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AAFHA pauses today
to remember Pearl Harbor, and to honor those airmen, sailors, and soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice 75 years ago today! God Bless them all! God Bless America! |
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"So Gallantly Streaming"
The USS Shaw and her flag at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
by Paul R. Martin III
“So Gallantly Streaming” was inspired by the tattered battle flag of the Mahan class destroyer, USS Shaw, that is on permanent display at the US Naval Academy Museum. By combining a pre-war image of the ship in the foreground and setting the scene from a famous photograph of the Shaw exploding, I have tried to honor the sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice on the “Day of Infamy”.
The USS Shaw, (DD-373) a 1,500-ton Mahan class destroyer was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania. She was launched on 28 October 1935, and commissioned on 18 September 1936 with Lt. Comdr. E. A. Mitchell in command. She made a trans-Atlantic shakedown cruise in 1937, steamed to South America in mid-1938, and transferred to the Pacific soon thereafter. Operations along the west coast and in Hawaiian waters followed in 1939-41. In November of 1941 she entered the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor for repairs, dry docking in YFD-2.
Shortly after 9:00 AM on December 7, 1941, a second wave of eighty dive-bombers attacked the United States base at Pearl Harbor. Finding battleship row ablaze and covered in thick black smoke, a squadron of dive-bombers from the carrier Akagi veered off to look for new targets. Several planes found the destroyer Shaw undergoing repairs in the dry dock across from Ford Island. Attacking the Shaw, the dive bombers unleashed their bombs on the defenseless ship. At about 9:12, two 550 pound bombs penetrated the main deck and exploded near the 5 inch guns and the crew’s mess hall. A third bomb scored a direct hit on the fuel tanks and the resulting fires ignited the forward magazines. A tremendous explosion resulted, the second largest explosion that morning next only to that of the USS Arizona. The huge fireball was seen and felt all over Pearl Harbor. Navy seamen at Ford Island Naval Air Station, about a half-mile away had to “hit the deck” to avoid being struck by flying debris from the exploding ship. Admiral Kimmel, commander of the Pacific fleet, was described as having a “look of horror” on his face when he saw the Shaw blow up.
The floating dry dock sank and the Shaw was broken in two, severed just behind the bridge. Miraculously, only twenty five crewmen were killed in the resulting fires and explosion and although originally thought to be a total loss, it was soon realized that damage in her machinery spaces and further aft was minor. In mid-December, she was hauled out of the water and received urgent repairs including a temporary short bow and other fittings. The repairs were completed by late January, 1942, in the recently rebuilt floating dry-dock YFD-2. Most armament was removed but she retained one five-inch gun for self-defense. Following sea trials, which proved that she could remain afloat and maintain 25 knots, Shaw left Pearl Harbor on 9 February 1942 to steam to the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Fransisco. The crew of 28 volunteers, representing only those essential to man her during the dangerous voyage, included EM3c Alvin Wagley. A new bow section and other major repairs were completed in late June, 1942. Incredibly, she arose from the ashes of Pearl Harbor to the same appearance and combat effectiveness she had prior to December 7.
The resurrected USS Shaw then spent several months in training and convoy escort duties. Sent to the South Pacific in October 1942, she participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands late in that month. While supporting the Guadalcanal Campaign, she ran aground at New Caledonia on 10 January 1943, requiring a return trip to dry dock at Pearl Harbor for more extensive repairs to her hull, propellers and sound gear.
Shaw returned to the war zone in October 1943 and took part in operations around New Guinea and New Britain. She was hit in an air attack off Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943. 36 men were injured with three ultimately succombing to their wounds. After repair of that damage, she operated in the Central Pacific in the Marshalls and the Marianas, including participation in the invasions of Saipan and Guam. From October 1944 into 1945, Shaw escorted Western Pacific convoys in Leyete Gulf, the Philipines and New Guinea and helped liberate Luzon, Manila Bay and other parts of the Philippines. When the Pacific war ended in August 1945, she was deemed too old for retention in the post-war fleet and was sent to the US east coast for inactivation. Decommissioned in October 1945, the USS Shaw was unceremoniously scrapped in July of 1946. The proud and scrappy USS Shaw earned eleven battle stars during her unbelievable and illustrious carreer in World War II.
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“So Gallantly Streaming” pays tribute to the gallant sailors of the USS Shaw and honors the efforts of all our citizen soldiers, who from 1941 through 1945, stopped cold the tyranny of Hitler’s Nazi Germany in Europe and the Japanese Empire’s aggressions in the Pacific. On battlefields across the globe, they courageously picked up their weapons, not to conquer, but to liberate, not to destroy but to restore, and “did nothing less, than save the world.”
