thedrifter
06-24-07, 07:14 AM
Historic ship to become museum
VALLEJO: Last of 'Mighty Midgets' used in World War II will get new home on Mare Island
By Sarah Rohrs
MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Launched: 06/24/2007 03:06:22 AM PDT
With Japanese kamikaze planes ramming ships and raining bombs from the sky, World War II sailor William Mason faced the fury of the enemy in a tiny fighting ship patrolling the Pacific.
Firing a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun, the 19-year-old sailor and his shipmates formed the first line of defense in the fierce invasion of Okinawa, and in other World War II amphibious battles.
They put their own lives on the line to save lives.
The San Francisco State emeritus professor of economics, 81, said the brave sailors aboard those tiny ships, called "Mighty Midgets," are an unrecognized part of World War II who deserve their own place in history.
They could soon get that place on Mare Island.
The last of 130 "Mighty Midgets," which is still in good condition, is preparing for its final voyage to Vallejo.
The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation is gearing up to accept the World War II landing craft support (LCS) ship later this summer, perhaps in August. The plans are to turn it into a museum and memorial to those who fought on Pacific fronts during World War II.
Mason and other veterans have secured the ship, now called H.T.M.S. Nakha, from Thailand, where it served the Royal Thai Navy for more than 40 years.
Long anchored at Bangkok, the Nakha was transferred by the Royal Thai Navy to Mason and his veterans group in a festive transfer ceremony at the Rayong Sattahip Naval Base on May 22.
Once the ship gets to Vallejo, "we would hope it serves not
only as a museum but as a memorial," said Mason, chairman of the National Association of USS LCS (L) 1-130, a veterans group devoted to the LCS fighting ships.
"We don't want to be heroes, but we've certainly earned our place in history," he added.
Vallejo destination
During the May transfer, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce and other dignitaries were on hand as the recently cleaned gray Nakha brimmed with white-clad sailors while Gulf of Thailand waters shimmered behind them. A flurry of Thai news reports on the transfer service referred to Mare Island as the ship's next destination.
The Nakha will leave behind an "important legacy," Cmdr. Kenneth Porter, U.S. Embassy assistant naval attache, said in one Thai newspaper article. He said the ship would symbolize good U.S.-Thai relations.
The Nakha remains in Thailand until details of its transport across the Pacific and onto Mare Island have been ironed out. The Nakha will likely be carried across the Pacific on an enormous cargo ship, Mason said.
In the past 10 years, Mason and other LCS veterans have labored to bring home the ship, originally named USS LCS (L) (3) 102. Mason is now at the forefront of that effort, which includes securing State Department and other government clearances.
"What happened is that the early people who worked on it all passed away. I'm 81. I'm one of the younger ones," he said.
The ship's likely resting spot will be in the Mare Island Strait in front of either Dry Dock 1 or Ways 2, two areas designated as spots for historic ships, said Mare Island Historic Park Foundation president Ken Zadwick, citing the city's 1994-95 facilities agreement with the foundation.
A ceremony with veterans and local, state and federal dignitaries is scheduled for September. During that time, the veterans group will transfer the Nakha to the foundation.
Mason, who served on the LCS 86, has joined the foundation's board to assist with preserving the Nakha's history and maintaining the museum aboard the ship.
None of the LCS vessels used in World War II was built on Mare Island; they came from shipyards in Massachusetts and Portland, Ore.
The Nakha's journey began in February 1945 and included nine months of World War II service. After the war, it was transferred to Japan and called the Himawai. In 1966, the Nakha found a new home in Thailand.
Other LCS ships were scrapped after World War II, turned into fishing vessels or sent to other destinations.
Small but strong
The Mighty Midgets were much smaller than Navy battleships -- about 158 feet long and 24 feet wide. But what they lacked in size, they more than made up for in firepower.
Each one contained two twin 40-mm guns, four 20-mm guns and four .50-caliber machine guns, plus rocket launchers and other guns in or near the bow, according to veterans who maintain a Web site about the history of the World War II landing craft support (LCS) ships.
