USSBB62

You are probably puzzled by the strange conglomeration of letters that identifies this blog, "ussbb62".  Well, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway.  This set of characters has special significance to me.
USS  (United States Ship)  BB (Battleship)  62 (62nd battleship commissioned by the US Navy)

The USS New Jersey is one of four Iowa Class battleships that served in WWII.  BB-61 Iowa, BB-62 New Jersey, BB-63 Missouri, BB-64 Wisconsin.  Two other Iowa Class battleships were under construction at the close of the war (BB-65 Illinois & BB-66 Kentucky) but were not completed.

{Editor note: All of the Iowa Class battleships are open to the public.  USS Iowa BB-61 is a museum on the LA waterfront. USS New Jersey is a museum and memorial on the Camden, NJ waterfront. USS Missouri BB-63 is a memorial in Honolulu.  USS Wisconsin BB-64 is a museum in Norfolk, VA}

4 together

The USS New Jersey was launched on December 7, 1942 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and commissioned to service in May 1943. 

Ruptured Duck

My father, Glenn Hoplin, was a member of that commissioning crew.  He served as Electricians Mate aboard "Big J" in the Pacific Theater for the duration of the war, mustering out with his "ruptured duck" in October 1945.  He had accumulated enough "points" to be among the first to be honorably discharged.  

{Editor note: For a description of Glenn's Pacific naval career in his own words see my Prairie Salt post}

BB-62 at sea -1943

16' guns firing

BB-62 Specifications

• Complement: 1921 officers and men
• Length: 887' 7"
• Beam: 108.2'
• Draft: 28.9'
• Displacement: 45000 tons (52000 fully loaded)
• Speed: 33 knots (61 km/hr, 38 mph)
• Fuel Capacity: 2,400,000 gal #5 diesel
• Power Plant: 12 oil fired boilers firing steam turbines driving 4 screws with 200,000 shaft HP
• Armament:
• 9 x 16" 50 cal Mark 7 guns in 3 turrets
• 20 x 5" 38 cal Mark 12 guns
• 80 x 40 mm 56 cal anti-aircraft guns
• 49 x 20 mm 70 cal anti-aircraft guns
• Armor
• Bulkheads: 11.3"
• Turrets: 19.7"
• Decks: 7.5"
• Sides: 16"
• Aircraft: 3 Vought OS2U Kingfisher float planes (2 catapults)
• Cost: $100, 000,000+

BB-62 Trivia

• BB-62 was the 2nd Battleship christened New Jersey.  USS New Jersey BB-16 was commissioned in 1906 and ignominiously sunk as a target in 1923.
• The New Jersey is not named for a Midwest state like the other Iowa class battleships, because of a FDR political debt to then Governor Charles Edison of New Jersey, who while in the Navy Department lobbied to build the battleships at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Mrs. Edison had the honor of smashing the champagne bottle against the hull at the christening ceremony.
• The Jersey is 108.2' wide.  The Panama Canal locks are 110' wide
• The 3 x 3 16" gun turrets fired a 2700 lb shell 23 miles.
• The 5" guns could hit a target 9 miles away.
• While island bombardment was a WWII battleship's staple, it's function evolved to an anti-aircraft platform to protect the carriers. With the advent of air power, battleships' role changed from offense to defense - and eventual obsolescence. Ship to ship battles were rare in the Pacific, with sea battles largely featuring air to ship combat.  
• During WWII, the New Jersey at various times served as the flagship for both Admiral Spruance and Admiral Halsey.

"Bull" Halsey on BB-62 bridge

• In December 1944, Task Force 38, consisting of 8 carriers, 7 battleships, 21 cruisers and 50 destroyers,  was struck by a massive typhoon (Typhoon Cobra, nicknamed "Typhoon Halsey", which sank 3 destroyers, with major damage to 3 other destroyers, 5 carriers and a cruiser and a loss of life for 800 sailors. The stricken ships ran out of fuel and foundered as they could not be refueled due to the high seas. With their massive fuel capacity, battleships served as "tankers" for the fleet, but due to the high swells, fuel lines could not be strung between the ships.

