The Crew of the USS Abner Read DD-526 (Second Edition)
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Fort Hays State University FHSU Scholars Repository Monographs Forsyth Library 2021 Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read DD-526 (Second Edition) Mary Elizabeth Downing-Turner Fort Hays State University, [email protected] Michael Davis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/all_monographs Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Downing-Turner, Mary Elizabeth and Davis, Michael, "Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read DD-526 (Second Edition)" (2021). Monographs. 28. https://scholars.fhsu.edu/all_monographs/28 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Forsyth Library at FHSU Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Monographs by an authorized administrator of FHSU Scholars Repository. Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read DD-526 Second Edition Edited By M. Elizabeth Downing-Turner, MLIS Rev. Michael Davis, MEd, MDiv This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 4.0 License First edition, 1992 Second edition, 2021 Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read (DD-526) Dedicated to the crew of the USS Abner Read, DD-526 and their families Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read (DD-526) ‘Lil Abner Author Unknown You’ve heard of ‘Lil Abner. Well, We’re the Abner Read. They sent us off to the fighting zone To help the Yanks succeed Our trip was sort of rugged, And the cruising kind of rough, But everyone, from stem to stern, Kept their sleeves above the cuff. When we reached the neighborhood, The commandos were released, Our boys stood by to let lead fly At the dug-in Japanese Soon from the beach, The word was passed, “Calling Abner, Calling Abner,” Start to blast. We all had ringside seats, you know, When “Little Abner” joined the show, Then rapid salvo, blast by blast, The little Japs were dying fast. All Jap “Jitsu” couldn’t help, And through the hills they heard Japs yelp “Hari Kari” is the only thing, ‘Cause Tojo’s sons don’t like our sting. A good day’s work And cheerfully done, But for the Japs, It wasn’t fun. Every sailor manned his job, From the clumsy Boot, to the salty Gob. The admiral must like Abner’s style, For his compliment could span a mile. Again, they called for Abner Read, To help them in the hour of need, So Capt. Burrowes manned the line. “Affirm,” he said, just set the time. We needed speed, we had it too. Our chief engineer knew what to do. The minute the captain called for speed, The turbines had the steam to bleed. Our medical department tried in vain, Hoping that none would call out in pain. The paymaster checked all the money aboard, To make sure the Japs couldn’t get none to hoard. All of the turrets from number one to five, Were right in the groove and ready to roll. Automatic control meant nothing at all. McCluen knew how to set flood control. The gunnery department had all stations manned, Ready to interpret so Japs would understand. Mr. Brown manned a gun of his own volition, Ready to fire on some Jap position. When they wanted the bearings, They just called for Doyel. He knows his stuff, And it isn’t from Hoyle. Don’t forget, fellows, the commissary chief, He always had plenty for hunger relief. Yes sir, the galley did well with chow, Plenty to eat, tasty, and how. All kidding aside, considering the time, The job was well done. We’re holding the line. We may hiss our leave and fun on the beach, But to “Hari Kari Tojo,” a lesson we’ll teach. When the fighting is over, and peace is declared, A bit of the burden and fighting we’ve shared. Until we can celebrate that victorious day, Let’s all make our enemies pay double, our way. Contents Foreword to the Second Edition ........................................................................ i Preface.............................................................................................................. iv In Memory .................................................................................................... v Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Abner Read (DD-526): 1943-1944 ............................................................... 1 The Interviews .................................................................................................. 1 Charles Abela, S3/c ....................................................................................... 1 James E. Alcorn, EM1/c ............................................................................... 2 Joe Alexander, RDM3/c................................................................................ 6 Emanuel G. “Manny” Amato, MM1/c .......................................................... 7 James H. Amis, WT1/c ................................................................................. 8 Boyd Anderson, RM3/c .............................................................................. 14 Arnold “Maxie” Bauer, M1/c ..................................................................... 15 Wesley O. Baumann, Ens. .......................................................................... 17 Orville A. Beardsley, Ck ............................................................................. 18 Joseph W. Becicka, WT1/c ......................................................................... 19 Samuel Blain, Y3/c ..................................................................................... 20 John R. Bonga, S1/c .................................................................................... 23 Wayne H. Bostwick, S1/c ........................................................................... 23 Robert H. “Red” Bottomley, BKR2/c ......................................................... 24 William B. “Pappy” Boulton, QM3/c ......................................................... 25 Bob Boyce, S3/c.......................................................................................... 26 Francis L. Brittain, RM3/c .......................................................................... 26 Robert Brose, Lt. ......................................................................................... 38 James H. Brown, Capt. ............................................................................... 39 Dean A. Brumet, GM3/c ............................................................................. 41 Preston Burtis, Jr., Lt. ................................................................................. 43 Donald “Don” V. Casey, EM2/c ................................................................. 43 Charles “Chuck” Hayden Cavinee, MM2/c ................................................ 47 Lee Chase, F2/c ........................................................................................... 48 Homer H. Clark, Jr., Lt. .............................................................................. 49 Mel Clayton, GM2/c ................................................................................... 50 Gilbert “Jack” Coffeen, F1/c....................................................................... 51 Gene Colbert, S1/c ...................................................................................... 52 Ray Cole, BM2/c ........................................................................................ 53 Lawrence Colsch, F1/c................................................................................ 54 Wayne Costley, S1/c ................................................................................... 55 Willie Peyton Cupples, Sr., GM3/c ............................................................ 55 Charles Cutright, F2/c ................................................................................. 56 Kenneth P. Davis, F1/c ............................................................................... 58 Max A. Davis, F2/c ..................................................................................... 59 Leland Downes, WT2/c .............................................................................. 62 Frank Drapela, FC3/c .................................................................................. 67 Thomas A. “Tommy” Dunn, MM3/c .......................................................... 68 Allan Dutch, F1/c ........................................................................................ 71 William H. Dyer, Jr., Lt. ............................................................................. 75 Charles J. Eisenbeis, SC2/c ......................................................................... 77 Wayne R. Fleming, GM2/c ......................................................................... 78 Lloyd Frederick, Ens. .................................................................................. 79 Sylvio “Frenchie” T. Giguere, S1/c ............................................................ 82 Albert J. Gill, SM3/c ................................................................................... 86 Emilio Giometti, Jr., S1/c ........................................................................... 88 Paul E. Goheen, GM3/c .............................................................................. 88 Frank E. Goodrich, RDM3/c ....................................................................... 89 Alexander J. Goorabian, FC3/c ................................................................... 92 Robert L. Granby, SC2/c ............................................................................ 93 Peter V. Greco, TM3/c ...............................................................................