One person who served on a converted yacht in the early days following the US entry into WWII was Ernest Borgnine. I've watched some videos of him talking about such duty and it was eye opening. The training and equipment they had was subpar. That any of these vessels survived the war must be attributed to the men who served aboard them and a bit of divine intervention.

@maynardcarmer3148

6 ай бұрын

I read about that; he said that when a depth charge failed to explode, they checked the others and found they were all leftovers from WWI.

@Paladin1873

6 ай бұрын

@@maynardcarmer3148 Yep. It made me shake my head and laugh out loud at the same time.

@michaelplunkett8059

6 ай бұрын

​. Don't laugh. The Norwegians took out the new Nazi cruiser Blucher with a torpedo they bought in 1900. The delay enabled the royal family and the gold reserves to escape.

@andrewfischer8564

6 ай бұрын

beat me to it

@VespasianJudea

6 ай бұрын

@@michaelplunkett8059 I was thinking the same thing when it comes to China and their harassment of foreign fishing ships.

My grandfather died on this ship. He was Chief Water Tender Arthur Roscoe, for whom I was named.

@thicks2450

5 ай бұрын

I wonder if he knew my Grandmother's brother Bernard "Bud" Going from Seekonk MA. I grew up on stories that he was listed as MIA, and Grandma would say she still expected him to walk in the door every time there was a knock on the door.

My grandfather served in the USN for four years during WW2. He had the great fortune of being assigned to a YP aka Yippy Boat guarding the Panama Canal. It was a converted Tuna Boat from California. As a backwater theater of the war he felt guilty talking about his service necessary as it was. He felt badly for the old WW1 era S class submarines aka pig boats patrolling with him. He said they really had it rough. He was an excellent mechanic who could fix anything. I do miss him and wish I could have spoken more about his service.

@paulweeldreyer7457

6 ай бұрын

They all served their country. Where they served is irrelevant.

@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606

5 ай бұрын

I hate that he felt guilty for his service, the Panama Canal was a high value target. Protecting that at all times was necessary and vitally important for the entire war effort for all allied nations.

1972 the USS Barb, SSN 596 rescued four B-52 pilots that had to eject their flaming bomber. They landed in the path of Typhoon Rita, a category 5 typhoon. This needs to be remembered .

Oil tankers are a menace too often. In the early 1980s onboard my Navy Frigate, we were anchored off the harbor at Norfolk, Va. one foggy night. It was considered too dangerous to proceed in. We had our lights on and foghorn constantly sounding. I was on watch on the signal bridge. On the sound-powered phone I heard the aft lookout reporting a big tanker approaching right up behind us! He kept yelling "It's BIG! It's BIG!" That super tanker kept bearing down on us. As it barely missed us, our collision alarm already sounding, I looked onto it's bridge with my Big Eyes binocs - NOBODY was on the bridge! It was going fast on autopilot into a potentially busy harbor! I don't know if anything happened later but that Captain should have lost his command. 🤨

@justintyme720

5 ай бұрын

I wonder how many private yachts get ran down by oil takers and freighters how common is this

Thank you for making this! My great grandfather was a chief on St Augustine when it was lost. He was in his 50s and a WWI vet who re-entered the navy when WW2 broke out.

As both a boater and USN retiree, and a history buff, I knew of the use of civilian boats for military patrol duty, but not of this story in particular. Thank you, Lance, for all the research and production you do. 👍🏻👍🏻

Everyone working on this channel deserves our thanks for the respectful remembrance they provide. Thank you for honoring these men.

A great many of the crew were from the Aquidneck Island area of Rhode Island. I helped to re-hab a house owned by Dorothy Parris, Sister of Ship-fitter Ralph Parris, lost in the sinking. "Dottie" as she was known, at the time of the sinking, was serving as a Lt jg. US Navy Nurse Corps at the 600 bed Naval Hospital at Newport, RI. With Ralph's death she was forced to resign her commission, under the "Sullivan's Act", and was re-hired as a civilian nurse there. She continued nursing and passed peacefully in 2006/7

@dugroz

5 ай бұрын

Why was the resignation mandatory?

@williestyle35

5 ай бұрын

​@@dugroz look up the Sullivan brothers and you will understand. After the loss of those Five brave brothers, General George C Marshall and the Pentagon did not want to see another family (potentially) loose so many members. Though generally when a family member of a service person was lost they were sent to non combat roles in "safe areas", some would be forced out to take the... liability off the services.

