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Commander Donald A. Gary, USN, (1901-1977)

Commander Donald A. Gary

Donald Arthur Gary was born in Findlay, Ohio, on 23 July 1901. He enlisted in the Navy in December 1919 and served continuously in the enlisted ranks until November 1943, when he received a commission as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade). In 1943 and 1944, Lt(JG) Gary was assigned to the Third Naval District and as an inspector of machinery at the Babcock and Wilcox Company. In December 1944, he was sent to the aircraft carrier Franklin as an engineering officer. When that ship was severely damaged by Japanese air attack on 19 March 1945, Lt(JG) Gary distinguished himself as he helped hundreds of trapped men to escape from below decks, organized and led fire-fighting parties and directed the restoration of power in one boiler room. For his heroism on that occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Subsequently promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, Gary remained with Franklin until she was decommissioned in February 1947. He was then assigned to the Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Terminal Island, California, where he served until relieved of active duty pending retirement, which took place in June 1950. On the basis of his combat awards, he was advanced to the rank of Commander upon retirement. Commander Donald A. Gary died in 1977.

Seconds after an explosion hurls pieces of the flight deck and aircraft into the air, part of the crew runs for their lives.

The guided missile frigate USS Gary (FFG-51), 1984-____, is named in honor of Donald A. Gary.

Medal of Honor citation of
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Donald A. Gary

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an Engineering Officer attached to the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during the operations against the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945.

Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets and ammunition by the hostile attack, Lieutenant Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with smoke, and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks became increasingly panic-stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions, he confidently assured them he would find a means of affecting their release and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, untimately discovered an escapeway. Staunchly determined, he struggled back to the messing compartment three times despite menacing flames, flooding water and the ominous threat of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved.

Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when firerooms 1 and 2 were found to be inoperable, entered the No. 3 fireroom and directed the raising of steam in one boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring and courageous leader, Lieutenant Gary rendered self-sacrificing service under the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude and valor, was responsible for the saving of several hundred lives. His conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon the United States Naval Service."

Captain Joseph T. O'Callahan, Chaplain Corps, USNR, (1905-1964)

Captain Joseph T. O'Callahan

Joseph Timothy O'Callahan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 14 May 1905. He joined the Jesuit Order of the Roman Catholic Church in 1922, after graduation from preparatory school, and subsequently received degrees from several institutions of higher learning. He was ordained in 1934, and was a Professor of Mathematics, Philosophy and Physics at Boston College in 1929-37, Professor of Philosophy at the Jesuit Seminary of Weston College in 1937-38 and Director of the Mathematics Department at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1938-40.

Father O'Callahan was commissioned as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in the Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps in August 1940. He was assigned to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, in 1940-42, to the aircraft carrier Ranger in 1942-44 and to the Naval Air Stations at Alameda, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into early 1945. Lieutenant Commander O'Callahan joined the the aircraft carrier Franklin in early March 1945. A few weeks later, when his ship was badly damaged by a Japanese air attack, he distinguished himself comforting the injured and leading damage control and ammunition jettisoning parties. The ship's Commanding Officer described O'Callahan as "the bravest man I ever saw". For his heroism on board Franklin, Lieutenant Commander O'Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, USNR(ChC)
Gives "Last Rites" to an injured crewman aboard USS Franklin (CV-13), after the ship was set afire by a Japanese air attack, 19 March 1945.
The crewman is reportedly Robert C. Blanchard, who survived his injuries.

Promoted to the rank of Commander in July 1945, O'Callahan served at the Navy Department and at the Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island, until October 1945, when he reported on board the new aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1946, he served as Escort Chaplain as the body of the late Philippines President Manuel Quezon was carried from the United States to Manila. Released from active duty in November 1946, Commander O'Callahan returned to Holy Cross College as Professor of Philosophy. Upon his retirement from the Naval Reserve in November 1953, he was advanced to the rank of Captain on the basis of his combat awards. Joseph T. O'Callahan died at Worcester, Massachusetts, on 18 March 1964.

The escort ship USS O'Callahan (DE-1051, later FF-1051), 1968-1994, was named in honor of Joseph T. O'Callahan.

Medal of Honor citation of
Lieutenant Commander Joseph Timothy O'Callahan

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945.

A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lieutenant Commander O'Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the open flight deck and into the midst of violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and led fire-fighting crews into the blazing inferno on the flight deck; he directed the jettisoning of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine; he manned a hose to cool hot, armed bombs rolling dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his efforts despite searing, suffocating smoke which forced men to fall back gasping and imperiled others who replaced them.

