I'd like to share the contents of a couple of emails I recently sent to the friends and families attached to the project. Stephen Harding is busy conducting interviews on his books that will be movies, The Last Battle and The Castaway's War. See content below and watch for updates!

As always, I enjoy passing along news of people who have been involved in the STRONG project. Yesterday author Stephen Harding, author of The Castaway's War had an interview with Sarah MacDonald of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation regarding his earlier book, The Last Battle. Yesterday May 5th was the 74th anniversary of the battle at Schloss (Castle) Itter in Austria, where in the last days of WW2 in the European theater German soldiers and American forces came together to save the lives of French honor prisoners being held at the castle. They briefly discussed the movie about the event that is due to begin shooting later this year. For the entire 33 minute interview, click here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/this-week-in-history-battle-for-itter-castle/11083380

Enjoy listening, and we hope to hear an interview in the future regarding the shooting of The Castaway's War!
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I recently shared a link with you to the podcast of an interview Stephen Harding conducted with an on-line radio station, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The interview was about his book "The Last Battle" and the siege at Schloss (Castle) Itter in Austria in the last days of WW2 in the European theater. Now Steve tells me that the same station is planning on interviewing him for "The Castaway's War" on July 7th!!! This will give him an opportunity to talk about the discovery of STRONG on February 6th by the crew of RV PETREL. I'm so excited and hope that at this time the film will be under way in Australia by Gold Circle. We'll see and I'll keep you posted!

The newsletter and information about how to sign up for the reunion in Savannah in September will be out very soon. Be watching for the news to hit your inbox!

More to follow!

​Tammi

On April 7th my husband Greg and I drove back to the Chattanooga area to meet with Paul and Rosie Mayer. This was the first chance for us to get together since he returned from the ship a few weeks ago. As before, we met at their home and were promptly greeted by goats Bert and Ernie, dogs Stanley, Roger and Bella. Walter is blind and deaf, so he didn’t really care if we were there or not and neither did their cat Molly. That’s okay, because giving Paul and Rosie big welcoming hugs was all that was important. Plus getting a repeat selfie with Roger. Once accomplished, we began discussing the STRONG mission.
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After gifting them with some goodies for the animals (and a couple of cool Kentucky tee shirts for the 2 leggers), Paul had a gift for me. He presented me with a small hard drive containing all the valuable data from the mission, including all ROV video! I am allowed to share this data with families and am in the process of doing just that. If you are a STRONG family member and interested in copies please email me.

In speaking with Paul about the STRONG mission, we learned more about the work of the crew in general. This is information worth sharing. The work done on the RV PETREL (and the MY OCTOPUS previously) is interesting to people who have family members from the WW2 era and those who love history in general. After meeting a guy like Paul who has lived this explorer’s life for years now, it has pros and cons. The pros are the travel to some very exotic and beautiful places. You see people and places that most of us only dream about or see on television and movies. There’s different foods, smells, experiences in each new port. Exploring the history of things under the sea is enticing and there’s the thrill of discovery. Not only that, there are families who gain closure and peace from these discoveries and the fact that their men and women who were lost are not forgotten. Plus, some pretty cool equipment they get to work with in the ROV (remotely operated vehicle), the sonar and AUV (automated underwater vehicle). Very nice toys indeed, until they break down or need very expensive or time intensive maintenance that throws a monkey wrench into a mission. Thus begins the cons.

The crew members all work long 12 hour shifts. They are ship-locked and in their down time don’t have many places they can go to “get away from it all”. Food on board starts out pretty good with fresh fruits and veggies. As time goes on though and those run out the cooks resort to frozen foods. If they are near a port they sometimes go ashore to scrounge for produce and other fresh items. Eventually if they’ve been out to sea long enough they are subsisting on of snack foods. When weather takes a bad turn or in a rolling sea, the unstable conditions can sicken the crew and staff. If someone gets truly ill, it might be 200 miles to the nearest doctor as was the case this last trip. A crew member required medical attention and they had to head back to port in Honiara to care for him. All worked out well thank goodness.