As I was told, when I was I the U.S. Navy, that no matter how far out that you go, you are never more than a few miles from land. That land, of course, being straight down. I was not "proud" to have served, I was Grateful to have served. It allowed me to see and experience things that can not be obtained in any other way. Now I shall day dream of Mid-Rats and the 2345 to 0330 watch. My favorite watch to stand.

Only slightly late to class this morning, I’ll sneak in the back… glad to see all the regulars in their seats- retired sailor, sin city, and all the rest! Greetings from Connecticut! Everyone have a safe and healthy weekend!

@seaninness334

6 ай бұрын

Just finished watching and reading the comments. Thought I would say, "good morning," to a fellow resident of Connecticut.

@stuartriefe1740

6 ай бұрын

@@seaninness334. Thanks Sean! See you at the next class!

@lefty-bw1zp

6 ай бұрын

Next time you’re late, bring a note from your mother 😂

Thank you. My uncle served in the Coast Guard for the duration of WWII. They tend to be the unsung heroes of that conflict.

Beautiful ship, thanks for recording its history for us! BTW, Ernest Borgnine served on the USS Sylph (PY-12), briefly YP-71, a yacht in commission in the United States Navy as a patrol yacht from 1940 to 1946. He served as a gunner's mate in the North Atlantic, it's not nearly as nice as this yacht, thankfully it wasn't sunk, he's a great actor!

Another in the list of tragedies that occur in the fog of war. Thanks for bringing us this story, which I was completely unaware of previously.

Thank you for this presentation History Guy. Up until now, I had never heard of this. These lives and their sacrifice are just as important as any life lost on the battlefield.

My father served on the converted Harkness yacht, USS Cythera for a short time , he was transferred to Subchasers in Fla. The Cythera was torpedoed off of No. Carolina with only two survivors who were picked up by the U Boat and made prisoners of war.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back. Very glad to see history that deserves to be remembered, being remembered! Thankyou History Guy!

Good Friday morning History Guy and everyone watching. Have a good weekend. Your stories of Naval History touches this retired Navy Sailor's heart... I was an Operations Specialist (Radar Man). My job was to detect, identify, and track all surface contacts. Also determine the CPA (Closest Point of Approach) to avoid collision in addition to the contact's course and speed utilizing a maneuvering board.

@rickieoakes5267

6 ай бұрын

Thank you for your service, Sir.

@lancerevell5979

6 ай бұрын

As an Electronic Tech (ET) onboard an ASW frigate, I worked closely with the OS guys, as well as the Radiomen. It was decent duty, "between wars" so we never got shot at.

@RetiredSailor60

6 ай бұрын

@@lancerevell5979 Which FFG?

@AW1Lucky

5 ай бұрын

I did the same thing as an AW flying in SH-2D/F Seasprite helicopters deployed aboard Knox class Frigates. Between you OS radar operaters, and us guys in the back seat, in terrible sea states, we brought thousands of helicopter pilots safely back aboard that tiny, tiny flight deck. Twenty year Navy man here, I retired to the DESERT! LOL! God Bless.

@MrOhmikey

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your service Mr. Lucky.@@AW1Lucky

Shout out from St. Augustine, Florida. Great episode.

Thank you, THG for remembering this tragic loss of one of many small ships during WW2,

*Thanks & appreciation, Bravo Zulu from an old Bluejacket*

It was indeed a beautiful design, even all these decades later. As former Coast Guard myself, I can attest that sailing at night, in those seas is dangerous in peace time. During war and with the limited technology they had all the more. Thank you for sharing their story.

Back in the Saddle Again Naturally!

I have a shipwreck map of the Delaware Bay and Coast as someone who grew up near Rehoboth Beach and Lewes. It shows all the shipwrecks including artificial reefs up into 2009. They have specific shipwrecks and incidents covered in the margins including this one. Very interesting to hear more about the circumstances surrounding this tragic wartime accident.

So many untold stories from WW2. From both sides. Stories of brave souls and stories of utter horror. It's important to tell these stories so history doesn't repeat.

Mr History Guy, I appreciate the manner in which you pay tribute and honor many unsung heroes that lost their lives serving our country. To you sir....I tip my hat. Your pen is as mighty as the sword. God Bless You !

