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Old 4th November 2016, 05:19
Raponda Raponda is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: Nakajima torpedo bombers

Thanks, Snautzer.I appreciate youtaking the time to post.

This is one case where Wikipedia is in error so I want to correct the record quickly. Wikipedia's entry is based on a wildly inaccurate press release distributed 10 months after the action by the the War Shipping Administration, "American Merchant Marine Ships in Action in the Pacific During World War II" Odlin - Maritime 62 PR 2404 (W)"

My late father, Herman Melton, third engineer on the Saugrain was aboard when it was torpedoed. In preparing his memoirs, he and I located 7 others also on board who contributed to his upcoming book, "Liberty's War about his experiences on four Liberty ships. I am hoping that one of the benefits of the book will be to counter the false WSA story that is now more than 70 years old. There were no casualties on the Saugrain, and merchant seamen did not man the machine guns. The Saugrain was the only ship in the convoy, Task Unit 76.4.7, that failed to reach Tacloban, Leyte, so the author did not confuse the Saugrain with one of her sister ships. I think it was simply the overblown imagination of a p.r. flack at WSA.

When the book is published in May, I'll post an announcement on 12 O'Clock High for those interested in the Merchant Marine. The book also tells an interesting story of his voyage to Murmansk in one of the North Russian convoys. Best wishes and thanks again for your post! Will
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