          

• By rights of service, the Japanese surrender should have occurred on the Iowa or the Jersey, but when Truman succeeded to the presidency at FDR's death - and HST being from Missouri, the choice became obvious.

September 2, 1945

• BB-62 served in WWII , Korean War, Vietnam & Lebanon being recommissioned 3 times.
• During Vietnam, with modernization, automation and refitting,  the ship's complement was half of that of the WWII crew.
• The USS New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in history.
• 
  
• 
• And this especially for math geeks.  The total mechanical energy created when a 16"/50 caliber shell is fired can be computed as follows:
• Given:
            Projectile Weight: Wp = 2,700 lbs.
            Charge Weight: Wc = 650 lbs.
            Muzzle Velocity: Vo = 2,500 fps.
            Weight of Recoiling Parts: Wr = 250,000 lbs.
            g = 32.174 fps^2
  Projectile Kinetic Energy = 0.5*((Wp/g)*Vo^2) = 2.622*10^8 ft-lb. (i.e. 262 million foot/pounds)

• After lying in mothballs in Bremerton, WA for 8 years, the Battleship New Jersey was towed through the Panama Canal in 1999 to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and opened as a museum and memorial on the Camden, NJ waterfront in 2001. Visitor info.

BB-62 Milestones

1. 16 Sep 1940 Keel laid at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
2. 6 Dec 1942 Launched
3. 23 May 1943 Commissioned for service in WWII
4. 30 June 1948 Decommissioned
5. 21 Nov 1950 Recommissioned for service in Korea
6. 21 Aug 1957 Decommissioned
7. 1967-68 Modernized at Philadelphia Shipyard
8. 6 Apr 1968 Recommissioned for service in Vietnam
9. 17 Dec 1969 Decommissioned
10. 1981-82 Modernized at Long Beach Shipyard
11. 28 Dec 1982 Recommissioned as part of President Reagan's 600 ship Navy
12. 8 Feb 1991 Decommissioned & mothballed in Bremerton WA
13. 12 Sep 1999 - 11 Nov 1999 Towed to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for restoration as a museum
14. Oct 2001 opens as a museum on the Camden Waterfront

For a complete record of the USS New Jersey history, see newjersey.org

The Pilgrimage 

In the fall of 2014, my son and I made a pilgrimage to visit BB-62 on the Camden, NJ waterfront - which turned out to be a very emotional experience for me, walking those teak decks, standing beneath the 16" gun turrets and finding the home of E Division below decks. The museum ship offers a fantastic guided tour and at the end you are free to roam through most of the areas of the ship on a tour of discovery.

E Division - Glenn Hoplin , front row 8th from left

Photo Gallery - USS New Jersey Museum trip 2014

    

16" shell storage

Anchor chain

   

16" gun turret

Bridge

Fire control

WWII Lowry Area Honor Roll

This is a story repeated in countless communities all across the USA.  Local men & women volunteering to serve their country during WW II.

I created this list  of Lowry area WW II veterans, starting with a list published in the 1944 Christmas issue of the "Lowry News".  I am quite sure this is not a complete list. The Pope County Museum in Glenwood is compiling a list of Pope County vets from all conflicts and has a wall of veteran photos.  But that is not complete either.

This is an outline.  Please help me fill in details.  I would at least like a photo - in uniform, service branch, dates and theater of service for each person.  If you know additional names that should be here,  or more information on anyone in this list, please add the info as a comment on this post OR send the info to me directly ussbb62@gmail.com and I will update this post.  

Each of these honor roll members has a story.  If you can, capture it. And - pictures are welcome.


Thanks.

 Lowry Area WWII Honor Roll

Veterans wall at the Pope County Museum, Glenwood, MN

The Chan family holds the honor of having the largest Lowry contingent with 5 sons in the Army, followed by the Hoplins, with 4 sons in the Navy.

Lester Anderson
Army. Pvt.  Killed in Action France - 1944

Robert J. Bennett

Army Medical Corps.  1942-45. Tec 4. X-ray technician. 113th General Hospital.  Field Hospital, Ahwaz, Iran.

Lawrence Bisek
Army. Cpl.

Harry Bjorklund

Army. Sgt.