My Uncle Harold was the skipper of a US Army Transportation Corps sailboat during WWII. It was used for resupply of the fortified islands in the Casco Bay region of Maine. He was a commercial fisherman and wanted to do something but, was really too old to be shipped overseas. RIP.

Thanks for sharing this history with us. Glad to see all these hidden bits of history revealed, paints a much bigger picture of the historic setting it dwells with.

It is hard to fathom the loss of life during WW2. I was lucky that my grandpa made it back and started a family. He did'nt talk a lot about the war. Just a few stories that I cherish to this day. He served on a Destroyer in the Pacific Fleet. He passed in 2007 just short of 81. I miss him everyday. Truly the greatest generation.

@alperdue2704

5 ай бұрын

I share this appreciation with you. My grandfather was on an ammunition ship that was sank. He crawled around on a tiny scrap of an island for a month before he was rescued.

Hi Lance. I love your stuff. But I think y9u made a mistake. AT&T isn't known as Atlantic telephone and telegraph, it's known as American Telephone and Telegraph. I used to work for 5hem.....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!

My father did convoy escort duty on a USCG patrol frigate. This reminded me of him

We rightly remember the regular naval personnel who served, but those who manned improvised vessels like these, or the ones who served in the merchant marine, under constant threat of U-boat attacks, don't get the same coverage, so thank you, HG, for highlighting the service and sacrifice of some of them.

Your older videos, now being history deserve to be remembered and I would have no problem with a video on April 1st of you doing one of your episodes entirely about an older episode. Talking about it like it's a subject in history class lol

As always, Lance another incredible look at... History that should be remembered

@04:00 Selling your yacht to the US Navy for $5 is the epitome of patriotism!

@abubaca2683

6 ай бұрын

Tax write off. Lol

@Pocketfarmer1

6 ай бұрын

So only rich men giving away their old stuff and taking a huge financial loss are a perfect example of patriotism. I truly hope you were attempting sarcasm . The alternative is pathetic.

@thicks2450

5 ай бұрын

@@Pocketfarmer1 It wasn't just yachts that were given over to wartime use. Fishing boats and trawlers were taken over by the navy and coast guard for a pittance. If you were lucky you could buy your boat back, but many were lost.

@Pocketfarmer1

5 ай бұрын

@@thicks2450 quite true. It was the seaming very narrow definition of patriotism put forth in the original post that I was aiming at.

Thank you. Lots of men served and perished during that war. I was grateful to have known a good number of them. Thanks for your video.

I'm sure it's been speculated that the Augustine turned into the path of the unknown vessel with the assumption it was an enemy, to protect it's convoy.

"Forgotten History" and this channel I always learn something. Usually I know about the topic but learn detail. Today's presentation was all new info. Nice show

She had beautiful lines. They don't make them like that anymore. Tragic story.

The History Guy is Great story teller of history and a pleasure to listen to. Thanks

ALL THESE SHIPS ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE WAY MORE PEOPLE ON THEM THAN WHAT THEY REALLY NEED

Most folks in Cape May likely have never heard this story. While Jersey has some notable wrecks, I think few remember this one. 115 men seem a lot for that ship.

The yacht “Caroline 2” built to order in the 1930’s for Victor Records company founder Eldridge Johnson was similar in size and shape. It was converted by US Navy Pacific Fleet to the USS Hilo, flagship of the Leyte-based torpedo boat fleet, and was awarded 3 Battle Stars for its service. It nearly got destroyed by a Kamikazee. It is unprovable to me at this time if Ernest Borgnine had served on Hilo, but another story mentioned Borgnine having a “close call with a suicide bomber” circa 1944. I cannot recall which ‘Hollywood-gossip’ magazine article I had read this in. EDIT: Borgnine served on the destroyer USS Lamberton (sp?)

The USS Garnet (PYc-15) was a yacht that the navy bought and is now on land as a small store

The widow would have always remembered her husband as he was, handsome, young and happy, even as she (hopefully) married again and raised a family. A whole bunch of wives lost their husbands, kids lost their fathers and in America, a piece of our future was lost with that small vessel. Eternal Father, Strong To Save...

Thank you bringing us this story, and especially, for your tribute to the men lost at sea. Brave ship, brave men.

Oh, hey, I get to comment somewhat early... Thank you for your videos and podcasts Mr. Geiger! Thoughtful content like yours is one of the few respites I have from this increasingly stressful and uncertain world.

