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USCG CABLE SHIP PEQUOT UNITED STATES HARBOR DEFENCES |
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1. The US Coast Guard Pequot (WARC-58). During WWII this cable ship laid top secret Indicator Loop cables to protect harbors from German U-boats. Her mission ranged from the ports of Virginia up to Argentia, Newfoundland. (Calamaio family). |
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FEEDBACK
If you can help us identify any of the Pequot
sailors on this website please contact Dr Richard Walding or Chip Calamaio.
LINKS TO RELATED PAGES
AWARDS
Richard Walding
If you any feedback about indicator loops please email:
Dr Richard Walding,
Research Fellow - School of Science,
Griffith University,
Brisbane, Australia.
Email: waldingr49@yahoo.com.au
If you have comments or queries specifically
about the Pequot, please contact Chip Calamaio
chipaz@cox.net,
938 E. San Miguel Avenue, Phoenix, 85014, Arizona, USA. (H) 602-279-4505.
Chip Calamaio
Indicator Loops around the World (Home Page) How an indicator loop works
United States Navy Loop Receiving Stations
Museum Display
Click the image to the left to see a
museum display that features the Pequot Website.
About this Website
Click the image to the right to learn
about the Code
of Silence among Pequot Veterans and How This Website Came To Be.
MAIN TOPIC SECTIONS
(Click to Jump There)
About,
Semper Paratus,
Mission,
Other Pequots,
The 1st USCG Pequot,
Construction,
Deck Plans,
Sister Ships,
Replacement,
Escorts,
Other Duties,
Manual,
Cable Laying,
DUKWs, Home Port,
Gunner’s Mate,
20mm,
The Captain,
Crew Stories,
Crew List,
Communications,
Radio Wars,
Navigation,
Magnetic Deviation,
Degaussing,
1920s & 30s,
Women,
CG Auxiliary,
83 Footers,
Subchasers,
Subchaser 1296,
Boston Harbor,
Storms,
German Weather Ship,
Victory,
Museum Display,
Bibliography
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Coast Guard Sea Veterans of
America Award |
Click image to view certificate. |
Yankee Station Award Yankee Station Website Award #64 |
Golden Griffin Award Griffin Website |
The Patriot Award. Patriot Website |
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On November 13th 2010 Pequot researcher and amateur historian
Chip Calamaio was featured on Wayne Messmer's Homelife Radio
program on Chicago's am560 WIND news-talk radio station as part of a
show to honor the men and women of America's armed forces in conjunction
with the November 11th Veteran's Day holiday. In this fast-paced segment
Chip tells the story of the Pequot website and the ship's secret
mission, the contribution of crew and families to the project, as well
as the spirit of patriotism the tale of the Pequot and its crew has
stirred among many who have visited the website. Courtesy WPM
Productions, am560 WIND radio, Chicago IL, Wayne Messmer and Bob
McAuliff at:
www.homeliferadio.com |
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The Army Mine Planter General Samuel M. Mills becomes the US Coast Guard Cable Ship Pequot
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4. The General Samuel M. Mills - later the USCG Pequot - during sea trials in 1909. (Independence Seaport Museum Archives) |
In April 1922, the Army minelayer
General Samuel M. Mills was decommissioned and acquired by the Coast Guard
- and renamed as The Pequot. The General Samuel M Mills, was constructed
for $300,000 in 1908 at the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey under a
contract with the Submarine Mine Service of the US Coast Artillery Corps which
was under the War Department, US Army, Office of the Quartermaster General. The
ship was named after Brigadier General Samuel Meyers Mills, Jr. who was the U.S.
Army’s Chief of Artillery 1905-1906 (see photo below). She was
converted to a cable laying ship by the American Brown Boveri Electrical
Corporation of Camden, New Jersey and renamed Pequot (WARC-58).
The fact that an "electrical" company did the conversion indicates the addition
of the motorized winches and other specialty equipment required to modify the
ship to conduct general cable laying and repair work.
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5. The General Samuel M. Mills (March 11, 1927) - later the Pequot. Note the absence of the cable wheel on the bow of the ship. (Photo supplied Jim Flynn) |
6. A later photo of the Pequot shows
the cable wheel on the bow. Called a “sheave” this pulley was used when laying
and salvaging cable. |
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1st Lt Samuel M. Mills, Jr in 1877 with the Department of Tactics. |
Now renamed as The Pequot, the former mine planter Mills was
commissioned as a US Coast Guard cable ship and special craft on April 29th
1922. She replaced an earlier Coast Guard cable ship also named Pequot.
Beginning on March 4th 1923 the
new Pequot (ex-Mills) was assigned to the Coast
Guard’s New York District Office and operated out of New London,
Connecticut. On March 27th 1929 she was transferred to the
Norfolk, Virginia Coast Guard Depot and was stationed at the port at Norfolk
until June 15th 1932 when the ship was assigned to the Boston, Massachusetts
Coast Guard Office. The Pequot was temporarily assigned to the
Commander-In-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet on August 5th 1941 then shortly
before the attack on Pearl Harbor, on November 1st 1941, she was officially
transferred from the Coast Guard to the Navy and assigned as a cable laying
and repair ship out of New London, Connecticut. From her home port of Boston
she was responsible for laying and repairing indicator loop and
communications cables for the remainder of World War II.
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8. Flag from the US Mine Planter General Samuel M. Mills. In 1909 the term "Submarine" on the flag meant "underwater" defense as in sea mines and not the anti U-boat submarine defense which came decades later. |
9. A close-up of the note written on the flag
(A Place Called Yorkship / yorkship.us) |
For a detailed
look at the design plans, cabin details, and construction photos of the General Samuel M. Mills 1908-09
click here
The original construction drawings reveal how the ship's crew and
the Army troops involved in mine laying operations were provided with
completely separate quarters, galleys, and bathrooms.
It is also clear that accommodations for the ship's officers were
much nicer than the quarters for sailors and soldiers when the Mills
first put to sea in 1909.
Click image to enlarge.
Part Two of our ship
construction section presents information on five of the Pequot’s Sister
Ships. THE TOP SECRET WWII MISSION
– INSTALLING ANTI-SUBMARINE INDICATOR LOOPS Anti-submarine Indicator
Loops USCG Pequot - Mission
Accomplished and a Job Well Done
Beginning less than four months after
the attack on Pearl Harbor the Pequot joined the intense efforts
of the Army, Navy, and civilian agencies to get a viable harbor defense
system installed and operational. This was during the period when U-boat
attacks where at their peak and the overall situation along the entire
Atlantic seaboard was very grim. The Pequot and its crew
responded and played a vital role in establishing the initial indicator
loop defenses at entrances to major US ports. Her outstanding efforts
did not go unnoticed. On March 24th 1942 the Chief of Naval Operations
provided the following formal Commendation to The Commandant of the US
Coast Guard and the Pequot’s Commanding Officer: In addition to this major
push at the outbreak of hostilities, the Pequot would continue to
install indicator loop cables at ports and harbors along the Atlantic
coast as far North as Argentia, Newfoundland, as well as service and
repair damaged cables throughout the war. When not working on indicator
loop cables, the Pequot was kept very busy laying and servicing coastal
communication and teletype cables along the Atlantic seaboard between
Coast Guard lifesaving stations and lighthouses. She also pulled up
and salvaged cable no longer in use and ran electrical power cable to
isolated light stations. A sailing list of officers and
men is at the end of this webpage. Also included is a section from the USN
Harbor
Defense Manual dealing with
laying and repair of indicator loops. 13. USCG Pequot
fully underway in the North Atlantic - circa 1940 (Courtesy the John
McCormack family) Decommissioning of the
Pequot The 1st USCG Cable Ship
Pequot
Click the Image To The Left to learn
about the 1st US Coast Guard cable ship named The Pequot in 1919. The Other Pequots
Click the Image To The Right to see
the colorful history of other United States ships named The Pequot
Semper Paratus
AND THE SPIRIT OF THE FIGHT Since basic training the men of the Pequot were galvanized by
this song into the spirit and camaraderie of their Coast Guard
service. (Semper Paratus Lyrics
by
Captain Francis Saltus Van Boskerck USCG, 1927)
THE
PEQUOT'S WORLD WAR II HOME PORT
In the image below we can spot the large warehouse with its distinctive
raised center roof on the wharf were Pequot was tied up when in
port (see photo #32 below). Located in Boston’s historic North End
this area of piers and docks, which became the Coast Guard base, is
known as Constitution Wharf, since this was where the USS
Constitution “Old Ironsides” was built and launched in 1797.
14. George G. Simmons Pequot Quartermaster &
Photographer A native of Rhode Island, George Simmons served
as a Quartermaster on the Pequot from late 1942 to the spring of
1945. George’s photographs appear throughout this website, most of
them donated by other crew members or their families. In a 1988 letter to Chief Yeoman Jim Hudow George explained, “I
was the guy that had the camera. Getting the materials to develop
pictures during war time was difficult for civilians, but I had a
friend back home, who enjoyed doing it. He felt he was helping the
war effort somehow, and that’s how I was able to get so many
pictures made.” George got married while he was still aboard ship on
April 22, 1944. George and his wife Edna settled back in Warwick,
Rhode Island and raised 6 children and had 16 grandchildren.
Roger “Guns” Calamaio’s Photos
31. In Boston
Harbor - May 1944: sailors Cidoni,
Jenkins and Livingston. 32. Pequot in
Boston Harbor - May 1944
33. Sailor Jenkins - May '44,
Boston Harbor 34. Sailors
McCormack and Cidoni practicing Hand-to-Hand,
Boston Harbor, May 1944: 35. Roger Calamaio - "ready for
anything" - September '44 Boston 36. Sailors Coppo, Jenkins,
Livingston, Cidoni and Carhart of the Pequot - May
1944 37. Crew on spar - May 1944:
Sailors Cidoni, Jenkins, Coppo, Livingston, Fleming and
Weber. 38. Gun crew (L to R):
Theodore Cline, Steven Cedoni on the 20mm deck gun, George
Simmons, John McCormack. See note below about the Pequot's deck gun.
To learn about their history and see them under construction,
click here
Mills II - keel laying.
(Joyner
Library, ECU)
(Independence Seaport Museum Archives)
Indicator Loops are long lengths of armoured cable laid on the
seafloor of harbors to detect enemy submarines. They were developed by
the Royal Navy in the early 1900s and first trialled at the end of WW1.
They were successfully deployed in WW2 in British ports and other
Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South
Africa, Kenya, Ceylon, Penang, and in allied harbours (Iceland, Holland,
Dardanelles). By 1942 the United States had adapted this technology for
its own needs and a dozen United States Navy "loop
receiving stations" were established along the eastern seaboard of
mainland USA particularly at the ports of Boston and Portland. The Pequot was the main cablelayer for the USN's
indicator loop harbor defense. The deployment of indicator loops was
highly secret and hardly any of the men knew the purpose of the cables;
most thought they were underwater communications cables. The words indicator loop were not used - just
cable.
10. This diagram shows the
arrangement of the cables in the loop ("3-legged") and the
tail cable connecting them to the shore station. The Pequot crew laid the loop cable in the
correct position and joined it to the tail cable using
waterproof splices and junction boxes.
11. Longitudinal drawing of indicator
loop cable recovered from Mediterranean waters. It had a diameter of 30 mm (1¼")
and the section labeled "6" is the lead wire. The steel armor
wires (#10) also has a lead coating. After the
war this type of valuable lead loaded cable was pulled back up
and salvaged by the Pequot and other ships. To
date no sample of actual harbor defense loop cable from
the US has
been located. A full description of this cable can be
found on the Cablemakers webpage.
12. Cross section of
indicator loop cable to the left.
During the past ten months the Pequot
has laid over fifty miles of armored cable for
establishing magnetic indicator loop systems in four widely
separated areas of the Atlantic Coast. This special work has
been accomplished in addition to many varied demands for her
normal service and has been done often under the most
adverse conditions of weather. It is considered that the
Commanding Officer of the Pequot, her other officers,
and her crew deserve special commendation for their manifest
efficiency in performance of duty.
The USCG Pequot tied up along Constitution
Wharf at her Boston Coast Guard Base home berth, circa 1945. Here
we can clearly see the wear and tear on her bow and hull from hard
years at sea during World War II. (Lou Carhart). Click to
enlarge.
Just before the end of hostilities,
the Pequot was reassigned to Norfolk, Va and she officially
returned to the Coast Guard on January 1st 1946 to help salvage miles of
undersea cable which was re-used for telephone and telegraph purposes.
After more than 35 years at sea, the Pequot was decommissioned on
December 8th 1946 and sold for scrap September 5th 1947 to Potomac
Shipwrecking Co., Inc. of Popes Creek, Md.
The Pequot’s Replacement
As early as 1944, based upon engineering reports of the Pequot’s
deteriorating mechanical condition, the Coast Guard started looking
around for a replacement ship. The US Navy’s Walnut (YN-31) was
considered but she was stationed in Honolulu and would require a long
transfer. Based upon recommendations from the Pequot’s Captain Lars
Sande, and the office of Coast Guard Admiral Park, “that an Army Mine
Planter would be suited seems to have considerable merit.” But the
decision on a good replacement for Pequot didn’t happen until
after the war when in June of 1946 the Navy’s Chimo Class mine layer,
Trapper (ACM-9), was obtained by the Coast Guard, converted for
cable work, and renamed the Yamacraw (WARC-333). She was originally built to
plant and tend controlled defensive minefields for the Army's Coast
Artillery Corps. After more than 10 years of Coast Guard service she was
returned to the Navy in 1959 who operated her as the cable repair and
research ship Yamacraw (ARC-5) until she was decommissioned in
July 1965 and sold for scrap in 1969.
14. The USS Trapper
(ACM-9) in 1945. The raised 40mm gun position on the
foredeck superstructure, the two 20mm gun positions above
the bridge, and the side and fantail mounted 20mm gun tubs,
were all removed during conversion to a cable ship.
(National Archives photo 19-N-79421)
15. The Pequot’s
replacement USCG Yamacraw (WARC-333). Notice the cable
wheels now built into the ship’s bow.
(Naval Historical Center)16. By 1964 Yamacraw’s bow
had three large cable pulley sheaves. (Photo Victor G. Edens)
The Original Sheet Music of the
Official US Coast Guard Theme Song, “Semper Paratus.” (Sam
Fox Music Publishing, Cleveland, Ohio)
Click the play button below to hear a recording of the march.
(audio track from www.mp3raid.com)27. Old Glory
waving proudly up in the rigging. For the American men and women of
World War II the Stars and Stripes symbolized everything they were
sacrificing and fighting for.
(Freiermuth family)
(Click To Enlarge)
(Office of War Information 1943)
26. World War II Era Coast Guard
Patch. In the best tradition of the service’s Latin Motto Semper
Paratus the Pequot crew was “Always Ready”.
