USCGC Campbell Association W32/W909

USCGC Campbell, WPG 32, St. George, Staten Island, New York, 1958
Photo: Don Seifert

          Past articles you may want to use to find information that was listed on the Home Page. Articles with web site URL's or e-mails you want. They are listed from the newest at the top.

060307

It is with much sadness I post this Notice from our President. I can not send bulk e-mail from where I am. If you check our web site PLEASE help pass the word to our members and friends you have contact with. Sincerly, - Burnham Neill

USCGC CAMPBELL SHIPMATES:

I have sad news, our shipmate Dave Blum has passed the bar on Saturday April 7, 2007 at the age of 84. He passed with all his family around him and in peace. Roslyn, his wife is at peace as well. His service will be on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 12:00 noon at the Gutterman & Musicant Funeral Home, 402 Park Street, Hackensack,m NJ 07601 with interment at the Cedar Park Cemetery, Paramus, NJ. I have sent a floral spray of white flowers with red, white and blue ribbon with : "Shipmate" on it. Card reads: USCGC CAMPBELL ASSOCIATION W-32 - To our shipmate Dave: May you have fair winds and following seas, you have served your country and your association well! Our prayers go out to you, God Bless. My wife and I will be attending the services representing the CAMPBELL ASSOCIATION.

Cards may be sent to Roslyn Blum, 8341 Sands Point Blvd., Tamarac, FL 33321

Gordon L. Bell, President, USCGC CAMPBELL ASSOC.W-32/W-909
Captain U.S. Coast Guard Retired
CaptBell@comcast.net

          Please post a notice on the web site that I bought the master tape from Cintrex. Working with The Coast Guard Channel and Tam Communications a digitally remastered version with several special features will be available on DVD and VHS within the next 2-3 weeks. We don't have a firm price yet, but it will be less than $20.00. All inquiries and/or orders should me sent to me either at this e-mail address (mikewallinguscg@yahoo.com) or to mike@mikewalling.com

          Also, please post a note about The Coast Guard Channel (www.coastguardchannel.com) It's a terrific site with lots of good info. And, there is a really nice section about Sinbad.

Michael G. Walling
99 Fort Meadow Drive
Hudson, MA 01749-3138
USA

Home Phone: (978)562-9873
Mobile Phone: (978)257-0756
Web site: http://www.mikewalling.com

Posted on Mon, Oct. 09, 2006

Former Coast Guard cutter crew members look back

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - "Request permission to board, sir," said Don Balsly as he boarded the Coast Guard cutter Ingham.

Balsly, 83, who served as a signalman during World War II, saluted the place where the quartermaster used to stand.

About 150 crew members from seven Secretary-class cutters are gathered at Patriots Point this weekend to share stories and memorialize those who have passed away.

Men in blue baseball caps began arriving Wednesday. Gold letters spelled the names of Coast Guard cutters: Bibb, Duane, Ingham, Taney, Campbell, Spencer and Hamilton.

Veterans came together for the first joint reunion to mark the 70th anniversary of the cutters' commissionings.

The Secretary-class cutters served in World War II and in the Korean and Vietnam wars, patrolling the seas and offering gun support. Weather patrols, water rescues and drug seizures kept them busy between military tours.

The Ingham and the Taney, which was among the first vessels to return fire at Pearl Harbor, are floating museums at Patriots Point and Baltimore's Inner Harbor, respectively.

The Bibb and the Duane were sunk off of Key Largo, Fla., as dive sites and fish habitat. The Campbell was used as a bombing target, and the Spencer was sold as scrap.

A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the Alexander Hamilton in 1942, the only ship of its class lost in battle. The following year the Spencer evened the score when it disabled U-175 with depth charges. Two survivors from the Hamilton registered to attend the 70th reunion.

Balsly, who lives in Cincinnati, recounted a lazy Sunday afternoon soon after World War II when he and his shipmates soaked up the warm sun on the Ingham's deck as it crossed the South China Sea.

Then a shout shattered the calm, "Mine dead ahead."

Lt. Dean Colbert called, "Hard left rudder." The cutter lunged, exposing its stern to the massive contact mine. Spines containing acid protruded from the rusty mine, Balsly said. A touch would release the chemical and detonate the explosives.

"Hard right rudder," Colbert called. The vessel zigzagged the mine. White knuckles clasped the railing.

In the years following the war, Balsly and his mates called Colbert "Mister Roberts," after the 1955 movie about the friendly officer who occasionally turned a blind eye to the enlisted men's hijinks.

