Wednesday news

By
Wednesday, June 16, 2004

*Sullivan's Island. tightens its leash on canines
-Charleston Post and Courier, 5-16-04

*Cobia program seeks to restock area fish
-Beaufort Gazette, 5-16-04

*Armed with a new marketing campaign, Georgia shrimpers say they are optimistic about the upcoming shrimp season, which opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday
-Brunswick News, 5-15-04

54,002 tons.

A Destroyer Escort, USS Dealey, to honour the memory of Commander Samuel D. Dealey USN. was launched, sponsored by his widow, on the 8th. of November in 1953.

Awards.
The Medal of Honor. Four Navy Crosses. The Silver Star. Unit Presidential Citation.

6. Rueben T. Whitaker.
Final Rank: Rear Admiral.

Graduated from the Naval Academy 1934. Rueben Whitaker was the exective Officer in the Submarine USS Sturgeon when the US declared war on Japan. The boat was at Pearl Harbor, and his Captain, William Leslie Wright enjoyed whiskey, and revelled in relating tall stories after a few of his favourite drinks, hence his nickname " BULL. "

After a night on the grog, he was in no state to go to sea, Whitaker prepared the ship for sea, aided by Chester Nimitz, the 3rd. officer on board, ( he was the son of the famous US wartime Admiral ) Whitaker took the submarine out of Pearl Harbor, and dropped anchor well out into Manila Bay.

The submarine USS Flasher was launched on the 20th. of June 1943 sponsored by Mrs W. A. Saunders. She commissioned on the 25th. of that year with Lieutenant Commander Reuben T. Whitaker appointed in command. She arrived at Pearl from New London on the 15th. of December 1943. In January 1944 Whitaker piloted his boat out of harbour for her first patrol. The remaining patrols under Whitaker were all made out of Fremantle,
Western Australia.

( at that time I was serving in the Australian light cruiser HMAS Adelaide, an Australian Army despatch rider's motorcycle ex Singapore had been acquired from mates in the Dutch Cruiser Tromp, with two other young officers in the Adelaide, I shared the ownership of this motor bike. The Captain of the US Submarine Depot ship in Fremantle, and our Commander were very friendly.We acquired a 44 gallon drum of petrol now and then by courtesy of the US Sub Depot ship, which allowed us to run the bike when we had a break from our escort duties in the Indian Ocean. I thus had reason to be thankful for the stationing of US submarines at Fremantle in 1944. )

Patrol 1. January 1944 for 53 days in the area off Mindoro. Results, 4 ships sunk.

Patrol 2. April 1944 for 54 days in the South China Sea. Results, 3 ships sunk.

Patrol 3. June 1944 for 49 days, again in the South China sea. Results, 4.5 ships sunk.

Patrol 4. September 1944 for 51 days in the Manila area. Results, 3 ships sunk.

Note: You may well ask how do you sink a half of a ship. This means the kill was shared with another submarine.

Whitaker was credited with sinking 18.5 ships to total 111,500 tons.

Janec results. Rueben Whitaker's war time results were reduced to 14.5 ships to toal 60,846 tons.

Whitaker now handed over his submarine to Lieutenant Commander G.W. Grider. This boat was decommissioned post war on the 16th. of March 1946. Note: This submarine was named after a large edible fish of the same name, known as a triple tail, found in the Western Atlantic from Cape Cod to South America.

Awards.