Their small size allowed them to get close to beaches and fend off enemy forces taking aim at Marines and Army troops being deposited onto beaches. During amphibious battles, the LCS ships protected battleships from bombers and also rescued survivors from sinking vessels.
"We got most of our claim to fame in Okinawa," Mason said. "We were constantly under attack from Japanese planes. Suicide planes were diving at us and dropping bombs, and our little LCS (ships) were on constant patrol. Fifteen of us would sail in a circle waiting for a plane to come down so we could shoot at it."
After a suicide plane hit the William D. Porter Naval destroyer in Okinawa, Mason and his shipmates on the LCS 86 rescued every man fleeing the burning and sinking ship.
"We got everyone off the water. We saved them. It was a miracle," he said.
The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaigns of World War II, lasting from late March through June 1945.
Nakha coming home
Nakha's journey to Mare Island is generating waves of enthusiasm among LCS veterans anxious for their own museum so their descendants can learn of their role in World War II.
Former LCS 102 skipper Richard Jones, 89, who lives in an Orange County retirement community, said he will participate, health permitting, in the Mare Island transfer ceremonies.
"It's wonderful. It's something you couldn't anticipate at this stage -- that there is an LCS (landing craft ship) actually in good condition 62 years after the war," Jones said.
Jones was 26 when he commissioned the LCS 102 soon after it was built in a Portland shipyard, an act resulting in a strong bond with the ship. He enlisted in the Navy after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
With six officers and 65 men under him, Jones' crew took part in the tail end of Okinawa and then sailed to the Philippines to prepare for an invasion of Japan, he said.
That invasion never took place because U.S. planes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to the Japanese surrender.
"The war was being fought with all different kinds of weapons," Jones said. "I had never heard of an atomic bomb. We did not know what it could do," he added.
The days of fierce battles for the LCS 102 are long over, and veterans are confident Mare Island will provide a lasting home for the old gray ship.
"We're 80 and 90 years old. We need someone to take care of the ship. This ship is going to last a long time, and we're all going to be gone," Mason said.
Reach Sarah Rohrs of the Vallejo Times Herald at 707-553-6832 or srohrs@thnewsnet.com.
Ellie
VALLEJO: Last of 'Mighty Midgets' used in World War II will get new home on Mare Island
By Sarah Rohrs
MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Launched: 06/24/2007 03:06:22 AM PDT
With Japanese kamikaze planes ramming ships and raining bombs from the sky, World War II sailor William Mason faced the fury of the enemy in a tiny fighting ship patrolling the Pacific.
Firing a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun, the 19-year-old sailor and his shipmates formed the first line of defense in the fierce invasion of Okinawa, and in other World War II amphibious battles.
They put their own lives on the line to save lives.
The San Francisco State emeritus professor of economics, 81, said the brave sailors aboard those tiny ships, called "Mighty Midgets," are an unrecognized part of World War II who deserve their own place in history.
They could soon get that place on Mare Island.
The last of 130 "Mighty Midgets," which is still in good condition, is preparing for its final voyage to Vallejo.
The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation is gearing up to accept the World War II landing craft support (LCS) ship later this summer, perhaps in August. The plans are to turn it into a museum and memorial to those who fought on Pacific fronts during World War II.
Mason and other veterans have secured the ship, now called H.T.M.S. Nakha, from Thailand, where it served the Royal Thai Navy for more than 40 years.
Long anchored at Bangkok, the Nakha was transferred by the Royal Thai Navy to Mason and his veterans group in a festive transfer ceremony at the Rayong Sattahip Naval Base on May 22.
Once the ship gets to Vallejo, "we would hope it serves not
only as a museum but as a memorial," said Mason, chairman of the National Association of USS LCS (L) 1-130, a veterans group devoted to the LCS fighting ships.
"We don't want to be heroes, but we've certainly earned our place in history," he added.
Vallejo destination
During the May transfer, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce and other dignitaries were on hand as the recently cleaned gray Nakha brimmed with white-clad sailors while Gulf of Thailand waters shimmered behind them. A flurry of Thai news reports on the transfer service referred to Mare Island as the ship's next destination.
