November 17, 1942 - Tuesday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner: 

John was still at home on leave.  

Below is an article about 3 O'Brien sailors from Erie, PA,

Text of the article:

When you think your time is up, everything flashes before your eyes -- past, present, and plans for the future, according to Jack Lester, third class fire controlman aboard the USS O'Brien, a destroyer, who says it happened to him when a torpedo crashed into the side of the destroyer, Sept. 15, damaging the ship so badly that she finally sank.

When the torpedo hit, Jack, the 20 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. George Lester, 722 Ardmore Ave., was at his battle station below deck.  The concussion threw him to the deck, and it was in those few minutes when they all thought the ship was doomed, that everything passed before him.

"We made what repairs we could and started for the United States, but then we ran into some rough weather and the ship began to break up," Lester told reporters.

They were only 93 miles from an American island when they knew that they wouldn't make the states, so they turned around and attempted to reach land. Before they reached it, however, Lieut. Comdr. Thomas Burrows gave the order to abandon ship, and Lester with the others went over the side.  The spent several hours in lifeboats, rafts, and actually swimming in the water before they were picked up by another destroyer.  Later they were transferred to another vessel and finally reached the states on Nov. 7.

Jack is home on a 30 day leave now and he'll report for active duty on Dec. 11.  He and two other Erie boys who survived the O'Brien sinking, Richard Reck, 1027 McCarter Avenue, and John Martin, 1902 Whitney Ave., have been assigned to the USS Bennett, a destroyer.

Lester attended Millcreek High School and enlisted in the Navy Nov. 26, 1940.  He received six weeks basic training at Newport, R. I., and was transported to Cuba on the USS Wasp. He was then stationed aboard the O'Brien and saw North Atlantic patrol duty to Iceland, Newfoundland and other points.

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (continued)

Two more Naval battles occurred on the 14th and 15th, the second being a night battle involving the two new US battleships Washington and South Dakota.  The cost to the Navy was large, particularly in destroyers, and the South Dakota was badly damaged.  Another Japanese battleship was sunk by Washington.  Overall the US Navy lost more ships than the Japanese, but the Japanese lost many transport ships and much more air power than the US.  This was the end of major Japanese attacks to recapture Guadalcanal.

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) provided cover for Guadalcanal and the fleets involved in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
  
• Saratoga sailed from Pearl Harbor on on the 10th for Fiji.
• Combined Task Force 61 was in the Guadalcanal area.
  
• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) -> TF 61  
• 
  

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 277-280.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 472-531.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 263-287.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 246-377.

 

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