Darien was in March when he spent a weekend leave with his mother, who resides at the Cherry Lawn School. Following his visit here, the Merchant Marine officer left on a detail, which he was in the process of completing when he met his death.
From the Martinez (CA) News-Gazette on August 29, 1942
NEPHEW OF CONCORD COUPLE SACRIFICES LIFE FOR COMRADES
CONCORD, August 29 — Mr. and Mrs. William T. Whitmore have recently heard of the death of their nephew, James A. Butts, who heroically gave his life in an attempt to save two shipmates trapped in the engine room of the SS Merchantman [should be SS Santa Rita] following the torpedoing of the ship off the coast of Africa on July 9. Butts, an assistant engineer, was enroute to the United States to assume a chief’s rating. He was safely away from ship, but returned to aid his comrades. All three were lost when the torpedo demolished the vessel. All others of the crew were saved.
From the Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, CA) on April 11, 1944
IN THE SERVICE A Gold Star Mother enlists in WAC Hopes to serve as a dietician in one of the devastated countries
Mrs. Mary Belle Butts of 494 Princeton street, who lost one son when his ship was bombed in the Atlantic early in the war and who has another in the South Pacific, signed up this week at the Women’s Army Corps recruiting station in San Francisco.
A trained and experienced dietician, she hopes to be sent overseas later to serve in one of the devastated countries of Europe.
“I cannot, of course, ever take the place of my son, but being of sound mind and body, I can take an active part in the war effort by joining the WACS, having specialized in an essential field of army work,” she explains. Photo from ancestry.com
Her hero son was Ensign James A. Butts. His brother, Electrician’s Mate First Class Francis Butts, is also in the Navy. He has been overseas for a year.
Private Butts was formerly chief dietician and house manager at Westbrook College in
Portland, Maine, and later became a manager of the food department at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Last year, she took a course in dietetics and institutional management at Columbia University.
After completing her basic army training, she hopes to become a dietitian at Fort Winfield Scott. Her background includes extensive travels in this country and abroad, and three years of residence in the Philippines.
Memorialized on the World War II Memorial, 2 Renshaw Road, Darien, CT
DOB/DOD: August 29, 1916 (Bridgeport, CT) – November 2, 1944; 26 years old MARITAL STATUS: Married Christine Glynn (1919-1998) on April 10, 1941, in East Hartford. After Rudolph’s death, she remarried in 1946 to Charles McCarthy. CHILDREN: One son, Dennis E. (1943 -). LOCAL ADDRESS: 975 Grand Street, Bridgeport SERVICE NUMBER: Z-481720
FAMILY: Born to Rudolf J. (1894-1976) and Grace Morey Broedlin (1898-1932). One sister, Eleanor M. Broedlin Smith (1926-1988). One brother, Donald J. [Marine Corps veteran, 1951-?] (1931-2001). Stepmother, Lina King Broedlin (1896-1971).
Bridgeport Central High School Class of 1934
CIRCUMSTANCES: SS Fort Lee, an oil tanker, was sunk in the Indian Ocean on November 2, 1944, by German U-Boat #U-181. Nine men aboard Fort Lee were killed during the attack. Four lifeboats were successfully launched, with three of them being picked up by other ships in the area. The fourth lifeboat, with 16 men aboard, drifted 2,850 miles over 10 weeks before landing on Japanese-held Sumba Island with three men remaining on board. All three of them perished in the custody of the Japanese Army. NOTE: It would be speculation to consider that Rudolph Broedlin was one of those in the lifeboat who survived.
The fate of U-Boat U-181
Taken over by Japan at Singapore on May 5, 1945, and became the Japanese submarine I 501 on July 15, 1945. On February 15, 1946 (GMT), towed by HM Tug Assiduous to the Straits of Malacca, off Singapore, where U-181 (I-501) was scuttled (alongside I 502 / U-862) by the frigate HMS Loch Glendhu.
DOB/DOD: May 3, 1921 (West Haven, CT) – December 3, 1943; 22 years old MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried LOCAL ADDRESS: New Haven SERVICE NUMBER: Z-258080
FAMILY: Born to Abraham (1894-1960) and Celia Flom Blum (1895-1959). Four brothers, Simon (1918-1962), Herman [Army veteran 1945-1946 and 1958-1965] (1918-2000), Monte M. [Army veteran, 1943-1946] (1925-2005), and Calvin [Air Force Veteran] (1927-2020).
James Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY; Class of 1939
Photos contributed by Christina Pugliese; Senior Advisor – AP Environmental Science
From FindAGrave.com and Thomas Clark
CIRCUMSTANCES: Lost at sea when his ship he was serving on, the SS Leonidas Polk, collided with a Dutch vessel in the Irish Sea. According to the ship’s log, Blum leaped overboard and was trying to rescue other sailors when he drowned. Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The Dutch ship Princess Irene that was sunk in this incident
In ballast en route from Pailey (Glasgow) to Garston (Liverpool) in the Irish Sea sunk 10 miles west of Mull or Galloway due to a collision with the American SS Leonidas Polk. The 10 crew members, including Captain Buining, were killed. Only a passenger and a British gunner can be rescued. The dead crew: J. Schut, sailor, J. Buining, Captain, W.H.J. Propstra, cook, P. Buining, mate, W. Pethenick, sailor, S.J. Dogger, 2nd driver, M. Oosterhof, sailor, 1st operator was Korthuis who drove around on his life jacket after 1.30 am rescued by a sloop of the Leonidas Polk. Also, the English gunner Ch. Brickel was later picked up.
From marhisdata.nl
From The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD) on January 31, 1944 By Henrietta Leith
Captain John Reynolds paused and put his hand over his eyes for a moment. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said. “This has hit me pretty hard.”’
The veteran Baltimore sea captain was not talking about his 14 hours on a ‘‘dead” ship, or of the arthritis which had crippled him after the long exposure. Nor was he referring to a convoy collision which damaged his ship and sank another.
Talks Of Aide’s Death
He was trying to describe the heroic death of his radio operator, 22-year-old Murray M. Blum, of Brooklyn, New York., who gave his life in a futile effort to save a drowning man.
It happened during the captain’s latest trip, while he was in command of the Liberty ship Leonidas Polk on a North Atlantic trip. Traveling in close convoy formation, the Polk collided with another vessel, which sank within three minutes.
“It was a pitch black night,” recalled Captain Reynolds, “And a rather boisterous sea. The other ship had just gone down and some of her men were floating in the water and
drifting past me.
Hears Cry For Help
“Two men had passed my ship close aboard, but too far away for our lines to reach them. One man, out of sight, was crying out quite loudly that he could not swim.
While my lifeboats were being launched my radio operator, who was very athletic, went overboard. He passed the two men near the ship, who were apparently temporarily secure on wreckage. When last seen he was swimming strongly toward the voice in the darkness that was asking for help.”
Decides To Quit Convoy
During the next two hours the lifeboats from Captain Reynolds’ ship searched the area and picked up two survivors. At daybreak the search was resumed, with the help of other vessels from a nearby port. Finally, Captain Reynolds decided to abandon the convoy and return to the port.
“We remained there another week, during which time the search for my radio operator and any other survivors was vigorously prosecuted, but to no avail,” he said. “I can only presume that he was lost.”
Fine Physical Specimen
The captain recalled how the young operator, who “stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 210 pounds without an ounce of fat,” was continually exercising with bar bells “that I couldn’t even lift off the deck.”
His ambition was to resume the college career which had been interrupted by the war, and it was this which caused the close friendship between the youth and his skipper. “I had many long talks with him and helped him shape up his plans for the future,” said Captain Reynolds. “He had become almost like a son to me.”
Recommends Recognition
Since his return the captain has notified the proper authorities in Washington of the radio operator’s heroism, and asked that special recognition be made to his family.
The captain, whose son, Lieutenant John L. Reynolds, Jr., is in the South Pacific, is a native of Pennsylvania, but moved to Baltimore in 1930, designing and building the family home at 315 North Bend Road
“Weather Man Of Sea”
He served in the navy before and during the last war, and later became known as the ‘‘weather man of the sea’ because of the weather maps he brought back from each voyage. In 1931 he was given a medal by the French Government for supplying weather information which aided the flyers, Coste and Bellonte, in their transoceanic flight.
He received letters of commendation from the British Admiralty for the 1939 rescue of survivors from the torpedoed aircraft carrier Courageous.
Last February, while he was in command of the Wade Hampton, that Liberty ship was struck by two German torpedoes, remaining afloat 14 hours, although “‘the whole stern was blown off up to the mizzenmast.”’
