USS ST. Louis CL-49
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Welcome to the home of the "Lucky Lou"
USS St. Louis (CL-49) |
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| USS St. Louis
(CL-49) Earned Her 11 Battle Stars in the Asiatic/Pacific Area
Campaign. |
USS St. Louis
(CL-49) Isn't she a beauty? |
To
the Officers and Crew of the "Lucky Lou" who took this ship
into harms way; To her shipmates who gallantly gave their
lives at Green Island and Leyte Gulf and to the sailor most
dear to my heart, my Dad S1/c(GM) Arvid L."Swede" Newman, I
dedicate this site.
David B. Newman, 27 November 1999
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The Saga of the " Lucky Lou
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 Light cruiser number 49, the USS ST.
Louis, began her saga with her construction at Newport News
Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Newport News, Virginia.
The fifth ship to bear the name St. Louis had her keel laid 10
December 1936. She was built under the limitation of the
London Naval Treaty of 1930 and was the first of a class of
two vessels modified from the earlier Brooklyn Class. The St.
Louis Class of 1935 included her only true sister, the
ill-fated USS Helena (CL-50). The St. Louis Class was 608'4"
in length with an extreme beam of 61'8". They displaced 10,000
tons standard, 13,500 tons mean war service, with a mean draft
of 19'10", and were designed for 33 knots. The peacetime
complement was 52 officers and 836 enlisted, but this often
rose to over 1000 during the war. Their main armament were
15-6"/47's in 5 triple turrets, 3 forward and 2 aft. They
differed from the earlier Brooklyn Class somewhat in the
superstructure, but mainly in the secondary armament which in
they had 8-5"/38 dual purpose guns in 4 closed twin mounts
rather than the open 5"/25's of the earlier class. St. Louis
began her life with 8-.50 caliber machine guns, later was
fitted with 1.1's, but these had a terrible problem with
jamming. She later carried 4-40mm Bofors in quad mounts,
4-40mm twin mounts and 10-20mm Oerlikon mounts. St. Louis was
powered by 8 Babcock and Wilcox Express Boilers. Her main
engines were Westinghouse geared turbines producing 100,000
shaft horse power in 4 shafts. She had a cruising radius of
14,500 miles at 15 knots. She was launched 15 April 1938
sponsered by Miss Nancy Lee Morrill of St. Louis, Missouri.
She was commissioned 19 May 1939, with Captain C. H. Morrison,
USN, also of St. Louis, Missouri, reading his orders to the
crew at Norfolk, Virginia Navy Yard.
She was occupied with fitting out, shakedown cruise,
training and post-shakedown overhaul until 21 December 1939.
Her shakedown took her to such places as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba;
Kingston, Jamaica; Port of Spain, Trinidad; Ponta Delgada,
Azores; and New York City.
Upon completion, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic
Neutrality Patrol, where she remained until 3 September 1940.
During this time she conducted extensive training excercises
in gunnery and tactics.
On 3 September St. Louis carried a board of selection
experts on a tour of possible sites for American naval and air
bases as part of the Lend-Lease Agreement. This tour included
Bermuda, Newfoundland, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad, British
Guiana, St. Lucia and Antigua.
She returned to the United States on 27 October 1940 and on
9 November was underway to make her first appearance in the
Pacific, by way of Guantanamo and the Panama Canal, tying up
at San Pedro. Captain Morrison was relieved by Captain George
Arthur Rood, USN on 27 May 1941.
With the smell of war in the air due to the ever widening
of Japans' Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the St.
Louis began convoy duty with the Army transport USAT Henderson
to Manila by way of the island outposts of Wake, Midway and
Guam. All hands were told not to divulge the identity of their
ship for security reasons, while at anchor in Manila Bay. In a
Manila bar one night a petty officer from the USS Blackhawk, a
repair vessel, asked a chief electricians mate from the St.
Louis the name of his ship. "Well.." the chief stammered,
"she's the Mystery Ship." He was promptly rewarded with a pair
of black eyes, and the St. Louis' reputation as the "Mystery
Ship of the United States Fleet." was born
December 7, 1941, found St. Louis peacefully moored at the
Pearl Harbor Navy Yard with the status of "limited
availability" for minor work on machinery and guns, outboard
of the USS Honolulu (CL-48), facing Southeast Loch, receiving
water and power from the dock. All firing leads were off her
anti-aircraft guns. Her engines were cold and two of her 8
boilers were dismantled for cleaning. The crew was on holiday
routine.
At 0756 all routine ended when two of the officers spotted
what turned out to be the 353 Japanese aircraft approaching
from the west, over Ford Island. General Quarters was sounded
and the crew raced for their battle stations on the double.
Of the entire Pacific Fleet, no ship was better prepared to
meet the enemy. St. Louis was the only ship in the fleet with
the coveted gunnery "E" on all 5 of her main batteries and all
four of her secondary gun mounts. She was up and firing,
"Within two minutes by the clock with all guns going in local
control and making preparations to get underway without any
orders passed to do so," as Captain Rood recalled later.
At 0931 she cast off all lines and backed into the harbor
with all AA guns ablaze. St. Louis was the only major warship
to get out of the harbor to open sea that day. In the process
she was fired on by a Japanese submarine. The torpedoes
narrowly missed and grounded on the reef. She flew out of the
channel at about 25 knots, near the capsized USS Oklahoma and
narrowly missing the grounded USS Nevada.
The "Fighting Lou" was strafed, near missed by bombs, and
the target of a torpedo attack and still made it to open sea
suffering inconsequential damage. Sailors on other ships said
the "Fighting Lou" was just lucky, and being loyal to their
ship, her own crew dubbed her to be forever remembered as the
"Lucky Lou". |
The "Lou" coming out of Pearl Harbor.
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| The period from
11 December 1941 to 23 May 1942 found the St. Louis convoying
ships carrying civilians back to the States from the Hawaiian
Islands, with one historic exception. The exception was the
Navy's initial attack of the war: the raid on Japanese bases
in the Gilberts and Marshalls February 1, 1942. A tiny task
force comprised of one light cruiser, the St. Louis, four
heavy cruisers and ten destroyers around a nucleus of the
carriers USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown. This tiny group
suceeded in inflicting damage by bomb and bombardment upon the
islands of Wotje, Maloelap, Kwajalein, Roi, Jaluit, Makin,
Taroe, Lao and Gugegwe, much of the damage described as
severe.
The St. Louis resumed her convoy duties after that, until
23 May 1942, when she headed for Midway with a Marine Raider
Battalion aboard. Having secured Midway, these same Marines
would begin the titanic task of taking Makin and Guadalcanal.
On one convoy trip she made a rendezvous with the SS President
Coolidge off Bora Bora in the Society Islands and escorted her
to San Francisco in a high speed run. On board was Manuel
Quezon, President of the Philippine Commonwealth.
On 25 May the St. Louis made for Kodiak, Alaska, arriving
31 May to refuel and begin a tour of duty in the Aleutians.
She spent the next two months in a fruitless search for
convoys resupplying the Japanese garrison on Kiska. On 7
August the weather finally cleared and St. Louis along with
the cruisers and destroyers with her opened up on the Jap
installations on Kiska. The weather again turned sour midway
through the attack and they were unable to assess the damage
inflicted on the enemy.
In early October after aiding in the American occupation of
Adak Island and the Andreanof Group, the St. Louis made a
return to the States. During the first year of the war St.
Louis was the most travelled ship in the U.S. Navy. She
returned to Mare Island for overhaul and the installation of
the latest types of radar equipment and, on 3 November 1942,
Captain Rood was relieved by Captain Colin Campbell, USN.
Upon completion of repairs and refit, St. Louis made her
way toward the South Pacific stopping in Noumea, New Hebrides
Islands, and then Espirito Santo enroute to the Solomon
Islands. On 4 January 1943, USS Nashville, USS Helena and USS
St. Louis were involved in shelling the New Georgia Islands of
Kolombangara, Vella Lavella and Munda. The cruisers continued
to make almost nightly cruises "up the slot" on the lookout
for the "Tokyo Express".
