Story also posted on Fold3.com Leo Nicholas survived one sinking but was KIA by a kamikaze on the USS Hadley. Leo Arnold Nicholas was among the thousands of young men who enlisted in the Navy after the attack at Pearl Harbor. He was born February 20, 1917, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was 24 when he enlisted on 15 December 1941in …
Bob Bell recalls the Black Widow night fighter
Bob Bell was a sonarman on the USS Hadley. He shared an updated story recently. On the night of 10-11 May 1945, a Night Fighter plane based at Okinawa was scrambled to intercept a Japanese patrol plane/bomber 75 miles out. Bell was on mid-watch outside the sonar room. “I had the mid-watch from midnight of the 11th to 0400. I …
Leo P. Helling S1/c
1928 – 2019 Hadley shipmate Leo Helling was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. He joined the Hadley crew in 1944 at the age of 18. His shipmate buddies included Don Hile, Ralph Fuhr, Vernon Frank and the gun crew of the quad 40mm portside mount. “From day one on the Hadley the the 43 mount was my battle …
Ken Meyer commissions Hadley model
In honor of GM3/c Barton W. Webb, his grandson, Ken Meyer has commissioned a model of the USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774). The recently completed model is now proudly dispayed in Meyers office. Webb was on one of the guns that was hit by a kamikaze on 11 May 1945. He was wounded and received a Purple Heart. (double click …
Cruising during 19th Reunion
In 2012, the Hadley shipmates, friends and family gathered in Texas for their 19th reunion. One of the outings was a cruise on the famed San Antonio River Walk. Thirteen shipmates attended along with 50 others. Two river boats were needed to carry everyone from the Hadley crew. Tom English and Doug Aitken organized this and most of the previous …
Hadley shipmate Leo Polek passed away
Hadley shipmate Leo J. Polek GM3/c passed away in 2016. He was 93. He is survived by his wife, Tina who is living in Massapequa Park, NY. Leo served in the Navy and Coast Guard from 1942 to 1962 and retired as a Chief Petty Officer. In an interview for the book Kamikaze Destroyer, Leo gave the following narrative. Leo …
New Hadley stories in “Kamikaze Terror”
New details about the USS Hadley and stories about doznes of other ships and crews are revealed in this companion book. The photos were provided by the Vernon Frank family. Click on the headline to read more and see photos of Hadley crewmembers. L-R: Vernon Frank, Leo “Dutch” Helling, Bill Tindell, and Ed Fryor
Shipmate Dell Hall honored in Aberdeen SD
STARS AMD STRIPES By Katherine Grandstrand | The American News (Tribune News Service) | Published: September 7, 2016 Dell Burt Hall knew Wednesday’s veterans’ coffee at the Aberdeen Area Senior Center in Aberdeen, S.D. would feature a short film about the 1945 South Pacific battle in which he fought. He didn’t know the day would be about him. “It just …
Tom English gone but always remembered
by Jeff Veesenmeyer 28 February 2016 Tom English passed away last week. He was 89. Tom had struggled the past year from the effects of Bell’s Palsy. In his holiday letter, Tom wrote, “This year has not been a good one or even a great one. I have had several trips to the hospital…the only good thing …
Shipmate Victor Woodruff takes final voyage
Victor Woodruff passed away in October of 2015. He was 89, married to his second wife Erma, of 22 years. She sent his obituary and a nice note to notify his Hadley shipmates, family and friends. Erma wrote… “He was always proud of his ship…I have a framed photo of him on the wall from the one year that …