Eight Of Crew Lost
Eight of the crew were lost when a lifeboat capsized, but others were picked up by a British corvette during the night. The boatswain, on a raft with another survivor, died from exposure just as rescue was in sight. The captain and chief engineer remained with the ship until just before she sank, and Captain Reynolds still suffers from arthritis because of the long vigil.
Himself determined to “get in on this next invasion,’’ Captain Reynolds paid tribute to the men who have served under him during the war.
“We have our troubles today with inefficient personnel,” he admitted, ‘‘but most of the boys I take to sea with me make up for their inexperience with a beautiful enthusiasm for the work they are trying to do.”
A Liberty shop built in Brunswick, Georgia, was named for him. It was launched on October 25, 1944, joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 1952, and was sold for scrap in 1971.
From the Brooklyn Eagle on October 12, 1944
NEW SHIP TO CARRY ON FOR BORO HERO OF THE SEA
The heroic spirit of Lt. Murray M. Blum, young Brooklyn merchant seaman who had four ships shot from under him and remained unscathed—then died to save the victims of another torpedoed ship, will sail the seas again. On October 24 the SS Murray M. Blum, named in his
honor, will ride down the ways of the J. A Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia. The 22-year-old veteran of three years in the maritime service has been awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for bravery posthumously.
When, due to a collision between his and another ship, the other ship went down, Blum dived into the sea. to save those crying for help. He succeeded in rescuing a number of persons at the cost of his own life.
A graduate of Madison High School, Blum was attending Brooklyn College when he decided he would be more valuable in the merchant marine than in a classroom. He enlisted early in 1941.
He was reported missing at first but his body was later recovered and buried in National Cemetery in Montreyer, Scotland.
His mother, Mrs. Sylvia Blum of 1642 E. 19th St., is happy to here that a ship is being named for him, because he always loved the sea “and now he will still be sailing even if it’s only in spirit.”
From The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle on July 14, 1944
President Praises Heroism of Merchant Marine Officer
New York — (JPS) — Lieutenant Murray Morris Blum, 23, USMS, of Brooklyn, New York has been posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his attempt to rescue a drowning survivor in the North Atlantic, an attempt that cost him his life, it was revealed here by the National Jewish Welfare Board. Fewer than twenty of these medals have been awarded altogether during this war.
In the middle of a freezing night last December, Blum’s ship, the SS Leonidas Polk, was steaming in blacked-out convoy through icy North Atlantic waters when it collided with another ship, which sank almost immediately. Blum, Chief Radio Operator of the Polk, heard the cries of a drowning survivor beyond the range of buoy lines. He dived overside and was last seen swimming away from his ship in search of the distressed man.
Said the Presidential citation accompanying the award: “That he was unsuccessful in his mission does not detract from the glory of his effort. His heroism was further sanctified when, in his attempt to rescue the drowning man, he gave his own life. His utter disregard of the odds against his own survival was a heroic manifestation of the spirit which so inalienably characterizes the men of the United States Merchant Marine.”
Blum had made nine convoy trips and had four ships sunk under him during three and a half years in the maritime service.
From The New York Daily News on November 14, 1958 By Jesse Brodey
Kin of Hero Will Attend Dedication
“The parents of World War II Merchant Marine hero Murray Morris Blum, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Blum of 1642 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn, will fly with Vice President Nixon to join Queen Elizabeth II in dedicating the American Memorial Chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, November 26.
The chapel is to be dedicated “to the glory of God and in memory of the Americans who gave their lives in military operations from the British Isles.”
Blum was Chief Radio Operator aboard the Liberty ship Leonidas Polk when his ship, steaming in blacked-out convoy, collided with another which sank almost immediately.
Pulled Out 4 Men
Blum pulled four men out of the water and in an attempt to rescue two others in the rough, wreckage-strewn sea, was lost. He was last seen swimming away from his ship in search of the distressed men. His body was found on the Irish coast several days later.
The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal was awarded posthumously to him. Another Liberty ship, like the Polk, launched at Brunswick, Georgia, in October 1944, was named the Murray M. Blum. It served throughout the remainder of the war and still bears his name in the U. S. Reserve Fleet at Mobile, Alabama.
Blum’s name was chosen from those on an American roll of honor presented to St. Paul’s
Cathedral on July 4, 1951, by General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Ceremony of 3 Faiths
The dedication will be a ceremony of three faiths with American war heroes’ next of kin representing the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths. Blum’s parents, who will represent the Jewish faith, have also been designated by the Maritime Administration as the Merchant Marine representatives.
