The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Robert James Dicken, C.S.M. - USS SIMS (5/7/1942) - May 7th, 2003

Ibiblio.Org ^

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

.

.................................................................................................................................

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Robert James Dicken, C.S.M
"Battle of Coral Sea
USS Sims (DD-409)
Action Report"

May 18, 1942

From:	The Senior Line Petty Officer, U.S.S. SIMS, (Robert James Dicken, C.S.M., U.S. Navy).
To:	The Secretary of the Navy.
Via:	The Commander U.S. Submarines, Eastern Australia.
Subject:	Personal observations of SIMS #409 disaster.

1. On May 7, I was serving as Chief Signalman on board the U.S.S. Sims. We were employed convoying the U.S. Navy Tanker Neosho when attacked by Japanese planes, bombed and sunk. After several days we were picked up by the U.S.S. Henley and while enroute to Brisbane Australia, I prepared a report which I gave to the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Neosho who had been taken off by the U.S.S. Henley.

   That report is as follows:

   At Sea
   May 13, 1942

   From:	Dicken, R.J., C.S.M., U.S. N.
   To:	The C.O. U.S.S. Neosho.
   Subject:	Personal observations of SIMS #409 disaster.

   On May 7 at 0930 I was in the Chief's quarters and heard a man in #1 handling room exclaim that a bomb had lit right alongside. General Quarters sounded immediately and duty gun opened fire. Upon reaching bridge the other guns had commenced firing on horizontal bombers. Recognition signals were attempted but no reply.

   There were a large number of our shells which failed to burst at the beginning of the attack but after several rounds, number unknown, the fuse settings seemed to be operating satisfactory as bursts were observed near the enemy planes.

   At beginning of attack Sims went to full speed and patrolled on either bow of tanker. Our gunfire seemed very effective in keeping the planes high and on the move.

   Observed one bomb score near miss, port side, amidships. No damage reported. One casualty, slight shoulder wound, on #2 gun. Man treated during lull and returned to gun.

High level attack lasted ten to fifteen minutes.

For next two hours several Radar contacts made, distance fifteen to twenty miles, but no planes appeared.

#1 gun appeared to be blistered.

About 1155 planes approached, identification attempted and upon no response the order to commence fire was given. Enemy planes began dive bombing attack on tanker. A steady rate of fire was maintained from all 5" guns.

About 1215 Sims received direct hit on or near after set torpedo tubes. Bomb apparently pierced deck and exploded in after engine room. Deck buckled forward of after deck house. Radar fell across gig. Received two more hits, one on after deck house, port side forward, which appeared to have caused only local damage. Another hit on #4 gun caused local damage. #1 and #2 guns were continuing to fire by local control.

Personnel was ordered off bridge and reported to Assistant Chief Engineer Ensign Tachna who ordered us to take off our shoes and put motor whale boat in water.

Numerous fireroom personnel seemed uninjured by first hit in engine room. This force assisted in lowering boat. Two men in boat when lowered. Boat began drifting clear of side. I went over the side, swam to boat, took tiller and began picking up personnel in water.

The Captain, still on bridge, ordered me aft to try to get aboard to flood after magazines and extinguish fire on after deck house. This was necessary due to fact that main deck between after deck house and machine shop was awash.

An attempt was made to get aboard. Ship began settling from aft, whale boat pulled clear and immediately afterwards the boilers blew up followed by another but smaller explosion. The ship broke in two parts, and sank.

All men that were not apparently dead were taken aboard, search made for two life rafts with from ten to twenty (total) men aboard. We then proceeded to tanker and placed ourselves under that command. There were fifteen Sims survivors in boat.

I have questioned Sims survivors for more data but no further information available.

 

Respectfully submitted
Robert James Dicken C.S.M.

 

2. I never saw any sign of panic. Everyone was on their stations doing their job and the whole ship worked as a well organized unit until the end. Discipline was excellent.