(Calamaio family)(Government Printing Office)
"United States Coast Guard - Its
Purpose and Activities in War and Peace"
One month before Pearl Harbor, in November of 1941, President Roosevelt
transferred the entire U.S. Coast Guard and all of its responsibilities to
the U.S. Navy under Executive Order #8929. That administrative act to put
the Coast Guard under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy, along
with the 1941 creation of the Coast Guard Reserve and the Coast Guard
Auxiliary, proved confusing to many. To help clarify for the American
public the many duties and far reaching mission of the U.S. Coast Guard
during the war, the government distributed the booklet “United States
Coast Guard - Its Purpose and Activities in War and Peace (publication
16-29848-1).
In addition to detailing the Pequot’s activities and cable laying duties
during World War II, much of the material presented on this website, and
the stories of the men who served aboard the Pequot during the
1940s, touch on other aspects of the Coast Guard’s mission. The specifics
presented in this booklet help set the larger context for much of the
information and oral histories that are presented here.
Click on the images of the pages above to see an enlargement.
Click here to see the full 32 page booklet.
Warning - 6.26 MB Adobe pdf file.
(Catherine Calamaio WWII Scrapbook)
The US Coast Guard base which was Pequot’s home port during WWII
was directly across the inner harbor from the Boston Navy Yard. In
this aerial photo from May of 1945 we can see the USS
Constitution berthed in the foreground.
(Naval Historical Center)
Click to enlarge.
George Simmons - Pequot Photographer
28. Roger Calamaio aboard USCG
Pequot in
Boston Harbor - May 1944
29. Pequot Gun Crew,
Boston Harbor - May 1944: Moore, McElmoyl, Jusek, Quin, McConnell, Fleming
30. In Boston Harbor - May 1944:
sailors Livingston, Cidoni and Simmons.
The Pequot’s two fantail mounted deck guns were
manually operated 20mm anti-aircraft weapons originally designed in Switzerland by the Oerlikon
Corporation. It was mounted on a pedestal and could be trained
through 360° and elevated from minus 5° to plus 87°. Considered a
close range, high angle weapon, it was a recoiling, air cooled
automatic AA gun which fired an explosive shell, including a
"tracer" which glowed as it traveled towards its target and
indicated the direction of fire. Manned generally by a three or four
man crew it was capable of firing 450 rounds per minute, at 36° of
elevation. Each magazine carried 60 rounds. Deck mounted ammunition
lockers or “ready boxes” stored pre-loaded 20mm magazines and were
located next to both gun positions for fast reloading. The 20mm AA gun had a
maximum range of 5,500 yards.
The Irony
The historical irony is that the
Oerlikon Corporation almost went bankrupt in 1935 when the US Navy
rejected one of their guns in 1934 due to its low rate of fire.
However, the Japanese Navy’s purchase of that weapon saved the Swiss
company, which allowed them further development work in conjunction
with the British, resulting in the more successful model used
extensively by the US military during WWII - and this 20mm auto-fire
cannon was based upon an original design for Oerlikon by Reinhold
Becker - a German!
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39. 20mm anti-aircraft Oerlikon |
The Pequot Connection
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So the men of the Pequot were equipped to defend their indicator loop mission with a gun made possible by the son of the man who invented the indicator loops! |
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40. Gun Crew - May 1944 |
41. 20mm Oerlikons during target practice aboard a Coast Guard Cutter off Block Island, Rhode Island April 18th 1944. (US Coast Guard Photo) |
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| 42. A Coast Guard “83 Footer” patrol boat protects
the Pequot off the shores of Maine in August of 1944.
To see more about the 83 Footers and the many other types of ships that escorted and guarded the Pequot throughout the war Click Pequot's Escort Page. |
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43. Boston Harbor - May 1944. |
44. Sailors Livingston and Simmons - Boston Harbor - May 1944 |
45. Sailors McConnell, McElmoyl, Jenkins, Luongo, Campbell and Barnett on deck - Sept 1944 |
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| 46. Sailors Mike Luongo and Roger Calamaio - off the coast of Maine - August 1944. Notice the quick release lashing on the tarp next to them which covered the 20mm guns and protected them from the elements. In front of them we see two of the weather sealed ready-boxes which held the pre-loaded magazines for the deck guns. |
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| 47. Officers of the USCG Pequot - March 1945 The Pequot’s skipper during WWII was Captain Lars Anton Sande (2nd from the right). |
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The Scuttlebutt: According to Quartermaster Lou Carhart, the scuttlebutt among the Pequot crew was that Sande had served his entire Coast Guard career aboard the Pequot having first come aboard as a young seaman. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve learned from the skipper’s son, Ted Sande, that his father had a very long and colorful career on a variety of Coast Guard and merchant ships. |
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| 48, 49. Ted Sande, who was able to see his dad Lars Sande (shown above) several times during the war, actually stayed aboard the Pequot as a 10 year old boy. See our webpage “The Captain’s Corner” for his recollections of life below decks during WWII, how his father chased Rum Runners during Prohibition, and the story of Sande’s life at sea. (Ted Sande) | |
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| 50. Officers, dogs and crew - March 1945. Click on photo to see names. |
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| 51. Crew on deck with officers and dogs - March 1945. Click on photo to see names. |
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| 52. Storekeeper 1st Class Bill Moore in front of a 20mm, September 1944. According to George Simmons, Moore conducted church services aboard the Pequot every Sunday morning. |
162.
Roger Calamaio and
Norman Zinner
ashore in their regulation Pea Coats 1943.
Roger loved that thick wool coat. He said it made him feel
"snug as a bug in a rug."
We believe that Roger and Norm
often ran errands together in the Boston area when the
Pequot was in port. |
As seen here in Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts during 1943, right before Roger shipped aboard the Pequot he served as a Coast Guard jeep driver shuttling ship pilots along the Cape Cod Canal when convoys were forming up for the dangerous runs to Europe. |
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54. Roger in April 1943 on guard duty at the Coast Guard station at Buzzard’s Bay, MA. |
55, 56. After their discharge
from the Coast Guard Roger Calamaio (right) and
friend had a train-station-booth photo taken in Detroit Michigan - in
Oct 1945 ... "and that is why they are so damned happy". Well, a
few beers may have helped. Note:
You can see the "ruptured duck" insignia on
his uniform that was given when sailors were discharged. |
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Many of the photos from Roger Calamaio's album were removed
and destroyed. His son sums up what is a rather poignant reminder of the lasting
effect of war: "There used to be other great pictures in that old photo album including some shots of the crew repairing and splicing cable, but it appears that after Alzheimer's started to take its toll, my Dad must have torn them all out. Perhaps what was going on in his befuddled mind was he thought it was all still Top Secret so he had to destroy those pictures. We will never know. There were two pages cut out of the album entirely. But I distinctly remember a number of pictures that were just not there any longer." Chip. |
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Radio Wars Click the image to the left to learn about the Radio Wars between allied ships and German U-boats. |
Communications Click the image to the right to see all the different ways Pequot could communicate without using radio transmissions. |
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Magnetic Deviation Click the image to the left to learn how the Pequot’s compass binnacles had to be calibrated to account for magnetic deviations at different latitudes. |
Navigation Click the image to the right to see how the Pequot navigated the costal waters of New England in the 1940s without the aid of GPS or other satellite technologies. |
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Between The Wars Click the image to the left to learn about the Pequot’s cable laying mission before WWII and all the trouble some worms could cause.
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Magnetic Camouflage Click the image to the right to see how the ship was protected against German sea mines by a clever magnetic trick. |
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The Battle of the Atlantic Click the image to the left to learn about the Pequot’s home port of Boston, the Battle of the Atlantic, and what some dogs did.
