Tag: Leyte Gulf

Posted on

USS Samuel B. Roberts shipwreck found

This is a huge deal for my family.  As readers of my blog may know this is the ship, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413), that my Uncle Paul died on during WW II.  He was the gunnery captain on aft 5 inch gun that blew up after the ship lost power and they were firing and loading manually.  For his bravery in this action he received the Silver Star and for 30 years there was a missile frigate, the USS Paul Henry Carr (FFG-52) floating around the seas on various naval missions. Quite an honor for my uncle and for our family.

Here are some links to the stories on the finding of the shipwreck:

Explorers find USS Samuel B. Roberts shipwreck

World’s deepest shipwreck, the Sammy B, is discovered by explorers

Explorers found the USS Samuel B. Roberts, which sunk 78 years ago holding off an overwhelming Japanese battle group

BBC article: USS Samuel B Roberts: World’s deepest shipwreck discovered

In 2018 my Uncle Paul was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.  At the time I wrote a blog article about that experience:

Paul H. Carr inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame

I am sure there will be more coming out on this discovery as the story just broke a few days ago.

And so it goes.

Posted on

Paul H. Carr inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame

My uncle, Paul H. Carr, is a man of legend in my mother’s family.  He was one of 9 surviving children, 8 of whom were girls, with my mother as the youngest.  I don’t know the exact date, but my grandparents divorced, something very unusual for that period of time.  This left my grandmother to raise the last part of the brood by herself.  She did whatever was necessary to keep all fed, housed and clothed. While doing that, she was famous for helping those in need who were not part of her family. It was just who she was.   In many ways my grandmother, aka Mama Carr, is also a family legend.  Proof of this was the summers at Mama Carr’s house where “The Sisters” would faithfully return with their own broods to stay for various lengths of time. I remember that there always seemed to be a gang of cousins there.  I believe “The Sisters” truly revered my grandmother.

Paul H. Carr came of age, and by this I mean he graduated high school, right in the middle of War World II.  He was an only son, he was a farm boy, it would have been easy for him to have gotten a deferment and stay out of the war.  Like so many of his generation he chose not to.  He chose country and patriotism   above all other considerations.  I’m not quite sure why Continue reading “Paul H. Carr inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame”

Posted on

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer available at Amazon.com

tincan1I don’t normally read books on war or military actions. I originally started to read this book because my mother’s brother is Paul Henry Carr. He died in this battle.

I remember hearing stories about him almost the whole time I was growing up. My grandmother would every once in a great while bring out his medals and show them to us grandkids. I think it made her proud and sad all at the same time. I remember a comic book about the battle that I believe was published by the Navy that she kept around the house. His sisters talked about him for many years like he had taken a trip to the coast and would be back soon. Continue reading “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors”