Al Zelent today keeps the newsletter of the Princeton going out. Of the 1500 aboard when the ship sank, around 100 died. If the survivors, today he sends out 182 mailings of the newsletter and figures that at least half go to widows. He estimates about 88 crew still alive. Mr. Zelent is 88 now and was 21 when the ship sank. It is sad to see how fast this Greatest Generation is dying, but they are getting very old.
He was born and raised in Chicago and raised his family in Deerfield where he is a member of the Deerfield American Legion.
Another friend from the Deerfield Post was there who was aboard the USS Franklin, an aircraft carrier hit by a kamikaze.
There is a book about the his ship's sinking "Carrier Down: The Sinking of the USS Princeton (CVL 23)." He donated two copies to the Great Lakes Naval Library.
In 2006, the survivors had a reunion in San Diego, the home port of the newest USS Princeton. A memorial service was held and they were able to tour the ship and had lunch aboard. That had to be some meeting between the new crew and old crew of the Princetons.
More Yet to Come. --DaCoot
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