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The 1944 Hurricane Click the image to the right hear how the Pequot rode out a viscous hurricane that claimed 5 ships and the lives of hundreds of sailors.
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Convoy ONS 154, seen
here steaming towards Europe, was a slow moving
northbound convoy of 45 ships which was attacked for
four days in December of 1942 by a 10 U-boat Wolfpack
resulting in the sinking of 16 ships, damage to another
10, and a great loss of life and vital war supplies.
This is just one example of the carnage wreaked upon
Allied shipping by U-boats in the early years of the
war, and it underscores the Pequot's vital U-boat
detection and harbor defense mission. |
We’ve been able to learn more about many of the Pequot’s WWII era crew.
A special thanks to the crewmen and family members who worked with us to honor these men and helped develop their biographies.
To see each sailor’s story click on their photo.
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John J. McCormack – Radioman 1st Class
Growing up in New York State John was a Sea Scout as a boy and started tinkering with radios in high school. In addition to his war time service, being a Radioman became a life long hobby. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Martin A. Coppo – Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Growing up in Northern Michigan with the chilly waters of Lake Superior as his swimming hole helped prepare Martin for his time on the Pequot. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Louis A. Carhart – Quartermaster 1st Class Lou tells of his once in a lifetime experience when the Pequot escorted a captured German weather ship into Boston Harbor. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Robert L. Livingston – Quartermaster 2nd Class The Pequot sailors Bob served with during the war held a special place in his heart and he kept in contact with many of them for years after VJ Day. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Roger “Guns” Calamaio – Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class
Living off the land as a young boy in Oklahoma helped prepare Roger to
serve as Pequot’s Gunner’s Mate. Read what happened to this kid from
the Ozarks when he went to New York City by himself on his first liberty
after basic training. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Clarke Straight – Chief Yeoman Before the war Clarke put himself through college and earned a business degree which made him a natural to serve as the Pequot’s Yeoman. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Michael Luongo – Seaman 1st Class When asked why he joined the Coast Guard during World War II instead of the Army or the Marines, Mike said “I figured why walk when you can ride!” To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Adolph H. “Ozzie” Frontel - Quartermaster In addition to his time on the Pequot in the North Atlantic Ozzie also served in the Pacific theatre and traveled as far as China. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Paul Freiermuth – Seaman 1st Class Before shipping aboard the Pequot Paul “pounded the beaches” of wind swept Gloucester, Massachusetts on shore patrol which resulted in a hospitalization, an encounter with some MPs in Grand Central Station, and eventually his wedding. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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John J. Jusek – Seaman 1st Class When John Jusek went off to war he made a point of having a clarinet stashed in the bottom of his sea bag. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Jim Hudlow – Chief Yeoman Jim served aboard the Pequot for 9 months and he tells us, that like most of his shipmates, had no idea the cable they were laying was part of a secret U-boat detection system. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Norm M. Zinner – Yeoman 1st Class
Except for what he might have picked-up aboard the Pequot, Norm had no
basic gunnery instruction and probably never fired a shot, since he didn’t
even go through basic training after he enlisted and went on active duty. |
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William Moore – Storekeeper 1st Class The industrious Bill Moore started his own business only two years after he graduated from high school, so when he signed up for the Coast Guard he already had many of the skills he needed to serve as the Pequot’s top-notch Storekeeper. To see the sailor’s story click on their name or photo. |
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Stories in Development: Seaman Steve Cidoni, Steward Mate Lester H.Simmons, and Chief Machinist Roger W. Schaus Sr. |
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My Favorite Memory - Seaman Mike Luongo “We’d had some engine problems which were repaired in Norfolk, Virginia, so on Labor Day weekend in 1945 we were bringing the Pequot up to New York. Out at sea we had four hour watches where we had to do lots of things and pull different duty. As it turned out when we came into New York City I ended up on the helm in the wheelhouse. As we were coming in, I could start to see the New York skyline and I was told to put the bow right on the Statue of Liberty.” Mike remembers. “That was the biggest thrill of my World War II years, being on the wheel and steering the Pequot into New York - straight at the Statue of Liberty.” |
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(New York Harbor, Library of Congress) |
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Keeping 'em Fed! - Lester H.
Simmons - Pequot Stewards Mate
Pequot Stewards Mate Lester H. Simmons, along with Stewards Mate Clarence J. Carter, Ships Cooks Orris Weiss, Harris Sands, and Chief Commissary Steward Henry Hathway had the big job of providing all 63 members of the Pequot’s crew with three meals a day and keeping the coffee pot in the crew mess hall brewing around the clock. Working together in the Pequot’s small Galley they would bake and cook-up meals which Seaman Mike Luongo tells us were served “family style”. Then they’d have to carry their hot chow along the outside gangways up forward and rear to the crew mess halls in the main deck cabin and up to the officer’s rear staterooms on the upper deck. We can only imagine how tricky it must have been to carry those heavy trays and pots in the howling wind of the all too common North Atlantic storms on moving and pitching decks and metal stairs which were often wet and icy. And for the evening meal that often had to happen in in the dark when to avoid detection by U-boats all of the Pequot’s lights were blacked out. According to his daughters Lester often told of how the galley crew would sneak off and raid the lobster pots laid by New England fisherman and serve up the Pequot officers and crew “The best meals in the Boston area!” Lester passed away in New York on August 24th 1997. |
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The Pequot - Other Duties
AS ASSIGNED
During the first year of the war when all resources were stretched to the limit, Coast Guard commanders had to use every asset at their disposal to solve logistical problems, and the Pequot was no exception. In June of 1941 while laying loop cable near Norfolk Virginia the Pequot received orders to distribute depth charges to Coast Guard cutters who were actively engaged in convoy escort duty and battles against U-boats.
The Commander of the Norfolk District ordered Pequot to:
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Proceed to Boston Massachusetts, via the Naval Mine
Dept, Yorktown, Virginia. Obtain 4 Y-gun depth charges for delivery to the
Icarus at Stapleton, 3.I. N.Y., 6 Y-gun depth charges and 10 release track depth
charges for delivery to the Algonquin at Boston, Massachusetts, from the Naval
Mine Depot. This office will obtain and deliver 18 Y-gun propellant charges from
the Naval Ammunition Depot, St. Juliens Creek, Portsmouth, Virginia, to the
Pequot prior to her departure for Boston, also for delivery to the Algonquin.
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| 179. British sailors loading a Mk VII depth charge on to a Mk IV depth charge thrower with a block and tackle, 14 August 1942. Depth charges of the era could hold as much as 600 pounds of high explosives. (Royal Navy, Imperial War Museum Collection) | 180. USCGC
Icaraus
(WPC-110) in Charleston Navy Yard May 10th 1942 unloading German
prisoners from the U- 352 which she had just sunk off the coast
of Florida. (US Navy Photo) |
181. Coast Guardsmen on the deck of the cutter Spencer (WPG-36) watch the explosion of a depth charge during the attack which sunk the U-175 on April 17, 1943. (US Coast Guard, Photo #1517 by Jack January) |
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| 182. USCGC
Algonquin (WPG-75)
provided escort duty to numerous North Atlantic convoys and distinguished herself
by picking up survivors from torpedoed ships in rough seas while placing herself
in danger. (US Coast Guard 1943 Photo #4287) |
183. Y-Gun Depth charges
were a WWI technology. They were shot into the air from both sides
of a ship to propel them away from the launching ship to lay down a
“pattern” of underwater explosions. (U.S. Naval Historical Center) |
184. A release rack depth
charge exploding behind a Coast Guard cutter hunting U-boats. These
charges were rolled off the stern or side of a cutter by gravity and
exploded at a pre-determined depth. (Life 1941) |
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Next Time Call Somebody Else!
Pequot Gunner's Mate Roger Calamaio
told of one harrowing experience he had with a depth charge. “We were in port
and since I was a Gunners Mate I was called over to deal with a problem on a
patrol
boat tied up nearby. The protective cap had come off the end of one of their
depth charges and they were worried. When I opened it up I saw that the bladder
had filled up with rain and sea water and the firing pin was less than ¼ inch
from making contact. Well, everybody else cleared way the hell off that dock and
there I was by my lonesome on my hands and knees. I carefully put a little piece
of wood in front of the firing pin and very slowly got the firing mechanism out.
I was sweating like a son-of-bitch and I told them next time to call somebody
else!” |
Photos from the John J.
McCormack Photo Album
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80. Four Pequot Crewmembers in Port. During the 1940s the Coast Guard and crew referred to blue jeans as “dungarees”. |
81. A group of Pequot crewmen around the ladder to the bridge. |
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82. Nine Pequot sailors with an unidentified officer. |
83. Three Pequot sailors with a cat from the Boston docks that tried to stowaway. |
PEQUOT AND CABLE LAYING - PHOTOS FROM LOU CARHART
The indicator loop 'tail' cable was towed from the shore by the Pequot crew using a DUKW amphibious vehicle. The DUKW (popularly pronounced "duck") is a six-wheel-drive truck that was designed by General Motors Corporation during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious attacks. There are some good DUKW websites, and the USCG has two: the Ira Lewis Scrapbook is a good one; so to is the factsheet from the USCG Military History website.
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additional Photos
from LOU CARHART
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| 98. Some of the
Pequot crew on the main
mast rigging. Click on the photo to see an enlarged view with their names. Click again to enlarge more. |
99. Pequot crew members below decks in the engine room. The below decks crew was called “The Black Gang” by the other sailors because of how dirty they got from shoveling coal into the Pequot’s boilers. To the right we see the receiving “telegraph” which gave the crew engine speed and prop rotation directions from the Quartermaster in the wheel house | 100. Seaman 1st Class Lester Jenkins with the Pequot dogs. Sailor Mike Luongo said the black dog's name was Midnight but he couldn't remember the other dog's name. "The dogs would hang around the docks and one of the crew would bring them on board." |
Mike Luongo'S PHOTOS
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| 101. Through a hatch we see crew members with thousands of yards of indicator loop cable in the forward hold. | 102. Seaman Mike Luongo operating the Pequot's cable winch. | 103. Two seaman in the wooden launch during cable operations with the Pequot in the background. |
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| 104. The Pequot's deck was a very busy place during cable laying operations. | 105. From left to right three of the Pequot's Quartermasters up on the flying bridge; Frontel, Simmons & Livingston. Simmons is taking a bearing with a sextant. Note the deck compass in the foreground. | 106. A Pequot sailor up front with the cable winch gear. |
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| 107. During cable laying operations crewmembers in the ship's launch. The Pequot is in the background. | 108. The Pequot during cable operations. Note all the crew up front playing cable over the ship's bow pulley. (if you look at this full screen you can faintly see the cable coming off the wheel). Click image to enlarge. |
That Dangerous Dangerous Smoke! Although the thick column of dense black coal smoke coming out of the Pequot’s stack looks almost picturesque to us today, that was actually very dangerous at the time. U-boats could spot smoke like that from miles away, even well beyond the horizon. Older coal burning ships like the Pequot were at a disadvantage when trying to avoid detection. There were instances where smoke from a single aging transport reveled the location of a convoy of more than 50 ships. The U-boat which spotted the smoke would radio nearby submarines resulting a coordinated 8-12 submarine ‘wolf pack’ torpedo attack on the convoy, with the loss of many ships and hundreds of lives. So the Pequot’s coal smoke and slow moving, at times stationary, cable laying and repair mission made her extremely vulnerable.
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| The US Navy saw coal smoke as a serious problem in both the Atlantic and Pacific. | 109. In the ship's launch a sailor with his hand firmly on the rudder looks back towards the Pequot to position the launch crew during cable operations. |
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"Working out in the launch could be dangerous." Gunners Mate Roger Calamaio spoke of how hairy it was when they were “at a dead stop...like sitting ducks” while a small crew was out away from the Pequot doing cable work and the fear of U Boat attack wasn't the only risk. He said once a crew was out in the launch and a squall came up and the seas started to get really rough. Everyone aboard was watching the cable crew and they were worried that the launch was going to swamp as the storm blew in. That small boat was trying to go up and down with the waves but both ends of the heavy cable were holding it down and not allowing it to rise with the growing swells. He said it was "nip and tuck there for a while", but they finally got the repair finished and those guys back aboard before the storm really kicked in. "That was a close one," he said.” |
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| 110. Two sailors in the launch shove off to set cable positions with round marker buoys. Note two of the Pequot's life rafts lashed up on the right. For details on how the crew placed buoys to mark the loop cable positions see Page 54 of the Harbor Defense Manual (in the next section). |
111. In 1944 the Pequot’s seaman on deck during cable laying operations. Notice the indicator loop cable in the foreground being spooled out of the hold and up to the bow wheel. (McCormack family) |
112. A launch crew with an indicator loop marker buoy in 1944. We can see them retrieving the end of a cable that has been tied off on the buoy. (McCormack family) |
Installing many of the indicator loops involved very long cable runs. It appears that the Pequot’s cable hold was enlarged early in the war and probably widened to increase the capacity of cable she could carry. The bump out seen here, which is directly in line with the forward hatch to the cable hold, is evidence of a modification to the Pequot’s hull, since we do not see this protrusion in earlier images of the ship. Photos show this change on both the port and starboard sides. Even for a small ship the Pequot could carry a great deal of cable. In a Confidential Report dated October 23rd 1944 the Pequot’s Captain Lars Sande writes of taking aboard “4,498 feet type 15-strand, 18-conductor submarine cable". The tail cable had a weight of 3 tons per mile in air, and the lead lined (or "lead loaded") loop cable itself - just over 6 tons per mile.
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113. Modification to Pequot's hull. (Calamaio family) |
114. Boston Harbor 1944. (Calamaio family) |
USN Harbor Defense Manual - 1946
Published after WWII in 1946, The Harbor Defense Manual furnishes information about harbor defenses in the United States. During WW2 it became an instruction manual for Navy, Coast Guard and Army personnel given the responsibility of setting up and operating harbor defenses. After the war it was provided as general information to personnel not assigned permanently to the harbor defense work, and to capture the detailed technical knowledge obtained during the war years. It provides an overview of general harbor defenses (component training, planning, tactics, principles, teamwork and efficiency) and details the components in separate chapters: indicator loop, Herald (fixed sonar), and hydrophones; the role of the harbor control post; surface detection radar; patrol craft; smoke defenses; net and boom defenses; sneak craft, and passive defense. Below are excerpts from the manual that provide the technical principles, installation procedures, and the step-by-step process for laying indicator loops and how buoys were used to guide the positioning of cable laying (Pages 53-55). It also details the meticulous and time consuming step-by-step process for splicing various types of underwater cables (Pages 55-61). We must remember that Pequot’s cable splicing work along the Eastern seaboard took place on bobbing and pitching decks, in small boats, and often in very foul weather. Many of the techniques perfected by the Pequot, and its crew during the war years, are captured in this manual.
Click on one of these page thumbnails to see an enlarged image of the page.