On the night of 4-5 July 1943, while in preparation for the
landings at Rice Anchorage, the USS Honolulu, USS Helena and
St. Louis, in the company of four destroyers, made a night
sweep of Kula Gulf to bombard Kolombangara. With the mission
completed and steaming out of the gulf they encountered ten
Japanese destroyers in two groups, one of four and one of six.
The guns of the St. Louis roared without ceasing for some 55
minutes. The Helena was sunk and the St. Louis was struck aft
of the number 3 turret by a dud torpedo. "Lucky Lou"!
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 One week later, 12 July, the Honolulu,
the Australian cruiser Leander, and the St. Louis, with
destroyers, headed "up the slot" again. The Japanese light
cruiser Jintsu and a group of destroyers were engaged in the
Second Battle of Kula Gulf. When it was over the Jap cruiser
and three of her escorting destroyers were sunk. Each of the
Allied cruisers took a torpedo, but sustained no serious
casualties to their respective crews. The St. Louis did,
however, require a return to Mare Island for repairs. At Mare
Island she not only received a new bow, but a restructuring of
the entire bridge, as well as the addition of the new concept
of a Combat Information Center (CIC). This provided her with a
means to integrate the communications, radar, fire control and
ship control in combat situations.
She returned to open sea in late Fall of 1943 complete with
a new bow and a new skipper, Captain Ralph H. Roberts, USN.
Captain Roberts relieved Captain Campbell 12 October 1943.
Captain Campbell received the Navy Cross for his
maneuvering of the St. Louis through sub-infested waters
during the Rice Anchorage landings and for his brilliant
direction of the cruiser's gunfire at the First Battle of Kula
Gulf. He later received the Silver Star for his courageous
direction of the St. Louis which led the cruiser line in the
Second Battle of Kula Gulf.
The ship returned to the Solomon Islands in December and
assisted in covering the landings at Torokina Bay on the
island of Bougainville, and on 27 December took part in the
bombardment of the Kieta area also on Bougainville. Her guns
silenced coastal gun emplacements on the Shortland Islands a
month later. Return fire did no harm to the "Lucky Lou", but
it was close enough that pieces of shrapnel fell on the deck.
It was not until St. Valentine's Day, 14 February 1944,
that the USS St. Louis suffered her first combat fatalities.
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 The St. Louis was operating as part of
a task force screening the American landings on Green Island,
north of Bougainville. She lay off the island most of the day
without incident. At about sundown, 14 February, six enemy
aircraft, which had been first observed circling above the
horizon at about 1700 hours, proceeded to make their attack
run on the screening force. Two were driven off by gunfire and
the other four split with two carrying out their dive bombing
attack on St. Louis, and the other two attacking a nearby
destroyer. St. Louis' formation took violent evasive action.
The first plane dropped three bombs, all near misses. The
second released three more, one of which penetrated the main
deck, exploding amidships living compartment killing 22
enlisted men and 1 officer in the damage control party there,
and wounding 28 others. When the fires were under control, St.
Louis limped south to Purvis Bay, on Florida Island, for
repairs. This time they would have to take care of the repairs
themselves. They were too valuable an asset to be sent home,
with events being planned for the northward thrust. The bodies
were removed, the wounded tended to, and the repairs were made
by the crew. Admiral Halsey came on board for an inspection
and pronounced the ship to be "fit for combat", and they were
back in it with a slightly bowed mess deck as a constant
reminder of the men they lost at Green Island.
The St. Louis joined Task Force 52 at Roi, in the
Marshalls, and participated in the shelling of Saipan and
Tinian in preparation for the American landings 14 June, and
then drifted down to Guam for the first bombardment of that
island. On 7 July , while enroute from Eniwetok to Guam to
pound the area where the landings were due to take place, one
of her engines began to race out of control. When they stopped
to investigate they found one of their propellers was missing.
It had apparently fallen off due to the severe shock from the
bomb hit and several near misses at Green Island. No
replacement was available, nor was there time to install one,
so St. Louis stood in close to the beach with three screws and
brought all her firepower to bear. She stood so close to shore
(about 1500 yards) that her 40 mm's and 20 mm's raked the
shoreline, mowing down palm trees like blades of grass.