3. There are a few outstanding things that I can remember in addition to the above report:

   The number one gun crew stood by their gun and kept up a steady rate of fire after the paint on their gun was burning and the ship was at such an angle that the decks were awash. The Chief Engineer was wounded severely but carried out several duties under extremely difficult conditions. He tried to fire the forward set of torpedo tubes to assist the Captain in lightening the ship and to remove the danger of the torpedoes exploding aboard. He also extinguished the fire on the torpedo deck house at the time. One outstanding act was done by an enlisted man named E.F. MUNCH, MM2c, just before he jumped over the side to be picked up by my boat, he secured a depth charge to the deck so it would not go over the side or accidently explode on deck.

4. The last I saw of the Commanding Officer he was standing on the bridge when the ship was blown up by the explosion. He showed an example of courage throughout the entire engagement.

5. To the best of my knowledge and belief all muster rolls, log books and valuable papers went down with the Sims. We did not have any books or papers in my boat at all. My boat was not loaded with a view to permanently abandon ship. The Captain believed that he could save the ship and was doing everything in his power to do so right up until the ship blew up and sank.

6. During the entire four days of hard work in the boat, part of which time we were alongside the Neosho, and part clear of the Neosho, the conduct of the men was very good. We did the best we could to provision the boat and prepare it for sea. For the first three days we were repairing the 18 inch hole in the boat.

7. Our small boat was left tied up alongside the Neosho when we were taken aboard the Henley. When the Neosho was fired on and purposely sunk, this boat went down with her.

No property of any kind remains of the Sims.

8. To the best of my knowledge and belief the following are the only survivors of the U.S.S. Sims:

   NAME	RATE	SERVICE NO.
   VESSIA, V.J.	F2c	Unknown
   LAWES, J. Jr.	Sea2c	Unknown
   TEVEBAUGH, J.W.	RM3c	Unknown
   GOBER, A.C.	Sea2c	Unknown
   CHMIELEWSKI, J.	F1c	Unknown
   SCOTT, M.W.	F3c	Unknown
   VERTON, J.C.	Sea2c	Unknown
   ERNST, G.E.	FC3c	Unknown
   SAVAGE, J.	FC3c	Unknown
   MUNCH, E.F.	MM2c	Unknown
   CANOLE, V.F.	MM2c	Unknown
   REILLY, T.F.	WT1c	Unknown
   CLARK, (unknown)	CY	Unknown
   PELIES, E.M.	Sea2c	Unknown
   DICKEN, R.J.	CSM	Unknown

   I am the senior petty officer in this group of survivors. Of this list two men are now dead, they are: Chief Yeoman CLARK, who died the first night we were in the boat and PELIES, E.M., who died in the sick bay on board the Henley. To the best of my knowledge and belief there are no other survivors of the Sims.

 

Robert James Dicken, CSM.

 

Transcribed and formatted by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation

Thanks to Freeper Concerto in D for suggesting this Thread

[Soaring Feather]

Subject: Common Sense

A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of the dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Broni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the shepherd, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The shepherd looked at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looked at his peacefully grazing flock and calmly answered, "Sure."

The yuppie parked his car, whipped out his notebook and connected it to a cell phone, then he surfed to a NASA page on the internet where he called up
a GPS satellite navigation system, scanned the area, and then opened up a database and an Excel spreadsheet with complex formulas. He sent an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, received a response. Finally, he prints out a 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized printer then turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1586 sheep."

"That is correct; take one of the sheep." said the shepherd. He watches the young man select one of the animals and bundle it into his car.

Then the shepherd says: " If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?"

"OK, why not." answered the young man.

"Clearly, you are a consultant." said the shepherd.

"That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answers the shepherd. "You turned up here although nobody called you. You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked, and you don't know crap about my business. Now give me back my dog."

[SAMWolf]

Doing Ok. Getting some Honey Dos done before the MIL shows up again.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! It heard a variation of this joke as a blonde joke.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh how true! hahahaha!

[snippy_about_it]

Good night all y'all. *smooches*

[Soaring Feather]

Goodnite snippy.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Awww, that is sooo cute. Nighty night, Snippy. See you tomorrow.

