Utterly fascinating account of a very significant part of our history which most people now days are not aware of. Thanks very much for making this available in this format.

By Jim Coile on Sep 10, 2008 at 4:55 pm

My Dad was chief firecontrol man on the Gwin in this battle. I never know of this or the other 7 fighting engagements he was in until he finally started talking about it late in his seventies after I pestered him for information. I will never forget the first time I heard his version of the story. To the men on the destroyers, they felt Halsey was sending in four expendable destroyers to draw the Japanese fire and blunt their attack to allow the battlewagons to come to bear. They were ready and willing to do this.

He told me that they could hear the shelling in the firecontrol room and when they were hit, several times, he said the ship lifted and dropped, and they talked to each other about their coming deaths.

My Dad talked about the Washington as if she was a troop of rescuing cavalry.

I marvel as I read this story about the charachter of these people who so casually put themselves in harms way and NEVER talked about their heroism. To my father, as is true of so many of these men, he was just doing his job.

My thanks for all of the additional info. My brother and I have always been interested in filling in the details of our father’s naval career. It is a sobering reminder that at best, we are only very small chips off of a very big block.

By Ralph Cooper on Jan 8, 2009 at 3:25 pm

I would like to point out a little know fact about this battle. The captain of the Preston, CAPT Goldsbourough S Patrick and the USS Washington’s gunnery officer CMD Edwin B Hooper were brother n laws. CAPT Patrick went on to retire as a RADM and the NAVY IG under Burke. CDR Hooper went on to retire as a VADM and the Navy Historian. To answer the question of how do I know this, they are my great uncles both of whom I am very proud of and very honored to be related to.

By ROBERT EDWARDS on May 12, 2009 at 11:49 pm

The following is a biography of the VADM Patrick note the portion concerning the commisioning of the preston and its service time. It is my understand from family history that the preston at Guadicanal is the same preston.

CAPTAIN GOLDSBOROUGH S. PATRICK, USN
Captain, USS WISCONSIN 6/11/54-9/3/55
was born on Goat Island, San Francisco CA. He was the son of Chaplain Bower Reynolds Patrick, the senior Chaplain of the Navy. Admiral Patrick had a distinguished Navy career,, culminating in his appointment as inspector general of the Navy in 1963. He was Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in the Netherlands. His early assignments aboard the AUGUSTA, POPE and the FARRAGUT in the Pacific established him as an innovator in ordnance and gunnery. As gunnery officer, he participated in the development of the concept of a combat information center to integrate the data available from new technologies being introduced into the fleet. In the summer of 1941 he served as a commander of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. His directive that ships moored in Pearl Harbor store live ammunition in their gun mounts contributed to the resistance of the Japanese attack. In 1943 he commissioned the PRESTON, under his command for the duration of the war in the Pacific. He was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with his command of the PRESTON during the assaults on the islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima in 1945, He received a letter of commendation with ribbon for meritorious service, the Bronze Star Medal and a Gold Star. He assumed command of the WISCONSIN 11 June 1954. Retired as RADM

By ROBERT EDWARDS on May 13, 2009 at 12:04 am