The Blums’ role in the dedication was disclosed simultaneously yesterday by Maritime Administrator Clarence G. Morse, and by City Council President Abe Stark, to whom the war hero’s father is technical adviser.
From The Baltimore Sun on May 21, 2014 By Alan Feiler
On a wall calendar in their Lutherville kitchen, the Blum family keeps various appointments and relatives’ birthdays jotted down in fairly small, neatly written Magic Marker script. But for the week of May 25 to 29, the words “London,” “Cambridge” and “Paris” are written in large letters.
This particular calendar notation is not for an ordinary hop across the pond, but the journey of a lifetime for Murray Blum, an attorney and 1972 graduate of Milford Mill High School. On this trip to England and France with his 12-year-old son, Jordan, Blum will once again come face-to-face with the life and legacy of his namesake, Lt. Murray Morris Blum, an uncle he never met who died during World War II trying in vain to save another man’s life.
“In a way, I feel like I knew him,” Blum said of his uncle. “If I ever needed some help, I would always reach out to him for advice, in a mystical way. I know it sounds corny, but it’s something I did.
“I grew up hearing stories about Murray all the time, how good he was and the relationships he had. He was just a great person who would always help people. I’ve always been proud to be named after someone like him.”
Murray and Jordan Blum will attend the May 26 dedication ceremony of the Visitor Center at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial near Cambridge, England. The cemetery, which is run by the American Battle Monuments Commission, is the final resting place of 3,812 American servicemen who died during the war, including Lt. Blum, who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine.
The cemetery compound includes a Wall of the Missing with the names of 5,127 servicemen, most of whom were lost during the Battle of the Atlantic or the bombardment of northwest Europe. Among the better-known names on the wall is Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., elder brother of President John F. Kennedy.
The new Visitor Center will feature a permanent audio-visual exhibition titled “Profiles of Sacrifice,” which tells the stories of Lt. Blum and 13 other U.S. military personnel who gave their lives during the war. The ABMC has also produced a “Next of Kin” video for the exhibition that features Murray Blum, his sister, Robin Blum, and their uncle, Calvin Blum, talking about Lt. Blum’s legacy. The Blums donated Lieutenant Blum’s diary, medals, and other artifacts and information to the exhibition.
“The Blum family was just so willing to share,” said Timothy Nosal, the ABMC’s acting public affairs director. “They are truly touched and honored that their relative will be featured at the Visitor Center. It just resonated with them, and Lieutenant Blum’s story simply stood out for us.”
A selfless act
A 22-year-old native of New Haven, Conn., who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Lt. Blum was the chief radio operator on the SS Leonidas S. Polk on the evening of Dec. 3, 1943, when the ship collided with a smaller European sea vessel miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Atlantic. While the Leonidas Polk did not sustain significant damage, the other boat sank quickly, and many of its crew jumped into the frigid, choppy waters.
As rescue boats were dispatched and the crew of the Leonidas Polk watched from the deck, one man in the ocean cried desperately for help, shouting that he did not know how to swim. The rescue boats were going in the opposite direction. A strong swimmer, Lt. Blum immediately removed his shoes, yelled, “Radio Operator Lt. Murray Blum going overboard,” dove into the water, and searched for the man drowning beyond the range of the buoy line.
The selfless act was completely in keeping with Lt. Blum’s character, according to his brother, Calvin.
“No one else would jump in but Murray,” Calvin Blum said. “Murray would always do everything in his power to help someone. It was an automatic impulse.”
Rescue boats never found Lt. Blum or the man he intended to save. Three weeks later, Lt. Blum’s body washed up near the Scottish shore. “He gave his life for someone else,” Murray Blum said. “He didn’t have to jump overboard, but he did.”
Calvin Blum was only 14 and at home with his parents in Brooklyn when a Western Union messenger knocked at the door.
“It was a very traumatic period,” Calvin Blum said. “First, we got the telegram. Then, in a piecemeal way, every few weeks, they started sending his goods back home — clothes, phonograph records, barbells, uniforms. Each time, it was like reopening the wound.
“My parents never got over losing Murray,” said Calvin Blum, now 86 and living in White Lake, Mich. “They were never the same happy people they had been. But they were never angry. They never asked, ‘Why did he do this?’ They knew that was him. And I’ve always been very proud of him.”
