Later this weekend there would be an episode of Drain the Oceans (National Geographic Channel) based on one of the early discoveries of our friend and shipwreck hunter David Mearns of Blue Water Recoveries, LTD. Back in the 1990s David worked for a company called Eastport International, the group that won the contract to go locate an exceptionally hard ship to find, one involved in a possible insurance scam which included murder. The ship was the MV LUCONA, the man responsible for her disappearance and the death of 6 people, Udo Proksch. Proksch was a wealthy man; entitled, spoiled and very dangerous. He was a Nazi sympathizer during WW2 and had friends the like of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and Heinrich Himmler. The discovery due to the work of David and Eastport led to the downfall of this horrible man, who died in prison in 2001 during heart surgery. In David's book, "The Shipwreck Hunter: A lifetime of extraordinary discovery and adventure n the deep seas," he goes into remarkable detail in describing the endeavor of putting together the crew and equipment necessary to carry this out, and the research involved. This story is just one of the 25 major shipwrecks he covers in the book. If you have not read the book I highly recommend you do. And full disclosure, he has some very nice things to say about myself and the project in the last chapter. For that, I will always be appreciative. 

This episode of Drain the Oceans is titled, "$20 Million Time Bomb: a bomb, murder, and a foiled multi-million insurance scam on the high seas". The broadcast is on Nat Geo this Sunday April 9th at 10 pm EST. Below are images of the introduction to this chapter from the book. Just a couple of paragraphs, a teaser to whet the whistle.

​-Tammi

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A couple weeks ago we had hurricane force winds (76 mph) here in the midwest causing severe damage and power outages. We were out for 4.5 days ourselves due to downed trees. When you are at sea or in port when this happens, there is nothing to block the gale force winds that can occur. This is what happened with the RV Petrel, the ship that found the wreck of STRONG in February of 2019. The link to this article, Leith Port Accident will tell the story. 

The ship is in port between missions. She is now owned by the US Navy and operations are run by another engineering group. The winds knocked her on her side. Many people were on board and there are multiple injuries, to what extent I do not know. It will be a miracle if no one dies from this. Some of the equipment that was not tied down could be the cause of some of the casualties, a very dangerous situation. My friend and former crew member of Petrel, Paul Mayer sent me the article this morning. None of the former crew or staff were on board at the time. 

Greg and I are headed to Edinburgh where Leith Port is located in mid-April. I had hoped to get up there to see the ship and perhaps take some pictures. This however, is not the scenario I would have wanted, something such as this to keep the ship in port. I wish for a speedy recovery for anyone injured and that the ship is made right soon. 

I will post updates and possibly pictures if we can get access to the docks. 

-Tammi

Well, it's been a rough few days. I've been wanting to post up some information for everyone about a book by James Horan and Paul Mayer's new and wonderful award. But last weekend my husband was diagnosed with COVID, we lost power for 4.5 days and I've been overwhelmed and feel like death warmed over. We're both getting better, power's back and I'm still testing negative, so on with the show. 

My friend John Bailey who is writing a book about the history of the USS NICHOLAS DD-442 sent me a wonderful link to a PDF of the James Horan book, Action Tonight. Horan was a contemporary in WW2, traveling all over and interviewing men serving on the front lines and the sea in the South Pacific. There are several references to the STRONG DD-467 in here, particularly on pages 78, 91, 131, and 141. Below is the link to the book, a very compelling chronicle of his time spent there. Click here:
James Horan Action Tonight   (if this link does not work for you, message me from the Contacts page or the email on the home page and I can send you the link directly.)

Now, for Paul Mayer, our shipwreck hunter friend formerly with the crew of the RV Petrel. If you recall, they located the wreck of STRONG in February of 2019, but before and after that there were years on the seas making discoveries and bringing closure to families. Paul and his former boss and friend Rob Kraft were recently in Washington, D.C. to receive an award from the Department of the Navy for all their work over the years working with the late Paul Allen's company, Vulcan, Inc. See the pics below, taken by Paul's most sweet and beautiful wife, Rosie Mayer. Paul says: "Rosie and I got to go to Washington DC last weekend for myself and former boss Rob Kraft to receive a couple of service awards from the Navy History and Heritage Command.  It was for the work that was done by the crew of RV Petrel finding WWII ships.  Myself and Rob Kraft received medals but it was very much a team effort.  It was a casual afternoon hanging out with people that we worked with for a few years that became friends."

