JOHN J. MCCORMACK'S STORY
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1. John J.
McCormack Pequot Radioman 1st Class |
John McCormack grew up in Nyack, New York on the Hudson
river just north of New York City. He was in the sea scouts as a boy and
studied radio after high school. Two months before the attack on Pearl
Harbor, he enlisted in the US Coast Guard on October 23rd 1941 at the
New York City Recruitment Office. With his nautical and radio background
he was perfect for the Coast Guard, and after basic training he went to
radio school.
His first shipboard assignment was as a radioman on the CG
cutter Storis (WAGL-38) where as a member of the original crew, he was a
"plank owner" when the ship was commissioned in September, 1942.
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| 2. The US Coast Guard Cutter and Icebreaker Storis (WAGL-38) in her WWII
camouflage during 1943 (US Coast Guard Photo) |
3.
John took this photo of one of his shipmates on top of the Storis’
superstructure. Above him, protected by a tarpaulin cover, is the "gun
detector" for the fire control system on the Storis which was an
emerging technology at the time |
Storis was built as unique hybrid ship and was the only vessel of
her class - an armed icebreaker and buoy tender specifically designed
for arctic operations. She weighed 1715 tons and carried a J2F-5 Duck
Grumman seaplane along with her 150 man crew.
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4.
On her stern deck Storis carried a Grumman J2F-5 Duck seaplane which
proved a valuable asset during search and rescue operations. Nicknamed
“The Ugly Duckling” it could also carry two 375 lb depth bombs for
hunting U-boats. (US Coast Guard Photo) |
5.
The
Storis foredeck and gun tub photographed by John from up in the
crow’s
nest bucket on the main mast. |
Initially John was stationed with Storis out of Boston where
the ship was on anti-submarine patrol around Casco Bay, Maine, until May 19th
1943 when she escorted a convoy to Argentia, Newfoundland and Narsarssuak,
Greenland.
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We can see ice floes and small icebergs along the shore as Storis moves
past the dramatic and rugged scenery of Greenland while on patrol duty. |
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| 8.
Here in a sheltered inlet in Greenland we can see the rear boom arm on
Storis elevated to launch her seaplane into the water in 1945. (US Coast
Guard Photo) |
9.
Here we see the Storis following another ship as they move through an
arctic bay clogged with ice |
Storis became part of the Greenland Patrol which helped defend
and supply the Danish settlements and Eskimo villages on the island. Along
with other Coast Guard cutters she was tasked as; an icebreaker with keep
convoying routes open, for search and rescue work, for convoy escort and
patrol duty, for running surveys, and to help maintain communications among
Greenland and U.S. bases on the island. A vital part of the Greenland Patrol’s
mission was to search out and destroy weather and radio stations that the
German’s established on the coast of Greenland. Storis also supported The
International Ice Patrol by observing and reporting on ice, icebergs, and
weather conditions in the North Atlantic.
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| 10, 11.
John McCormack and some of this pals climbed up onto a high promontory
in Greenland and took these photos in 1943.
Despite the tension of the war, duty in such a beautiful and desolate
place was quite an adventure for these young men. |
At 5:00 am on the morning of June 10th 1943 John was jolted
out of bed and into the grim realities of war. While the Storis was escorting
a convoy South near Greenland, the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba (WPG-77), which
was in front of the Storis, was hit by a torpedo or struck a sea mine and
vanished completely in a matter of seconds. The Storis crew searched for
survivors but only two of Escanaba’s sailors survived.
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12. USCGC Escanaba (WPG-77).
(US Coast Guard
Grand Haven, Michigan 1935). |
13.
An iceberg is spotted about a mile away from Storis in 1943. |
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14. While on Greenland Patrol escort duty two convoy ships are seen off
the starboard side of Storis. |
15.
This photo gives a feeling for the size of the waves which were common
during the terrible winter storms that plagued Allied convoys throughout
the war. |
With a length of 230 feet Storis carried two 3"/50cal guns, four 20mm
Oerlikon cannons, depth charges, and mousetrap mortars.
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| 16.
Here we can see a K-gun depth charge launcher against the backdrop of
heaving ocean swells, freezing rain, and biting winds. |
17.
John shot this photo of a depth charge rack and a covered gun position
as the deck of the ship pitches from the rough seas. |
In August 1943 Storis escorted a convoy to Frobisher Bay in
the Canadian Arctic and she helped search for survivors of the US Army
Transport Nevada which foundered and sank on December 18th 1943. During most
of January 1944, the cutter broke ice in the Greenland fjords and transported
supplies to various stations.
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| 18.
The freezing wind howls across the bow of an escort ship on North
Atlantic convoy duty in 1943 |
19.
We get a feeling for the size of the waves in this photo John took of a
crewman huddled against a gun tarp during a storm. |
On October 5th 1943, Patrol Squadron Six (VP-6) was established at
Narsarssuak, Greenland. Code name Bluie West One (BW-1) it was an
all-Coast Guard aviation unit that served in the hostile environment of
the North Atlantic. The squadron of PBYs served on anti-submarine
patrol, provided air support for convoys, conducted search and rescue,
condition survey, and reporting operations, and delivered mail and
medical supplies. Due to the high number of convoy sinkings, due to
U-boat attacks, and the fierce weather conditions in the North Atlantic,
rescue duties became a top priority for the squadron. VP-6 earned a
reputation as one of the busiest and most effective squadrons in Coast
Guard aviation history. Note: The initialism of "PBY" was determined in
accordance with the U.S. Navy aircraft designation system of 1922; PB
representing "Patrol Bomber" and Y being the code used for the aircraft's
manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft.
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| 20. This rare color photo from the 1940s
shows a Coast Guard PBY at the Bluie West airfield on Greenland. We can
see the Quonset huts of this isolated Arctic base in the background and
the steel matting that served as the flight line and runways. (USCG
Photo) |
21.
John on Radio Duty inside the distinctive bubble window or “blister” of
a Coast Guard PBY. |
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22.
With a range of over 2500 miles, the
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina was a long range amphibious aircraft
ideally suited to the rescue and support operations the Coast Guard
performed out of Greenland throughout World War II. (USCG Photo) |
After his time on the Storis he was re-assigned to the
Pequot when they
needed a top notch radioman. Even though John was involved as the
Pequot’s radio operator and heard all ship to shore radio traffic he had
no idea that the cables the Pequot put down and repaired were part of a
top secret submarine detection system.
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23.
John behind John Jusek and other sailors on the forward
gunwale |
24. John in
1944 with a Springfield M1903 .30 caliber rifle. |
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25. One of
John McCormack’s Liberty Cards (left) and his ID Card
(right). |
To pass his time aboard ship, John played guitar with some other
Pequot
sailors who joined in on the accordion, clarinet and a homemade wash tub
broom stick bass.
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26. The
Pequot Band. John takes a turn playing wash-tub string bass
while Henry Hathaway plays John’s guitar along with John Jusek on clarinet and another sailor on the
accordion.) |
27. John and
Frances
- Wedding Photo |
Among John’s WWII era memorabilia his family discovered
a Christmas card that was sent to the Pequot radio and radar
operators from the communications crew of the USS Wakefield in
1944. After a distinguished career in the 1930s as the luxury passenger
liner Manhattan, “the fastest cabin ship in the world” was taken over by
the US Navy and became a troop transport in 1941 before Pearl Harbor and
the formal outbreak of WWII. Re-named USS Wakefield she served with
distinction around the world even surviving a direct hit from a Japanese
dive bomb in Singapore. In September of 1942 while steaming from England
to New York a fire broke out deep within her lower decks. After her crew
and passengers were evacuated the fire burned for four days destroying
most of the ship. Her charred hulk was towed into Boston Harbor,
Wakefield was decommissioned as a US Navy ship, and stripped to the
waterline. After more than a year of reconstruction she was
recommissioned as a transport and went back into service in February
1944 under Coast Guard command. During the remainder of the war she
transported more than 217,00 troops in both the European and Pacific
theaters. She was often called “The Lone Wolf” for her speedy and
solitary dashes across the Atlantic carrying thousands of troops without
escort.
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USS Wakefield
(US Coast Guard Photo) |
Cover of
the Christmas card sent to the Pequot radio and radar operators |
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On the envelope
we see the Wakefield’s crew mailed their holiday greeting to the
Pequot about two weeks before Christmas in 1944. It is also
interesting to see that this “FREE” ship to ship correspondence had to
be cleared by Navy censors. The word “Tangee” is hand written a number
of times next to the postmark. We’ve learned that during the war
years “Tangee” was a very popular brand of lipstick and it was adopted
as the “uniform lipstick” of British women who served in the armed
forces. Click here
to see the Tangee
advertisement. Why “Tangee” was repeatedly written on the front of this
envelope remains a mystery. Perhaps it was because Tangee Lipsticks
proclaimed that lipstick symbolized one of the reasons the US was
fighting in the war.
The ad declared
"No lipstick - ours or anyone else‘s - will win the war, but
lipstick symbolizes one the reason why we are fighting . . . the
precious right of women to be feminine and lovely - under any
circumstances". Ref: "War, Women, and Lipstick", Tangee Lipsticks,
Ladies Home Journal, August 1943:p. 73; and McClintock, Imperial
Leather, pp. 190 and 196. |
Compared to Pequot’s
small radio, radar, and signal staff it is fascinating to see the
substantial number of officers and ratings that served as the
Wakefield’s communications crew. We can only speculate how the men of
the Wakefield and Pequot’s radiomen, including John McCormack,
hooked-up while in port and got to know each other. Click here to see
an enlarged image. |
Before he left the Coast Guard he married Frances Vedeges in Dover-Foxcroft,
Maine where he later maintained a summer home on Sebec Lake where
Frances grew up. John was discharged after World War II but but
continued his love for radio communications the rest of his life. He
was a Ham operator for years (KA1BX) and got his son, Mike, interested
in Ham radio (NQ1O). John and Frances had four children and seven
grandchildren.
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28. John
McCormack's note of commendation
embossed with the Pequot's seal. |
29. John's Euro African Eastern Campaign Medal.
Click to enlarge. |
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30. The McCormack Radiomen
- John and son Mike in 2002. |
In civilian life he worked for the phone company then as a supervisor
for the Federal Aviation Administration overseeing Instrument Landing
Systems for airports throughout New England before retiring in 1980.
John passed away in 2004.
Throughout his life he played guitar, and had a special relationship
with the sea. He bought a sailboat and taught his kids to sail during
weekend trips on Long Island Sound.
With her service starting during WWII in 1942, for many years the
USCGC Storis was the official “Queen of the Fleet” as the oldest
commissioned cutter in the Coast Guard, until she was finally retired
from active duty and de-commissioned on February 8, 2007.
To learn more about the colorful history of this Coast Guard ship go to:
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Storis1942.pdf
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.
FEEDBACK
If you have comments or queries specifically
about the Pequot or her escort ships, please contact
Chip Calamaio
chipaz@cox.net, 938 E. San Miguel Avenue, Phoenix, 85014, Arizona,
USA. (H) 602-279-4505.
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