Casa Grande Dispatch from Casa Grande, Arizona • Page 2

Commanded One of Two PT Boats Which Took McArfhur Back to Corregidor By JOECANNON Staff Writer Japanese bombs falling on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941, set in motion the Navy career of Dr. Mel Everingham of Casa Grande, flrcn a Nebraska college senior and now an administrator of the Final County Community College District. "That World War II Navy career took its shape when the Tiedgling officer-to-be heard exploits told by PT boat commanders who had taken Gen.BouglasMacArthur off of Corregidor and had fought a delaying action as U.S. forces were destroyed in the Philippines, 1 Itseemedtogofullcyclewhentheyoungofficer, thena veteran of months of fast-paced combat, commanded one of the two PT boats which took MacArthur back for his dramatic "return" to Corregidor as the Japanese were reeling in 'And in between fee took part in the battle in which PT-109, commanded by president-to-be John F.

Kennedy, was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands, making Kennedy a All these memories, filed away with the scrapbooks and souvenirs, were revived for Everingham when he attended his first reunion of PT boaters in San Diego over the Labor Day CAC Chief Skippered PT Boats in South Pacific pt Everingham, now 57, is the Final County Community College District's vice president of academic affairs and as president designate is scheduled to take over the reins of the district next Navy Lieutenants John D. Bulkeley and Robert B. Kelly then came on the scene. They had commanded PT boats which fought a delaying action against the Japanese in the Philippines and then took General MacArthur and his party from Corregidor to Mindanao for evacuation to Australia. On a war bond tour, they talked to Everingham's class.

"Three hundred of us out of the class of 1,000 volunteered for PT boat duty," he said. "They selected 50 to go into PT boats, and I wasoneofthem.Tothisdayldon'tknowwhy." It was the first real opportunity for Midwesterners to get PT boat duty, he said. Up to that time the assignments had gone to regular Navy and to the names like Kennedy and Vanderbilt from the east coast, with yacht and small boat experience. Everingham was sent to Melville, R.L, headquarters for PT boat training. "At that time, I was truly one of those 90-day wonders they talked about.

After 30 days training on PT boats, I was ready to go out and fight the war," That was in December of 1942. He was sent to Panama to join Squadron Five, consisting at that time of six boats, 103 through 108. The squadron's other six boats had been shipped to the The boots were 80 feet long, 20 feet wide, made of plywood, and powered with three Packard engines of 1,800 horsepower each. With that much horsepower, they had a lot of Pacific as replacements for Squadrons Two and Three The 109 was one of those boats, destined to come under the Hiscareer in educational administration, taken up in Nebraska after World War II, was interrupted by a return to Navy daty during the Korean action. He later went to Iowa, became the founding president of a community college, and then came to Final County to accept the challenge of a growing college program.

Dining WWII about 39 squadrons of PT boats were commissioned, totaling about 350 boats. Approximately 15,000 men served "Most of us after the war just wanted to forget all those experiences," Everingham said. But several years ago J. M. "Boats" Newberry, owner of a Memphisservice station supply firm, became interested in trying So locate all those who served on the PT boats.

He now has names and addresses of about 7,000 of them, an organization, "PT Boats Inc." has been formed as a non-profit Corporation, and a newspaper is published quarterly. The group also has selected Battleship Cove at Fall River, as the site for a PT Boat museum and library. TheSan Diegoconvenlion was the fifth annual such event by the PT boaters, Everingham said, and the first one he has attended. 'Three hundred of us out of the class of 1,000 volunteered for PT boat duty. They selected 50 to go into PT boats, and I was one of them.

To this day I don't know Everingham commanded PT Boat 107, and later PT Boat 372 in ettfoyed the convention because it was the first time in 30 years I had seen anybody from the 107," he said. "Six of us from iSTs original crew were present in San Diego." 107 had a crew of two officers and nine enlisted men Everingham said the unusual circumstance of more than half of that crewshowingup in San Diegoprobably was because they had been corresponding with each other several months before the convention, making plans to attend. rHiswifealsoenjoyedthe convention, Evenngham said, it was liicy's first exposure to FT boaters." PT boats are still in commission and the Navy had one of them therefor toe convention, although the armament and power wetotaUydifferentthanthosemuseinWorldWarll. lEveringham was a senior at Wayne Sute College in Wayne, when Japanese bombs fefl on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941, propelling the U.S.

into World War II. headed for Omaha to enlist the next day," said EVeringham of himself and several classmates. "Most of us Acidedon the Navy, I don't knowexactly why, and they talked us idtoenlistingin the V-7 officer candidate program. Then they sent back to college to completeour senior years," Navy called them to active duty on graduation, and Everingham was sen', irstto Notre Dame for an intensive 30 days of training with empnasis on physical conditioning, and then to Northwestern University with a class of about 1.000 Naval officers. was two officers on the 107 Lt Robert Montgomery of motion picture fame had been tn command of 107 and left the day Everingham arrived The 107 executive officer, Lt.

