Back on Jan. 14 and 15, I wrote about meeting "Doc," a sailor on the heavy cruiser USS Helena. he was quite a character.
Here are some facts about the USS Helena.
The previous USS Helena had been a light cruiser at Pearl Harbor during the attack and had been sunk in action in 1943. It was commissioned September 4, 1945, just a few weeks after World War II ended. It's main mission during the Korean War was to pound shore targets, something it was admirably equipped to do with its huge guns.
Its main armament was nine 8-inch guns and twelve 5-inch. Her crew was 1,142.
During the month of June 1951, it almost continually bombarded shore targets in North and South Korea before returning to the June 1961 Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon, something "Doc" mentioned. Sister ship USS Saint Paul was supposed to lead the river parade in Portland, but in April, a powder fire in Turret #1 killed 30 sailors and the ship was too damaged to be shown in public. This took place off Kojo, North Korea.
The USS Helena was decommissioned in 1963 and scrapped in 1974. The ship's bell is in Helena, Montana.
The Story of a Ship. --Cooter
Showing posts with label USS Helena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USS Helena. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
"Doc" of the USS Helena CA-75-- Part 2
"Doc," unfortunately, did not show up at Donovan's Reef last night, so I was unable to find out more about his Korean War experiences.
I do remember him saying that his ship was often involved in bombarding the North Korean shore batteries. Of course, with those big 8-inch and broadside 5-inchers, the ship was very effective.
One time, he said they were having a hard time hitting targets. Later they found that the enemy had their guns on railroads and were pulling them behind mountains when the Helena opened fire.
Another time, the Helena ended up going to Portland,Oregon, for its Rose Festival. The USS Saint Paul, a sister ship of the Helena, was originally supposed to be there, but it had had an explosion in one of its main gun turrets and they didn't want civilians seeing all the damage.
Of course, he remembers getting into a lot of trouble whenever they had shore leave.
I Sure Don't Doubt That. One of America's Greatest. --Cooter
I do remember him saying that his ship was often involved in bombarding the North Korean shore batteries. Of course, with those big 8-inch and broadside 5-inchers, the ship was very effective.
One time, he said they were having a hard time hitting targets. Later they found that the enemy had their guns on railroads and were pulling them behind mountains when the Helena opened fire.
Another time, the Helena ended up going to Portland,Oregon, for its Rose Festival. The USS Saint Paul, a sister ship of the Helena, was originally supposed to be there, but it had had an explosion in one of its main gun turrets and they didn't want civilians seeing all the damage.
Of course, he remembers getting into a lot of trouble whenever they had shore leave.
I Sure Don't Doubt That. One of America's Greatest. --Cooter
Saturday, January 14, 2012
"Doc" of the USS Helena CA-75-- Part 1
Last night at Donovan's Reef Bar here in Panama City Beach, Florida, I met one of the most interesting characters ever, 78-year-old "Doc." If I can reach that age doing just half as well as him, life would have been mighty good. What a character.
His supply of jokes, often a bit off-color, knew no end. One after another. He's been married three times and lives in Rome, Georgia.
He didn't say how he got the name "Doc," but made sure to say he was never a "Pecker-Checker" Corpsman.
He was wearing a USS Helena hat and shirt, so I got into a talk with him. I seemed to remember a World War II cruiser named the USS Helena and that it had been at Pearl Harbor, but he said his was a different ship. The original Helena (the one I was thinking of) was sunk in World War II and the CA-75 wasn't commissioned until after the war but saw considerable action bombarding enemy positions during the Korean War.
I'm sure this ship had to be one of the last US heavy, all-gun, cruisers ever built.
More to Come. --Cooter
His supply of jokes, often a bit off-color, knew no end. One after another. He's been married three times and lives in Rome, Georgia.
He didn't say how he got the name "Doc," but made sure to say he was never a "Pecker-Checker" Corpsman.
He was wearing a USS Helena hat and shirt, so I got into a talk with him. I seemed to remember a World War II cruiser named the USS Helena and that it had been at Pearl Harbor, but he said his was a different ship. The original Helena (the one I was thinking of) was sunk in World War II and the CA-75 wasn't commissioned until after the war but saw considerable action bombarding enemy positions during the Korean War.
I'm sure this ship had to be one of the last US heavy, all-gun, cruisers ever built.
More to Come. --Cooter
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