USS Atherton DE 169

DESTROYER ESCORT - CANNON CLASS

In March 1943, I was 18 years old when I joined the Navy. I served boot camp in Bainbridge, MD, and then gunners school in Newport News, VA.

The USS ATHERTON DE 169 was commissioned in August 1943 and stationed at Norfolk Navy Yard at Norfolk, VA. I was assigned to the ATHERTON and reported for duty in August 1943. Our captain was LCDR Lewis Iselin, a fine gentleman and an excellent captain. The ATHERTON was then my home away from home until the end of the war.

ATHERTON began to carry out anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort between Norfolk, VA, and Panama. In late 1943 until May 1945 she operated under TF-62 as escort duty for trans-Atlantic convoys to the Mediterranean. The North Atlantic could be cruel, cold, and unforgiving. When the convoy would reach the area near the Azores, we could always expect plenty of action from the wolf pack German submarines. Our sonar contacts were heavy until we reached the Str. of Gibraltar. As GM 2/c my battle station was on forward #2-3"/50 and hedgehogs.

Our last Atlantic convoy was in April and May 1945, headed for the United States, when the ATHERTON received word that one convoy ship carrying German prisoners had a man sick and needed a doctor. ATHERTON pulled alongside and medic Maurice Vetsky was sent across by boatswains chair. He checked the prisoner and found that he had appendicitis. He was then transferred across to the ATHERTON. By the time we got him on board, his appendix had ruptured. He then got out of the chair by himself and walked down below into our sick bay. Vetsky operated on him and in a few days he was up and around doing fine.

On May 5, 1945, ATHERTON was returning to the U.S. for repairs, stores, and crew liberty when she received a message. The SS BLACK POINT had been sunk by a torpedo off the coast of Block Island, RI. This attack took 12 men to the bottom, while 34 were rescued. The ATHERTON and MOBERLY proceeded toward the area and soon picked up sonar contact, initiating depth charge and hedgehog attacks. The submarine was doomed and later identified as the U-853. This was the last U-boat battle in the war with Germany. The ATHERTON was awarded a battlestar for her successful encounter with U-853.

Shortly after, ATHERTON was transferred to the Pacific, arriving Pearl Harbor on June 29th. She escorted convoys in the Western Pacific to Okinawa and Saipan. In August 1945, between Okinawa and Saipan, our convoy was hit by a typhoon that we were lucky to get through. ATHERTON would roll side to side many times at 45 degrees or more. During this time, our chief gunners mate called me to the captain's quarters. His quarters were directly below a 20mm ammunition magazine. During each roll that ATHERTON took, something was rolling across the deck in the magazine over his head. they lifted me through the escape hatch. I found a 20mm loaded magazine rolling across the deck. I could not hang it back on the rack, so I managed to carry it out on deck and dump it overboard. I then went back down the hatch and the captain gave me a shot of brandy to calm my nerves.

Shortly afterward, ATHERTON returned to the U.S. to be retired. Our captain reported to the crew that the ATHERTON traveled the distance that would equal four times around the world in miles during the war.

In all our travels, ATHERTON always brought us home safely. As recent as 2008, she was confirmed to operate in the Philippine Navy, reclassified as Rajah Humabon PF-11 (Ref: Philippine Navy web site).

This is some of my story on the ATHERTON.