Cookman, moved up to skipper and Everingham became 107's exec officer, second in command PT107 was an Elco boat, built by the Elco Corp. of Bayonne, made various PT boats of diffenng were SOfeet long, 20 feet wide.made of plywood, and JwwdwK tivree Packard engines of 1,800 horsepower each with three screws and three rudders. 4S SaUmTchhorsepower they had a lot ofspeed and a lot maWerabuity," Everingham said. "Top speed of the 107 was 51 40to 50knots was a ra T40 Armament included four four depth charges, a 40 mnS aft, or on the rear end.a20 mm gun twotwm turrets of The 37 mm guns had been taken from the noses of fighter rianes theBeU Aircobra model, which had not proved too suc- trajectory nw TOP RRIDGE of PT-107, Dr. Mel Everingham, then a runVofflcertotoe U.S Navy, struck this pose on the motor holds a machine gun slug which he retrieved from Ms DearoH boattawhlch he fought alongside John F.

Kennedy's the battle with Japanese ships which the captain of WtbSlworidWar USolomon Islands campaign. PT-107 was kflled. Everingham, then exesuUve officer, was AMONG SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL accumulated from his World War II days as a PT boat commander, Everingham holds a machine gun slug which he retrieved from his bedroll IS tUfcC-1 t-ilt PT-107 was killed. Everfnghsm, then executive office-, was elevated to skipper of the craft and commanded PT boats most of the rest of the war. (Staff Photo) fGutm UlttM a 8 sea tt erfisted men ln dSngmTee machinist mates, torpedoman, a gunner's mate, a Five were JNE is ARAFURA SEA Jl-I the battle for Guadalcanal, and was headquartered at Tulagi.

today fay anyone who didn't live through that period, but he can verTvividly the big sign on the hfU as squadron.came tooTulagi Harbor. It said "Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill More Japs! andwas signed by Admiral William F. "BuWHalsey. Sep Kr PT boats was to go nightte groups of three living about 6 p.m. and running at high speed for two to two and one-half hours, getting behind eMm hiding out in the dark and awaiting enemy ship traffic.

Usually Naval inteUigence had briefedftem on what toexpect. First action for the 107 involved intercepting three destroyers "We got into position to fire torpedoes, went into close range less than 2,000 yards, and fired. We got credit for a hit, but a EVERINGHAM SAW ACTION in command of PT-107 in the Solomon Islands and New Britain at lower right of this map Kennedy's PT-109 was one of the 12. Everingham was still exec officer of PT 107 which was the lead boat on the left side of the formation. PT 109 was the lead boat on side of the division, which was spread out about five The Jaoanese had taken out bulkheads and much of the interior a taffl to make them fast, although they were "We could outrun them except in heavy seas SS, taCS PT headquarters and staging Squadrons Four, Five Six Nine and Ten for told them would be coming downthe slot that Bougainville, uppermost Island of the Solomons.

THIS WAS THE CREW of PT-J72 which com- mandNi in the latter RlJigw of World War II in the Philippine islands and Borwo campaigns. Kvcringham is third from left on top This crew was larger than the 1 l-man crew on PT-107 which Everingham commanded in the Soloman Islands before being sent back to the states briefly in a training role. "Instead of coming down the slot, the Japanese outsmarted us. They came aroun-J the back side of an island and up on our blind side, approaching us from the rear while our boats were motionless in the water," Everingham said. "Ope of the destroyers rammed 109, cutting it in two and setting it afire.

I could see the fire and explosion but didn 't know what had He said PT 107 got into position, fired its torpedoes, and withdrew as instructed. was very confusing. I don't know to this day what actually happened. We didn't know until the next morning that 109 was lost, and assumed all hands had gone down with the boat," he said. The two PT boats with 109 should Jiave stayed with the boat, Everingham said.

"We were instructed to stay with our buddies until we knew for sure that there was no opportunity for survival, but for some unknown reason, the other two boats with 109 did not stay with the damaged boat." They learned later that half of the boat had remained afloat and Kennedy and the surviving crewmen climbed aboard. Two had been killed and there were several wounded. The story has been told of the 109 crew making its way to an island, of Kennedy's heroics in seeking rescue, and finally getting word to U.S. forces by having friendly natives carry a message carved on a coconut shell. "The last time I saw Kennedy during the war was when the PT boaters brought him into Rendova Harbor.

