SwiftVets.com

Leeman · PO3 Joined: 08 Nov 2004 Posts: 265 Location: Connecticut

If anybody does remember them or thier story or the movie that was made about them, do you remember what thier Mom & Dad did after losing 5 sons in WW2..?

They toured the Country on a Bond drive, Bless Them.

Leeman

GM Strong · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 12:59 am Post subject:

They were lost aboard the USS Juneau and the elder of us may know. A monument our church yard is to William Wray lost on this ship. Few now remember, but in our congregation we can. After this loss the service of members of the same family in the same units was restricted.
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8th Army Korea 68-69

mtboone

[quote="Leeman"]If anybody does remember them or thier story or the movie that was made about them, do you remember what thier Mom & Dad did after losing 5 sons in WW2..?

They toured the Country on a Bond drive, Bless Them.

Battle of Salvo Island, 4 died onboard and the other died awaiting rescue while at sea. Major FUBAR for the Officers in the Navy and Command.
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Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

Snipe · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:13 pm Post subject:

They named 2 ships after them. The first "The Sullivans DD537" was
a Fletcher class destroyer and was sponsored by either the sister of
the brothers or the wife of one of them or both. They were from down
the road from me - Waterloo, Iowa. The second ship was "The Sullivans,
DDG 68" which is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Don't know who
sponsored it. There was a time in this country where our dead sailors,
soldiers, marines, and airmen were honored heros.

I served on the USS Lyman K. Swenson DD-729 which was named after
the CO of the USS Juneau. There was a long time in WWII when there
was a question whether we were going to win the war or lose it.

Not bad for off the top of my head.
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Tin Can Sailor

BuffaloJack · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:

I served a short tour aboard USS The Sullivans DD537 sometime in '63, took an early release to go to college then got re-activated in late 1969, sent to Viet Nam where I gratiously became a swiftie for 2 years.

Ironically, USS The Sullivans DD537, now sits about 4 miles from my house at the Naval and Servicemen's Park in downtown Buffalo, NY.

What I remember most about DD537 was that they showed the movie about the Sullivan brothers at least twice monthly while I was aboard. And yes their mom and dad did tour the country on a bond drive after losing their sons, an act a certain monther currently in the news could take a lesson from.
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71)