Balsly recalled another time Colbert saved him. The lieutenant stumbled upon Balsly and a shipmate ashore in Shanghai, China, without leave. Colbert recognized the pair despite their disguise of native clothes and Panama hats. The officer looked at the men and pointed to his watch before moving on.

Colbert died two months ago. As more veterans pass into the realm of memory, stories become more important for the survivors.

"That's what it's all about," said retired Capt. Gordon Bell president of the Campbell Association and organizer of the joint reunion, as he pointed toward groups of men telling tales of close calls and near misses.

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net

          I found this on eBay. I would like to find an example of every patch that was made of the "Queen". I have three. This one, one from the 50's when I was aboard. (I really like that one a lot). And one from the Campbell W909. I have seen others.
          I would like to find postcards of all 7 Secretary Class 327 Cutters. And their patchs when I can get one and also the same for the current WHEC's. I just thought it would make a nice display for the 70^th Year Anniversary. - Neill

Captain Bell,

          I am tentatively wishing to have the project done by late July. I have asked a few museums for some technical help and the German Consulate has given me some specific research avenues for the U-606 memoriam we are incorporating into the Campbell Heritage Project. We very much wish you and all the men from the Campbell to be intimately part of this project...it is in part commemorating all Campbell sailors and their input is highly sought after. I have some research questions I would like to ask of the men whom fought on Campbell during the war (WWII).

          Thank you for your patience and we are humbled that the Association wishes to help us on this important project.

          Resp, ET1 Skip Ripley

          USCGC CAMPBELL, WMEC-909. "The Fighting Ship CAMPBELL, the best ship in the Fleet...because we make it so."

1. A model of the U-606 is completed.
2. A print (painting) of WWII U-boats has been obtained.
3. A small print (painting) of the Campbell/U-606 action has been obtained.
4. A WWII photo of Marines saluting the CG has been obtained.
5. A matted print of the "Coast Guard Creed" has been obtained.
6. 8 medals have been purchased for presentation onboard (1 Navy Cross, 2 Silver Stars, 1 Bronze Star, 1 USMC/USN Medal, 1 Purple Heart, WWII Victory Medal and Vietnam Service Medal.
7. A CGC Campbell (W-32) model has been made has not presently been completed with proper color scheme.
8. We have 5 binders of CGC Campbell History thus far. I am searching for one more that may be onboard Campbell.
9. You have the Life magazine I purchased for the ship which is in your cabin (I would like to photo copy the article on Sinbad for viewing).
10. Several WWII vintage USCG Uniforms have been purchased as well as mens covers.
11. I have purchased another CGC Campbell model for presentation separately in the 50's and 60's color scheme for show in the area over the ladder going down to the main deck near the ships office coming from O-Country.
12. I have researched the citations for valor and purple heart for the medals to be shown and the men whom received them.
13. I have researched Campbell History and downloaded the information for placement in the Campbell history binders.
14. I have called for an appointment with the Curator (Mr. Dolph) of the PNSY Naval Museum to garner collaborative efforts for Campbell's Heritage Project.
15. I have corresponded with the Curator of the Newburyport Maritime Society so as to garner professional help regarding the Campbell Heritage Project.
16. I have corresponded with the Kittery Maritime and Naval Museum Curator to garner professional help regarding the Campbell Heritage Project.
17. I have corresponded, as we spoke of, with the German Consulate requesting information about the U-606 and crew.
18. I have contacted the CG Historian office regarding information on citations for bravery with limited results and asking me to go to the Nat'l archives.
19. A vintage picture of a WWII Coast Guardsman has been obtained.
20. I have spoken with and sent FSC the Campbell Clan Tartan for use in purchasing cloth for the drapes on the messdeck for commemorating George W. Campbell, Sec. Treas. our namesake. This will also compliment the museum as their will be a presentation and history of George W. Campbell in the museum.

          I have several other initiatives on purchasing and will be speaking with Capt. Bell at his convenience from the Campbell Assoc. The museum material is now on display on the messdeck for your and the crews viewing. Thus far everyone has been enthused and impressed with the project (the crew).

