​No big news to report, but an update on what's going on with our friends on the RV PETREL. The tech crew that work on the shipwreck hunts have been home for the holidays, while the ship and a different crew have been busy laying weather monitoring buoys off the east coast of South America for a NOAA project. Once completed, in February they will head to the south eastern coast of Florida to conduct some off shore surveys to look for possible wreck sites. During the surveys they will be working out some kinks on the AUV (automated underwater vehicle) and the ROV (remotely operated vehicle). After that, the ship will hit a drydock for some much needed maintenance on the ship and its equipment. After April, well that's still a mystery. My hope is that they can head back to the South Pacific of course. 

I would also like to welcome a new STRONG family, Michael and Tammy Rutter. Tammy's father was Richard Alton Hodges, S2c and a survivor on STRONG. Richard died in 1995 and they are seeking information on his time on the ship. I'm helping with sharing documents and web links. 

Hope all are well in the new year and I hope to have more to share in the coming months!

Tammi

Happy New Year everyone!  Earlier this year I posted about the efforts of the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) to locate, recover and repatriate the remains of fallen men and women from our modern wars. I posted the dates of their family meeting events in case any of you would like to attend. Recently I obtained the dates for the 2020 events. Details can be found here on the website: DPAA events 2020

For a quick look: 
2020 Family Update Schedule
Date and Location
January 25, Las Vegas, NV
February 22, Portland, OR
March 21, Miami, FL
April 18, Little Rock, AR
May 16, Chicago, IL
June 24-27, Washington, D.C.**
July 30-31, Washington, D.C.***
September 12, Colorado Springs, CO
November 2, San Juan, PR

In addition: Remember, families that cannot attend can watch the meeting live on Facebook or DPAA YouTube or Vimeo.
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Vimeo Link

DPAA YouTube 

​-Tammi

Every December I do a recap of the things that have happened with the project over the past year. This one has been monumental. So, without further adieu….

January – A new documentary on the USS INDIANAPOLIS was aired on PBS. Next, I posted regarding a mystery about a young man who died on Arundel Island with Lt. Miller, Edward A. “Eddie” Deering. Eddie’s fate had always intrigued me, as he was found and reburied in Manila. That still leaves the mystery of what happened with some of the others. This is not yet resolved. Soon after, I established contact with Eddie’s family, which led to them coming to Savannah in September. Also, a new book “Tin Cans & Greyhounds” was released by author Clint Johnson. I was consulted on this book and am referenced in the back. A good read!

February – The RV PETREL located and reported on locating the wreck of the USS HORNET on CBS News. Stephen Harding released information on his new book “Escape From Paris” to be available in October. And the best yet – the wreck of STRONG was found!!! STRONG was located on February 6th, but I was not allowed to make the information public until the 26th. We did it, with the help of some wonderful, dedicated and profoundly generous people over several years. I’m still pinching myself to make sure it really happened. The best news ever!

March – The RV PETREL located the wreck of the USS WASP, another aircraft carrier. Links on the website lead to video and a survivor account of the sinking.

April – Dates and information for the 2019 reunion were announced. Greg and I were able to head to the Chattanooga area to meet up with Paul Mayer! We so enjoy Paul, Rosie and their menagerie of sweet fur babies. Paul presented me with a hard drive of video and information from the ROV dives of the expedition to find the ship. Many of you now have copies. If anyone still needs a copy, send me an email and we’ll work it out. Last, I made contact with someone who gave me some valuable information on the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) and the processes of locating and identifying the missing from various wars. This information is still posted and I hope to get updates for 2020.

May – I shared some links to interviews of Stephen Harding, and released info on the Savannah reunion documents.

June – A Facebook friend who has a similar mission posted a wonderful piece, The Ghost Army by Julia McCurdy Gimbel. Sometimes these things should be shared, and I believe Julia’s writing is one of those things. She will have a book coming out about her father in WW2 and I hope to profile the book on the website.

July – Author Stephen Harding was interviewed on “The Castaway’s War” on Australian radio. The link is on the site. There is a wonderful WW2 museum in development on the island of Vanuatu, where the base at Espirito Santo was located. I hope to visit there some day, but for more information check out the link on the post.

August – Three Kentucky boys died when STRONG went down. One was Jesse T. “Tommy” Geralds, and I reported on locating his family. Fred Keller and of course my Uncle Billy were the others. The RV PETREL was featured on an episode of Drain the Oceans, National Geographic Channel. The episode was titled Pacific War Megawrecks. A link to view the episode is on the blog post.

