World War I Chronology, 100 Years Ago This Month

SEPTEMBER 7, 1917

Merchant transport Minnehaha is torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland -- 48 men drown.

--DaCoot

Hazards Bubble Up from Old Wrecks-- Part2

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is presently taking inventory on some 30,000 coastal wrecks off the US shore, many of them casualties of the 1942 Battle of the Atlantic. They are especially looking for those that might pose a threat to the environment.

NOAA's Lisa Symons said, "We're starting to see significant corrosion." Those that did nor blow up or break apart may still have fuel or armaments aboard.

The worst-threat list has been narrowed to 233 vessels with a final list being prepared for the end of the year. Efforts will be made to remove oil from these ships using funds from the Oil Spill liability Trust Fund which is supported by the oil industry.

Wreck spills are a threat globally, with an especially high concentration in the western Pacific (where many World War II battles took place). But the US coastline is littered with the wrecks of ships sink by German and Japanese submarines.

A Congressional appropriation of $1 million is being used for the identification project, part of which involves looking through ship manifests, naval records, sinking reports, insurance documents and survivors accounts. (Hey, even a lot can be learned through a quick Yahoo! search.)

More to Come. --Cooter

Hazards Bubble Up from Old Wrecks-- Part 1

From the July 27th Chicago Tribune by Frank D. Roylance.

World War Ii was on and on the evening of Feb. 2, 1942, the W.L. Steed, an unarmed tanker was cruising along the Atlantic Ocean, about 90 miles off Ocean City, Maryland with 66,000 barrels of crude oil, when a German U-boat torpedoed it.

The ship was soon ablaze and sank with only a few of the 38 crew members surviving.

Shortly after the US entered the war after Pearl Harbor, the Germans moved part of their submarine pack to off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the country. By te time they shifted most of the U-boats in July to focus on convoys crossing the Atlantic, they had sunk 397 ships in US coastal waters.

Many Americans today don't even know about this war off American shores.

This wartime legacy has become an environmental concern because of concern about fuel bunkers and cargoes starting to leak after all those years under water.

I have already written about the SS Montebello (see Oct. 3rd entry) sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of California and the fear that its cargo of oil poses a threat. Fortunately, expeditions to the ship have found no trace of the oil that it once carried.

A Problem from the Past. --DaCoot

World War II Shipwrecks Could Threaten US Coast-- Part 2

Continued from Friday July 29th.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is taking inventory on more than 30,000 coastal wrecks, including many from the 1942 Battle of the Atlantic and the rest of the war. They want to identify those that pose the biggest threats.

Those vessels not completely destroyed in attacks have intact fuel tanks, and many, like the Steed, sank with holds filled with crude oil, diesel fuel and explosives.

They have narrowed the worst threat list to 233 wrecks and hope to have a final list by the end of the year.

Four of the worst wrecks are located within 50 miles of Baltimore, including"

** John Morgan, a Liberty ship built in 1943 by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards in Baltimore. On its maiden voyage, June 1943, it collided with another vessel off Cape Henry and sank with a cargo of fighter planes, tanks, arms and ammunition. Sixty-seven crew members and guards died.

More to Come. --Cooter

World War II Shipwrecks Could Threaten US Coast-- Part 1

Fuel, Cargo Tanks Corroding

From the July 8th Baltimore Sun, by Frank D. Roylance.

On February 2, 1942, the unarmed tanker W.L. Steed was cruising in the Atlantic Ocean, about 90 miles off Ocean City, Maryland with 66,000 barrels of crude oil, when a torpedo from a German U-boat struck the ship. Only a few of the 38 crew members escaped death.

After the US entered World War II, the German U-boats moved operations to off the American coast and stayed there until July 1942 when they shifted main operations to intercept North Atlantic convoys. Even them, enough of their submarines remained off the shores to claim 397 ships.

Now, some of those ships have reached the point where hull integrity is breaking down, releasing the dangerous contents of their cargoes.

More to Come. --Cooter

Merchant Mariner Serves as Grand Marshal

From the May 30th Saginaw (Mi) News "World War II merchant mariner is Saginaw's first Memorial Day grand marshal" by Eric Joyce.

Louis LePan, 83 will take his place as first-ever grand marshal in the annual parade in Saginaw, Michigan, today. Every year, he places flags on the graves of veterans in local cemeteries, but this year, he will get an honor.

LePan served as a member of the Merchant Marines who were tasked with delivering the supplies of war so necessary for the eventual victory on the battlefield and at sea. Unfortunately, the Merchant Marine is just beginning to receive the honors they earned.

Many people don't know about the U-boat war that took place off the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts where many cargo vessels were lost. It was bad enough to be in a ship carrying supplies, but even worse if it had ammunition or fuel aboard. Definitely one of the last places you'd want to be when a torpedo struck or a surfaces U-boat opened fire.

According to Mr. LePan, "Wherever they needed supplies, the Merchant marine carried them."

At age 16, LePan joined in December 1944, near the end of the war. he had been a deckhand on Great Lakes freighters before that (kind of young). He first sailed aboard the tanker Gulfwing transporting aviation fuel from New York City to New Orleans. Later, he was on the Liberty Ship Thomas Rusk carrying airplane equipment and ammunition from Seattle to Pearl Harbor and then to Chile for a load of zinc nitrate for fuel oil.

He served in the galley and was a member of a gun crew at battle stations. But, he admits "We didn't get shot at 'cause the war was about over when I got into it.

For his service, he received three awards and commendations and an honorable discharge.

However, the Merchant Marine, until fairly recently, was not considered to be active duty veterans and as such were not eligible for many services and honors accorded to other veterans.

It's About Time. Congratulations Mr. LaPan. --Cooter

Youngest World War II Service Casualty Identified

February 15th BBC.

Reginald Earnshaw was 14 years and 152 days old when he died under enemy fire on the SS North Devon July 6, 1941. He was a merchant marine cabin boy who had lied and said he was 15 to enter the service.

For years, his body had been buried in an unmarked grave until a former shipmate went looking for his final resting place. His sister, Pauline Harvey, 77, laid flowers on his grave at Comely Bank Cemetery in Edinburgh.

The North Devon had been on its way to Tyneside when it was attacked by German bombers.

The previous youngest was thought to be Raymond Steed, also in the merchant marine, who was 14 years and 207 days old when he met his death.

The SS North Devon weighed 3,658 tons and was built in 1928, a year after Reginald was born on February 5, 1927. A poem was written about him at Poet Bay.com by Ken D. Williams. It evidently was not sunk in the attack.

Sad to See a Life So Young Come to an End. --Cooter