Wallace Bjorklund

Army.  Corporal

Lawrence Bjorklund
Army.  Pfc

Archie Brandt
Marines. Sgt. 1943-45. Ordnance & Material.

Chan brothers: Fred, Phil, Vic, Oliver, Clarence

Fred Chan 
Army.  Cpl. 1942-1945. North Africa, Persia, Burma, India, China. Burma Road supply truck driver- only drove at night to avoid attacks.

Clarence Chan
Army.  Cpl. 1941-1945  Pacific Theater. South Pacific & Philippines. Anti-tank company, 63rd Infantry, 6th Motorized Division

Oliver Chan
Army. Sgt. 1941-1945  Supply Sgt. Europe (ETO) '44-45

Philemon Chan
Army. Pvt. 1942-1945  Europe (ETO) '44-'45

Victor Chan
Tec5 Army Air Force. 1942-1945  England 7/42-6/44.  Europe (ETO) 44-45. 9th Engineering Command.  Landed in France on D-Day, the unit constructing and emergency landing strip under enemy fire. The unit received a Presidential Unit Citation

Leo Dahl

Army.  Pvt. Leo was a cook.

Claremont Dahlseng
Army. S/Sgt.  Intelligence Section.  France.  Bronze Star for action crossing Sauer River. Purple Heart - wounded Dec 1944

Donald Dingwall

Army. Cpl

James Dingwall

Army Sgt.

Paul Ekstrand
Navy

Allen Grindy
Navy, Seaman.  Jan 1944 - Apr 46. Radio operator. USS Issard(DD-589). Pacific Theater, including Iwo Jima & Okinawa

John Hagstrom

Navy S2/c

Allen Hagstrom

PHM2/c (Pharmacist mate)

Verlynne J. Henderson
Army.  1942-45. Cpl. Medic.  India, Burma, China.

Hartford "Hub" Holden 
Navy. QM1/c.  Hub enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Glenwood High School in 1942.  He served in the Pacific as a Quartermaster on the USS YMS 339 a wood bottom minesweeper charged with clearing mines prior to an amphibious invasion.  1942-1946. Panama Canal 12/43-8/44. Pacific Theater including Guadalcanal and Tulagi and the Philippines.  Ship & crew were awarded a Presidential citation for actions in and around Borneo.

Minesweeper

James W. Holtberg 

Army Air Force. Cpl. 1943-46.  830th Air Evac squadron.  ETO - France.

Kenneth Holtberg 
On August 14, 1944, Ken entered the United States Marine Corps. Pvt. BAR rifleman Iwo Jima & China theater.  

Oliver Hoplin 
Navy. enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and was called to active duty in March, 1941.  ChPhM (Chief Pharmacist Mate) aboard the "baby-flattop" aircraft carrier USS Nassau, nicknamed the "Princess", in the Pacific theatre. The Nassau was mainly used to ferry new aircraft and personnel from the USA to the fleet, traveling more than 250,000 miles on its journeys.

Journeys of the USS Nassau

USS Nassau

Glenn Hoplin 
Enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Augsburg College in 1942 Navy, EM2/c. 1942-45. Pacific Theater.  Electrician's Mate,  USS New Jersey BB62 Pacific Theater from Kwajelein to Tokyo Bay.

Donald Hoplin 

Enlisted in the Navy in November, 1942 and served as Seaman 1st class aboard the USS Albemare (AV-5) & later USS Lake Champlain CVS39, an Essex class aircraft carrier, used largely to ferry military equipment and personnel to Europe.

USS Lake Champlain

Paul Hoplin
Along with his neighbors, Roy Robieson & DeWayne Johnson, enlisted in the Navy in 1945 while still in High School. His father had to sign for him and his mother accepted his diploma at the GHS graduation ceremonies.  Paul served as an Electrician Mate aboard the seaplane tender USS Corson (AVP37) as well as other ships (USS Audubon, USS Hamlin) at the end of the war. 