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page 50
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page 51 |
page 52 |
page 53 |
page 54 |
page 55 |
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page 56 |
page 57 |
page 58 |
page 59 |
page 60 |
page 61 |
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To see how the
wives, girlfriends, mothers, and sisters
contributed, click on either of the Women’s
Posters.
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MIKE LUONGO'S PHOTOS
2. Life aboard the Pequot
Even though in many of these photos the crew is
obviously horsing around for the camera, the grim
reality was that the officers and men of the Pequot had
to be ready for a fight in case they ended up in a
surface battle with a U-boat and it’s crew.
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Sleepless Nights. Pequot’s Gunners Mate Roger Calamaio believed that was a very real possibility, “We thought that a U-boat might not want to waste a torpedo on us since we were so small, compared to the big cargo ships and tankers all around us, but they might surface and try to take us out with their deck gun and small arms fire. I had some sleepless nights about all of that when I first came aboard and would look down at that icy water. Once I realized there was no way I could change what might happen, I put myself in God’s hands and slept like a baby." |
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| 135. Hand to hand combat with the Germans could have become a reality. | 136. Bob Livingston in port on a summer day having fun for the camera. |
137. Coxwain Robert McElymol with fixed bayonet and helmet up by the bow. |
Standard Issue.
In addition to Colt .45
caliber automatic pistols, the Pequot’s small armory was stocked with
Springfield M1903 .30 caliber bolt-action rifles. This World War I era gun with
it’s long 16-inch M1905 bayonet was standard issue in the Coast Guard during
World War II and was the primary rifle available aboard ships and used by
sailors during beach patrols.
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| 138. Radioman John J. McCormack. | 139. Sailor Simmons is armed and ready. | 140. Sailor Lester Jenkins - Remember Sailor, pull that trigger just once and it'll cost you 50 bucks! |
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Hold Your Fire! The Pequot's officers didn’t want crew members randomly discharging their weapons. Lou Carhart explains, 'Roger "Guns” Calamaio would checkout 45 caliber hand guns to the crew when they went on duty but they were warned not to fire. Unless it was an emergency it would cost you $50 for every bullet you fired. As our Gunner’s Mate he would pick them up from us, exchange them, and keep them clean and loaded.' |
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141. A close-up from a 1945 photo shows two large steel munitions lockers with heavy duty watertight doors on both sides of the stairs to the bridge. We believe this is where small arms and ammunition was stored. In pre-war photos these lockers are not present, in many of our 1942-43 photos we see one locker, by 1944 two of these large steel cabinets are seen. |
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| 142. Two crewmembers below the bridge. Notice the .45 caliber side arm issued while on watch. | 143. Seaman 1st Class Steve Cidoni with rifle and helmet up by the bow. | 144. Lester Jenkins and another sailor in the wheelhouse. The navigation gyrocompass is seen in front of the helm and in the foreground we see the ship’s main “telegraph” which gave the engine room crew directions on the Pequot’s speed and propeller rotation - forward or reverse.” |
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| 145. An axe helps relieve the tension. Sailors Luongo, Cline & Livingston. | 146. Helmets on and smiles: Cidoni, Livingston & Luongo |
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Collision Drills - "We had collision drills so we were ready in case we got rammed or in case we hit another ship," Mike Luongo explains. "I was in charge of a big thick collision mat that was like a mattress. We’d have to practice quickly lashing it up against the hull with ropes to plug a hole in the ship." |
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| 147. In their GI Issue wool sweaters sailors Simmons, Jenkins and Frontle. | 148. Sailors Quinn, Cline & Livingston on work detail. | 149. A Pequot Soundman First Class in his "undress blues." The hash mark on his sleeve indicates he already has served at least 4 years of active duty. |
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| 150. Two Pequot Sailors in Port. | 151. With the Union Jack waving in the breeze up on the bow behind them we see Jusek, Benoit and their pals looking sharp in those dress blue uniforms for shore leave. |
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| 152. Machinist Mate Theodore Cline, Seaman Mike Luongo, and Quartermaster Livingston. |
PHOTOS FROM THE JOHN JUSEK FAMILY ALBUM
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| 153. John Jusek (right) aboard the Pequot. | 154. John (right) ashore with some of his friends. |
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| 155. John with his good friend Norman Zinner in the dory. | 156. Zinner and Jusek on shore leave. |
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157. John standing in the back while his pals clown around for the camera. |
158. Hitting the road on liberty - somebody had a car! |
MIKE LUONGO'S PHOTOS
3. More Life aboard the Pequot
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| 159. The best of pals - Sailors Cline, Luongo and Quinn |
160. 14 crew members on
the Pequot's starboard side |
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According to Seaman Mike Luongo there
were two crew mess halls on the Pequot during WWII.
“We ate in the forward mess hall and the Black Gang
ate in the one in the back. We really didn’t socialize
too much with those guys, except when we were on
Liberty. The mess cooks would bring the food up from
the Galley on big trays and since there was not enough
seating for everybody we ate in three shifts by
seniority. The guys who were aboard the longest got to
eat first,” Mike remembers. “The food was very good
and we ate family style. The mess crew did a lot of
baking. They would make bread and pies. Hathaway made
good pies and hot crossed buns. There was coffee in
the mess 24 hours a day and that’s where we’d sit and
write letters, play cribbage, and listen to the
government radio station. I remember listening to the
World Series,” Mike adds.
What Mike and the other Pequot crew listened to were
most likely the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS)
broadcasts which the War Department’s Armed Forces
Network launched on May 26th 1942 as a world-wide news
and entertainment network to improve troop morale and
give service members “a touch of home.” Programming
included music, war news, and regular variety programs
including the popular “Mail Call,” “Music Hall,” and
“Command Performance” which featured stars such as
Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Louis Armstrong, Red Skelton,
Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. To listen to
samples of these vintage radio programs visit:
Rand’s Esoteric Old Time Radio
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| V for Victory or “V DISCS” such as this one by the Andrew Sisters were produced by the government and major recording companies exclusively for American solders, sailors, and airmen serving overseas. ” (University of Missouri, Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City) | Judy Garland,
Bing Crosby, and Jimmy Durrante recording a “Mail
Call” segment for the May 17th 1944 Command
Performance program. (AFRS photo) |
Music Hall program #108, December 28th, 1944. In addition to live transmissions, AFRS sent records of programs all over the world to all branches of the military. (rand’s esoteric otr) |
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| 163. Officers & crew up at the bow. Notice the buoys in the foreground that were used to mark loop cable positions. | 164. A sailor at the Coast Guard base sawing lumber for use on the Pequot. |
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| 165. Mike Luongo with intercom system. One of the Pequot's 20mm guns is under the tarp. | 166. An unidentified Pequot sailor by the forward winch equipment. | 167. Sailor Mike Luongo has a 'Corn on the Cob' break on the Starboard Gunwale. |
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| 161. Sailor Luongo (right) and friends in port. | 168. For centuries sailors have passed time aboard ship making intricate rope weavings. Here George Simmons shows off his rope mat down in the crew quarters in 1944. Notice how tightly spaced the bunks are stacked behind him. With more than 60 men aboard space was at a premium. | 169. Seaman 1st Class Mike Luongo ashore |
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| 170. With Livingston, Frontel and Luongo we see Lester Jenkins on duty and armed with a regulation 45 caliber sidearm. | 171. Sailor Hoganson - Maintenance work on the Pequot was hard dirty work. |
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| 172. Sailor Hoganson by the forward winch gear. | 173. Pequot Sailors against the port gunwale off the coast of New England. |
SOME PHOTOS FROM THE JAMES H. HUDLOW ALBUM
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| 145. L to R: Unidentified Sailor, Seaman Lester Jenkins, Sailor 'Gillian' (perhaps Elmer Gillenwater), Quartermaster Ozzie Frontle, Storekeeper William Moore. | 159. Photo day in the launch on what looks like a cool windy day. |
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| 147. Here it looks like Chief Commissary Steward Henry Hathaway is fishing from the launch. | 148. Seaman Roland Benoit catching a few winks during a break in the action. |
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149. Back (L to R): Steven Cidoni and Mike Luongo. Front: Paul Quinn and Bob Livingston. |
150. Sailors Bob Livingston (left) and Mike Luongo. |
151. Back row (L to R): Bob Livingston, Lester Jenkins and unidentified sailor. Front: George Simmons, Adolph (Ozzie) Frontel. |
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| 152. From the top down: an unidentified sailor with Quartermasters Simmons, Frontel, Jenkins and Livingston below. |
153. In the wheelhouse Seaman Lester Jenkins looks on as Ozzie Frontel keeps a steady hand on the helm of the Pequot. |
154. Pequot sailor on the ladder while in port |
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155. Chief Machinist, Roger W. Schaus in his new uniform right after his promotion to warrant officer. Schaus supervised the engine room “black gang” below decks and kept all mechanical systems functioning. |
156. At Boston's Constitution Wharf two Pequot sailors - Clyde J. McFarland and Kenneth M. Dowling - in their dress blue uniforms getting ready for shore leave. |