After fulfilling her obligations in the Guam Campaign, St.
Louis set sail for Terminal Island in San Pedro, California,
for repairs and some needed rest.
For his "consummate skill" in handling his ship "during all
of these operations, lasting over two months in almost
constant contact with an enemy-held shoreline in an advanced
theater of operations...", Commander Cruiser Division Nine,
Rear Admiral W. L. Ainsworth, USN, awarded Captain Roberts a
Letter of Commendation and the Legion of Merit.
The St. Louis returned to Terminal Island for overhaul and
installation of the new Long Range Navigation system (LORAN).
They remained at the San Pedro Navy Yard until mid-October
when they left for the Hawaiian Islands where they trained
until the end of the month, then it was on to the Western
Pacific again, stopping at Eniwetok for fuel, then on to the
huge anchorage at Ulithi Lagoon in the Caroline Island chain.
They became part of Task Group 77.2 and proceeded on toward
Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands via Kossol Roads in the
Palau Islands.
They entered Leyte Gulf on 16 November 1944. During the
next ten days they supported the landings on Leyte Island and
pulled picket duty patrolling the gulf and the Surigao Strait.
In the thirteen days from 16 November to 29 November the St.
Louis endured some 33 air attacks. The most devistating of
these occurred as the noon chow line was forming at 1130 hrs.,
27 November 1944.
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 It was slightly cloudy and St. Louis,
in company with TG 77.2, was steaming in circle 3 clockwise at
about 8 knots, in a circle formation of heavy ships, at a
distance of about 3000 yards from the tanker, Caribou. She was
in formation with the cruisers Minneapolis, Denver, Columbia,
Montpelier, battleships Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia
and Maryland. About 9 destroyers were circling
counter-clockwise in circle 5 at about 10 knots. The West
Virginia was completing fueling as was a destroyer on the
opposite side of the tanker. The Denver had left the circle
and was proceeding toward the tanker in preparation for
following the West Virginia in fueling.
At 1046 Maryland sent a "Flash Red-Control Green" message.
At 1047 the heavy ship formation increased its speed to about
15 knots and the destroyers proceeded to move into circle 3
between the heavy ships.
At about 1112 a "Judy" dove out of the clouds slightly on
the port bow of the St. Louis and, crossing from port to
starboard, dropped a bomb 800 yards 2 points abaft the St.
Louis' starboard beam and about 300 yards off the starboard
quarter of the Denver. This plane, when pulling out of its
dive carried away some portion of its tail, went into a flat
spin, and fluttered down, crashing about 1500 yards well aft
on the starboard side of St. Louis. The attack of this plane
was the tip-off of the raid to follow.
There was no CAP in the area, however there were many
friendly aircraft in the area. At 1131 a group of 10 planes
was spotted by St. Louis on her port bow at about 20,000
yards. These planes were identified as enemy and a report was
made to Maryland. This was the first report made identifying
the planes as hostile. At 1135 the planes broke into 3 attack
groups, two of four planes each and one of two planes. At this
time the discharging of ballast, which had begun in
preparation for refueling following Denver, was stopped and
the pumping of ballast back on board commenced. At 1137 St.
Louis, the first ship to open fire, did so with her port AA
battery at a group of 4 planes.
The first to attack was an Aichi D3A Navy dive bomber, a
"VAL." It dove on the ship from the stern. The 20 mm's pounded
the burning, seemingly out of control plane. It seemed to go
up then roll over and in spite of its damage still was able to
crash onto the forward starboard hanger deck about 10 feet
inboard from starboard. The result was devastating. When the
plane crashed it penetrated to the lower decks and its bomb
detonated causing severe fires to erupt in the hanger area and
severe damage to the fantail destroying scout planes and
catapults, and narrowly missing the aviation fuel bunker. The
smoke and flame undoubtedly attracted succeeding attacks by
indicating a damaged vessel and the possibility of finishing
her off. A total of 15 enlisted men and 1 officer were killed.