I'm also still waiting on some information that could change some things this year. If what I feel may happen, happens - then I will be most grateful. If not, then I tried. 

Stay well, everyone!

Tammi

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     I've had this blog active for over 10 years now, and I have never really told the story of how this project originated. Something happened recently, a good thing, that made me feel this would be a good time to share. So, I'm posting an excerpt from the beginning of the book I'm writing, a bit to let everyone know what inspired me. I hope you enjoy the read.
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     Memorial Day weekend in 1966 (when the photo to the left was taken), I was a little brown-haired, freckle-faced girl of 8 years old playing among the stones marking the passage of my ancestors at the Machpelah Cemetery in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. Machpelah is a large and picturesque old cemetery off of Locust Street with an ‘old’ section and a ‘new’ section joined by a walking bridge spanning the road on both sides. The cemetery sits atop a hill in the middle of town and is visible from Main Street as you drive toward the town center.
     This was my first visit to the cemetery with my mother, a couple of aunts and my grandmother on a warm sunny day. I was playing as kids do; trying to entertain myself while the adults planted flowers and paid their respects. At my family plot among the flat, low-to-the-ground stones marking the passage of my ancestors is one large granite monument that stands out. The front side of the monument facing the road is engraved with the surname of my family members taking up space in the nearby plots, HEDRICK. I was playing on the backside of the monument, away from the road when I noticed a bronze plaque mounted on the back that reads:
                                “WILLIAM CLAY HEDRICK, ENSIGN U.S.N.R. ON USS STRONG,
                                                    LOST AT SEA WORLD WAR II,
                                                     FEB. 12, 1918 – JULY 5, 1943”
     Bronze is not a magnetic metal by nature; it is an alloy of copper and tin, and has no true compelling properties, however I was completely drawn in. Most kids might give it a glance and move on, not asking questions about someone they would never know. Guess I wasn't most kids. I stopped my frolicking long enough to call my mother over to where I was standing, pointing and said, “Mommy, who was he?”
“That was your Papaw’s brother, honey.”
“But what happened to him? How did he die?”, I asked.
“His ship was sunk in World War 2.”
“Is he buried here?”
“No, he’s not, they never found him. As far as I know, there was only one survivor”, she told me.
     This should have been enough to satisfy me, but I’ve always been a persistent little bugger. At times I’ve been nothing short of a pest. Mostly this personality trait has paid off in being able to find what I’m searching for. As I asked other family members about great-uncle Billy, I got essentially the same answer; the ship was sunk by the Japanese in the Solomon Islands, there were either no survivors or the one guy who survived and was stranded on an island for a month, but “no, honey, he’s dead and gone now”. So for years I believed there was no information to be found, no one to interview, call or write. I had no clue how to even begin to go further. But sometimes it pays to be a pest – or determined as hell.
      Years went by. I grew up and had a family and children of my own to occupy my thoughts and time, yet questions remained. Who was this young man Billy? What plans did he have for his life? I had learned from family that Billy was a genius, having been honored before and after his death with academic acknowledgments for his grade point average while a student in high school, and while attending Transylvania Bible College (now Transylvania University) in Lexington. He was a bright and creative young man who spoke several languages fluently, many self-taught. Billy loved classical “long hair” music, playing the piano, and writing poetry, plays and short stories.
     I can only wonder what someone of his extraordinary intellect and character would have become if not for that torpedo. The killing shot and the thirteen other known torpedoes fired (from 3 of 4 Japanese destroyers) from over 11 nautical miles away (the longest missile death strike in WW2) missed the other 6 ships in the task group and 14 other allied ships in the gulf that night. What freakish act of destiny allowed Strong to take the hit? This question and others were generated over time. There have been interviews with family, research in college library archives, finding people who knew him as a young man, and years of internet research. I decided to Google the ship in 1998, and the floodgates of information opened. In 1999 we attended our first reunion and met some of the men who survived the bombing of the ship. At this reunion I was given a stack of documents telling the story of the ship and the fate of its faithful and able crew. In 2007 I received photographs from one of the officers who survived; photos of happy events and better times on the ship, and they haunted me. Learning more had become a moral imperative, and the mission took on a new urgency.
     Back when I first began researching Billy, I never even thought about the possibility of looking for his ship. Something like that was so far beyond my reach. I mean really – who am I? Who could I possibly know that might be able to help make that happen? And without the internet in the early years, doing this research was plodding and piecemeal; an interview with a relative here, a photograph or personal story there, not much going for me but perseverance. It wasn't until many years later and after discovering that there was an entire web site devoted to Strong and her survivors that even considering such a thing came to me.
     After some correspondence with persons involved with the USS Strong DD-467 Association, and after a that reunion with these men and their families in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1999, I began to visualize myself on the deck of a research ship. This vision has stayed with me and expanded over the years. In it, I can feel the wind on my face as I hang on to the rail and smell the pungent salt spray kicked up by the ship as it speeds into the Kula Gulf.
     Contacts I made with researchers in 2007 became the vehicle for my dreams, as plans for an expedition to the Solomon Islands began to take shape. I imagined that my perseverance was about to pay off in ways I had only imagined. In reality, this contact did not pan out, but the future held something much better. A wonderful person I met a few years later would help make the dream come true. When those dreams come true, it's not without sacrifice. There have been speed bumps along the way, but I was willing to deal with anything to see it through.
     All of us desire to experience life – the chance to grow up, go to college or learn a trade, marry if that suits you and have the two and a half kids, the dog and mortgage, and to look forward to gray hair and wrinkles that come from really living. In the living, all people write their own story on the clay tablet of life. In a war fought at sea, a sailor far from home just hopes to wake up the next morning, and not to the sound of artillery off the bow.
     This is how 24 years after it began, such a story ended on a cloudy, drizzly moonless night in a far, far away place called the Solomon Islands. In the wee hours of the morning July 5th, 1943 a Japanese long-lance (type 93) torpedo put an end to Billy’s story and that of forty-five of his shipmates. It took less than an hour from start to finish for those men to go from being at the ready at duty stations on their mission that evening to a quick and violent death. Am I capable of appropriately telling this story and seeing that he and his men are not forgotten? It's up to me to follow his lead and do my best.
     That same freckle-faced girl is now a grandmother of all boys (still got the freckles!). Due to developments in recent years, the story can now be told. Billy made this happen, I have no doubt. Was it his hand, his voice that guided me all these years? What kept the curiosity alive, and what made me care so much about a young man I would never meet in this lifetime? How much more can be learned by a visit to his watery grave in the blue depths of the Kula Gulf in the Solomon Islands? And out of all his relatives he could have reached out to, why did he choose ME?