USS Corson

Earle W. Johnson

  

Earle W. Johnson 
Navy 1942--46. (Pharmacist Mate 1st class (PhM1c). He had a year or two in pharmacy college before he joined the Navy and leading to his duty as a Pharmacist Mate.  Served at New Hebrides and at a medical dispensary on the small island of Tulagi in the Solomon Islands as well as on a US Hospital ship.

John DeWayne Johnson

John DeWayne Johnson 
Joined the Navy after High School with fellow Lowryites: Paul Hoplin, Roy Robieson, Kenneth Holtberg. He was on active duty the USNR in 1945-46 -- less than a year -- and served on the USS Hancock (CV 19), and the USS Antietam (CV 36).

Mark Kasper
5th Army Air Corps.  Captain. Pacific Theater.  "Headhunters" squadron, first squadron to record 200 kills and receiving a Presidential Unit Citation. P-38 fighters, 135 missions in the South Pacific.  Awarded the air medal with four oak leaf clusters.

Mark Kasper pilots one of these AT-6 (advanced trainers) over Kelly Field, TX

Robert Kasper
Army Air Corps.  Lt. Killed in training crash 1942.  Flight commander 5th Pursuit Squadron, 52nd Group.

Alexander Leslie
Army.

Maynard Nelson

 Dr. Maynard Nelson
 Navy Surgeon, LCDR.  Pacific Theater.  Enlistment date: Dec 7, 1941

Ruby Lysen

Army. Nurse Lt.

Walter F. Middents

Navy Air Corp. 1940-45.  Lt. - South Pacific VR-10 & VPB-20 Squadrons earning a Distinguished Flying Cross

Luther Moen

Navy. S1/c

Wayne Moen

Army. Pvt

Gwendolyn Jane Mollers

Navy.  Driver for officers.

Alvin Nygaard
Army.  Tec5.   324th Signal Company, 9th Air Force.  North Africa, Italy, France.  Unit citation from General Charles DeGaulle, 1944.

Lawrence Olson

Army. Pvt.

USS Tantalus

Clayton Person 
Navy.  1942-1945. Pacific Theater. MOMM2 Motor Machinist 2nd Class. USS Tantalus ARL-27.

Francis Robieson
Army - Pacific Theater.  Hawaii & Guam.  T/4 Cryptographic Technician.

Clarence Robieson
Army - Pacific Theater. Captain.  Anti-aircraft unit Oahu

James L. Robieson
Army - 3rd Infantry. 1934-1936

1940's - Shipbuilding in Norfolk, VA.  He was a welder on the USS Lake Champlain, the ship his eventual brother-in-law (Donald Hoplin) served upon.

Roy Robieson
Navy - Seaman. Pacific Theater

Doris Robieson  Air Force manufacturing in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Lowry's "Rosie the Riviter".

Othelia Rosten

Army Nurse.  Lt.  95th Evacuation Hospital.  North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France (Operation Dragoon), Germany, Dachau

Signer Rykhus

Army. 1944  Germany
Private, Co.C, 84th Training Battalion , 15th Training Regiment 

Charley P. Shermak
Army.  PFC.  North Africa.  Purple Heart - shrapnel wound at Fondike Pass














Calvin D. Smith
US Army. Capt.  34th Red Bull Division, Italy - earning a "Blue Rifle" combat infantry badge

Arnold Swenson

Army. Cpl.  Enlisted 1944.  England, Holland, Cent. Europe. Engineering Combat Battalion.

Earl W. Weisel
Army.  Sgt.  Signal Corps. 1942-1945  North Africa, Sicily, Italy. Inducted at Fort Sheridan, IL Feb, 1942.  Had worked for Lowry Telephone, so naturally assigned to the Signal Corps and radar school. Sent to England (aboard the Queen Mary - without convoy).  Landed in North Africa (Operation Torch, Nov 1942) landing near Oran.  Learned Morse code and became a radio operator.  Then Sicily & Italy.  In '45, received a 30 day furlough and experienced a 5 day Atlantic storm, landing in NY in March 1945. Then reported to Fort Snelling after his furlough.  
Sent to CA to a "repair camp" at a Marine base at Santa Anna and then to Scott Air Force base near St. Louis as an instructor until discharge.

Willard West

Army. T/5

Copyright © 2015 Dave Hoplin