Some died on the fantail, some in the hanger, one man was
missing in action, two were blown overboard later to be picked
up by the destroyer Waller, wounded but alive. In 5"/38 mount
#3, 2 shell men were killed when the Jap planes propeller nut
penetrated tke armor plate and struck them. Of the gun crews
to 20 mm mounts 7 thru 10, 75% were killed or incapacitated.
Amazingly, these casualties were quickly replaced, the gun
crews reorganized and the guns continued in action.
In addition to the 16 dead, there were 21 seriously
wounded, 22 sustained minor injuries and 31 were hospitalized
at one point.
Of the 12 planes sighted by the St. Louis, 9 were taken
under fire by the gun crews of St. Louis, 6 of which were
attacking the ship herself. Of these 6 attacking planes, 4
were downed by the St. Louis' gunners and she assisted in the
destruction of the other 2. Of the other 3 planes St. Louis
took under fire, 1 was listed as a sure assist.
Although damaged, the St. Louis was obliged to fall to with
her AA batteries the night of 29 November as she was beginning
her withdrawl from the gulf. The St. Louis left Leyte Gulf on
30 November bound for the dry-dock facility at Seadler Harbor
on Manus in the Admiralty Islands to make temporary repairs,
anchoring there 4 December. They left dry-dock and Seadler
Harbor on 9 December bound for Pearl Harbor and arrived 19
December, mooring in the South Channel, East Loch. On 20
December they left Pearl bound for San Pedro, California. They
arrived at Terminal Island Navy Yard 26 December 1944 for
repairs and yard overhaul. They remained there until 22
February 1945.
On 3 January 1945, Captain Roberts was relieved by Captain
John Bradford Griggs,Jr., USN, a veteran of the submarine
service.
Captain Roberts was awarded the Legion of Merit for
outstanding service and meritorious conduct while serving as
the Commanding Officer of the USS St. Louis.
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More destruction at Leyte Gulf.
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| On 23 February
1945 the St. Louis departed the Navy Yard in Long Beach,
California bound for Pearl Harbor. At Pearl she received
orders to report to Task Force 58 then making rendezvous at
Ulithi in the Caroline Islands. She arrived, took on fuel and
set sail 14 March with TF 58, the mightiest armada in Naval
History, for the now historic air strikes against Kyushu in
the Japanese home islands. The St. Louis' role was that of
support ship for the carrier force carrying out the raids.
The strikes took place 18-19 March and were launched from a
point 100 miles south of Kyushu, and were directed against
airfields in order to eliminate airborne resistance to the
upcoming invasion of Okinawa Gunto scheduled for 1 April.
Japanese fleet units at Kobe and Kure on southern Honshu
were also hit with great success. The Task Force, under
command of Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, destroyed 528 planes
and damaged 16 surface vessels, as well as hangars, warehouses
and factories. Even Tokyo herself was not spared from this
daring series of raids.
The Japanese counter-attacked, and on 19 March the carrier
Franklin was hit by two bombs killing 772 men. St. Louis was
credited with 2 assists on the attacking aircraft.
On 25 March, St. Louis left TF58 and escorted the USS
Indianapolis, with Admiral Spruance aboard, to the Japanese
bastion at Okinawa Gunto.She reported for duty with TF 54
consisting of the battleships Tennessee, Idaho, New Mexico,
Arkansas, Nevada, West Virginia, Colorado, and New York, the
heavy cruisers Salt Lake City, Pensacola, Wichita, Portland,
San Francisco, Minneapolis, Indianapolis and the light
cruisers Biloxi and Birmingham.
On the second day of the campaign, St. Louis was straddled
by2 torpedoes fired from a midget sub. For 50 of the next 61
days the St. Louis was on the firing line, and 8 of the
remaining days were spent in replenishment. She was subject to
call for fire for the entire 61 days and fired during 38 of
them.
On D-Day, 1 April, her 5" and 6" guns blasted a new one day
record in Naval gunfire by a single ship of 1450 rounds.