157. James F.
Ryan Boatswain's Mate Mate 2nd Class, Boston, Massachusetts
1943. After the war Paul settled near Gary, Indiana. (Coppo
family). |
SOME MORE PHOTOS FROM THE LUONGO ALBUM
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174. Mike Luongo ashore, armed and ready. |
175. Quartermaster Bob Livingston, Carpenter’s Mate Wallace Hoganson, and Seaman Mike Luongo |
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| 176. Mike Luongo with his friend, George Corrino, and another sailor, in a Portland Maine photo booth while the Pequot was in port. |
177, 178. Seaman Mike Luongo back home in
Belleville, New Jersey on liberty with some of his old friends
who were also serving their country. |
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THEY WON
The
following photos from Gunner’s Mate Roger Calamaio’s photo album were taken
in October 1945. His son Chip gives this perspective...
The war was over. The Pequot was out of harm's way. The ship and men
were safely nestled in port at Staten Island, New York. They did it. They’d
actually survived World War II.
In these photos we see them goofing around and sense their elation and
relief. It was suddenly a different world than the life they had been living
with U-boats and the threat of death constantly around them. Now it wasn’t
fixed bayonets and gunnery practice, it was smiles, and hugs, and the
ability to just be silly again.
This was probably the last time they were all together - young boys from
across America who came forward and quickly became men and became sailors.
They put their lives on the line for America. Without realizing it they had
just concluded the finest chapter of their generation.
They had served their country.
They were heroes.
Every one of them.
After all, they’d won the big one and they were all going home.
What a wonderful word.
Home.
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| 202. | 203. |
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| 204. | 205. |
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207. Sailors Joseph Davy, Leonard Elber, Clyde McFarland, Don McGrath, Fisher and Thornley - Staten Island - Oct 1945 |
208. Sailor Richard Christensen, Staten Island |
209. Sailor Alphonse Ouellette, Staten Island |
All the men who served aboard the Pequot were awarded the
World War II Campaign Ribbon for the American Theater of Operations.
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210. Discharge buttons |
211. US Campaign Ribbon. (30th Infantry Division website) |
212. "Ruptured Duck" - awarded upon discharge |
Sailing List of Officers and Enlisted Men
Attached to USCG
Pequot on February 6th 1945
As evidenced by the “(R)” next to most crew names below, during World War II, the Coast Guard suspended regular enlistments and all of the approximately 115,000 men and women who signed-up served as Reservists. That figure includes 51,000 Temporary Reservists and 12,000 members of the Women's Reserve, called The Spars. Because everyone who joined during the war were Reservists, only 8% of the 214,000 Coast Guardsmen that served during WWII were non-Reservists. At the end of hostilities most Reservists were released to inactive duty or discharged. The Spars were disbanded in July of 1947.
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L. A. SANDE, Lieutenant BENJAMIN I. MIXON, Lieut.(j.g.) CARL E. JENKINS, Chief Boatswain |
JAMES A. SWEENEY, Chief Boatswain JAMES M. BROWN, Chief Boatswain WALTER W. BOND, Chief Machinist |
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ADAMCZYK, Joseph J. F.1c. (R) APPLEBERRY, Evert.E. W.T. 2c.(R) BAKER, Arthur G. F.1c(MoMM) (R) BARNETT, Alonzo T. M.M. 3c. (R) BENNETT, William F. W.T.3c. (R) BENOIT, Roland A. Sea. 1c. (R) BROOKS, William D. S.M. 3c. BUCHHOLZER, David R. M.M. 2c. (R) CALAMAIO, Roger G.M. 2c. (R) CAMPBELL, Harry W. Sea. 1c. (R) CARHART, Louis A. Sea 1c. R) CARTER, Clarence J. St.M.3c(R) CASTALDI, Anello J. M.M. 1c(R) CHRISTENSEN, Richard R. Sea. 1c(R) CIDONI, Steven T. Sea. 1c.(R) CLINE, Theodore E. M.M. 3c.(R) COPPO, Martin A. B.M. 1c DAVY, Joseph A. F.1c.(R) DOWLING, Kenneth M. R.M.3c ELBER, Leonard Sea. 1c. (R) EVANS, Russell D. Sea. 1c. (R)
FREIERMUTH, Paul R. Sea. 1c. (R) FRONTLE [FRONTEL], Adolph H. Q.M. 3c. (R) GILLENWATER, Elmer D. Sea. 1c. (R) HATHAWAY, Henry M. C.C. Std. HATHAWAY, Robert H. C.M.M.
JACHEC, Theodore J. C.M.M. |
JENKINS, Lester K. Sea. 1c. (R) JUSEK, John J. Sea. 1c. (R) KEEFE, Richard B. E.M. 1c(R) LISA, John D. F.1c (MoMM) (R) LIVINGSTON, Robert L. Q.M. 2c(R) LOWRY, Eldon L. F.1c. (R) LUONGO, Michael Sea. 1c(R) McCLELLAN, Clarence E. M.M.3c. (R) McCONNELL, Mervin O. Sea. 1c. (R) McCORMACK, John J. R.M. 1c. McELMOYL, Robert W. Cox. (R) McFARLAND, Clyde J. Sea. 1c. (R) McGRATH, Donald M. R.T. 3c. (R) MOORE, William S. S.K. 1c. (R) NELSON, Neil C. Sea. 1c. (R) OUELLETTE, Alphonse J. Sea.1c. (R) PALENSCAR, Arthur G. MoMM.1c. (R) POUNDS, Wilbert W. Ph.M. 2c. QUIN, Paul E. Sea. 1c. (R) ROBERTS, Isiah St. M. 2c. (R) RYAN, James F. B.M. 2c. (R) SANDS, Harris A. S.C. 3c. (R) SEALE, Leslie J. M.M. 2c. (R) SHERLOCK, William H. B.M. 2c(R) SIMMONS, George G. Q.M. 2c. SIMMONS, Lester H. St. 1c. (R) SULLIVAN, Patrick J. E.M.1c.(Tel)(R) WIESE, Orris S.C. 1c. ZINNER, Norman M. Y. 1c (R) |
Three additional last names were hand written on the bottom of the shipping
list, Pearce, Fisher, Campbell K.
It can be assumed they joined the crew after the Feb 6th [1945] list was typed up.
Paul Fleming's name was struck out in pen on the original, so he must have left
the crew around Feb 6th.
Pequot Crew Occupational Abbreviations
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B.M. |
Boatswain's Mate |
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R.T. |
Radio Technician |
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Cox. |
Coxswain |
S.C. |
Ship's Cook |
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E.M. |
Electrician's Mate |
Sea. |
Seaman |
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F. |
Fireman |
S.K. |
Storekeeper |
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G.M. |
Gunner's Mate |
S.M. |
Signalman |
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MM |
Machinist's Mate |
St. M. |
Steward's Mate |
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MoMM |
Motor Machinst's Mate |
W.T. |
Water Tender |
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Ph M |
Pharmacist's Mate |
Y. |
Yeoman |
||
|
Q.M. |
Quartermaster |
1c |
1st Class |
||
|
(R) |
US Coast Guard Reserve |
2c |
2nd Class |
||
|
R.M |
Radioman |
3c |
3rd Class |
213. Click image to enlarge |
See: http://www.history.navy.mil/books/OPNAV20-P1000/A.htm
Acknowledgements and Contributors
|
Pequot Crew Members |
| Louis A. Carhart- Pequot Quartermaster Jim H. Hudlow - Pequot Chief Yeoman Mike Luongo - Pequot Seaman Stephan T. Cidoni Sr. - Pequot Seaman |
| Family Members |
|
Lee Coppo - Wife of Boatswain's Mate Martin A. Coppo |
| Contributors and Research Assistance |
| Dr.
Richard Walding - Griffith University. Brisbane, Australia Christopher B. Havern - Commandant, US Coast Guard History Office Jeffrey L. Bowdoin - US Coast Guard History Office William H.Thiesen - Atlantic Area Historian, US Coast Guard History Office Joanie Gearin, National Archives and Records Administration, Boston MA Mark C. Mollan - National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC Matthew DiBiase - National Archives and Records Administration-Mid Atlantic Region Kim Y. McKeithan - National Archives and Records Administration, Deck Logs Daryl D. Bottoms - National Archives and Records Administration, Cartographic Section James Konicek - National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD Nathaniel S. Patch - National Archives and Records Administration, Textual Archives Services Still Picture Reference Team - National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD Ken Liden - 83 Footers and Auxiliary Fleet Escort Vessels Lawrence Levine - 83 footers and PT Boats Daniel Treadwell - Submarine Chaser SC-1296 Ted Treadwell - Submarine Chasers Charlie Sproule - Officer on SC-699 Ramon Jackson - Army Mine Planters and USS Trapper Carson Calamaio - Civil War Pequot and Sister Ships Dale Sauter - Joyner Library, East Carolina University Bill Burns - Cable Ship. Robert C. Clowry Patrick Clancey - LST-692 History Jim Flynn - General Samuel M. Mills Photo Robert Hanshew - US Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo Curator Dina G. Linn - U.S. Army Transportation Museum, Museum Technician Janis Jorgensen - US Naval Institute, Heritage Collection Manager Dick Levesque - The Sinking of the USCGC Jackson Matt Herbison - Archives and Library Director, Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia PA Jim Bauer - The sinking of the General Royal T. Frank Remo - Naval Warfare Ship Photo Sources Kreama Nut Company, Columbus, OH Chris Whalen - Coastal Reclamation Co. - Cable Sample Mike Rogers - Fort Miles, Delaware for the Army Mine Planter Service insignia 2nd Lt. Candace Rogers, Second Service Command Public Relations, Fort Miles, Delaware. Mitch Williamson - Photos of Japanese KD6 submarine Suzanne Christoff, Associate Director for Special Collections and Archives, US Military Academy Library, West Point Casey Madrick - Archivist, US Military Academy Library, West Point Stephen P. Carlson - Preservation Specialist, Boston National Historic Park, Charlestown Navy Yard Gerald Butler - Author and Military Historian Randy L. Goss, Coordinator of Accessioning and Processing, Delaware Public Archives David J. Vecchioli - NPS Museum Curator, Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown Navy Yard Mary Ellen Getchel - Three Frogs Collectibles LLC Megan Good, Director, J. Welles Henderson Archives & Library Independence Seaport Museum Randy Biddle, Windship Studios - Photographs of the Royal T. Frank & Joseph Henry Bill Lee- The Joseph Henry Marty Dwyer – The Joseph Henry Mike Dillard - Newport News Shipbuilding Christine Miller - Huntington Ingalls Industries |
|
A special thanks to Linda Walding and Carolyn Barbier for the support and encouragement. |
Web hosting courtesy of
Codehaus
http://codehaus.org/
| Bibliography |
The Blue Jackets’ Manual United States Navy, 11th Edition 1940. United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland Coast Guard Version of Bluejackets’ Manual 1940, Chapters 18 to 22 United States Coast Guard, October 20, 1943 The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, Malcolm E. Willoughby Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1957 Bloodstained Sea, The U.S.Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944 Michael G. Walling, International Marine / McGraw-Hill 2005 Prints In The Sand, The U.S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol During World War II Eleanor C. Bishop. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co. 1989 The Story of the U.S. Coast Guard, Eugene Rachlis Landmark Books / Random House 1961 Smartest Ship Afloat!, Bill Reiche Popular Mechanics Magazine April 1947 The United States Coast Guard - A Pictorial History Gene Gurney, Crown Publishers, New York 1973 Splinter Fleet, Theodore R. Treadwell Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 2000 The Military History of Boston’s Harbor Islands, Gerald Butler Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina 2000 Inventory of Historic Light Stations 1994 US Department of the Interior, National Park Service Nautical Rules of the Road, US Coast Guard United States Government Printing Office 1943 Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30,1906 Volume IV Government Printing Office 1906
United
States Coast Guard - Its Purpose and Activities in War
and Peace The Arma Gyro Compass, Simplex
Equipment MK. 7 MOD. 4 The Sperry Gyro Compass, Mark XIV
Mod.1, Instructions 17-1400 D Introduction to Radio Equipment, Navy
Training Course, NAVPERS 10172 Catalogue of Naval Electronic
Equipment - NavShips 900,116 US Navy Visual Call Sign Book, DNC 4
(A) Ships of the United States Navy and
Their Sponsors The Ships and Aircraft of the United
States Fleet, James C. Fahey U.S Army Ships and Watercraft of World
War II, David H. Grover U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft of
World War II, Robert L. Scheina Warships of the Civil War Navies, Paul
Silverstone Allied Escort Ships of World War II,
Peter Elliot
Building the Navy's Bases in World War II
The United States Coast Guard in World
War II, Thomas P. Ostrom
The Men All Singing, The Story of
Menhaden Fishing, John Frye Target Pearl Harbor by Michael
Slackman Legend of The “Torpedo Gang” Japanese Eyes, American Heart:
Personal Reflections of Hawaii's World War II Nisei. A Careless Word...A Needless Sinking
|
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. The authors would welcome any information from people who believe their photos have been used without due credit. Some photos have been retouched to remove imperfections but otherwise they are true to the original.
If you have any further details of USN
harbor defences
or antisubmarine harbor defences in general (Indicator Loops and Harbour
Defence Asdic) that may help with this research project please email me at the
address at the top of the page.
Richard Walding
LINKS TO RELATED PAGES:
Indicator Loops around the World (Home Page)
How an indicator loop works
United States Navy Loop Receiving Stations