He had a back injury and was pretty wen exhausted. He was taken to sick bay, and then shipped back to the States." Everingham's association with Kennedy was that of one officer to another, for a period of about nine months. "I knew he was the son of some multi-millionaire, but I hadn't identified him as a future president of the United States. I thought he was a pretty common guy and a friendly person. He was just oneof us and didn't try to be different." The squadrons went on up the line, taking part in the invasion of Bougainville and then Green Island, as well as making several runs on Rabaul in New Britain Islands.

"We wouldrun over there and try to intercept shipping," PT-107'sskipper was killed in one of the battles before Bougainville. Everingham took over as commander. An ensign was assigned as exec officer. Everingham told of the action in which the skipper was kiHed. "He took a small-caliber bullet right in the head while he was in the cockpit of the boat.

We were attacking barges that night and took a lot of return fire." Another member of the crew was wounded in the same action. "The next morning I found this slug in my blanket. I saved it as a souvenir." he said, displaying a steel-jacketed slug which appeared to be comparable to a U.S. .50 caliber machine gun bullet. The blanket had been folded and stuffed up in a bulkhead in his quarters about two feet below where he was standing.

"That night we suffered the only casualties during the entire year and a half I served aboard 107," Everingham said. "In all of our combat, casualties were not very high. I attribute it to our speed and maneuverability. Going in fast, retreating fast." The troop-and supply-hauling barges were used for inter-island transportation by the Japanese and were good targets for the PT boats. "They were made of wood and were slow.

No match for the PT boats. I'd hesitate to say how many barges we sank. And we knocked down several Japanese planes We were credited with hits on several destroyers." In its most intense six months of action, FT 107 went out about two nights out of every three and engaged in about 40 combat missions involving exchange of gunfire or firing of torpedoes. Biggest enemies of the PT boats became Japanese float planes "which would come out at night and bomb us and we would never see them until they were right on top of us," and shore batteries "becaase we operated very close to the shoreline of the South Pacific, and later in the war in command of PT- 372 in the Phillipines and Borneo at upper left. "We did battle with a cruiser one night," said Everingham, describing the biggest antagonist his PT boar took on.

"We fired torpedoes and got close enough that they caught us in their ilights They turned and chased us but we outran them." jiarly in the war, when the United States was short on destroyers and sending most of its destroyer strength for convoy duty in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. PT boats in the Pacific were assigned all sorts of duties including engaging Japanese destroyers. "When American destroyers became more plentiful, our mission changed from fighting big ships to attacking small craft such as tugs, barges, harbor craft and inter-island transportation," Everingham said. He was sent back to the U.S. in the spring of 1944 and assigned to PT boat headquarters at Melville.

R.I. in a training role. "I thought I would get some choice stateside duty, but after four months, I wasordered back to the war zone," he recalled. He reported to Squadron 27 the Palau Islands east of the Philippines and took command of PT-372. From there he moved to the invasion of the Philippines.

"It was the same type of duty again, fighting and shooting, but the big difference in the Philippines action was that the United States had gained control of the air. "We didn't get much trouble from Japanese planes and were more free to roam great distances." Squadron 27 operated from Leyte, taking part in all of the major battles for the Philippines, moved to Subic Bay, still a major U.S Seven days offer Corregidor fell, PT-373 and PT-372 were assigned a historic mission, taking McArthur back to Corregidor, from where he had fled in the early days of the war. Navy base, and fought in the battles around Corregidor and Seven days after Corregidor fell, PT-373 and PT-372 were assigned an historic mission, taking MacArthur back to Corregidor, from where he bad fled in the early days of the war. "PT-373 was the lead boat and carried MacArthur and his close staff. Our boat had a bunch of generals, colonels and majors, and about 40 photographers.

"When 373 nosed in, MacArthur stepped from the boat to the jetty, then down the wharf and into shallow water, from where he waded ashore. "No photos were allowed until he was wading ashore. Arid he had had the beach decorated with parachutes. "I can still see him, in the dark glasses, and the pipe." Everingham said the only photographer on his boat he got acquainted with was Carl Mydans, a Life Magazine photographer who won more fame in the Korean war. "He was really upset because MacArthur wouldn't allow any photos on the boat, only when he was wading ashore," Everingham said.

"It was a great event to take part in, and it made me feel I had. completed full cycle. I got into PT boats because of Bulkeley and-: Kelly who had evacuated MacArthur from Corregidor, and 1 took" part in getting him back to Corregtdor." From there. Squadron 27 went to the southern part of the Philippines and then down to Borneo where the Japanese were still fighting at the end of the war. A couple of his men were wounded in action on PT-372 but nothing major.

Everingham returned to civilian life, but the Navy wouldn't let him resign his commission. He went on inactive duty but didn't change his classification. "A mistake I recognized in 1950 when I was recalled during the Korean War. I told the Navy they had any PT boats I could help them, but that I didn't know anything about the rest of the Navy "The Navy won thai argument and I was sent to Japan, and See CAC Chief, Page 3.