September – All posts were about the reunion in Savannah, again a banner event. Thirteen total family representatives of the DD-467 group attended, including us (Hedrick), the Jelineks (Hackett), the Deerings and the Mullanes. We had an amazing time and we have so many new friends on board.

October - “Escape From Paris” by Stephen Harding was released! Another great book, and if you haven’t picked up a copy then you’re missing out. There is movie buzz around this book as well. Also, Icon Films finally let me release information about the Ultimate Survivor WW2 series and the episode filmed about Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr., including photos from the film shoot on Arundel Island. The RV PETREL also located more wrecks from the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Keeping up the good work!!!

November – Unfortunately the Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. episode that was scheduled for November 18th was switched for Gordon Ramsey! Fortunately though, Icon sent me a link to the program that I was able to share so Ultimate Survivor WW2 with Lt. Miller could be downloaded. I am still waiting to hear if National Geographic will re-start the series in the US some time in 2020. No idea why it was pulled. The missing WW2 memorial plaques that once hung on the chapel walls of a building on Transylvania University’s campus were located! I’ve been 3 years trying to get someone to take me seriously on this and finally got it done. More on that in December.

December – The WW2 memorial plaques are back on the walls, thanks to Transy’s administration and people who cared. A lovely unveiling ceremony was held, I was presented with a flag by Rolling Thunder KY Chapter 5, and expectations were exceeded. What a wonderful way to cap the year.

Still not done yet. At some point and some way, the plaque I had made will be placed in the Kula Gulf. I also want to keep working on what happened with Danny Mullane. He was found, buried then lost again. He’s out there, so he’s still high on my list of priorities. There are also more STRONG families to be found and a movie to be made (if they ever sign a director, get a move on Gold Circle!).

Anyone on this list who does not want to receive further updates, let me know and I will remove you from the list. Otherwise, when I have news to share you will continue to hear from me. Thank all of your for your continued support. A very happy and prosperous, healthy new year to all of you!
​
Tammi

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my efforts to get the old WW2 memorial plaques that once hung in Old Morrison Chapel on Transylvania University’s campus located and re-installed. This past Wednesday the leadership of Transy exceeded my expectations.

I was notified by President Dr. John Williams that they had been found. A few days later one of his staff, Shella called me to let me know they were planning an unveiling ceremony for re-installment. So, wow. Very nice, yet unexpected. I was pleased and she told me to invite my family. A list was made, addresses sent to her for my family to come and be there with me. Another few days later she called again and asked me to speak. Yikes! However, I started this thing and it was only appropriate that I get up there in front of people and say thank you to the people who helped make this effort come to fruition. I told her yes, I would speak, but keep my remarks short.

My remarks were to be added into a program to be given out to attendees. A program? You give programs out for important events. I was getting a little nervous, yet so thrilled that the effort to restore the plaques to their rightful place was being taken seriously.

We arrived at the chapel about half an hour before the ceremony, put away coats and spent time talking with President Williams, his staff and a few people I didn’t expect – Rolling Thunder KY Chapter 5. Another of his staff, Megan had once worked for Veteran’s Affairs and knew of the role of Rolling Thunder in honoring POW/MIA families. I had heard of Rolling Thunder, yet wasn’t really knowledgeable of their mission and activities. I was soon to learn.

Also invited was a representative of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Patrick Sinclair, and from the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, Candace Bradley. Again, unexpected and a very pleasant surprise. They were very sweet, great to speak with and I’m so glad they were included.

The photo of the program goes through the ceremony, so I won’t reiterate that. What was a complete and total surprise was what happened with Rolling Thunder. I knew they were to be part of the ceremony, yet completely missed the meaning of the flag presentation as listed on the program. I had no idea they meant to give one to me. As it was presented to me, wide eyed and crying I was a bit in shock. They then saluted me as a gentleman named Patrick played Taps on a bugle. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I have never been so in shock or so honored. On behalf of my uncle and the 38 other men whose names are on the plaque, I couldn’t have been prouder.

There was a very nice reception afterwards and a chance to speak with many of the attendees. Some things were made very clear to me. First, when you build a project such as this and start having success, it feels great, really the best. But when you have other people who tell you that it actually means something to them – it can be daunting. There’s a sense of pride, yet discomfort because now you feel you have certain expectations, something to live up do. You don’t want to let people down. And so far, I feel the others who have come along on this journey, we’re all on the same page. These folks at the ceremony were these people as well, and kept telling me they admired my persistence in getting the plaques found and put back up. It’s really hard to come up with words to describe how I felt. Let me just say I will keep at it. There’s more to be done and one more plaque to be placed in the waters of the Kula Gulf. Once that’s done, well we’ll see.