On June 6, 1944 — D-Day — Lt. Blum was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal, the highest medal bestowed upon members of that service.
“His heroism was further sanctified when, in his attempt to rescue the drowning man, he gave his own life,” Adm. Emory Scott Land wrote in a letter to the Blum family on behalf of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “His utter disregard of the odds against his own survival was a heroic manifestation of the spirit which so inalienably characterizes the men of the United States Merchant Marine.”
Lt. Blum was later honored at the 1958 dedication of the American Memorial Chapel at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at which his parents met Queen Elizabeth II. Also, a Liberty Ship was named in honor of Lt. Blum, and his life has been documented in an exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington, D.C.
Murray Blum said his father, Monte Blum, also a World War II veteran, often reminisced about Lt. Blum. But Monte Blum, who as a diver with the U.S. Army 1061st Engineer Battalion had the task of recovering soldiers’ bodies from the English Channel, rarely spoke about his own wartime experiences, which included being seriously wounded in combat.
“I’m not even sure how exactly he got hurt during the war,” Murray Blum said of his father, who died nearly nine years ago from medical complications stemming from his war wounds. “I guess he didn’t really want to think about it.”
Murray Blum credited his sister for “getting the ball rolling” with the family’s involvement with the visitor center project. “She’s been working on this for a long time, communicating with everyone and making contacts, including with the [ABMC],” he said.
‘Seeing my name’
Murray Blum said he and his son will be special guests of the ABMC at the ceremony and receive a special tour of the visitor center and cemetery, which Blum has visited on two other occasions.
Of his first visit to his uncle’s grave in the 1980s, Murray Blum said, “It was very emotional just being there and seeing my name and going through the cemetery and seeing all the names of the kids buried there.”
Jordan Blum will miss four days of classes at the Park School, but said he does not mind. “I’m excited about it,” he said of the trip. “I know he was a lieutenant and a radio operator, and that my dad is named after him.”
Murray Blum is confident that the visit, which will include a quick jaunt to Paris, will make a lifelong impression on his son.
“I want him to know about Murray and what he did. I want him to share it with his classmates,” he said. “It was just selfless, without even thinking. That’s who Murray was, and I’m very proud.”
Photo from ABMC.gov
Lieutenant Blum is buried in Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, Cambridgeshire, England; Plot E, Row 0, Grave 51.
Photo from FindAGrave.com and contributor Doc Wilson.
DOB/DOD: March 1, 1901 (Clinton, Maine) – January 16, 1944; 42 years old MARITAL STATUS: Married Gladys Bogue (1908-1983) on March 22, 1920, in Norwich, CT; divorced in 1924. Married Sophia Bishop (?-?) on December 16, 1925, in Norwich, CT; divorced in 1927. Married Edna S. Leveille (1910-2003) on December 25, 1928, in Thompson, CT. CHILDREN: One daughter, Nancy Aileen Bell Asal (1929-2020). LOCAL ADDRESS: Rural Free Delivery #1, Putnam, Connecticut FIRST ENLISTMENT: U.S. Navy, April 7, 1917, in Cleveland, Ohio. Discharged August 9, 1919. Service number 111-24-82. ENLISTMENT: November 6, 1943 SERVICE NUMBER: Z-319210
FAMILY: Born to Gustavus A. (1874-1950) and Edna M. Stevenson Bell (1876-1968). One brother, Graham S. (1906-2000). Two sisters, Pauline E. Bell Joslin (1912-1996) and Marjorie G. Bell Sharples (1918-1971).
Photo contributed by Deb “Piper” Asal, granddaughter of Holman Bell
CIRCUMSTANCES: The SS Sumner I. Kimball was named for Sumner Increase Kimball, who was born in 1834 in Lebanon, Maine, in York County. When he was 12 years old, his parents moved the family to Sanford, and when he was just 16 years old, he was accepted at Bowdoin College. Kimball graduated from Bowdoin in 1855. After studying law for three years in the office of his father, Kimball passed the York County bar exam. For the next few years, he practiced law, served in the Maine state legislature, and then moved to Boston in 1860, where he practiced law for a short time. During the Civil War, he accepted a clerkship in the office of the Second Auditor of the Treasury in Washington. He continued to be promoted and, in 1871, became chief of the U.S. Revenue-Marine (later known as the Revenue Cutter Service).