          Resp, ET1 Ripley

Note: Those of you who can, please pass the word on this for our shipmates that may have known or sailed with Mr. Jenkins. I am having e-mail problems and can not get this out. Thanks, - Neill

My name is ENS Anthony Goldstein and I am the public affairs officer here on 909. I am enclosing a short press release about a recent burial at sea we conducted for a former W-32 sailor, Robert Jenkins. I will also be sending some photos in separate e-mails to conserve bandwidth. You are more than welcome to post this on the Campbell Association Website, or distribute it as you see fit. Thank you for your support of both Campbells

Respectfully,

ENS Anthony Goldstein
First Lieutenant
CGC CAMPBELL (WMEC 909)
c/o Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(207) 438-6680

Announcing

Attached is the flyer with info about the new edition. I will have copies at the Reunion, but won't be down until the 18th. Hope there is still time to get the word out particualry on the web site.

Thanks,
Mike

Campbell W909 past and current Newletters (Archived), Photos, and Information. For easy access to their current Newsletter, Mighty CAMPBELL Times, go to their web site.

Sorry I did not catch this earlier!

Hello to all, This is a reminder note that today February 22,2005 is the 62nd anniversary of the USCGC CAMPBELL W-32 ramming and sinking the German U-Boat 606 in the North Atlantic Ocean. Keep it a memory, for lest we forget these important dates, who knows what can happen. I will be trying to contact other shipmates by phone who were aboard at the time to inform them of the date.         Dave Blum

Web Site Note: Dave needs our e-mail addresses. Please e-mail him so he will have it. davebuscg2@aol.com

Book on Coast Guard's World War II role launched in GH
BY MARK BROOKY
mbrooky@grandhaventribune.com

          Despite the persistent lore that there were just two survivors when the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba sank in the North Atlantic during World War II, author Michael Walling says there was — for a short time — a third survivor.

          Walling, 56, interviewed hundreds of veterans and exhaustively researched the topic for his first book, "Bloodstained Sea," which details the Coast Guard's role in the World War II Battle of the Atlantic .

          Remembering the time he spent in Grand Haven during the 2000 Coast Guard Festival, the Hudson, Mass., man pushed publisher McGraw-Hill to move the book's release date up by a month so that he could introduce it at this year's festival.

          "This is the place where I wanted to launch the book, 'Coast Guard central,'" he said, noting that no major publishing house has produced a Coast Guard book in more than 50 years. Because he could not find any documented proof, Walling did not include the story of the third survivor of the Escanaba's 103-member crew in his book. But he insisted during a special program Thursday evening at the Tri-Cities Historical Museum that the ship's captain, Lt. Cmdr. Carl Peterson, initially survived the explosion that sank the cutter on June 13, 1943.

          According to the story, the crew of the Raritan first spotted Peterson in the water when it reached the spot where the Escanaba went down, but Peterson waved them past so they could rescue surviving crewmen Raymond O'Malley and Melvin Baldwin in the cold North Atlantic. By the time the Raritan returned to pick up Peterson, they found the captain dead from hypothermia.

          While the lore of the Escanaba has long been that a German U-boat's torpedo sunk the ship, Walling said that is not likely what happened. "My best educated guess, and this is only a guess, is that it was a mine," he said.

          But Walling said there is also an outside chance that the sinking of the Escanaba was the result of its boiler exploding during its ill-fated escort of a supply convoy 61 years ago.

          When asked to list his favorite wartime adventure in the book, Walling said it was the Escanaba's rescue of 133 crewmen from the SS Dorchester when that ship was torpedoed on Feb. 3, 1943.

          His book's favorite character is the four-legged Sinbad, who spent his life aboard the Coast Guard cutter Campbell. When the dog died in 1952 at the age of 14 or 15 — "after a lifestyle that would kill a human at that age" — Walling said the mutt was given a full military funeral. He added that the current Coast Guard vessel named Campbell has a lifeboat aboard named for Sinbad.

          The Coast Guard's first World War II duty came more than two years before the United States entered the war, Walling said. Just two days after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Coast Guard ships stationed in the North Atlantic were involved in the rescue of survivors of a British ship torpedoed by U-boats.

          "In the fall of 1941, the U.S. Coast Guard started escorting convoys and it was all downhill from there," he added.

          Walling grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from college in June 1970, Walling joined the Coast Guard and served for six years as a commissioned officer and a senior petty officer. He served aboard a buoy tender and an icebreaker in the Atlantic.

          But Walling says his knowledge of World War II and the Coast Guard's role in it comes from 40 years of study, research and talking to hundreds of veterans over the years, including attending numerous Coast Guard ship reunions. He points out that the crews of the Coast Guard's wartime ships were filled with very young men — some as young as 15 or 16.

            "We are extremely fortunate that these (teenagers) did what they did under unbelievable circumstances," the author said. "They fought for years and no one knows about it, or no one cares. No one has seriously written about the Coast Guard's part in it." Walling crafted his story from crew members' diaries, letters, logbooks and personal interviews, and the National Archives.