Thanks to my family for being there, first my most devoted supporter and husband of nearly 40 years, Greg; my sister Jamie and hubby Jim; Mom; daughter Emily, hubby Matt and grandson Alister. Thanks again to Dr. Williams, Kristin, Megan and Shella! You too B.J.!

Tammi
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*Photos to follow

For the past 3 years I’ve tried to get another task related to my uncle Billy accomplished – get memorial plaques restored to the walls of a historic chapel on the college campus where he spent 4 of the last 6 years of life. Transylvania University​ here in Lexington, KY is a private liberal arts college founded in 1780. People like naturalist Constantine Rafinesque and the Marquis de Lafayette visited there. Rafinesque was a professor at Transy from 1819-1826. He was rumored to have been reinterred in a vault in Old Morrison in 1924, but that has been disproven (thanks B.J.!) Lafayette visited in 1825 while on a tour of the US as a guest of Governor Desha. In 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke at the 175th anniversary celebration there. My uncle Billy had a full academic scholarship here and graduated in 1940 with honors.

Every life-long resident of Lexington is aware of the history of the school and importance of some of the people tied to the campus. While it’s a centuries old and established college, the oldest building currently on campus (other than the original cabin of Robert Patterson, a founding father of Kentucky) is Old Morrison Hall built in 1834. Other than Morrison every building on the campus that was there when Billy was a student has been demolished and replaced. This is significant because of what is in Morrison – the chapel. Back in1947, the classes of 1946-47 dedicated bronze plaques to the Transylvania graduates who gave their lives fighting in WW2, with 39 names including my great-uncle William C. Hedrick, Jr. These plaques were placed on the walls of the chapel and were there for decades. I first saw them in 2010 on a visit to the chapel. Years later in 2016 I walked back in and the chapel had been painted – and the plaques removed. At the time I made an inquiry at the Dean’s office and got no clear answer on why they had not been replaced. I spoke to them of my concerns and hoped someone would take action.

I went back in 2017 and was again surprised to find the walls bare. At that time I wrote a letter to the then-president and got an email back from his administrative assistant stating the plaques were in an office with the facilities manager. They took photos of them to show they were safe, sent them to me and again I hoped someone would write up a work order to restore them to the walls. Wrong again.

In April this year I returned and there were no plaques on the walls. At the time I stopped in to visit with the office of the President (thank you B.J. for the introduction!) and talked with his admin Kristin. We had a conversation where I explained who I was, what I was doing and why those plaques were so important. Mainly, Transylvania was the last real “home” Billy had before he went to war. His years there were full of enlightenment, music, friends, festivities, activities and learning. He thrived there. And being that Morrison is the only building remaining from his time on campus, this is where the plaques need to be and not on the floor in facilities management. At the time of my visit Transy was undergoing a change of leadership, the president leaving and in the process an interim was transitioning in. I gave it a few months for things to settle down and made contact with them again.

Finally, I was able to get a physical meeting with the current leader of the college, President John N. Williams, Jr. this past November 6th. He is a Transy alumni and well aware of the history represented within the hallowed halls and archives housed by the university. The history matters, all history including that of the individuals who pass through the doors and go out into the world. He understood my concerns and agreed that the plaques should be replaced, as in his investigation he found that they had most likely been tossed out or destroyed. I left his office broken-hearted about the original plaques, but buoyed by the fact that he believed they ought to recreate and replace the plaques to also include those graduates lost in other more modern wars. I was assured of being “in the loop” on this project and left feeling more hopeful.

So color me surprised in the most wonderful of ways when I get a phone call today (the 19th) from President Williams telling me that after our meeting they went back and searched again in some of the places they had looked before – and found the plaques!!! I was so relieved I almost cried, and thanked him profusely. Third time’s the charm! As of now there will be a date set for re-installing the plaques and I plan to be on campus for this. My hope is they can contact and invite members of the families of the other men listed on the plaque as well.

I can’t think President Williams enough for his diligence and for believing in what I’m trying to do to keep Billy’s memory and the memories of the other lost men and women alive. Transylvania really came through this time! I’ll post an update when I have a date for the install and try to include photos of the re-installment.  

And thank you B.J. Gooch for your moral support in all this!

-Tammi
*UPDATE: An unveiling ceremony is to be held at Transylvania in Old Morrison Chapel on Wednesday December 11th, with a reception to follow in the President's boardroom. My family and representatives from Transylvania will be invited. I am ever so grateful to President Williams and his staff for coordinating this event!