Serving with courage, fortitude and deep spiritual strength, Lieutenant Commander O'Callahan inspired the gallant officers and men of the Franklin to fight heroically and with profound faith in the face of almost certain death and to return their stricken ship to port."

Additional Sources:

www.history.navy.mil
www.battleshipnc.com
www.daveswarbirds.com
ww2photo.mimerswell.com
members.tripod.com/ benfranklincv13
www.geocities.com/jbmorgan86
www.navsource.org

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I have always wondered why a movie was not made of this heroic action. It had everything for it. The way the tow lines were finally put on, was by the blacks in the crew organizing the mating of the tow line. When the Big Ben finally limped into port, there was a tradition where a bunch of the nurses used to get on the key and start singing Hiwaian songs and such as the ships came home. The singing started, but as they saw the ship and the damage it faded away to nothing but silence. About that time what was left of the band on the Franklin and the crew started up to the tune of The Old Gray Mare, "The old Big Ben she ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be------" Among the nurses and sailors up to Admirals, there wasn't a dry eye on the dock from the on lookers. The book about the Franklin is incredible.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on July 21:
1620 Jean Picard, French astronomer
1676 Anthony Collins, English philosopher (A discourse on free-thinking)
1758 Elizabeth Hamilton, author (Cats: A Celebration)
1802 David Hunter, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1804 Victor Schoelcher Guadeloupe, abolished french slavery
1815 Stewart Van Vliet, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1901
1816 Paul Julius Baron von Reuter founded Reuters news service
1826 James Gillpatrick Blunt, Major General (Union volunteers)
1828 John Rutter Brooke, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
1832 Henrietta Marie Morse King, cattlewoman
1856 Louise Blanchard Bethune 1st US woman architect
1864 Frances Folsom Cleveland 1st lady
1895 Ken Maynard, Texas, cowboy/actor/producer (Bigfoot)
1899 Ernest Hemmingway Oak Park, for whom the bell tolled... (Nobel 1954)
1899 Hart Crane US, poet (The Bridge)
1911 Marshall McLuhan Canada, writer (The Medium is the Massage)
1920 Isaac Stern Kremenetz, Russia, violinist (debut SF Symph)
1922 Kay Starr Dougherty Okla, singer (Rock & Roll Waltz, Club Oasis)
1924 Don Knotts Morgantown WV, actor (Andy Griffth Show, 3's Company)
1926 Norman Jewison director (Moonstruck, ...And Justice For All)
1926 Paul Burke New Orleans, actor (Thomas Crown Affair)
1931 Gene Littler golfer (1961 US Open)
1931 Gene Fullmer (International Boxing Hall of Famer: World Middleweight Champion [1957], NBA Middleweight Champion [1959-62])
1938 Les Aspin, (Rep-D-Wisc, 1971-93)/Minister of Defense (1993-94)
1943 Edward Herrmann Wash DC, actor (Day of the Dolphin, Reds)
1944 Paul Wellstone, (Sen-loony left-Minnesota)(Still dead)
1945 Alton Maddox NY black activist/attorney (Tawana Brawley case)
1946 Zbigniew Kaczmarek Poland, lightweight (Olympic-gold-1976)
1947 Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, rocker (Peace Train, Father & Son)
1949 Ludmila Smirnova USSR, pairs figure skater (Olympic-silver-1972)
1952 Robin Williams Chicago Ill, comedian (Mork & Mindy, Good Morning Viet-Nam)
1957 Jon Lovitz Tarzana Calif, comedian (SNL)
1973 Ali Landry, Louisiana, Miss Universe-USA (1996)

Deaths which occurred on July 21:
1425 Manuel Paleologus, Byzantine Emperor (1391-1425)/writer, dies
1683 Lord William Russell, English plotter against Charles II, beheaded
1796 Robert Burns Scottish poet (Auld Lang Syne), dies
1861 Francis Stebbins Bartow, Confederate colonel, dies in battle at 44
1870 Josef Strauss, Austrian composer (Dynamids), dies at 42
1917 Christopher J Forster, British RAF-pilot/capt, dies in battle
1948 Arshile Gorky abstract expressionist, dies at 43
1957 Bernard Spooner US inventor of bulletproof jacket, dies
1967 Basil Rathbone Johannesburg S Africa, actor, dies at 75
1967 Jimmy Foxx baseball hall of famer
1972 Jigme Dori Wangchuck king of Bhutan, dies
1976 Christopher Ewart-Biggs Brit ambassador to Ireland is assassinated
1982 Dave Garroway TV host (Today Show), dies at 69
1985 Mickey Shaughnessy actor (Chicago Teddy Bears), dies at 65
1986 Virginia Hewitt actress (Carol-Space Patrol), dies at 60
1994 Marjorie Dorothy Chandler Collins, jazz singer, dies at 67
1996 Herb Edelman, actor (Odd Couple, St Elsewhere), dies of emphysema 62