​-Tammi






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So, another year is upon us and as usual I'm filled with hope. Hope that I can finally find a way to get the plaque that's been made for the wreck site in the water. To that end, I've taken a huge risk and contacted some folks that have resources I do not have and could never possess unless I won the Mega Millions. I won't name names right now, but in the event one of them actually reads the letter I've sent and acknowledged it, then I will update this post. For now, I just need all the good vibes and wishes anyone has to spare. I was given permission to drop some names in hopes that it would at lease inspire a response. 

Well, here goes probably the longest shot of this project. I've had many that paid off and am confident something will happen this year. Time will tell, right?

I wish all of you the happiest of new years and some really fine adventures of your own!

​Tammi

     So, what a year it’s been recovering from COVID, eh? We’re still not out of the woods, but most of us have been able to achieve some sense of what we consider normal in our own lives, whatever normal means. This pandemic affected everyone differently and for me it kept me from doing the one thing that would finish out the project – placing the plaque at the wreck site of STRONG in the Kula Gulf. Again, not giving up on that just yet. For what it’s worth, it’s time to share my end of year letter of any accomplishments on the project. Unfortunately I haven’t much to share for myself (well, perhaps one really cool thing that you’ll see in a bit), but others who have worked with me do have some news.

January – I learned of a new series produced by Lone Wolf Media titled “Lost Ships” that would air on Fox Nation. Lone Wolf bought the rights to all of the video once owned by Vulcan, Inc. of their shipwreck hunting expeditions and turned many of the more notable adventures into 8 episodes. Paul Mayer was interviewed in his home in Tennessee and later went to their headquarters in Maine for shooting alongside his former boss Rob Kraft and researcher and historian Parks Stephenson who is currently the new director at the USS KIDD DD-661 Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Be sure to visit there if you get a chance and say hello to Mr. Stephenson.

