Archive for category Photos

USS Rhea Model, Paintings, and Ribbons

Bob Donaldson, the artist of the USS Rhea watercolor painting featured in this post, brother of Chuck Donaldson, has sent me a photo of his memorabilia wall including an impressive model he built of the ship.

Model and paintings of USS Rhea by Bob Donaldson

Model and paintings of USS Rhea by Bob Donaldson

A photo of the model that I built of the Rhea, the two watercolors that I painted as well as the Youth crest that was used on board when I was a cadet. Above the model is the actual battle ribbon from the ship that was given to me by a friend and ex sea cadet officer who managed to obtained the ribbons before the ship was demolished and scrapped. —Bob Donaldson

Joe Aragon, 1926–2012

As part of this project, I try to identify all of the soldiers in each of my grandfather’s photos, based on incomplete markings on the back. I do so by looking through muster rolls of ships leaving California and Hawaii at the same time as his, browsing last names, then searching online for records of these soldiers to match faces and ages.

Sadly, this usually means the soldier isn’t alive. Joe Aragon is one of these faces. I didn’t find him online until his grave site was posted on Find-a-Grave. The good new is, I reached out to someone managing the page and they ended up being a family member. I shared this photo with them:

Joe Aragon (S2c), CDP and Welch; September 1944, Hawaii

Joe Aragon (S2c), CDP and Welch; September 1944, Hawaii

She confirmed the photo I have is in fact her family member and the same Joe Aragon on Find a Grave! It’s a minor personal victory, but these little victories feel rewarding anyway.

Visit Joe Aragon’s memorial page.

Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 7 of 8: YMS-468 moored in Japan’s occupation

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 7 of 8: YMS-468 moored in Japan’s occupation


The City of Sasebo was up at the head of the inner harbor about a mile from where we were and we soon went to see what it looked like. I do not recall seeing any appreciable damage there, but if you look at a map of Kyushu you will see that Nagasaki is just a short distance to the East where the second atomic bomb was dropped. I must give the Japanese people credit for accepting their defeat in good spirit because they obeyed the terms of surrender and did not give us any difficulty when we went ashore. Here are a couple of pictures taken in Sasebo.

Sasebo streets with sailors in background; 1945

Sasebo streets with sailors in background; 1945


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Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 6 of 8: YMS-468 in Makurazaki Typhoon

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 6 of 8: YMS-468 in Makurazaki Typhoon


About ten days after the surrender we were ordered to join a task force and proceed to Japan to conduct minesweeping operations in the Kyushu Island area. Our ETA was set for 16 September and we arrived on schedule at the narrow entrance to the outer harbor of Sasebo City. The problem was a major typhoon was following close behind us and we had a choice, ride it out at sea or go in the unfamiliar harbor. We sent one of our ships into the harbor to size up the situation since no US ships had yet been there. The decision was to go in. The larger ships like the AMs (fleet minesweepers) anchored, but the YMS’s were ordered to secure to some large mooring buoys found in the outer harbor; three ships to one buoy. In our case the first two ships shackled anchor chains to the buoy, but our skipper felt that when the wind got strong that buoy would heave around so much it might snap a chain, so we attached our 1″ towing cable instead, the cable having some give to it. Here is a picture of three ships on the mooring buoy.

Sasebo; Three YMS's (incl. YMS-468) taking harbor before the storm; September 1945

Sasebo; Three YMS’s (incl. YMS-468) taking harbor before the storm; September 1945


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Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 5 of 8: YMS-468 in battle, up to Japan’s surrender

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 5 of 8: YMS-468 in battle, up to Japan’s surrender


Our first operation consisted of more than 80 ships in an echelon formation that extended clear over the horizon and took all day to sweep one pass through the line of mines. Luckily for us, the Japs were meticulous in laying these mines in quite a straight line. Other ships were assigned the task of following the sweeps to destroy the mines that were cut and popped up to the surface from their anchored position just below the surface. Some days we were assigned that job and it really was fun to explode the mines with rifle fire as seen in the pictures below.

Around this time we began to hear some vague rumors about the testing of a new unbelievably powerful bomb. But no other news concerning it.

Mine disposal off Okinawa; July 1945

Mine disposal off Okinawa; July 1945


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Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 3 of 8: YMS-468 through Panama Canal, in prep for battle

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 3 of 8: YMS-468 through Panama Canal, prep for battle


Once the war in Europe was over we got orders to head for the Pacific and join the effort to finish off the Japanese. We headed South through the Caribbean (I loved the music we picked up from the islands along the way) to Panama stopping at Coco Solo on the North end of the canal for a short bit of shore leave. Each ship was required to assign an officer and two men to shore patrol duty to police the place and I drew the short straw for a 4 to 8 watch and had to report to the local police station for assignment. My men and I were instructed to relieve the watch at the “Pension Americana” and our orders were to “keep the peace” on the second deck! There was a steady traffic of soldiers, sailors, and marines up the stairs and down the hall. One soldier came up the stairs and I recognized him from my hometown. His reaction was “don’t tell Mom you saw me here!”

Later, several Marines from the aircraft carrier USS Franklin appeared. Their ship was returning to the East Coast for extensive repairs after being badly damaged by Kamikazes and this was their first shore leave. They’d had a lot to drink and the girl one of them was “visiting” in a room down the hall began to scream out loud. I went in to find him strangling her by the neck claiming she didn’t give him the change she owed him after he paid her. I called down the hall for a couple of his buddies to get him out of the place and take care of him so I didn’t have to put him on report. They did and peace was restored, the girl recovered and in fact we found that the change she gave him somehow got kicked under the bed.

Passage through the Panama Canal was uneventful and we proceeded up the Central American coast stopping at Nicaragua to refuel. This was a poverty-stricken country, as you can see from these pictures.

Nicaragua; mix of YMS crew and locals while on shore leave; Far left, front: Al B Wiles, Lieutenant (jg) (Skipper, Commanding Officer) of Jackson, MS; Dark officer's hat, right: Clint J Hill, Ensign (Communications Officer); 1945

Nicaragua; mix of YMS crew and locals while on shore leave; Far left, front: Al B Wiles, Lieutenant (jg) (Skipper, Commanding Officer) of Jackson, MS; Dark officer’s hat, right: Clint J Hill, Ensign (Communications Officer); 1945

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Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 2 of 8: YMS-468 on the US East Coast

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 2 of 8: YMS-468 in the US


In the spring I received orders to report to the Gibbs Shipyard in Jacksonville, FL as Engineering Officer and part of the nucleus crew for the YMS-468, then under construction. The skipper, Ed Leach, and I were responsible for seeing that all the equipment designated for the ship was installed and the ship readied for commissioning. This was accomplished in August 1944 and with the remainder of the crew aboard we sailed out to sea heading north for Little Creek Naval Base in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia for shakedown exercises. On the way, just off Savannah, GA, when I had the bridge, I got a call “Fire in the GALLEY!” In addition to my several other duties I was Damage Control Officer, so I had to turn the con over to the Exec and rush to the galley. Smoke was pouring out of the vents above the electric range, but no flames could be seen so I had to order the men to get an axe and chop a hole through a beautiful new cabinet to get access to the area behind the range and fill the space with CO2 from our fire extinguisher. This put out the fire and we diverted to the Charleston Naval Base for repairs which were expertly done in a very short time.

YMS-468 commissioning with crew; Jacksonville, FL; August 31, 1944

YMS-468 commissioning with crew; Jacksonville, FL; August 31, 1944

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Marty’s letter to grandson | Part 1 of 8: In training

Some months ago, I was contacted by a sailor who served aboard a sibling minesweeper across the American, European, and Pacific theatres of WWII. Lieutenant Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC served aboard YMS-468 as Engineering Officer and later Deck Officer, from 1943 to 1946. Marty wrote up this biography of his naval service for his grandson and was kind enough to share it and his photographs with us.

This post is an eight-part series. Below is an index of all parts. Enjoy!

Marty Roberts of Raleigh, NC | February 28th, 2014
Navy Days – A Letter to Joe


Part 1 of 8: In training


Hi Joe,
Knowing your interest in things naval, I have been collecting some more information about my experience in WWII and particularly about the task of clearing mines laid both by the Germans off our Atlantic coast and by the Japanese off Okinawa and around their islands.

Not so often referred to is the first naval engagement the US got into after entering the war. Hitler quickly decided to attack our shipping coming out of Delaware Bay from Philadelphia and Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore. This was done by his U-boats using both torpedoes and by laying mines in the entrances to these bays. One of his subs actually succeeded in getting into Chesapeake Bay and laid some mines there much to the embarrassment of our navy since this was also their largest base on the East Coast! Their attention was naturally focused on Pacific operations due to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.

