Posted on 06/10/2016 6:05:53 AM PDT by artichokegrower
He was a boy hero who epitomised true British grit during the largest naval battle of the First World War.
Now the grave of John 'Jack' Travers Cornwell has received protected status to mark the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, in which he was fatally injured after coming under fire from German ships.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Something the snowflakes on our college campuses could not relate to or even comprehend.
Rest in Peace, Jack from another Jack.
This Jack was also 16 while serving aboard a destroyer off the coast of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
They would mock,with the encouragement of their profs
“Something the snowflakes on our college campuses could not relate to or even comprehend.”
No. They would think it was from a video game, as no one could actually do that.
Thanks for posting this
The Royal Navy is now a shadow of its former self.
I’d say that the world will not see their likes again, but ... you never know. Question is, if we should get so lucky, will there be enough?
They’d probably faint just reading about it. They should also read about the Battle of Coronel, the first sea battle won by the Germans off the coast of Central Chili in 1914. One gun crew was made up of sea cadets from Canada who stood by their gun station and went down with the ship.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Coronel
On September 27, 1942, the Liberty Ship, Stephen Hopkins, encountered the German auxiliary cruiser Stier and her escort, the blockade runner Tannenfels in the South Atlantic. The Stier was an armed commerce raider. The Tannenfels delivered supplies and took off prisoners from surface raiders operating in the South Atlantic. The Stephen Hopkins carried a crew of forty and a fifteen-man naval armed guard. She was under the command of Captain Paul Buck. Her main firepower was one 4-inch gun and dual 37-mm machine guns mounted on the bow. Refusing to strike his colors, but with German shells on their way, Captain Buck made his decision. He would fight rather than surrender. The Stier had met and sunk 19 other merchant vessels of various Allied nationalities. None of these ships put up any resistance. The American tanker Stanvac Calcutta put up a fight but was sunk with the loss of fourteen of her crew, including the captain, and two members of her armed guard. A gun battle between the Stephen Hopkins and the Steir and Tannenfels ensued reminiscent of the ship-to-ship battles of the War of 1812. The Stier was to follow the Stephen Hopkins to the bottom in the 2,200 fathom deep above which they had duelled. The Tannenfels, although damaged, made Bordeaux. Fifteen survivors of the Stephen Hopkins sailed a lifeboat 1000 miles from the site of the battle to a landing at the small Brazilian fishing village of Barra do Itabopana. There were many heroes of this battle; however, with the Navy gun crew dead or dying about him and the magazine afire below, Cadet Midshipman Edwin J. O'Hara continued firing the Hopkins' 4-inch shells until he ran out of shells. He was later killed by flying shrapnel. The cover painting hangs in O'Hara Hall at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Cadet O'Hara was 18 years of age. He had escaped the blazing engine room, had learned basic gunnery at the Merchant Marine Academy, and from his friend, Ensign Kenneth M. Willett, U.S.N.R., commander of the naval armed guard who was also fatally wounded in the gun battle. O'Hara single handedly manned the 4-inch gun, loading and firing the remaining five rounds scoring hits on the Stier and Tannenfels. The nation bestowed a whole cluster of posthumous awards on the ship and her heroic company. The Stephen Hopkins herself was awarded a Gallant Ship citation, and two later Liberty Ships were christened the Stephen Hopkins and the Paul Buck. A destroyer escort (DE354) was named for Ensign Willett. For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage, Willett was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medals were posthumously bestowed on Captain Buck and Cadet Midshipman O'Hara.
They walk among us, few are ever recognized for their actions.
Even when there are surviving witnesses, most just would like to forget everything, and move on.
Don’t let any snowflakes read this, they’ll head to their fainting couch.
PS: Thanks for the story.
http://www.americanvalor.net/heroes/2150
Yes, they still walk with us today. Even more than many might know - not every ‘hero’ gets an award or metal. Some just survive and come home hoping to do well....
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