The Nakha will leave behind an "important legacy," Cmdr. Kenneth Porter, U.S. Embassy assistant naval attache, said in one Thai newspaper article. He said the ship would symbolize good U.S.-Thai relations.
The Nakha remains in Thailand until details of its transport across the Pacific and onto Mare Island have been ironed out. The Nakha will likely be carried across the Pacific on an enormous cargo ship, Mason said.
In the past 10 years, Mason and other LCS veterans have labored to bring home the ship, originally named USS LCS (L) (3) 102. Mason is now at the forefront of that effort, which includes securing State Department and other government clearances.
"What happened is that the early people who worked on it all passed away. I'm 81. I'm one of the younger ones," he said.
The ship's likely resting spot will be in the Mare Island Strait in front of either Dry Dock 1 or Ways 2, two areas designated as spots for historic ships, said Mare Island Historic Park Foundation president Ken Zadwick, citing the city's 1994-95 facilities agreement with the foundation.
A ceremony with veterans and local, state and federal dignitaries is scheduled for September. During that time, the veterans group will transfer the Nakha to the foundation.
Mason, who served on the LCS 86, has joined the foundation's board to assist with preserving the Nakha's history and maintaining the museum aboard the ship.
None of the LCS vessels used in World War II was built on Mare Island; they came from shipyards in Massachusetts and Portland, Ore.
The Nakha's journey began in February 1945 and included nine months of World War II service. After the war, it was transferred to Japan and called the Himawai. In 1966, the Nakha found a new home in Thailand.
Other LCS ships were scrapped after World War II, turned into fishing vessels or sent to other destinations.
Small but strong
The Mighty Midgets were much smaller than Navy battleships -- about 158 feet long and 24 feet wide. But what they lacked in size, they more than made up for in firepower.
Each one contained two twin 40-mm guns, four 20-mm guns and four .50-caliber machine guns, plus rocket launchers and other guns in or near the bow, according to veterans who maintain a Web site about the history of the World War II landing craft support (LCS) ships.
Their small size allowed them to get close to beaches and fend off enemy forces taking aim at Marines and Army troops being deposited onto beaches. During amphibious battles, the LCS ships protected battleships from bombers and also rescued survivors from sinking vessels.
"We got most of our claim to fame in Okinawa," Mason said. "We were constantly under attack from Japanese planes. Suicide planes were diving at us and dropping bombs, and our little LCS (ships) were on constant patrol. Fifteen of us would sail in a circle waiting for a plane to come down so we could shoot at it."
After a suicide plane hit the William D. Porter Naval destroyer in Okinawa, Mason and his shipmates on the LCS 86 rescued every man fleeing the burning and sinking ship.
"We got everyone off the water. We saved them. It was a miracle," he said.
The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaigns of World War II, lasting from late March through June 1945.
Nakha coming home
Nakha's journey to Mare Island is generating waves of enthusiasm among LCS veterans anxious for their own museum so their descendants can learn of their role in World War II.
Former LCS 102 skipper Richard Jones, 89, who lives in an Orange County retirement community, said he will participate, health permitting, in the Mare Island transfer ceremonies.
"It's wonderful. It's something you couldn't anticipate at this stage -- that there is an LCS (landing craft ship) actually in good condition 62 years after the war," Jones said.
Jones was 26 when he commissioned the LCS 102 soon after it was built in a Portland shipyard, an act resulting in a strong bond with the ship. He enlisted in the Navy after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
With six officers and 65 men under him, Jones' crew took part in the tail end of Okinawa and then sailed to the Philippines to prepare for an invasion of Japan, he said.
That invasion never took place because U.S. planes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to the Japanese surrender.
"The war was being fought with all different kinds of weapons," Jones said. "I had never heard of an atomic bomb. We did not know what it could do," he added.
The days of fierce battles for the LCS 102 are long over, and veterans are confident Mare Island will provide a lasting home for the old gray ship.
"We're 80 and 90 years old. We need someone to take care of the ship. This ship is going to last a long time, and we're all going to be gone," Mason said.
Reach Sarah Rohrs of the Vallejo Times Herald at 707-553-6832 or srohrs@thnewsnet.com.
Ellie