Ensign Marty E Roberts, 1943

Ensign Marty E Roberts, 1943


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Man known as kissing sailor in WWII-era image dies

Earlier this week, the famous sailor kissing in Times Square died at the age of 86. Glenn McDuffie died March 9 in a nursing home in Dallas.

After World War II, McDuffie, who was born in Kannapolis, N.C., and moved to Houston in 1960, became a mail carrier and semi-professional baseball player. (AP)

Read the full story on WTOP, DC.

Glenn McDuffie, kissing sailor; 2007

Glenn McDuffie, kissing sailor; 2007

F2 Granville Lee Rumble, obituary; died at sea, serving aboard YMS-427

Here’s the obituary and gravesite of a soldier killed in action while serving alongside YMS-299, on a sibling ship. View the original on Find a Grave.

Granville Lee Rumble, served aboard YMS-427, killed in action

Granville Lee Rumble, served aboard YMS-427, killed in action

Name: Granville Lee Rumble
Age: 19
Served: US Navy, Fireman 2/C
Location: Pacific Theater of Operations
Story: Injured while doing mine sweeps. Buried at sea in 1945, alongside two other crew members.

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Stone Family Shipyard journaled history

Here’s a cool find! The William F. Stone & Sons Company in Oakland, California built the YMS-299. Someone from the Stone family has written up a story about the shipyard with a pile of photos, including one of the YMS-299 in 1942, before she went off into battle.

YMS-299 in Oakland, CA; 1942

YMS-299 in Oakland, CA; 1942

From the presentation:

Wooden Boat Building in San Francisco Bay: One Family’s Story

A memoir of the Stone family: William Isaac Stone, William Frank Stone, Lester Frank Stone

Presentation to the Alameda County Historical Society at the Encinal Yacht Club,
Alameda, California, January 26, 2012

by Roberta O’Grady, granddaughter of W.F. Stone and Niece of Lester F. Stone

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USS Rhea Photos from Jim Sherret

I received the below photos and story from boatswain, Jim Sherret, of the Canadian Navy cadets from the late 60’s to the early 70’s. I quite like the Christmas lights photo.

USS Rhea; Port Stanley

USS Rhea; Port Stanley

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YMS-304 3D Rendering & Microfiche Blueprints

I tracked down the source of a digital 3D model of the YMS-304 this week. The artist was gracious enough to give me a copy of the file, as well as copies of some blueprints for the YMS-135 subclass that came from the Naval archives!

I’d give personal credit to the artist, but I need to clarify if he would like me to, as the model was put together for a paid project. If I end up using it for anything commercial, I’ll have to get permissions.

So, what do I plan to do with such a great find?

Well, at the moment, not too much. The 3D model lets me pan and rotate the ship so I can get more intimate with its layout, but it is only an exterior model at the moment. I’m in the process of scheduling some Naval archive visits to get more blueprints, because I’d like to add more detail to the 3D model, then build out the interior for some digital walk-throughs. I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to virtually walk around inside of the ship, eventually even adding textures and materials to make it seem life-like. Time to sharpen up those rusty CAD skills!

Here is a quick screenshot of part of the model:
YMS-304 3D Rendering

YMS-304 3D Rendering

The YMS-304 is a near sibling of the YMS-299. Of the same subclass, the same blueprints were used in their manufacturing. The only differences between them would be minor in the construction process, as only YMS-299 to YMS-302 were built by the same builder.

Here is a sample portion from one of the blueprints:
YMS-135 Subclass; blueprint sample

YMS-135 Subclass; blueprint sample

Update: I added the full, stitched-together set of blueprints to this post.

Another Photo and a Painting

These came from Chuck Donaldson as well.

Rhea 52 in Welland Canal, 1959

Rhea 52 in Welland Canal, 1959

More information on Welland Canal in Ontario: on Wikipedia

Rhea 52 painted by Chuck Donaldson's brother by memory in 1992. The dock was owned by the government of Canada and rent was  per year.

Rhea 52 painted by Chuck Donaldson’s brother Bob by memory in 1992. The dock was owned by the government of Canada and rent was $1 per year.

YMS-299 Additional Photos

As a follow-up to the previous post (http://yms299.org/archives/35), I’ve been sent a handful of additional photos of YMS-299 in post-war service as a cadet-training ship in Canada. Photos provided by Charles “Chuck” Donaldson.

I’ll come back to this post and update with as much date/location info as I have for each.

Rhea 52

Rhea 52

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