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Brown, flag survive battle
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| Dorman Brown of Willcox holds a flag from World War II that flew over the USS New Orleans, which suffered extensive damage when hit by Japanese torpedoes at Guadalcanal. (CAROL BROEDER/File Photo/ARN) |
By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News
U.S. Navy Veteran Dorman Brown of Willcox served during World War II on a valiant ship, known as the USS New Orleans.
A heavy cruiser, she had survived Pearl Harbor and was off Guadalcanal during the fighting in November of 1942.
Known as the Battle of Tassafronga, it was fought Nov. 30, 1942, while Brown was aboard the ship.
The New Orleans' suffered major damage and eight officers and 170 enlisted men were killed during the battle.
A Japanese torpedo had ripped off the ship's bow between two gun turrets. The severed bow then bumped down the New Orleans' port side, punching several holes in the ship's hull.
"We had quite a time, but we saved her," said Brown, who had joined the ship in 1942.
With a fifth of the ship's length gone, the crew kept their crippled ship afloat, beaching her a Tulagi Island on the first of December.
They camouflaged their ship and went ashore to bury their dead and cut logs to form a bow, Brown told the Range News.
The decision was made to "get what was left to Sydney, Australia," he said.
"We were traveling three knots per hour, and got into a typhoon. We sat there for three days with our stern into the wind. On Christmas Day, 1942, we pulled into Sydney Harbor," Brown said.
In March 2006, Brown received the ship's flag from Carl Hartzell, his friend of 60 years.
The two men met during World War II while both were serving on the USS New Orleans. Brown joined the ship first, in 1942.
In 1943, the New Orleans was sent to Seattle for repairs, and that was when Hartzell was assigned to the ship. Men and ship stayed together for the rest of the war, and Hartzell remained with the ship after the war had ended and Brown had gone home.
The two men have remained friends, meeting at the ship's reunions. Remembering those times together, Hartzell sent Brown an American flag from April 1943 that flew on the New Orleans for several years.
"I have given it a good home for over 60 years," he told Brown in March 2006. "Be gentle with it and give it a place of honor. It represented our country proudly and often sent chills up my spine."
A heavy cruiser, she had survived Pearl Harbor and was off Guadalcanal during the fighting in November of 1942.
Known as the Battle of Tassafronga, it was fought Nov. 30, 1942, while Brown was aboard the ship.
The New Orleans' suffered major damage and eight officers and 170 enlisted men were killed during the battle.
A Japanese torpedo had ripped off the ship's bow between two gun turrets. The severed bow then bumped down the New Orleans' port side, punching several holes in the ship's hull.
"We had quite a time, but we saved her," said Brown, who had joined the ship in 1942.
With a fifth of the ship's length gone, the crew kept their crippled ship afloat, beaching her a Tulagi Island on the first of December.
They camouflaged their ship and went ashore to bury their dead and cut logs to form a bow, Brown told the Range News.
The decision was made to "get what was left to Sydney, Australia," he said.
"We were traveling three knots per hour, and got into a typhoon. We sat there for three days with our stern into the wind. On Christmas Day, 1942, we pulled into Sydney Harbor," Brown said.
In March 2006, Brown received the ship's flag from Carl Hartzell, his friend of 60 years.
The two men met during World War II while both were serving on the USS New Orleans. Brown joined the ship first, in 1942.
In 1943, the New Orleans was sent to Seattle for repairs, and that was when Hartzell was assigned to the ship. Men and ship stayed together for the rest of the war, and Hartzell remained with the ship after the war had ended and Brown had gone home.
The two men have remained friends, meeting at the ship's reunions. Remembering those times together, Hartzell sent Brown an American flag from April 1943 that flew on the New Orleans for several years.
"I have given it a good home for over 60 years," he told Brown in March 2006. "Be gentle with it and give it a place of honor. It represented our country proudly and often sent chills up my spine."
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Anon wrote on Jul 3, 2009 8:25 PM: