I thought it might be time to share a bit more of ship's lore by blogging excerpts from some of Wellings' letters. When I went to the Naval War College in April, I brought home 293 JPEG's of photos and documents, and wish I had the time to make copies of more letters and other documents. The captain's letters give some wonderful insight into daily events of ship life, the people they met in various ports, funny things that happened hanging out in port, movies they watched and even some blurbs about the actions of war. For instance, when they left Brooklyn in late December of 1942, they assumed they were headed to duty in South America, and mentally prepared for such duty. He was concerned about what his wife was thinking, and because their mail delivery was held up, he had no idea what her fears and concerns were. There had been no time to alert their families that their mission had changed. The guys on the ship didn't even get any mail from home until the end of February! In his letter to wife Dolly dated March 1st, 1943, he writes:
“No, I had no information that we were going west until we arrived in Panama and I was ordered through the canal. The Atlantic destroyers returned north and we kept going. I was also sad as you could probably tell from my letters. However it had to happen sometime, and perhaps it was for the best. We have got to get on with this war and good destroyers are needed here in the Pacific.”
In our time of instant communication with texting, Skype, email and cell phones, it's hard to imagine waiting weeks to learn about changes in the destination of your loved one aboard a ship. And how different could their destiny have been if they hadn't gotten those orders to proceed west through the canal? There are so many “what if's” in there, they could fill the back of a semi. He was not allowed to tell his men that their orders had been changed until they were well under way, on their way to the Pacific.
Over time, I'll share more of the Captain's thoughts and experiences as captain of “a snappy well trained organization.” I hope you enjoy learning more about STRONG and her crew.
-Tammi
“No, I had no information that we were going west until we arrived in Panama and I was ordered through the canal. The Atlantic destroyers returned north and we kept going. I was also sad as you could probably tell from my letters. However it had to happen sometime, and perhaps it was for the best. We have got to get on with this war and good destroyers are needed here in the Pacific.”
In our time of instant communication with texting, Skype, email and cell phones, it's hard to imagine waiting weeks to learn about changes in the destination of your loved one aboard a ship. And how different could their destiny have been if they hadn't gotten those orders to proceed west through the canal? There are so many “what if's” in there, they could fill the back of a semi. He was not allowed to tell his men that their orders had been changed until they were well under way, on their way to the Pacific.
Over time, I'll share more of the Captain's thoughts and experiences as captain of “a snappy well trained organization.” I hope you enjoy learning more about STRONG and her crew.
-Tammi
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