Tag: USS Carr

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No Kings Protest / USS Carr Hat

As I have detailed elsewhere on this blog my mother’s brother,  my Uncle Paul, died heroically in the largest naval battle in history.  You can read about it here: Paul H. Carr inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. Besides being inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame for his heroic action he had a missile frigate named after him, the USS Paul H. Carr, FFG-52.  There are several books of naval history that include his story.  Obviously, having a Navy ship named after a family member is a huge honor, and all the family is rightly very proud of it.  There is also a movement afoot to have one of the new class of missile frigates named after him.  Hopefully, that comes to past.

I have several USS Carr hats, a couple shirts, etc.  I wore them for years to honor my uncle.  A few years past I stopped wearing them as it had become very fashionable to thank veterans.  I became very tired of people coming up to me and thanking me for my service.  More than a few wanted to shake my hand, something I am not comfortable with in the best of circumstances.  Most importantly, I did not want Continue reading “No Kings Protest / USS Carr Hat”

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Not a Weak One in the Bunch

Click to see picture bigger
Click to see picture bigger

One of my family members put together this pictorial  essay of the “Carr Sisters” to pass out at the inaugural reunion of sailors who served on the USS Carr, FFG-52.  Their first reunion was in the hometown of Paul Henry Carr, Checotah, Oklahoma, and the descendants of my mother’s parents were very involved and part of the reunion also.

The top picture includes Continue reading “Not a Weak One in the Bunch”

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YouTube Playlists: USS Carr and Paul Henry Carr

USS Samuel B Roberts DE-413 in October 1944 before being lost in the Battle of Leyete Gulf

My cousin Nancy of WWND fame… WWND being What Would Nancy Do...  One of my brothers and I were on a backpacking trip and having a discussion about a hypothetical moral dilemma.  We were of differing opinions, but I resolved it to both our satisfactions by asking, “What would Nancy Milam do?”

Anyway, I wander…  Nancy had a box of VCRs related to the USS Carr and Paul Henry Carr.  Two subjects which the 3.141592 regular readers of my blog will know about.  I took her videos and digitized them.  After all, VCRs have gone the way of 8-track tape players.  “What,” I can hear the younger generations asking, “are 8-track tapes?”  Future generations may well find all our digital files are  unreadable  also.   Ultimately, you need the right technology to access them.

Anyway, I wander again… Once I had them digitized I uploaded them to YouTube and placed them in a playlist Continue reading “YouTube Playlists: USS Carr and Paul Henry Carr”

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USS Carr Crew Reunion with Carr Family

This last weekend Señora and I went to Checotah, Oklahoma. On the very long shot chance you do not know about Checotah, it is the birthplace of yours truly.  Way back in 1952 there was actually a three bed hospital in Checotah on 3rd street where I was born, delivered by Dr. N. E. Cornstubble.  It is also the home of Carrie Underwood and the Steer Wresting Capital of the World, having many champion steer wrestlers from around Checotah.  When I was a kid there was a rodeo arena within walking distance of my grandmother’s house, and we used to walk down there to watch them practice.  If you are a fan of cowboy clothes you will know about the line of cowboy shirts from Wrangler named Checotah.

My great grandparents and grandparents farmed/sharecropped in this part of Oklahoma, ending up in Continue reading “USS Carr Crew Reunion with Carr Family”

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Video Reveals Wreck of USS Samuel B Roberts Found! WW2 Destroyer Escort DE-413

A video of the “Sammy B” 4 miles down and a bit of the story of the discovery

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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.

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PBS Video of Interview with the last survivor of the Samuel B Roberts

This is the ship that Paul Henry Carr served on and died on… Paul Henry Carr was my mother’s brother, and for many years there was a US Navy missile frigate on active duty that borne his name.

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Thank you for your service…Maybe

I have an interesting problem that has cropped up in the last 5 or 6 weeks.  I have several caps and shirts with the emblem from the FFG-52, USS Carr on them.  I wear the hats a bunch.  Partly because I like the way they look, but mainly in honor of my Uncle Paul H. Carr.  The ship was named after him for his heroic actions in WWII.

I’ve been doing this for years.  The ship was actually decommissioned a few years ago.  So a rough estimate would be 25 years or more.   Occasionally folks will ask me about the hat.  What has been really cool over the years is how many folks I have run into that have served on the ship.  When they see the hat they frequently come over to talk to me.  I have had some very nice conversations Continue reading “Thank you for your service…Maybe”