U.S.S. Columbia CL-56
OFFICIAL
WEBSITE OF THE U.S.S. COLUMBIA CL-56 ASSOCIATION, INC.
The
USS COLUMBIA CL-56 ASSOCIATION, INC. is a non-profit organization whose fiscal
year begins on January 1st of each year and ends on December 31st. Dues are
$15.00 per year for men who served on the "GEM" and $10.00 per year
for ASSOCIATE MEMBERS, SONS and DAUGHTERS and anyone else who may want to join
(Widows of men who served on the "GEM" pay no dues). Newsletters are
mailed three times a year. At this time we have over 400 members.
This site last updated
January 1, 2011
NOW HERE THIS: Our 2011 Reunion will be
Washington, DC
· SWORD
PRESENTATION 2010
· MONUMENT
· OFFICERS
· BOOKS, DVD "Inside Ten
Days"
ASSOCIATION
OFFICER'S
President:
Greg Shooner, 1772 Jeffery Road, Oregonia,
OH 45054 gregandmary4@embarqmail.com
Vice
President: Jane Heller, 96 West County Road, Sugarloaf, PA
18249 hjjeller@ptd.net
Treasurer:
Margery J. Sawyer, 5275 N. Bronco Terrace, Beverly Hills, FL 34465-0275, margegauger@tampabay.rr.com
Ass't Treasurer: Sonya Weiss, 13631 Catbird Drive, Ft. Myers, FL
33908-5805 sonyaweiss1994@gmail.com
Corr.
Sect: Freida Williams, P.O. Box 729-1422 Carnation
Dr., Dunedin, FL 34697-0729 sailinggranny23@aol.com
News
Letter Editor: James Walzer, 2687 Hastings Lane, The Villages,
FL 32162 walzer8@cs.com
Membership
and Publicity: William Bohne 248 Worrell Drive,
Springfield, PA 19064-2633 usncl56@cs.com
APPOINTED
Sympathy:
Margery J. Sawyer, 5275 N Bronco Terrace, Beverly Hills, FL 34465-0275 margegauger@tampabay.rr.com
Data
Base Backup: Nancy Walzer: 2687 Hastings Lane, The Villages, FL 32162
Web
Master: James Walzer: 2687 Hastings Lane, The
Villages, FL 32162 walzer8@cs.com
The
following shipmates were remembered during memorial services on October 23 at
the 2010 reunion in Tampa, FL.
Sherman
Ball, John
Caddell, Anthony Cerrone,
Capt. Arthur Fischer, Ruthford Lyons,
McDonald Mills, Clifford Nelson, Elwood Parks,
Joseph
Ricke, Robert Smith, Morris Spears, Steve Wartelsky
2009
Reunion pictures:
Joyce & Tony
Al Riippi
George Henry & Tony Cerrone
George Shannon
Eugene Lammert
Steve Wartelsky
Men at SC Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
USS Columbia men at Monument, SC
The
USS Columbia slid down the ways and into the Delaware River at Camden, NJ on
Dec. 17, 1941. She was placed in commission at Phila.
PA on July 29, 1942, under the command of Capt. William A. Heard.
OFFICIALLY
CREDITED 29 July 1942 - 2 Sept. 1945
The
COLUMBIA is officially credited with the following:
1.
Destruction of 27 planes.
2.
Assisting in the sinking 1 Cruiser and 1 Destroyer at the BATTLE OF EMPRESS
AUGUSTA BAY and 2 Battleships, 1 Cruiser and 1 Destroyer at the BATTLE OF
SURIGAO STRAITS.
3.
Participation in 9 shore bombardments.
The
men of the Columbia were awarded approximately 170 Purple Hearts. The Battle
record and history of the U.S.S. COLUMBIA 1942 - 1945 page 45 lists 60 men
killed or missing. Page 46 list 1Air Medal, 2 Navy Cross, 2 Leg. of Merit, 1 Silver Star, 10 Letters of Comm., and 18 Bronze
Stars awarded.
Columbia
also received TWO Navy Unit Commendations, a citation granted a unit only if it
has “distinguished itself by outstanding heroism in action against the
enemy”.
The
U.S. S. Columbia was the last ship in the U.S. Fleet to be involved in ship –to-
ship combat according to the Congressional Record, Oct. 13,
1988.
Note: SEA CLASSICS magazine December 1988 “HAIL COLUMBIA!:
The Fightingest Light Cruiser of WW11”
BACK TO THE INDEX
2010
SWORD PRESENTATION
USS
COLUMBIA CL-56 ANNUAL SWORD PRESENTATION MADE to Officer Candidate Evan Long
Officer Candidate Evan Long enlisted in
the Navy in May 2005 immediately after graduating high school. His first
Station was Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina. He
completed his A-School and became a Machinist Mate before completing Nuclear
Power School and Prototype training. While in his Prototype training he was
selected for Seaman to Admiral 21st Century Commissioning Program.