During the period from 26 March through 27 May St. Louis fired
26,265 rounds of 5" and 6" projectiles, not to mention
countless 40 mm and 20 mm rounds, at the enemy, setting an all
time record for rounds expended by a single surface ship in a
single operation. They weren't just fired wildly, either. They
received praise from both the Army spotters and the Navy for
their accuracy of fire. It was second to none. One spotter
commented that "if you put a dime anywhere on Okinawa, the
'Lucky Lou' would hit it."
St. Louis was taken under fire by shore batteries 3 times,
and silenced them 3 times, underwent 88 air alerts in cluding
11 attacks on the St. Louis herself by the newly formed
Kamikaze Corps, participated in 88 shore bombardments and
splashed 4 enemy planes with 4 assists. One of these planes
was knocked down at a distance of 8,000 yards with a 5" shell;
another was killed at 200 yards by the 20's and 40's. They
were also constantly plagued with suicide swimmers and suicide
boats.
Through all of this the St. Louis came unscathed. The
"Lucky Lou's" luck was not to be denied
For his skill and leadership during the Okinawa Campaign,
Captain John B. Griggs, Jr., USN was awarded the Silver Star
and the Legion of Merit.
Late in May the ship left Okinawa for a two week respite in
Leyte Gulf for rest and replenishment. She returned to Okinawa
as part of TF 32 to protect shipping in the area.
She joined TF95 on 15 August and proceeded to the East
China Sea where, along with other members of the Seventh
Fleet, they conducted anti-shipping sweeps and provided
surface and air cover for the minesweeping operations. While
one air strike was being waged against the Chosen-Hangchow
area, St. Louis retired to Buckner Bay, Okinawa for
replenishment. While anchored about 1000 yards from the USS
Pennsylvania on 12 August a lone torpedo plane slipped in and
torpedoed Pennsylvania, crippling, but not sinking her.
In September she made a trip up the Wangpoo River to
Shanghai, China to cover the allied occupation of the city,
and in October, Captain Griggs was designated Commander TG
73.12 which transported the Chinese 70th Army from Ningpo,
China to Kuran, Formosa. Here the "Lucky Lou", the ship the
Japanese News Agency, Domei, had claimed 3 times to have sunk,
explained the surrender terms to the Japanese Garrison on the
Island of Formosa, on her deck. She was the first American
warship to enter those waters in 25 years.
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Captain Griggs explains terms of surrender to the
Japanese Garrison from the island of Formosa.
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| On 24-25 October,
they picked up 800 passengers from Guam and proceeded to San
Francisco via a brief stay in Pearl Harbor, on the first of
her 3 "Magic Carpet" trips ferrying our troops home from the
far reaches of the Pacific Area. She logged over 75,000 miles
since leaving Long Beach on 23 February 1945. On 7 February
1946 she set sail for the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a well
deserved rest and reserve status in the 16th Fleet.
The USS St. Louis (CL-49) was decommissioned on 20 June
1946. On 9 January 1951, under terms of the Military
Assistance Program, she was transferred to the Government of
Brazil. She served the Brazilian Navy under the name Almirante
Tamandare (C-12), the Father of the Brazilian Navy. She served
as the Flagship of the Fleet and, in 1976, after 25 years
service, was decommissioned for the final time, and scheduled
for scrapping.
The former crews in the United States and Brazil mounted a
campaign to save her from the scrappers, but the "Lucky Lou"
would have none of that. On 5 August 1980, after being sold to
a Chinese company, she left Rio De Janeiro under tow bound for
Kaohsiung, Taiwan. In the South Atlantic off the coast of
South Africa on 24 August 1980 in a heavy storm, the ship
foundered and slipped away in heavy seas. She would not be
scrapped, but would forever rest in the depths of the sea she
loved.
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The "Lucky Lou" as you knew her.