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 TIFFIN RAINFORD SANTA CRUZ CA.
1967 FLORA CARROLL E. BRUNSWICK MO.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED]
1968 FLANAGAN SHERMAN E. JR. WESTMINSTER MD.
1968 WILLING EDWARD A. WILMINGTON DE.
1970 SCHULTZ RONALD J. HILLSBORO KS.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0230 St Pontianus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0365 Alexandria hit by Earthquake; 50,000 die
1542 Pope Paul III begins inquisition against Protestants (Sactum Officium)

1588 English fleet defeats Spanish armada

1669 John Lockes Constitution of English colony Carolina approved
1730 States of Holland put death penalty on "sodomy"
1773 Pope Clemens XIV bans Jesuits
1798 Napoleon Bonaparte wins Battle of Pyramids in Egypt
1831 Belgium gains independence from Netherland, Leopold I made king
1836 1st Canadian RR opens, between Laprairie & St John, Qu‚bec
1846 Mormons found 1st English settlement in Calif (San Joaquin Valley)
1861 1st major battle of Civil War ends (Bull Run/Manassas), Va-South wins
1865 Wild Bill Hickok kills gunman Dave Tutt in Springfield, Illinois, in the first formal quick-draw duel.
1866 Cholera-epidemic kills hundreds in London
1873 Jesse James, 1st train robbery (Adair, Iowa)
1880 Compressed air accident kills 20 workers on Hudson River tunnel, NY
1896 National Federation of Afro-American Women & Colored Women's League merge to form National Association of Colored Woman
1898 Spain cedes Guam to US
1900 Pope Leo XIII encyclical to the Greek-Melkite rite
1904 Camille Jenatzy sets world auto speed record at 65.79 MPH
1923 Phillies score 12 in 6th & beat Cubs 17-4
1928 H E Wood discovers asteroid #1096 Reunerta
1930 US Veterans Administration established
1931 Reno race track, becomes 1st in US to use daily double wagering
1934 113ø F (45ø C), near Gallipolis, Ohio (state record)
1935 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1358 Gaika
1940 Soviet Union annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
1941 200 Jewish Torahs are burned in Ukraine
1942 8 die as coal waste heap slides in river valley near Oakwood, Va
1944 US forces free Guam of Japanese invaders
1949 Senate ratifies North Atlantic Treaty by a vote of 82-13
1951 Dalai Lama returns to Tibet
1954 At Geneva, France agrees to independence of North & South Vietnam
1955 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched-Seawolf
1957 1st black to win a major US tennis tournament (Althea Gibson)
1959 1st atomic powered merchant ship, Savannah, christened, Camden NJ
1960 The country of Katanga forms in Africa
1961 Launch of Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Grissom
1962 160 civil right activists jailed after demonstration in Albany Ga
1965 Pakistan, Iran & Turkey sign Regional Co-Operation pact
1966 Gemini X returns to Earth
1968 Jan Janssen wins Tour de France: 1st Dutchman
1969 Neil Armstrong steps on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
1969 Russia's Luna 15 impacts moon after 52 lunar orbits
1970 Huge Aswan Dam opens in Egypt
1970 Libya orders confiscation of all Jewish property
1972 In New York, 57 murders occur in 24 hours
1973 "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" reached the top spot on the "Billboard" pop-singles chart
1973 Hank Aaron becomes 2nd major leaguer to hit 700 HRs
1973 USSR launches Mars 4 for fly-by (2600 km) of the red planet
1974 Eddy Merckx wins his 5th Tour de France
1974 House Judiciary approves 2 Articles of Impeachment against Pres Nixon
1975 Billy Martin fired as Texas Rangers manager
1976 1st outbreak of "Legionnaire's Disease" kills 29 in Phila
1978 US Postal Service & unions agree on a contract averting mail strike
1979 National Women's Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls, NY) dedicated
1980 Jean-Claude Droyer climbs the Eiffel Tower in 2 hrs 18 mins
1983 Polish govt ends 19 months of martial law
1983 US announces Lebanon freed American hostage David Dodge
1988 ESA's Ariane-3 launches 2 communications satellites (1 Indian)
1989 Eastern Airlines submits a reorganization plan to creditors