The SS Sumner I. Kimball was torpedoed by the German sub U-960 on the night of January 16-17, 1944. The ship’s last position was 52 degrees 33’ N, 33 degrees 45’ W. On January 8, 1944. The SS Sumner I. Kimball, an American steam merchant, as it left Loch Ewe, Scotland, with convoy ON-219, bound for New York. The ship, a Liberty ship, had been built the year before. On the morning of January 16, the steamer straggled from the convoy in mid-ocean, probably due to bad weather and heavy seas. That evening, German submarine U-960 spotted the ship about 900 miles east of Belle Isle Strait and began chasing it. After being hit by one torpedo and missed by two others, the ship tried unsuccessfully to ram the U-boat. Two more torpedoes were fired, both hit amidships, but the steamer stayed afloat. An hour later, the Sumner I. Kimball broke in two but still did not sink. Although U-960 searched for survivors, none were found. The next day, the U-boat found the forward section and sank it. The stern was found by HMS Forester H-74, and it, too, was finally sunk. A distress signal had been received, but neither U-960 nor the Forester reported seeing any survivors, lifeboats, or rafts. There were 39 Merchant Mariners and 30 US Navy Armed Guards on board; none survived.
The fate of U-960
Sunk on May 19, 1944, in the Mediterranean Sea northwest of Algiers, in position 37.20N, 01.35E, by depth charges from the American destroyers USS Niblack, USS Ludlow, two British Wellington (36 Sqn RAF/M & U) and a British Ventura aircraft (500 Sqn RAF/V). 31 dead and 20 survivors. [From uboat.net]
Additional information from granddaughter, Deb Asal Piper
He did marry my grandmother twice. He convinced her to marry him again just before he left for war so she would receive the benefits if he were to pass. I definitely understand the cruelty [in previous marriages] because that was the reason for my grandmother divorcing him.
Lots of story there. He became a Christian just before he left for World War II, and he told her that he asked God to take his life before he ever lays another hand on her. She never saw him again.
The home that I live in now is the family home that I grew up in. We live on the water and the mortgage to this property and this home was paid off before he died in World War II. He and his father built this home.
Memorialized on the Thompson KIA Memorial, 918 Riverside Drive, Thompson, CT
Photo from HMDB.org and Michael Herrick.
Also memorialized on the Thompson War Memorial, 819 Riverside Drive, Thompson, CT
DOB/DOD: April 1, 1924 (New York, NY) – December 2, 1943; years old MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried LOCAL ADDRESS: 31 Main Street, New Britain SERVICE NUMBER: Z-271290
FAMILY: Born to Juozas “Joseph” Bagdonas (1877-1927) and Viktorija “Victoria” Samulicza Bagdonas (1891-1991). Both parents were born in Lithuania. Two brothers, Joseph V. [U.S. Army veteran, 1942-1946] (1919-1994) and Michael [U.S. Army veteran, 1943-1965] (1921-2003). One sister, Victoria “Vickie” Bagdonas Winter (1922-2018).
NOTE: John Bagdonas’s father, Joseph, owned a candy store in New York City. On July 28, 1927, the store was robbed, and he was killed when he was hit over the head with a soda bottle.
CIRCUMSTANCES:
The John L. Motley was named for John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877), a historian and diplomat. Motley served as Minister to Austria from 1861 to 1867, and Minister to Great Britain from 1869 to 1870.
The SS John L. Motley was in the port at Bari, Italy, waiting to, or already unloading, its cargo of ammunition. Also in port that day was the SS John Harvey, which was loaded with a secret cargo: 2,000 M47A1 mustard gas bombs, each of which held 60-70 pounds of sulfur mustard.
The Port was attacked by 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers of Luftflotte 2. The bombers achieved surprise and bombed shipping and personnel operating in support of the Allied Italian Campaign.
The SS John L. Motley was destroyed, along with 27 other ships in what has become known as the “Bari Port Disaster,” in a huge explosion which caused the liquid sulfur mustard on the SS John Harvey to spill into the water, mixing with oil from the sunken ships, and a cloud of sulfur mustard vapor to blow over the city.
It is believed that nearly all crewmen of the SS John L. Motley perished in the sinking. The rescuers were prevented from knowing the danger they faced until a M47A1 bomb fragment was later retrieved from the wreckage.
The ship Master / Captain of the ” SS John L. Motley ” was Constantine Tsimenis. He resided in New York City, New York, before the war. Constantine was lost in this sinking.
