USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 7: Honors Awarded and Wreck Found

Several men were recognized for their actions in the aftermath of the torpedo attack. Stanton F. Kalk (posthumously) and Commander David W. Bagley received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

Others honored included  Chief Boatswain's Mate Harry Gibson (postumously) and Chief Electrician's Mate L. J. Kelly, who both received the Navy Cross.

Richards,  Scott and Chief Boatswain's Mate  Charles Charlesworth all received letters of commendation.

The German commander, Hans Rose was awarded the Pour le Merite and Ritterkreuz des Hohenzollerschen Hausordens mit Schwertem for this and other achievements during the war.

WRECK LOCATED

On August 11, 2022, British  deep sea divers located the wreck of the Jacob Jones off the coast of  the Isles of Scilly at a depth of 377 feet.  Numerous artifacts were  located, including the ship's bell.

AsI mentioned before, there was also a USS Jacob Jones (DD-245) that was also sunk by a U-boat in World War II.  I will eventually write about it in my Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blog

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 6: A Humanitarian Gesture and Rescue

The destroyer's commander, David W. Bagley,  noted in his official account of the sinking, that about 30 minutes after the Jacob Jones sank,  the German U-boat U-53, commanded by Hans Rose, surfaced about two to three miles from the rafts and took one of the American sailors on board.  According to the Uboat.net site, the Germans took on board two badly injured American sailors.

In addition, Hans Rose radioed the American base at Queenstown with the approximate  coordinates of the sinking before departing the area.  That was a very nice thing to do.

Bagley, unaware of Hans Rose's humanitarian  gesture,left most of the food, water and medical supplies with Lieutenant Commander John W. Richards, whom he left in charge of the rafts.   Then he, the Jacob Jones' executive officer, Norman Scott and four crewmen and rowed to the nearby Isles of  Scilly for aid.  

At 13:00 on 7 December, they were spotted by a British patrol vessel just six nautical miles from their destination.  They were relieved to hear that the British sloop HMS Camellia had found and taken aboard most of the Jones' survivors earlier that morning.  In addition, a small group had also been rescued on the night of the sinking by the American steamer Catalina.

--Cooter