1989 Greg LeMond (US) wins Tour de France in fastest time

1989 Mike Tyson TKOs Carl "the Truth" Williams in 1:33 of 1st round
1990 Goodwill Games opens in Seattle Wash
1990 Pink Floyds' "The Wall" is performed where the Berlin Wall once stood
1997 200-year-old USS Constitution sails under its own power
2000 A report from special counsel John Danforth cleared Attorney General Janet Reno and the government of wrongdoing in the April 19, 1993, fire that ended the Branch Davidian siege near Waco, Texas.
2002 WorldCom displaced Enron as the largest U.S. company ever to declare bankruptcy.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Belgium : Independence Day (1831)
Bhutan : 3rd King of Bhutan's Death
Bolivia : Martyr's Day
Guam : Liberation Day (1944)
Mayan New Year.
Take a Monkey to Lunch Day
Minority Tourism Month

Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of St Victor
RC : Memorial of St Lawrence of Brindisi, confessor/doctor (opt)
Feast of St. Paraxedes, virgin.

Religious History
1773 Clement XIV issued the brief, 'Dominus ac redemptor noster,' officially dissolvingthe Society of Jesus (Jesuits). This politically-based suppression afterward leftconspicuous gaps in Catholic education and foreign missions.
1829 Birth of public school teacher Priscilla Jane Owens. A Methodist who remained inBaltimore all her life, she left behind two enduring hymns: 'We Have an Anchor' and 'JesusSaves.'
1886 The cardinal's hat was conferred upon Elzear Alexandre Taschereau, 66, archbishopof Quebec. He was the first Canadian to be made a cardinal in the Catholic Church.
1925 Following a sensational 12-day trial, high school biology teacher John T. Scopeswas found guilty of teaching evolution in his Dayton, TN classroom and was fined $100.
1958 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'What the devil loves is thatvague cloud of unspecified guilt or unspecified virtue, by which he lures us into despairor presumption.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Character is what you know you are, Not what others think you are."

Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
DO NOT wear long, heavy cloaks. While they certainly make a bold fashion statement, they have an annoying tendency to get caught in doors or tripped over during an escape.

PUNishment of the the day...
To termites, a group of dead trees is an arbor eat'um

Dumb Laws...
Iowa:
A man with a moustache may never kiss a woman in public.

How To Annoy Osama bin Laden If You're Invited To A Dinner Party At His Secret Afghan Lair...
Tell him all about your great vacation to Saudi Arabia, where you went absolutely everywhere and did everything, just stomped all over the place.

I must share the pain.
(note) you might want to have a lager heafty bag handy.

The Ghosts of War

http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i44/44b01201.htm

By CHRISTIAN G. APPY

For three decades American leaders have tried to bury memories of the Vietnam War only to have them pop up again like indestructible poltergeists. In 1991, for example, a few days after the Persian Gulf War came to its apparent end, President George H.W. Bush declared a double victory. Not only had the United States driven Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, he trumpeted, but we had also managed to vanquish the ghostly memories of a war that was lost a generation earlier on the other side of the planet. "The specter of Vietnam has been buried forever in the desert sands of the Arabian Peninsula," the president said.

, Lt. j.g. Donald A Gary, a 30 year navy veteran

That didn't sound right, and I was planning to do more digging, then I read down to here:

He enlisted in the Navy in December 1919 and served continuously in the enlisted ranks until November 1943, when he received a commission as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade).

So both the Captain and this guy came up through the ranks. Perhaps that's why there was such concern for saving the enlisted men trapped below deck.

My uncle Fred was the senior enlisted man in flight and hanger decks on the Enterprise when he left Enterprise in 1943. The CVA he as on at the time Franklin burned out was in the same task force with Franklin. He watched the whole thing and debriefed survivors. Fred said that the damage to Franklin was the result of the crew not taking effective action, and that Enterprise took worse damage from the Japanese than Franklin took that day several times, but that damage control (Fred and his lads) got the fires under control in a timely manner - unlike what happened aboard Franklin.

The Navy still uses the Franklin story to show the need for serious damage control. And, of course, to show the need for good men.

The Navy was taking draftees beginning in 1942. The old swabs were universally suprised at what snivelling cowards they were. I suspect the good draftees went into the voluntary jobs, submarines for instance.

Sorry I didn't catch this thread at the time. My unmet father-in-law, a surgeon, was among the dead. He and his patients were trapped by the fire in the ship's hospital below decks and asphyxiated. At various times, years later, I saw the Franklin at Brooklyn Navy Yard, met Captain Gehres, and found the ship's bell on display at the Smithsonian. I had my kids touch the bell in honor of their grandfather who fell helping to keep this country free.