Evening star., 1945-08-05
1S D. {. Men on Ship
SheI|ing Jap Isles;
Other Naval News


One veteran cruiser, the U. S. S
Guam, numbers 18 District area
men among her crew. Her battle
debut was on the morning of March
18, during the historic two-day all
strike against the Ryukus and the
Inland Sea of Japan. Her guns
shot down two Jap planes as they
attempted suicide dives on an air.
craft carrier. In addition, she is
credited with assists on six attack
ing enemy. planes, while her 12-inch
guns poured tons of steel on two
Jap-held islands.
The Guam cruised with her task
force off japanese shores for 81
days and in recent operations, sup
porting the Okinawa invasion, she
protected carriers of her escort in
a series of battles. Local men serv-
ing on the Guam are:
1t. Comdr. r. E. Bennick, 1920
Alton place NV; 1t. Comdr. Harry
Kaplan, 5000 Thirty-ninth street
NV; 1t. Joseph C. ziarkle, jr., 1903
BltmOre street NV; Steward S
Mate &c Winfield Livingston, 1922
Sumner road; Stewards Mate &c
Thaddeus McIver, 2610 Stanton
road Sc; Seaman 1/c Daniel M.
Hall, % Seventh street NE; Gun
ner'S Mate sc Charles R. Baker.
724 Varnum street NV; Seaman
1/c Raymond Aspner, 1905 K street
Sc; Fireman &c Gardner S. Purks,
1107 Eleventh street NE.
Also Radioman &c Henry j. Dab
bonadanza, 1900 Oates street NE;
Pfc. Raymond Sweeney, U. S. M. C.
R., 708 Madison street NV; Signal
man sc Daniel J. Healey, 4515 New
Hampshire avenue NV; Seaman
&c Robert J. Coleman, 60 A street
NE; Electricians Mate SIC Floyd
A. Barnard 2424 North Capitol
street; Machinists Mate John T.
Mahardy, 315 South Veitch street,
Arlington, Va; Seaman 1/c John w.
Wise, jr., 3510 South Lee boulevard,
Arlington, Va; 1t. Stecen Bitten
bender, 1900 New Hampshire avenue
NV, and Seaman 1/c Walter w.
Scheidegger, Brandywine, Md.
Serving aboard another cruiser,
Radarman &c Charles ]. O'Meyer,
512 Silver Spring avenue, Silver
Spring, Md, has taken part in eight
major engagements including action
at the Marshalls, the Marianas, the
CarolineS, the Philippines, Saipan,
Guam, Two Jima, Okinawa and the
China and Indo-China coasts. Ra-
darman OMeyer has been on the
ship since August, l943.
Two Washington area Navy men,
serving aboard a large cruiser, are
veterans of action near the main
land of Japan, at Two Jima and Okl-
nawa. They are: Gunner's Mate sc
Robert Nj. Amussen, 125 Kenwood
avenue, Chevy Chase, Md, and
Yeoman sc G. L. Grooms, 1913 c
street Sc. Amussen's brother, 1t.
q. g. John R. Amussen, was killed
in the war. Yeonfan Grooms has
two brothers in the service. His
father is a member of the Metro
politan Police Department force.
Ensign Edgar L. Kale, 1858 Valley
drive, Alexandria, Va, trains the
lookouts aboard the light cruiser st.
Louis, now in the East China Sea.
They are able to recognize enemy
air and surface craft at great dis
tances. .-...
Besides its heavy bombardment
of Okinawa previous to the invasion,
the ST. Louis destroyed half-dozen
number OF enemy aircraft.
The three dentists on one of the
Navy's carrier flagShips are equipped
to handle at least 48 patients day,
but caring for teeth isn't all that is
required of these dentists and their
corpsmen, Pharmacists Mate &c
Donald G. Mccormick, 1887 Beecher
street NV, is willing to testify.
During battle they all have stations
above the hangar deck and handle
dressings of wounded men. McCor-
mick is one of the dental assistants
on the giant carrier flagship.
Two Washington area Navy men
serving on the same destroyer in
the Pacific have parallel Navy eXpe-
rienceS, both having served on At
lantic ships before receiving their
present assignments. They are:
Electricians Mate &c Philip E.
Richard, As New York avenue NV,
and Seaman 1/c Ernest E. Aleshire,
5629 Ruatan street, Berwyn Heights,
Md.
After joining the crew of this YES
sci, both saw a suicide plane zoom
out of the sky at 400 miles an hour
and plunge into the water only 20
feet from their ship-the victim OF
good antiaircraft fire. The two have
taken part in action at Two Jima,
Okinawa, the Philippines, French
Indo-C China and Tokyo Bay.
Ships Serviceman &c Alvin
Brooke, 3541 Eleventh street NV,
takes care of the laundry for men
of the U. S. S. Witter, destroyer
escort. While serving on the ship
for the last 18 months, he has seen
action near New Guinea, at Truk, in
the Philippines and at Okinawa.
During the Philippines operation,
the Writer'S task unit was one OF
the first to approach the entrance
Off Leyte Gulf before the assault
there.
Nine Washington men and two
from this area belong to the crew
of heroic ship, the U. S. S. Bir-
mingham.
The Washington, D. c., men on
the Birmingham are Signalman 1/c
Don C. Gillespie, Oil Jefferson street
NV; Seaman 1/c Julian r. Baus-
German, 4518 Georgia avenue NV;
Stewards Mate 1/c Willie Gleophus
Lee, 3O6 T street NV; Seaman 1/c
Samuel L. Jaffe, 6302 Eighth street
NV; Seaman 2/c James B. Hibbs,
424 Buchanan street NV; Fire
Controlman &c Robert A. McAul-
life, jr., SO Whiteford avenue, NE;
Seaman &c Earl c. Gray, 1867 Good
Hope road Sc; Seaman 2/c William
Carmel Delodovico, 241 Longfellow
street NV, and Gunner's Mate 1ic
william Edward Dalton, 1928 Clifton
street.
Also Seaman 2/c Roy G. Ran
dolph, Charlotte Hall, Md, and Sea-
man 2/c Clyde Perry, 10006 Kinrose