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| The USS
St. Louis (CL-49) earned 11 Battle Stars on the
Asiatic/Pacific Area Service Medal for her participation in
the following operations: |
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1 Star / Pearl Harbor - Midway: 7 December 1941
1 Star / Pacific Raids - 1942;
The Marshall - Gilbert
Islands Raids: 1 February 1942
1 Star / Capture and Defense of Guadalcanal: 10 August
1942-8 February 1943
1 Star / Consolidation of the Solomon
Islands;
Consolidation of the Southern Solomons: 8
February-20 June 1943
Consolidation of the Northern
Solomons: 27 October 1943-15 March 1945
1 Star / New Georgia Group Operation;
New Georgia -
Rendova - Vangunu Occupation: 20 June-31 August 1943
Kula
Gulf Action: 5-6 July 1943
Kolombangara Action: 12-13 July
1943
1 Star / Treasury - Bougainville Operation;
Occupation
and Defense of Cape Torokina: 1 November-15 December 1943
1 Star / Bismarck Archipelago Operation;
Green Island
Landings: 15-19 February 1944
1 Star / Marianas Operation;
Capture and Occupation of
Saipan: 11 June-10 August 1944
Capture and Occupation of
Guam: 12 July-15 August 1944
1 Star / Leyte Operation;
Leyte Landings: 10 October-29
November 1944
1 Star / Okinawa Gunto Operation;
Fifth and Third Fleet
Raids in support of the Okinawa Operation: 17 March-11 June
1945
1 Star / Third Fleet Operations against Japan: 10 July-15
August 1945
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She also earned a
Navy Unit Commendation for " outstanding heroism in action
against enemy Japanese forces during the Battles of Kula Gulf
and Kolombangara, from 5-13 July 1943; the Philippine Islands
Campaign, from 15-28 November 1944; and the Okinawa Campaign,
from 25 March-28 May 1945."
It should be noted here that
the first ship to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation was
the USS Helena (CL-50), the "Lucky Lou's" only sister, thus
giving this great honor to both ships of the St. Louis Class.
On 5 October 1999, U.S. Public Law 106-65, Section 2,
Division A, Title V, SubTitle G, Section 564 was amended to
provide for the retroactive awarding of the Combat Action
Ribbon to include those veterans of the Armed Services who
served in actual combat during the period from 7 December 1941
through 1 March 1961. Congratulations to the St. Louis
shipmates who earned this honor.
The USS St. Louis was credited with sinking 2 light
cruisers and 5 destroyers at the Battles of Kula Gulf and
Kolombangara, as well as damaging 5 other destroyers. She also
is credited with the sinking of 1 submarine, and she shot down
or assisted in the shooting down of 20 enemy aircraft
So ends the Saga of the "Lucky Lou", one of the finest
fighting ships ever to serve the United States Navy.
*********** A Few Personal Thoughts***********
I want to take this time to thank some of the people who
made this site possible.
To Doug Huggins, Jack Jones,
Sumner Blossom, Bill Goode and Mike "B" Backauskas of the
"Lucky Lou" Association; Thanks for the mountain of
information, personal accounts, Hubble-Bubbles, sagas by Rear
Admiral James R. McCormick, USN(Retired) and others, and
Mike's slight nudge to get this thing going.
To Al Seton,
President Emeritus of the USS St. Louis Association. Thanks
for all of your support, back issues of Hubble-Bubbles,
photographs, letters and information. I really appreciate that
as well as all the efforts you have made over the years to get
the story of the "Lucky Lou" into its rightful place in
history.
To my old pal Larry Ciavarella; Thanks for sharing
your expert knowledge of computers, for being patient with all
my questions, and for helping me fine tune the HTML.
To
Jesse Walker who was with my Dad on the fantail at Leyte Gulf
that day in November so long ago; Thanks for your help,
information and rememberances.
To Eddie Niziolek; Thanks
for taking time to find my Dad after the Leyte Gulf Battle and
saving his life.
A special thank you to Diana M.
Richardson, Computer Services Consultant at Kinko's near the
University of Akron Campus, for all of her hard work in
creating some great prints of the ship from original drawings
for the 2000 reunion in Santa Monica, California.
Last, but surely not least; Thanks, Pop, for sharing your
sea stories with me and for being a "Hero" to me in every
way.
"Keep a steady strain."
Dave
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E-mail
Dave!! | | | |
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