Well, there's been a little wrench thrown in the monkeyworks. I advised all of you that our program featuring the story of Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. for the Ultimate Survivor WW2 series would air on Monday November 18th at 10 pm EST, based on information from Icon Films who produced the series. First of all, Icon has no input at all on Nat Geo programming, so what has happened is not on them. What has happened, is last Monday in the line up slot for the US WW2 program they instead broadcast Gordon Ramsey. I was very disappointed, as I want to see all of the 6 part series, and thought it was a fluke. This morning I get a concerned phone call from a STRONG kid (thanks Kevin for the heads up) that he has searched ahead and saw that once again, on Monday the 18th they have put in Gordon Ramsey! I can't tell you how upset I am at this development, so I made a phone call to myself to someone I won't name (thanks!) who is helping me look into this. At the same time I found a contact page for Nat Geo programming and sent them a note. I think if every one of you would do the same, and share this with all the others you are in email contact with, we might at least ruffle some feathers. 

Gordon Ramsey can be broadcast at any time. I don't give a flying shite about where he goes or what he's eating and with whom. These WW2 stories are real; real people, real events and they deserve the proper attention. If they set the line up, they need to know these other families are also counting on seeing their stories. So let's inundate them with a few emails, how about it? 

Contact: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/feedback

Not sure if this will help, but it won't hurt to show them our displeasure. 

​Tammi

Update as of 1/21/2020: This from Alex at Icon Films

Hey Tammi and Fitz,

    Hope you guys are well, apologies for not being that responsive via email this side of Christmas, it’s been pretty busy here in the UK!
So I hadn’t been told anything from anyone regarding National Geographic’s decision about where and when the series was broadcast. I had a quick word with one of the managers this morning and they’ve given me the reason why.
    Unfortunately due to low viewing figures in the USA, Nat Geo pulled it from their schedule. This is obviously a massive shame for myself, my team and all of our contributors in the US who have been assisting us and helping us make such a great series. Prior to broadcast, there really wasn’t a lot of promotion for Ultimate Survival WWII, which is what could have caused such low figures. National Geographic is going through a bit of a transition at the moment after being bought out by Disney and it seems this has been happening quite a bit.
    Obviously this isn’t the news any of us wanted to hear, I was hoping it was just postponed and would be aired later but this doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.
    I have more links of the episode which I’ll be happy to send out to you and anyone else who would like a copy. Also I’ve had one of our runners make DVDs over the past week which I’m going to be sending out to all our contributors when I get them back.
    Hope this explains what happened more, although not being the most positive of news.

Best wishes

Alex​

I heard back from Trevor Manning that it's now okay to share a few images from the film shoot on Arundel Island, where Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. recovered from his wounds and engaged with the enemy for 39 days. It was hot, miserable, buggy and remote - but these guys do a hell of a job. I hope you enjoy the photos and get excited about the upcoming episode of Ultimate Survivor WW2 on November 18th!

All photos below are courtesy of National Geographic, Icon Films and Trevor Manning, producer. Thank you all for allowing me to share and for including me in the process!!

​-Tammi

The RV PETREL has taken on the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Over the past few weeks they have made many discoveries of both American and Japanese vessels. Their Facebook page has photos and video of all their discoveries for anyone with an account to view. Eventually their main page (RV PETREL ) will be updated with the new discoveries. For those who do not have Facebook accounts, I wanted to post a few photos and some information about some of the vessels they located.
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From the Battle of Midway they discovered the flagship for the Japanese fleet, the IJN Akagi, an aircraft carrier. Akagi was found most recently and due to equipment malfunction of the ROV, there are no close up photos or video. Perhaps they can find the time to remedy that situation when they return to the South Pacific, but for now we do have the sonar imagery. Akagi was heavily damaged during the battle and scuttled on June 5th, 1942.

The IJN Kaga, also an aircraft carrier was an especially poignant find. Kaga was involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Planes from the USS ENTERPRISE aircraft carrier were responsible for the damage done to Kaga, so severe that this ship was also scuttled on June 4th, 1942. Below is a short video of the find.
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Next to the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Japanese vessel IJN Maga, a battle cruiser. The Maya was torpedoed on October 23, 1944 by the USS DACE. Also found was the IJN Mogami, a heavy cruiser damaged enough in the battle to be scuttled on October 25th, 1944.  

The American vessel found was the USS ST. LO, an escort carrier. The ST. LO was first laid down as the CHAPIN BAY, then underwent the first name change to MIDWAY in April of 1943. She carried that name until October 10th of 1944. Shortly after, she was lost by a kamikaze attack on October 25th, 1944.  I don't have any images of ST. LO. To view the video of the ship, click here: ST. LO.