PAUL R. MARTIN III
NAME: Shaw
HULL NUMBER: DD-373
The USS Shaw and her flag at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
by Paul R. Martin III
“So Gallantly Streaming” was inspired by the tattered battle flag of the Mahan class destroyer, USS Shaw, that is on permanent display at the US Naval Academy Museum. By combining a pre-war image of the ship in the foreground and setting the scene from a famous photograph of the Shaw exploding, I have tried to honor the sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice on the “Day of Infamy”.
The USS Shaw, (DD-373) a 1,500-ton Mahan class destroyer was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania. She was launched on 28 October 1935, and commissioned on 18 September 1936 with Lt. Comdr. E. A. Mitchell in command. She made a trans-Atlantic shakedown cruise in 1937, steamed to South America in mid-1938, and transferred to the Pacific soon thereafter. Operations along the west coast and in Hawaiian waters followed in 1939-41. In November of 1941 she entered the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor for repairs, dry docking in YFD-2.
Shortly after 9:00 AM on December 7, 1941, a second wave of eighty dive-bombers attacked the United States base at Pearl Harbor. Finding battleship row ablaze and covered in thick black smoke, a squadron of dive-bombers from the carrier Akagi veered off to look for new targets. Several planes found the destroyer Shaw undergoing repairs in the dry dock across from Ford Island. Attacking the Shaw, the dive bombers unleashed their bombs on the defenseless ship. At about 9:12, two 550 pound bombs penetrated the main deck and exploded near the 5 inch guns and the crew’s mess hall. A third bomb scored a direct hit on the fuel tanks and the resulting fires ignited the forward magazines. A tremendous explosion resulted, the second largest explosion that morning next only to that of the USS Arizona. The huge fireball was seen and felt all over Pearl Harbor. Navy seamen at Ford Island Naval Air Station, about a half-mile away had to “hit the deck” to avoid being struck by flying debris from the exploding ship. Admiral Kimmel, commander of the Pacific fleet, was described as having a “look of horror” on his face when he saw the Shaw blow up.
The floating dry dock sank and the Shaw was broken in two, severed just behind the bridge. Miraculously, only twenty five crewmen were killed in the resulting fires and explosion and although originally thought to be a total loss, it was soon realized that damage in her machinery spaces and further aft was minor. In mid-December, she was hauled out of the water and received urgent repairs including a temporary short bow and other fittings. The repairs were completed by late January, 1942, in the recently rebuilt floating dry-dock YFD-2. Most armament was removed but she retained one five-inch gun for self-defense. Following sea trials, which proved that she could remain afloat and maintain 25 knots, Shaw left Pearl Harbor on 9 February 1942 to steam to the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Fransisco. The crew of 28 volunteers, representing only those essential to man her during the dangerous voyage, included EM3c Alvin Wagley. A new bow section and other major repairs were completed in late June, 1942. Incredibly, she arose from the ashes of Pearl Harbor to the same appearance and combat effectiveness she had prior to December 7.
The resurrected USS Shaw then spent several months in training and convoy escort duties. Sent to the South Pacific in October 1942, she participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands late in that month. While supporting the Guadalcanal Campaign, she ran aground at New Caledonia on 10 January 1943, requiring a return trip to dry dock at Pearl Harbor for more extensive repairs to her hull, propellers and sound gear.
Shaw returned to the war zone in October 1943 and took part in operations around New Guinea and New Britain. She was hit in an air attack off Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943. 36 men were injured with three ultimately succombing to their wounds. After repair of that damage, she operated in the Central Pacific in the Marshalls and the Marianas, including participation in the invasions of Saipan and Guam. From October 1944 into 1945, Shaw escorted Western Pacific convoys in Leyete Gulf, the Philipines and New Guinea and helped liberate Luzon, Manila Bay and other parts of the Philippines. When the Pacific war ended in August 1945, she was deemed too old for retention in the post-war fleet and was sent to the US east coast for inactivation. Decommissioned in October 1945, the USS Shaw was unceremoniously scrapped in July of 1946. The proud and scrappy USS Shaw earned eleven battle stars during her unbelievable and illustrious carreer in World War II.
.
“So Gallantly Streaming” pays tribute to the gallant sailors of the USS Shaw and honors the efforts of all our citizen soldiers, who from 1941 through 1945, stopped cold the tyranny of Hitler’s Nazi Germany in Europe and the Japanese Empire’s aggressions in the Pacific. On battlefields across the globe, they courageously picked up their weapons, not to conquer, but to liberate, not to destroy but to restore, and “did nothing less, than save the world.”
PAUL R. MARTIN III
NAME: Shaw
HULL NUMBER: DD-373