Posted on 08/27/2012 12:42:08 PM PDT by topher
The Ill-Fated
USS WILLIAM D. PORTER ["Willie D"]
Kit Bonner, The Retired Officer Magazine
, March 1994
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The "Willie Dee" created havoc from the time she was commissioned in July, 1943 until her unusual, and perhaps, charmed demise in June 1945.
From November 1943 until her bizarre loss in June 1945, the American destroyer William D. Porter was often met with the clever greeting. "Don't shoot, we're Republicans!" when she entered port or joined other naval ships. The significance of this expression was almost a cult secret of the United States Navy until the story resurfaced and received wide publicity after a ship's reunion in 1958.
(Excerpt) Read more at ussiowa.org ...
Article was originally published in The Retired Officer Magazine.
Original title is:
The Ill-Fated USS WILLIAM D. PORTER
The title I am using is based on the article, and more appealing to Freepers...
Thank you for posting this.
That was one unlucky ship, LOL!
Cool story!
“Half a century ago, the “willie Dee,” as the William D. Porter was nicknamed, accidentally fired a live torpedo at the battleship IOWA during a practice exercise on November 14, 1943. As if this weren’t bad enough, the IOWA was carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and all of the country’s World War II military brass to the “big three” conferences in Cairo and Teheran.”
The world would have been much better had FDR sank to hell a bit earlier.
Yep, and this article is only 14 years older than yours.
You are shameful?
That wasn’t unlucky, that was a lousy crew
I’d be upset about all the sailors dying, yes.
But FDR sold the country to the Soviets and all their aggression.
Korea and Vietnam would not have happened but for the weakness shown by FDR.
Obama would not be happening but for FDR.
Here is my new tag line.
On November 14, 1943, the Vice President was Henry Wallace. He would have been much worse than FDR in dealing with Stalin. Much more of Europe might have ended up behind the Iron Curtain than it did (unless he was defeated in 1944). The party big-wigs realized in 1944 that FDR was unlikely to survive another four years so they forced him to drop Wallace as his running mate in 1944.
great story!
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