[Soaring Feather]

Goodnite SAM!!!!

[Victoria Delsoul]

before the MIL shows up again.

Again? When is she coming back?

[PhilDragoo]

USS Neosho (AO 23)

Sims Class Destroyers

A quite successful design when compared to other pre-WWII destroyers. Making use of the good points of the preceeding Mahan and Gridley classes and fixing some of the problems found in the earlier designs made these very fine ships.

Specifications

Sims Class Destroyers

Name Builder LD LCH COM STATUS

DD.409 Sims Bath Iron Works, Bath Me Jul.15/37 Apr.8/39 Aug.1/39 sunk May.7/42 at Battle Of Coral Sea

DD.410 Hughes Bath Iron Works, Bath Me Sep.15/37 Jun.17/39 Sep.21/39 used at Bikini A-Bomb tests Jul./46 DECOM Aug.28/46 stricken Nov.26/48 sunk as target Oct.16/48

DD.411 Anderson Federal Shipbuilding Nov.15/37 Feb.4/39 May.19/39 sunk Jul.1/46 at Bikini Atoll A-Bomb tests

DD.412 Hammann Federal Shipbuilding Jan.17/38 Feb.4/39 Aug.11/39 sunk Jun.6/42 at Midway by Japanese sub I-168 while escorting CV-5 Yorktown

DD.413 Mustin Newport News Shipbuilding Dec.20/37 Dec.8/38 Sep.15/39 used at Bikini A-Bomb tests Jul./46 DECOM Aug.29/46 scuttled Apr.18/48 off Kwajalein stricken Apr.30/48

DD.414 Russell Newport News Shipbuilding Dec.20/37 Dec.8/38 Nov.3/39 DECOM Nov.15/45 stricken Nov.28/45 scrapped ./47

DD.415 O'Brien Boston Navy Yard May.31/38 Oct.20/39 Mar.2/40 torpedoed Sep.15/42 by IJN sub I-15 sank Oct.19/43 due to damage

DD.416 Walke Boston Navy Yard May.31/38 Oct.20/39 Apr.27/40 sunk Nov.15/42 at Second Battle Of Guadalcanal

DD.417 Morris Norfolk Navy Yard Jun.7/38 Jun.1/39 Mar.5/40 DECOM Nov.9/45 stricken Nov.28/45 scrapped ./47

DD.418 Roe Charleston Navy Yard Apr.23/38 Jun.21/39 Jan.5/40 DECOM Oct.30/45 stricken Nov.16/45 scrapped ./47

DD.419 Wainwright Norfolk Navy Yard Jun.7/38 Jun.1/39 Apr.15/40 used at Bikini A-Bomb tests Jul./46 DECOM Aug.28/46 sunk as target Jul.5/48 stricken Jul.13/48

DD.420 Buck Philadelphia Navy Yard Apr.6/38 May.22/39 May.15/40 sunk Oct.9/43 Off Salerno by German U-616

Dimensions

Length(O/A) 347'
Length(W/L) 341'
Beam 35'
Draft 10'

Displacement

Full Load 1,900 tons
Standard 1,570 tons

Propulsion

Boilers 4 Bureau Express
Turbines 2 Parsons geared
Horsepower 44,000
Shafts 2
Range N/A
Max Speed 34+ knts

Armament

Main Gun 4 x 5"/38 cal in 4 single turrets
2 forward 2 aft
AAW 5-10 x 20mm Oerlikons added /41-42
4-10 x .50 cal HMG
Torpedoes 4-8 x 21" tubes

Complement

Design 180-220

DD 412 Hammann sinks after being torpedoed by IJN sub I-168

DD 415 O'Brien being hit by a torpedo September 14,1942

DD 419 Wainwright refueling from HMS Norfolk in the Arctic

DD 409 - Launch - April 8, 1939

AO-48 USS Neosho
Kennebec class Fleet Oiler:
Displacement: 21,077 tons
Length: 502'
Beam: 58'
Draft: 31'
Speed: 17 knots (max); 13 knots (econ)
Armament: 1 5"/38 DP, 4 3"/50 DP, 4x2 40mm, 4x2 20mm
Complement: 243
Capacity: 134,000 barrels
Geared turbine engines, single screw, 12,000 hp
Maritime Commission T2 (MC-SO) type
Built at Bethlehem, Sparrows Pt. and commissioned 16 Sep 1942

The second Neosho (AO-48) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 22 June 1938, launched 29 April 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Emory S. Land, wife of Rear Adm. Emory S. Land (Ret.), Chairman of the Maritime Commission, and commissioned 7 August 1939, Comdr. W. E..A. Mullan in command.

Conversion at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard completed 7 July 1941, Neosho immediately began the vital task of ferrying aviation fuel from west coast ports to Pearl Harbor. On such a mission she arrived in Pearl Harbor 6 December, discharged a full cargo to the Naval Air Station on Ford Island, and prepared for the return passage. Next morning, the Japanese surprise attack found Neosho alert to danger, her captain, Comdr. John S. Phillips, got her underway and maneuvered safely through the Japanese fire, concentrated on the battleships moored at Ford Island, to a safer area of the harbor. Her guns fired throughout the attack, splashing one enemy plane and driving off others. Three of her men were wounded by a strafing attacker.

For the next five months, Neosho sailed with the carriers or independently, since hard-pressed escort ships could not always be spared to guard even so precious a ship and cargo. Late in April, as the Japanese threatened a southward move against Australia and New Zealand by attempting to advance their bases in the southwest Pacific, Neosho joined TF 17. At all costs the sealanes to the dominions must be kept open, and they must be protected against attack and possible invasion. Neosho was to be part of the cost.

As the American and Japanese fleets sought each other out in the opening maneuvers of the climactic Battle of the Coral Sea on 6 May, Neosho fueled Yorktown (CV-5) and Astoria (CA-34), then retired from the carrier force with a lone escort, Sims (DD-409). Next day at 1000, Japanese aircraft spotted the two ships, and believing them to be a carrier and her escort, launched the first of two attacks which sank Sims and left Neosho, victim of 7 direct hits and a suicide dive by one of the bombers, ablaze aft and in danger of breaking in two. She had shot down at least 3 of the attackers.

Superb seamanship and skilled damage control work kept Neosho afloat for the next four days. The sorely stricken ship was first located by an RAAF aircraft, then an American PBY. At 1300, 11 May, Henley (DD-391) arrived to rescue the 123 survivors and to sink by gunfire, the ship they had so valiantly kept alive against impossible odds. With Henley came word that the American fleet had succeeded in turning the Japanese back, marking the end of their southward expansion in World War II.

Neosho received 2 battle stars for World War II service.

Chief Water Tender Oscar Verner Peterson, USN

Photographed circa the later 1930s.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in attempting to save USS Neosho (AO-23) after she was bombed during the Battle of Coral Sea, 7 May 1942.
USS Peterson (DE-152) was named in his honor.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.

[GailA]

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Feather. Cute hedgehog.

[SAMWolf]

two weeks some time in June

[SAMWolf]

Only five of the class lost to enemy action. Not a bad record.

[SAMWolf]

Evening GailA.

[Iris7]

Enjoyed this Naval thread. The painting of two SBDs flying over the burning Japanese carrier is a keeper.

Most Americans don't realize what a near run thing 1942 was. (Not including you, of course.) Sad we had to loose such men.

I look at Iraqi Freedom, and thank the Lord for his mercy. It is wonderful that so many good men and women will come home. We will need those lads and ladies even more when they grow up. Our dead are my dead brothers.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Iris7.

Early 1942 with Coral Sea and Midway were both minor miracles. If one takes an indepth look at Miday you can only conclude that God was watching over us. The numbers of things that had to "go just right for us" and "had to go just wrong for Japan" is absolutely amazing.