When these guys are at sea they miss birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and so much more. A trip could take a couple of weeks or a few months at a time. Paul once spent 8 months out of one year at sea. Very difficult to do when you miss family and your own bed. Just getting to the ship anywhere in the world can be 30 or more hours one way. Lost sleep, airport food and no shower for a couple of days and I imagine they can arrive a little ripe. On the flip side returning home, there’s the severe jet lag and readjustment to home life. So while we on this side of the world watch the Facebook page and their website, then the news on CBS or other stations with fascination, these guys have some really hard work to do. It takes very special and unique skill sets for them to perform this work and operate the equipment then to bring it all to those of us who eat up the history like candy. People in this industry who do what they do are rare as hen’s teeth. When you think about the probability of getting a group of this caliber to take on finding a ship like STRONG (not a capital ship), I don’t even want to know what the odds would be. All I care about is that we beat those odds. We are very fortunate and grateful.

Making sure the people at Vulcan, Inc. and the crew and staff of the RV PETREL know we appreciate their work is of utmost importance. I truly hope to travel over on one of those 30 hour jaunts in the future (and guys I will probably be a little ripe when I get there) to see all this first hand when it’s time to lay the plaque. Bring on the bad airport food!

They are currently back on mission and out to sea for the next few weeks. Watch their Facebook page or website for updates on their latest finds!

RV PETREL: https://paulallen.com/Indepth/Petrel/

Facebook page: RV PETREL 

-Tammi
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We are to gather in Savannah, Georgia on September 10th through the 15th for the 2019 reunion! Mark your calendars and get ready. With the ship located this year by the RV PETREL, it will be extra special. I heartily invite any friends and family members of the DD 467 men and any new DD 758 men to come. More details to follow in a few weeks!

​The venue is the Hilton Garden Inn by the Airport. Check out the website: Hilton Garden Inn
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​Tammi

 Back in mid-January, the crew of the RV PETREL discovered the wreck of the aircraft carrier, USS WASP. This was one of the desired carriers to discover on this mission, along with the carrier USS HORNET. Their successful streak continues. Various videos and photographs of the find along with stories from survivors can be found here on their Facebook page: RV PETREL

If you don't have a Facebook account, then there is a YouTube channel with access to the videos: RV PETREL YouTube

To read the survivor account of Don Cruse: Don Cruse

​Congratulations again to the crew and the families of the lost men! Work well done and appreciated.

-Tammi

Stephen Harding has a new book coming out in October of 2019! Our prolific friend has 2 movies in the works. The Last Battle and The Castaway's War will both be shooting this year. With this new book, there is a possibility for movie #3. The book is available for pre-order. For more information, see below from Steve's Facebook page:
"Hachette Books and Da Capo have set October 8 as the publication date for my latest book, "Escape From Paris: Aviators, Spies and Star-Crossed Lovers in Wartime France." 

The book is the true story of downed American flyers hidden by the French Resistance right under the Germans' noses in the center of Paris. It's a noir tale of combat, courage and even romance, set in one of the world's most captivating cities.

The book is now available for pre-order from Da Capo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets in hardcover, Kindle, Nook, eBook and audio versions."

Click here for Steve's Facebook page: Escape in Paris

The PETREL has been hard at work in the Solomon Islands. To watch their progress and see what they've been up to, click the video above. 

Part 2 of the story is in the video below. Such exciting work and congratulations on this wonderful discovery!

Tammi

Part 2 of the story from February 12th.

Over the years it's been wonderful to help researchers with information on STRONG and other destroyer data in general. Back in November of 2016 I was contacted by author Clint Johnson. Clint is the author of many books on the history of the Civil War. See his bio here with all the titles: https://clintjohnsonbooks.com/bio/

He was beginning work on his first book of the WW2 era, Tin Cans & Greyhounds and asked for my assistance on a couple of things. Over the past couple of years I was able to help him work out a few kinks and it earned me an acknowledgement in the back of his latest book. Thanks Clint! Needless to say, I truly enjoy helping out and the perks that come with it. I'm now in the process of reading the book to review it for Amazon. The release date is on February 12th of 2019. This also happens to be my uncle Billy's birthday. He would have been 100. So Clint I doubt you had a hand in the release date, but it's meaningful to me. 

To order advance copies of the book (and yes, he does discuss STRONG in it) go to Amazon.com here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1621576477/

For Barnes and Noble, here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tin-cans-and-greyhounds-clint-johnson/1128935700?ean=9781621576471#/
(Photo of the book courtesy of Clint Johnson Books at https://​clintjohnsonbooks.com/books/tin-cans-and-greyhounds/)

What I see so far is that Clint gives a comprehensive history of destroyers and emphasizes their importance in both WW1 and WW2. Destroyers were the real heros. The wars could  not have been won without the efforts and abilities of these tin cans. I believe we know that from our family experiences. So far I've been focused on the Fletcher class of destroyers and the ships in the destroyer squadron, tunnel vision. Clint's book is opening my eyes to the build up that led to this class, and their importance in the war effort from WW2 through Korea and Viet Nam. This will be another good book to add to your library. 

​Tammi

I have many goals in the effort to find STRONG. Number one of course is to locate and document the wreck of the ship and leave a plaque to mark the graves of those who can never come home for burial. Another is to get on Arundel (now Kohinngo) Island with archaeological guidance and locate the camp of Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. Lastly, there were five men who disappeared on Arundel – two who died shortly after arriving and are buried on or near the beach, and three who disappeared to the southeast part of the island and were most likely killed by the Japanese. If there is any way to locate the remains of any of these men, then should we try? If we ever have boots on the ground there it’s worth the effort. It would be easier to accomplish if we could involve the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) out of Honolulu, and steps have been taken to do so.

In New Orleans December of 2017, I met with Toni Kiser, Assistant Director for Collections Management of the National World War II Museum. During our conversation I discussed the desire to try and find the remains of some of the five men: Francis “Frank” Armbruster, Floyd Lawrence, Lt. Albert Oberg, Daniel “Danny” Mullane and Edward “Eddie” Deering. Toni mentioned that there were two staff members at the museum who worked specifically with the DPAA on a regular basis and promised to hook me up with the contact information for Jason Dawsey who was currently on assignment. A step in the right direction!

Once I was home, Toni and I exchanged a couple more emails before I finally contacted Jason. From the very first, our communications were very promising. I explained to Jason about the project and our goals, including the attempt to locate the remains of any of the STRONG men. He was very encouraging and promised to pass the information on to officials at the main branch of the DPAA. And as I said there were at least five men from STRONG that perished on Arundel Island and whose remains should still be there – according to other research I found, this may not be true.

First I prepared a list of men to send to Jason. He suggested I check the DPAA list of the missing in WW2 (http://www.dpaa.mil/Our-Missing/World-War-II/Service-Personnel-Not-Recovered-Following-WWII/), and when I did I noticed a couple of names were not there – Floyd Lawrence and Edward “Eddie” Deering. I already had information on Al Oberg, Danny Mullane and Frank Armbruster, so they were confirmed on the list as “missing”. Floyd was a bit of a mystery, not much showed up for him on Google searches or Find A Grave, so I turned to Ancestry.com and the memorial page for the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), which lists the names of the missing on a memorial wall at the cemetery in Manila. On the site, Floyd H. Lawrence from Georgia is listed as “Missing in Action”. This was expected. I took the information of where Floyd was from and found that he was from a town near Macon. Contacting the library for Gwinnett County resulted in a piece in a book that was forwarded to me by a very helpful historian at the library. Floyd’s name was submitted for the list of missing men from the state of Georgia. Eddie Deering should be on there for Indiana, however the information I found showed different information that provided the fodder for the mystery. 