After
being accepted to the University of South Carolina he finished his degree in
Mechanical Engineering with a 3.94 cumulative GPA on a 4.00 scale. He is to
report back to Naval Weapons Station Charleston in August 2010 for Nuclear
Officer Power School and Prototype training as a Nuclear Submarine Officer.
I
would like to convey my appreciation for supporting the Officer’s sword
we present each spring to a deserving candidate.
CDR
Steve Sims, Executive Officer, University of South Carolina NROTC
USS
Columbia CL-56 Sword Presentation
BACK TO THE INDEX
2011
REUNION will be in Washington, DC. This will be our 27th reunion.
You must reserve your own rooms.
More details will be in the March and July newsletters.
BACK TO THE INDEX
SHIP
PICTURES
USS COLUMBIA CL-56 COLUMBIA BOW MIDSHIP STERN N2443B
MONUMENT
MONUMENT FRONT MONUMENT REAR MONUMENT UPPER REAR CENTER JACKSTAFF PLAQUE
The USS
COLUMBIA CL-56 MONUMENT is located in MEMORIAL PARK, in the city of Columbia,
S.C.
DIVISIONS
(more to come)
1st Division ................. 4th Division................ L Division.......... ...... R Division
3rd Division............... 5th Division............... F Division.................. N Division
OFFICERS
Officers Dec. 28,1943....... 71 Officers.......... Officers Jan. 30,1944....... 31 Officers on stern
More Divisions
3rd Div Feb. 1944..
. Marine Div 6 1945 ...............E Division ............... F Division on
stern
NEW 3rd Division typed names from
signatures.doc
New
Pictures
Unknown Divisions
group 2 ............. group
4 .................
group 6 ............. group 11 Officers
Other Pictures
First sea burial ............ 16 bearded men.......... Boxing team..... ..... Baseball team
BOOKS
"Blue
Book" Battle History of the U.S.S. COLUMBIA: This is a reprint of the
original battle history book. Color cover and 87 pages of
text with great black and white pictures. Last published 60 years ago,
this book may never be printed again. Cost is $16.
each includes shipping. Make check payable to (USS COLUMBIA
CL-56 Association) and mail to:
Margery J. Sawyer 5275 N. Bronco
Terrace, Beverly Hills, FL 34465.
The WAR CRUISES of
U.S.S. COLUMBIA by Captain Carry Hall, USN (Ret.) This book was first published
in 1987 and contains his personal recollections and some augmentations by
shipmates. It is dedicated to Rear Admiral Maurice E. Curts,
USN 1898-1976, our Captain, 1944-1945. It is 110 pages
(8 1/2 x 11), mostly text. It is a great supplement to the "Blue
Book", and a must read for anyone interested in a first
hand account of the war cruises of the USS Columbia CL-56. At this time
the Association has no copies available but we may have in the future. Cost is $10. Each. Make check
payable to (USS
COLUMBIA CL-56 Association) and
mail to: Margery J. Sawyer 5275 N. Bronco Terrace, Beverly Hills, FL 34465.
KAMIKAZE NIGHTMARE
by Ron Burt, This book is about Ron’s brother Pete Burt who served aboard
the USS Ommaney Bay. After he was forced to abandon his ship, he was taken
aboard the USS Columbia. A kamikaze strike on the Columbia nearly took Petes life. 218 pages, black and white
pictures, including pictures of the Columbia being hit at 1730 hours, Jan. 6,
1945. Purchase directly from: Ron Burt, 4817 Eider Drive, Corpus
Christi, TX, 78413. Cost is $15 each. includes next day S&H.
THE BATTLE OF LEYTE
GULF by Adrian Stewart
THE BATTLE OF LEYTE
GULF by C. Vann Woodward
DECISION AT LEYTE
by Stanley Falk
EAGLE AGAINST THE
SUN by Ronald Spector
DVD
"Inside Ten Days" A tribute to the men of the USS Columbia CL-56 by
Carl David Adams.
This tribute to Carl's uncle Calvin D. Adams and the men of the Columbia was
presented for the first time in public at the Saturday night banquet in
Portland, OR on Sept. 16, 2006. The video tells the story of Calvins last visit home to see his
family and fiancée Alma Lee Scroggins. It also tells the story of the
making of the song "Inside Ten Days" which can be found on the
website WWW.insidetendays.com. The site also
allows for purchase of the song and or video. The video shows the kamikaze
crashing into the Columbia killing Calvin and others on January 9, 1945. Calvin
was 19 years young. The DVD IS available at this time.
·
"Columbia was
decommissioned in September, 1946, at Philadelphia where it all started in
1942. In 1959 she was sold to Boston Metals Co. of Baltimore for $188, 888.87
and scrapped at the Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester, PA. Sixty men lost their
lives serving their country on board USS COLUMBIA. Our ship lives only in the
memories of old men. We can all be proud of what was and will never be
again." Capt. Cary Hall, USN
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