The Gaffney Ledger from Gaffney, South Carolina • Page 1

"me Weeikly I JGER Bulk Rate U.S. Postage Paid The Gaffney Ledger, Inc. Car-Rt-Sort 1 YOUR COMMUNITy NEWSRAgERlSERyiNa MORElTHAKsl6H)ft CHEROKEE COUNTY HOUSEHOLDS. Vol. 1t NO.

26 TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1993 FREE Gaffney native survived horrors of war, but lost life to ill-fated bullet at home Its 1 'I EDITOR'S NOTE: A recent request of this newspaper for information from a man doing research on the 1941 Battle of the Atlantic resulted in Mrs. Helen C. Mosely sharing information on her brother. DyCODYSOSSAMON Executive Edftor Floyd Bob Coyle survived a German torpedo in the Atlantic Ocean and a Japanese kamikaze in the Pacific Ocean only to be ruled, ma nometown of uaflney by a bullet meant for another. Coyle was serving on the U.S.

destroyer Reuben James when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat on October 31, 1941, west of Iceland. The Reuben James was These sailors were saved when the USS Reuben James was torpedoed in the North Atlantic. Survivors of the destroyer hoist W.N. Bergstresser, CMM, only surviving CPO, to their shoulders as they arrive at the receiving ship USS Seattle in New York. They were landed from the USS Algorab, auxiliary navy vessel, which brought home 37 of the 45 survivors.

Arrow is pointing to Gaffnes Floyd Bob Coyle. the first U.S. naval ship sunk in the European theater. Only 45 men survived the attack, while 100 were killed. Coyle, 21 years old at the time, was pictured and quoted in several newspaper accounts of the incident The boat was virtually spilt in two," he said.

After jumping into the water, Coyle said he splashed about for about 20 minutes and then was pulled aboard a raft "I could hardly stand the noise," he related. "Men were screaming and shouting, asking to be saved. I could hear them but I could not see them. There must have been at least 50 of them around in the water." He added that the ship sunk about 15 minutes after being hit American ships were at the time escorting merchant vessels operating in the North Atlantic The U.S. was considered neutral.

According to Helen Mosely, Coyle's sister, not until several days after the sinking did the family learn from the Navy that Floyd had survived the attack. "We, of course, were anxiously awaiting any news. On. Nov. 3 about 11 p.m.

we got the glad news from the Navy Dept that Floyd had been rescued. Oh, what a happy time for Mama and all of us," she wrote in a 1985 letter. Coyle came home to Gaffney on leave, which was cut short by the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to the Nashville, a light cruiser in the South Pacific, which carried Gen. Douglas MacArthur on three invasions.

News reports of the kamikaze attack on the Nashville listed casualties as 133 killed and wounded- The attack occurred off the southern tip of the Negros Island about 1 p.m. Dec. 13 when '1 sr 1 lookouts spotted a single-engine enemy fighter diving out of the clouds at terrific speed from 5,000 feet The pilot appeared to be heading for a ship astern of the Nashville, but at the last moment he made a quick turn and aimed for the bridge of the Nashville," one newspaper account related. "Loaded with heavy bombs beneath each wing, the suicide plane hit the barrel of a 40 mm gun on the cruiser's port side aft and sent the plane crashing amidships," the article continued. "Explosions sprayed the plane's gasoline and flames extended more than 70 feet forward on the ship.

Ready ammunition on deck exploded in the midst of the towering flames," it read. Although the ship did not sink, it was heavily damaged and Coyle once again miraculously escaped injury. After over six years in the Navy, Coyle was honorably discharged on September 1, 1945 with rank of WTIC, USN, according to Mrs. Mosely's letter of 1985. Coyle spent some time of "relaxation and loafing" before finding a job and went to the 1946 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

and later that year applied for admission to the University of South Carolina. "His death came on Jan. 2. 1947, just 2 days before a letter of acceptance to USC came," Mrs. Mos-1v wrote.

"He was killed as two other men were shooting at each other and the bullet hit Floyd as he was leaving the establishment where he and others had seen the New Year in. "That experience of losing him a handsome 26 year old who had narrowly escaped death on two ships during the war to come home to lose his life at the hands of others was one of the worst things that could happen to us," she said. J4 The Coyle brothers: Henry Coyle, left, and Floyd Bob Coyle. right mmmm I A Message From Cherokee County's Leading Real Estate Agent WHY RENT? jf Vr 'l n' iSJ fit Payments Under $400 Per, Month mmmm 639 BONNER LAKE ROAD 3-Bedrooms, 1-Bath, Large Lot With Garage. 1005 CLARY STREET -Bedrcx)ms, 1-Bath, Above Ground Pool.

'Payments based on 5 down $42,655.00, loan amount for 30 years, 7.9 APR. Taxes and insurance included. 1 i.