For more information, access their Facebook page if you can, or watch for the updates on the RV PETREL website. Also check out the page connected to Paul G. Allen’s website. 
PETREL plans to return to the South Pacific next year to cover wrecks from the Battle of Samar. We look forward to the discoveries to come!

All photos and video courtesy of Paul G. Allen, Vulcan, Inc. and the crew of the RV PETREL.  

​-Tammi

I can finally make a MAJOR announcement!!! Back in May this year I was contacted by Trevor Manning, a producer for Icon Films in Bristol, the UK. They do film work for National Geographic and have an amazing repertoire of programming to their credit. I had never heard of them at the time, but boyo do I know of them now! Trevor mentioned in the email that they would be producing a documentary, part of a 6 part series about ultimate survival stories and they had chosen the story of Miller and his time on Arundel Island after the sinking of STRONG as one of the subjects. He asked if I would consider working with them on this, and could we talk on the phone soon. Hm. 

It took me about a millisecond to respond to his email and about 2 hours later I received a phone call from his office in England. We had our first chat and it was just wonderful. He was charming, engaging and really interested in my input. I was able to hook him up with Stephen Harding and Fitz Miller, and things progressed nicely from there. What really thrilled me is that they came to me first. He'd found my website and contacted me through my email portal. Icon came to me first, and that was a rush. 

Over the months that followed we emailed frequently and spoke a few more times. I knew when they headed to Arundel (now Kohinngo) Island for the shoot. When he returned, he sent me loads of beautiful photos from the island. We last spoke a little over a week ago and he asked me to send him a STRONG ball cap. Below is a photo of Trevor proudly wearing the cap. And finally, we have some idea when the series will be broadcast. They will start in the UK, then move on to the US and Australia. Once I have these dates I will post them as an update here on the blog page. And even cooler, myself and the website will be listed at the end in the credits! That's a first that I really appreciate! I just hope it results in more people finding the site and contacting me. 

Now that I can talk about it, I need to get permission to share some photos (hope to post some soon). The crew shooting the program goes through some crazy stuff to get this done. What they put up with, the heat, the hardships, chasing the host Hazen Audel, dodging bugs, animals and who knows what else - It's an amazing, dangerous job. I really hope to meet these guys some day!

Thanks again so much Icon Films, Trevor Manning, Hazen Audel and everyone at Icon!

Tammi

*Update: the US broadcast of this series should start on October 28th! Get ready to enjoy these 6 amazing programs, especially the one featuring Lt. Miller!
​

So I noticed that I'm getting a plethora of hits from Paris, France in anticipation of the release of Escape From Paris in a few days. For the benefit of a good friend and because I know this will be another spectacular book and a story well told, follow these links for more information or to pick up a copy. 
(*image of book from Hachette site.
​
​Hachette site: Escape From Paris

Purchase on Amazon: EFP buy it

​*A few talking points from a press release provided by Steve. I did a little selective editing to turn the bullets into paragraphs. 

"Escape From Paris tells the true story of a group of American aviators shot down over German-occupied France on a single mission—the July 14, 1943 (Bastille Day) raid on Le Bourget airfield outside Paris—and the courageous French family that sheltered them. The book crosses the traditional boundaries of World War II history by blending aerial combat action, a true story of wartime love, the back-alley intrigue of a spy novel, and the courageous tale of two strong and resilient women who survived multiple Nazi concentration camps. The story as told reminds us that the majority of individuals who helped Allied aviators evade capture were women—most men were either working as forced labor in Germany, still in German POW camps, or members of armed resistance groups in the field. The brave individuals who aided Allied personnel faced torture and execution or shipment to the living hell of the camps if caught by the Germans or their collaborators.
 EFP is the result of the author’s discovery of the personal papers of those at the heart of the story; his extraordinary access to areas of Napoleon’s Tomb and the Hôtel des Invalides normally off-limits to the public; his extensive research in American, French, British and German archives; and his interviews with the now-98 year old woman who long ago changed the course of an American flyer’s life. By focusing on the Americans—and those who aided them--EFP illustrates a larger story: European individuals and resistance groups helped some 6,000 Allied military personnel evade capture and return to friendly territory to fight again another day.
 That important contribution to the Allied victory in Europe should not be overlooked as we celebrate the 75th anniversaries of World War II events through 2019 and 2020."

​-Tammi 

*Update 10/6/2019, link to radio interview with WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota.

**Update 10/12/2019: link to Cyrus Webb interview.
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