February – Paul was in Maine this month for 9 days filming for the series. He was accompanied by Seth Paridon (Deputy Director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby) Bill Toti (retired US Navy captain) and others from the Naval History and Heritage Command.
     It was also announced that the Solomon Islands and other island groups in the South Pacific would reopen their borders in July to visitors. This has a major economic impact on this part of the world and the news is very welcome.

March – Sadly, nothing to share here.

April – We lost Edwin Deering, twin brother to Edward “Eddie” Deering, a young man lost on Arundel Island with Miller, Floyd Lawrence, Danny Mullane, Al Oberg and Frank Armbruster. Eddie and Al died soon after reaching shore. I connected with Ed’s family a few years ago and we first met them in 2019 at the September reunion in Savannah, Georgia. He attended with his daughter in law Cynthia Deering. It was a pleasure to meet them and again at the reunion in Dayton, Ohio in 2021. Ed was 99 years old.

May – Last month the Destroyer History website was discovered to be down. I worked with the late Dave McComb’s widow, Meredith McComb to get it back up and running. She worked hard to get the new admins of the site to reopen the site. It took some time, but finally success!
     Steve and Mari Harding had a wonderful trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota to give talks on his NY Times best-seller The Last Battle, and the book following The Castaway’s War titled Escape From Paris. He also shared the news that he and Mari were soon to become first time grandparents! Congrats to his son Ian and wife Sophia on the birth of their child due in August. That’s the best news in the world.
     James Carter of the South Pacific WW2 Museum included a really nice story about the STRONG project and Lt. Miller in their newsletter for this month. A really nice boost, so thank you again Jimmy!
I learned the new “Lost Ships” series would premier on May 29th on Fox Nation. If you have not seen them, they were very interesting and well produced.

June – The South Pacific WW2 Museum learned they would finally be building their new museum facility! The plans for the building were posted on line and it looks wonderful. I really hope to visit there some day. Tourism there opened back up in July from the COVID lockdowns. They are now welcoming ships and visitors again.

July – This was probably the best and only thing of note from my end this year. I learned that someone I had been acquainted with for about 10 years (online, we have not yet met in person) was a movie producer! This was a huge surprise to me, because I’m aware of 2 other businesses that this very busy and brilliant person owns, so where do they find the time? Either way, when I asked them about it, we started a really interesting conversation back and forth that I ended up sharing with Stephen Harding. Ultimately we had a Zoom chat with this person about the possibility of making a movie of The Castaway’s War! Because of this interest, Steve made inquiries with Gold Circle Films, the group that had previous options on the film. They had a writer from Australia produce a script and we had hoped they might release it if they do not plan on repurchasing an option. We are still waiting on any thoughts they might have.
     Before anyone gets too excited, let me be clear. This friend of mine is VERY invested and interested because they are aware of the work I’ve done over the past decades and after talking with Steve that cinched it. However, in order for this to happen there have to be a lot of other people to greenlight it, find funding, put together a script (unless Gold Circle comes around – a new script could cost around $50,000) and more. This particular producer has done very well in a short time. If you have Amazon Prime and Prime Video, there is a movie there called “Prizefighter” starring Russell Crowe and an up and coming young man named Matt Hookings. Matt is essentially the Sylvester Stallone of England in that to get this movie made he had to write the script, come up with the funding, act as a main character and then join with other very talented individuals to produce the thing. Our friend the producer was one of the executive producers on this project and it’s done very well in the UK and Australia, but is also viewable here. I’ve seen it and I’m not normally a fan of boxing, however this tells a true story from the early 19th century and it’s beautifully done. I have every confidence that my friend will do whatever they can to help us in this, maybe next year will be the year. They have experience with other WW2 projects as well, so it’s in their wheelhouse. It’s something to look forward to.

August – In order to sweeten the pot, Steve sent signed copies of his books to our producer friend in London to read and share with partners. We hope they read them and get inspired, see the value of these WW2 stories and decide to turn them into major motion pictures. Time will tell.

September – Paul Mayer and his beautiful wife Rosie came through Kentucky on their way home from a visit to Ohio. We met them at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. One of the historic buildings has been turned into a restaurant/inn and the food there is top notch. We had a nice walk around the village, did some shopping at the gift store and then a wonderful meal. They had plans to stay the night there, so we went home after dinner. It’s always so nice to see them and I really appreciate they are still friends even after the ship has been found.
     For the first time in 10 years, Greg and I were not able to attend the reunion held in Newport, Rhode Island this year. Family health issues kept us away and we really missed it. The reunion next year is more attainable and a driving distance instead of flying in Huntsville, Alabama. Plan on coming if you can!

October – It seems History.net decided to fire 5 of its 8 editors of all the magazines they print, and Stephen Harding is now a free man. A real shame and such a bad move on their part. At any rate, this doesn’t stop the man. He’s now contemplating another book and building a proposal. I can’t say much now, but soon as I have anything to share about it, I will.
His son Ian Harding (formerly of Pretty Little Liars and currently Long Slow Exhale) has a new holiday Christmas movie coming out on the Hallmark Channel titled “Ghosts of Christmas Always”. The movie was released in November.

November – Our friend David Mearns of Blue Waters Ltd. featured a merchant vessel in his book The Shipwreck Hunter, the LUCONA. This particular ship was owned by an unscrupulous and cruel man who devised a way to make money that involved sinking a ship and killing all on board, then claiming insurance. The TV series Drain the Oceans on National Geographic has filmed an episode in their upcoming season starting November 29th about this ship. As far as we know, the episode won’t air until early in 2023. I will keep all informed of the air date.
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December – The month isn’t over yet, however I don’t anticipate anything new at this time. I am truly happy for the accomplishments of my friends and saddened by any losses we have had as a project group. If anything of note does happen after I release this letter, you will be the first to know, all of you! On that note, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate, and look forward to a more eventful new year in 2023!
Keep me posted, any of you on any accomplishments I can share. Also remember I love for families to share stories on their sailor or any other family member, man or woman who served in WW2.  

With love from Project USS STRONG DD467,

​Tammi

This newsletter and the developments within have been long in coming for this little, but thriving and growing museum. Please take time to read about the SS President Coolidge, her fate and the history she left behind. To access the newsletter, click here: SS President Coolidge
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​Another bit of news that I can share, is that the program Drain the Oceans seen on Discovery and National Geographic has filmed an episode about the MV LUCONA, a merchant ship sunk on January 23rd, 1977. A very unscrupulous and devious man named Udo Proksch had a plan to make a lot of money from the sinking of this ship and even coldly killed 6 people. He then tried to collect insurance money on cargo that didn't exist, believing the wreck could not ever be found and proven wrong. He didn't count on the skills of my friend David Mearns of Blue Water Recoveries, LTD. The story of this wreck is featured in David's book The Shipwreck Hunter: A lifetime of extraordinary discovery and adventure in the deep seas, published in 2017. David doesn't have information yet on the air date for the program, but I will pass that along as soon as I know something, most probably some time in the early part of 2023. 

Take care all, and let me know if anyone has a WW2 family story to share. Until I have more news to share on the project, I need blog content suggestions!

Tammi

​A while back I hinted in a group email at some news I wanted to share and just got permission.. Not happy news, I'm afraid. Back at the end of August Paul Mayer and his wife Rosie came through Kentucky on their way home from a trip to Ohio. We met them at Shaker Village outside of Harrodsburg and shared a meal at the historic inn there. Paul relayed to me that the RV Petrel, the ship used to locate so many historic wrecks including Strong, was being sold. Sold to the US Navy. The team leader Rob Kraft was about to be unemployed, the last of the iconic crew to be lost to history. No more will Petrel cross the seas to fulfill the missions the late Paul Allen so loved and thrived on. 

His family failed him as far as I'm concerned. We were SO fortunate in the timing of getting Strong found. Because of COVID, it turned out to be one of the last found. And because of COVID, the plaque we had made is still sitting here in my home office/walk in closet. We most probably would have been able to place it at the site if not for the pandemic. But, I'm not giving up on that. Life threw us a huge lemon here and I'm trying to find a way to make lemonade, a few pies and whatever else I can make from it. 

At present, there is no one that I know of out there doing what Allen's people did. Even Victor Vescovo sold his ship, the Pressure Drop, and is no longer seeking wrecks. So thank you forever to Paul Mayer, Rob Kraft and the Petrel crew, and thank you David Mearns for the introduction to Paul back in 2018. We will keep in touch and never be able to fully thank you for your dedication to our cause and our ship. 

​-Tammi