          "I wrote this as a story, not as straight historical text," said Walling. "I had to get it right. I didn't have the option of making mistakes."

          Before turning into a full-time writer about a year ago, Walling sold insurance, encyclopedias, computers and commodity options. Other jobs included scuba diving, retail sales, computerized embroidery, marketing marine navigation software and yachts in Florida, telemarketing, and building models of everything from sailing ships to weapons systems, so reads his Web site autobiography.

          The book was born nearly 20 years ago when Walling vowed to some Coast Guard veterans he met that he would put it together — someday. It took him nine months to compile and fine-tune the years of research and interviews.

          "They didn't want memorials," he said of the Coast Guard's World War II veterans. "They still don't want memorials, because they didn't feel like heroes."

          Walling's wife, Mary, who accompanied him to Grand Haven this week, added, "They've been waiting for this (book) for a long time."

          The author is scheduled to sign copies of the book at the Coast Guard Exchange tent on Harbor Drive from noon to 3 p.m. today and 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

          Tribune writer Marie Havenga contributed to this story.

        Coast Guard Cutter Campbell Patrols Coast Ensuring Safety and Security

BOSTON -- The Kittery, Maine based Coast Guard Cutter Campbell provided security for Boston Harbor during the Democratic National Convention and maintained a security perimeter around the high interest vessel Rio Puelo that was held off New York harbor July 24-30. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell is scheduled to return to homeport about 5:30 p.m. today.

          Campbell took on the role as a maritime safety and security cutter during the DNC. The cutter identified all inbound merchant vessels as they approached the port, checked the crew and cargo and assessed the safety of vessels before they were allowed to enter the Port of Boston.

          After the Democratic National Convention, the Campbell was sent to New York City after the Department of Agriculture alerted the Coast Guard that the high interest vessel Rio Puelo might contain "a harmful biological substance". The cutter immediately began enforcing a security zone around the Rio Puelo using the cutter's small boat. Campbell crewmembers also served as vessel security aboard the Rio Puelo. The Campbell was released from the case when the Coast Guard Captain of the Port agreed to allow the Rio Puelo in port once the threat was mitigated.

          Campbell returns to homeport today about 5:30 p.m. following a 43-day patrol and will soon depart for the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore.

      -uscg-

Date: April 13, 2004
From:Oscar Boernor/Gordon Bell
Subject: Plank Owner Presentation

Wonderful Event At This Reunion!! Received the following e-mails on ENC Louis Bender, plank owner at the commissioning of the Campbell. We will have a presentation of a Plank Owner Certificate and a presentation folder on the cruise on the CGC Tate. Anything else I get on Mr. Bender I will post FYI. (Web Master Note)

First E-mail (Plank Owner)

Oscar and Jim: I have had several conservations with ENC Louis Bender, USCG-Ret our plank owner on the USCGC CAMPBELL who lives in Philadelphia. He said that he will meet us with his son at the USCG Base and take the cruise on the CGC TATE. I have order and received from the US Naval Institute, a beautiful Plank Owner Certificate which I had customed lettered with his name, the ship CAMPBELL, date of commissioning, June 16, 1936 and the CO's name, CDR E. G. Rose, USCG. I ordered a presentation folder as well. Looks great, and I would like to present this to him on board the CGC TATE on our cruise. Hope this all works out...have a Happy Easter and Safe travels.....Regards, Gordon

Second E-mail (Plank Owner)

The "plank owner" certificate presentation to Chief Bender with the setting on board the Tate sounds very appropriate. I trust you will do the presentation - perhaps when Tate is in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Pictures should also be taken for the NEWSLETTER and Neill is the appropriate selection for this; its your call Gordon.

Thanks for all you're doing to make this reunion a success. OSCAR

Date: March 28, 2004
From: Gordon Bell, Vice President
Subject: Bridge Wing Ribbon Board

Shipmates: I now have possession of the BRIDGE WING RIBBON BOARD. Joan and I made the trip upstate Pennsylvania today and met Mark and Joanne Evans who has donated it to the ASSOCIATION. Mark is a former AE, a aviation electrician stationed at Air Station, Port Angeles where the CAMPBELL was decommissioned in 1982. He obtained the board and has had it undercover since then and felt that the ASSOCIATION should have it. I will transport it to the reunion for display and turn it over to our Historian, Neill. I have also identified the 11 Campaign Ribbons and will display that on the board. Regards, Gordon Bell