Posted on 05/29/2008 4:26:13 AM PDT by iowamark
NEW YORK (NNS) -- Two leaders who embodied the spirit of USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) and the five fallen brothers the U.S. Navy warship honors were memorialized at a Fleet Week New York 2008 ceremony May 24, aboard the vessel.
The gathering celebrated the lives of Capt. Stephen F. Davis Jr., a former executive officer of the ship who died of cancer at age 47, in February; and Maurice "Mo" Shaw, a Navy advocate who founded USS The Sullivans Foundation and died at age 68, in October. The U.S. Coast Guard veteran was key in bringing the vessel's commissioning ceremony to Staten Island in April 19, 1997 on a pier now named after the ship.
"They were two great men who dedicated themselves to the Navy and this ship and … because of them this ship is what it is today," said retired Navy Capt. Gerry Roncolato, keynote speaker and the first commanding officer of The Sullivans.
Davis was a "lion of a man" who cared for his Sailors and understood the importance of the link between history, the ship and the Staten Island community, Roncolato explained. The warship commemorates five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who served together and perished Nov. 13, 1942, aboard USS Juneau (CL 52) during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific.
Shaw was instrumental in organizing a 10th anniversary celebration of The Sullivans ship commissioning that attracted 7,000 people in Staten Island last year.
Kelly Sullivan Loughren – the granddaughter of the youngest Sullivan brother, Albert, said Davis and Shaw set a precedent of leadership that lives on. She and Elizabeth Pasko, daughter of Shaw, tossed two wreaths from the ship's fantail into the sea to mark the passing of the men.
"To be able to have a special goodbye to them on the ship that brought us together is very special," said Loughren, who traveled to Staten Island for the Fleet Week event from her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She also christened the Mayport, Fla.-based guided-missile destroyer more than a decade ago.
The bond among the Sullivan brothers' – George, 27; Francis, 25: Joseph, 23; Madison, 22; and Albert, 19 – showed the spirit of never quitting and that victory comes with sacrifice and hard work, explained Roncolato, also president of the USS The Sullivans Foundation, which plans to create an educational scholarship for the ship's crew and family.
"More than anything else, those boys loved their country," Loughren said.
Their spirits – and the ship's motto of "We Stick Together" – inspires decades later, she said.
"When you walk on that ship, there's an aura," she said.
To return is like coming home, she noted.
"Being the sponsor of a ship, you get this awesome Navy family," she said. "They're always a part of your life."
Retired Chief Boatswain's Mate Edmund Squire, a friend of Shaw, said The Sullivans inspired them in the chaos after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks at the World Trade Center. Squire and Shaw spent countless hours in rescue operations.
"This ship was our spirit," said Squire, who lives in Staten Island. "We always had the thought of this ship, all the time."
The Sullivans is the second ship built to honor the brothers' sacrifice. USS The Sullivans (DD 537), a Fletcher-class destroyer, sailed the waters of the world's oceans from 1943 to 1965.
CAPT Davis was my CO on the VELLA GULF (after he commanded The Sullivans). He was a wonderful man and great leader. I had the honor of speaking at his internment at Arlington.
Sorry, CAPT Davis was the XO in USS THE SULLIVANS
Thank you! I hope that you don’t mind if I copy that!
Be my guest!
THEIR MOTHER RECEIVED ALL 5 TELEGRAMS FROM THE NAVY ON THE SAME DAY!!!!
I related the story to several of those on deck with me who were also checking out the destroyers. I was greeted with BLANK STARES of disinterest. I wanted to grab one guy by the stacking swivel, hoist him off the deck and scream that it was men and ships such as that which make it possible for A**HOLES like him to enjoy a peaceful cruise around the Caribbean. Not wishing to spend the rest of the voyage in the brig, I contented myself with muttering "a**hole" as he wandered off in search of another meal.
And in a sign of the times, both ships had armed sentries posted fore and aft in Nassau, an ostensibly friendly and safe port. But then, Aden was also considered safe at the time the USS Cole (also a Burke class destroyer) was attacked. And I believe that, unlike the guards on the Cole -- and the Marine sentries in Beirut years earlier -- THESE guys were locked and loaded with orders to fire for effect!
It’s little known that there were four Rogers brothers aboard the Juneau. Two of them transferred to another ship shortly before the sinking, otherwise it could have been an enormous tragedy for two different families.
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