In his written reports regarding ending up on Arundel Island on the float net with the other five men, Miller very clearly discussed the fate of Eddie and his declining health once they reached the island. After burying Al Oberg on a small spit of land on the eastern coast, the group traveled across Stima Lagoon to the main beach and landed near the remains of a former coconut plantation on the island. They moved further away from the beach and under cover to avoid Japanese patrols. Eddie passed away on July 13th of 1943. The remaining healthy men, Mullane, Armbruster and Lawrence buried him in a shallow grave among the palms. You would think that would be the end of Eddie’s story, but no. I didn’t have any information on Eddie, so I also did an Ancestry.com search on him. What I found blew me away. According to a link to the ABMC’s memorial page, Edward A. Deering who died on July 13th of 1943 in the Solomon Islands is listed as “Buried”. They even listed the grave and burial plot with this information: “Service #2837852, Rank Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy, Entered Service from Ohio, Date of Death July 13, 1943, Buried Plot J, Row 13 Grave 12, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines”. And yes this is the correct Edward A. Deering. Other information matches Eddie’s, including the name of his mother who is listed in the memorial on-line and his home town. So there had had been a recovery of his remains at some point by the US or Australian teams who swept through the Pacific islands between 1945-1949. But if Eddie was recovered at some time, why not Al or the others? What has happened here?

I began researching the processes of DPAA and the past organizations that operated in the South Pacific after the war based on some information provided to me by Jason Dawsey. I was advised to obtain a form called an IDPF (Individual Deceased Personnel File) from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which could give information on this particular burial. This can often take a matter of weeks and there is a fee for the research and materials, but I eventually ordered the profile through an intermediary who sped up the process. I believed getting the IDPF on Eddie’s burial would certainly clear things up. And, after reading the report there were more questions than answers.

First, a little about Edward Arthur Deering. He was born in Lovell, Wyoming on January 7th, 1923 and had a twin brother Edwin Walter. He was a member of the National Guard prior to his service on STRONG, spoke Spanish and was employed as a steel worker in Ohio where he lived with his mother, Lillian Hurlbut of Elyria. Eddie’s IDPF indicated that sometime before 1949 his remains were recovered and buried at Finschaffen military cemetery in South New Guinea. After 1949 he was disinterred and reburied at Manila American Cemetery. Further digging did not produce any information on whether or not the remains of any of the other four men were found. This was disturbing to me and I wondered if a mistake had occurred. After talking further with Jason Dawsey I decided to contact the folks at the American Battle Monuments Commission, as their entity in the 1940s handled the burial arrangements. A couple of calls later I landed on the line with Alec Bennet at the ABMC. According to Bennet when remains were initially recovered it was not unusual for them to be relocated a number of times before ending up in the final resting place based either on the families wishes or the lack of family contact. Eddie’s IDPF indicated that his mother requested his final burial to be at what was then Fort McKinley Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

I still had no idea of whether the others had been recovered. If recovered, they are either in a mass grave in Manila, in the Punchbowl on Oahu or in boxes at the facility in Honolulu. Alec Bennet recommended getting hold of the Quartermaster General’s records from the National Archives, RB 92 as the location. This is where I stopped for now. I need to reach out to one of the researchers there to help with this as I cannot make it to College Park, Maryland any time soon. I would hope to learn from these records whether or not any other American remains were located and if so, where are they? If there are unidentified remains from Arundel Island, they could possibly be identified. For this to happen any families involved need to submit DNA to aid in identification. For more information about sending a DNA sample to the DPAA click here: http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/590581/armed-forces-medical-examiner-system-dna-identification-laboratory/

Even though I’m fairly sure my uncle Billy went down with the ship, there could be the outside chance his body washed out of the ship and may have been found later. I’m considering submitting DNA in the off chance this could be true. The other option is the men are still on Arundel waiting to be found, or left in peace where they are. This is up to the families to pursue. Contact me if you would like any more information.

Tammi

P.S.   Below is a photo of Eddie in uniform. Courtesy of the Deering family.