RIP 🙏 🪦 😢to all of the victims and survivors of this maritime disaster. Vaya con Dios y en paz descansen. Their sacrifice should not be forgotten to history by anyone, the young need to be taught about history such as this and not swept under the rug.

Love your videos

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for telling their story.

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

Thank you History Guy from Rio Grande, Cape May County NJ 😊

Another excellent history lesson! ❤

Thank you again sir I would have heard this nowhere else and I am sitting at the library waiting for it to open I will send you a hat as soon as I can

SAD🇺🇸......THG🎀 Thanks

Thank you, Mr Lance, for another great story!

That’s crazy. I hope we never have to convert a yacht into a war ship again.

Wow… very sad story and I am grateful to be able to remember them.

There's a convention 'Don't speak ill of the dead' .... Unfortunately it impedes learning from mistakes. To turn across the path of a U Boat or even a Surface Raider would be a brave act. But foolish too on balance as either could swiftly sink St Augustine & continue with little gain to the convoy. Whilst to turn in front of anything else, well, that would be pointless.

As always, appreciate the very engaging presentation and superb education. Simply the best.

Condolences

Thanks!

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I enjoy the end theme music and happy that you're introducing them later in your last comments.😏

Very cool vid

That was very sad to listen to. May they rest in peace.

One of the survivors, a Delawarean, recently died. The obituary noted the incident.

Could you do the sinking of The USS William Penn ? I knew someone that was on that warship. He went to get supplies but when he returned to the ship it had been destroyed.

@johnphillips8922

6 ай бұрын

I couldn’t find anything. Was it during ww2?

Did you say a LNG tanker Chemist Meadows? You sure ? The first LNG tanker was in the 1950’s! The first LNG carrier Methane Pioneer (5,034 DWT) carrying 5,500 cubic metres (190,000 cu ft), classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January 1959. Carrying the world's first ocean cargo of LNG, it sailed to the UK where the cargo was delivered.[1] The success of the specially modified C1-M-AV1-type standard ship Normarti, renamed Methane Pioneer, caused the Gas Council and Conch International Methane Ltd. to order two purpose built LNG carriers to be constructed: Methane Princess and Methane Progress. The ships were fitted with Conch independent aluminum cargo tanks and entered the Algerian LNG trade in 1964. These ships had a capacity of 27,000 cubic metres (950,000 cu ft).

@thedevilinthecircuit1414

6 ай бұрын

The S.S. Camas Meadows was an oiler owned by American Petroleum Corporation. Not an LNG tanker.

The captain of the tanker went to bed sick but left no one on the bridge who could answer a blinker challenge during wartime under blackout conditions? That negligence caused 115 brave men to die. He should have been charged and locked up for life for that.

Magnetic Field Reconnection from Disruption Last Night, Light Rainfall For 20 minutes, 20 minutes later Heavy Downpours For 20 Minutes, 3am ist Onwards Heavy Rainfall For 2 Hours Approximately.. Warmer 20°c Temperatures At End Of January Onwards, Day Break By 6am Ist..

At least she was able to do her mission once fitted out. Unlike the LCS

It's easy to forget when we learn about war from video games and movies, but for every guy running around on the frontlines, guns blazing, there's fifty people working to make sure that guy can get to the frontline and blaze his guns. Not to mention the people back home working to make the ammo and the guns and the food and medical supplies. And all the people who keep the country running even though one fifth of the population are off blazing guns.

war is hell

Isn't it strange how record offices seem to always have fires?

@kenkahre9262

6 ай бұрын

Not when you consider how much paper we're talking about. The first fire I was ever in was when I was eighteen. It was in the records office at the company where I worked. The smoke was awful, you couldn't breathe and the fire dept. had a devil of a time putting it out. Years later, I was only a few blocks away when the the National Archives here in 1973 caught fire. Some 16-18 million military records were lost. This was in the days before digital. It rained burning bits of paper for hours. With all that paper, all you need was a loose electrical wire, a carelessly tossed cigarette or just spontaneous combustion.

@earth2006

6 ай бұрын

Most likely because if there are no records, then no money can be paid to the great unwashed "Cake Eaters" and then more money can be spent for vote getting social programs.

@johnroscoe2406

6 ай бұрын

What is your definition of "strange?"

Darkened ships closing on one another on a dark and stormy night..... Lots of things can go wrong. Without running lights you can't really see the angle of the bow if there are any course changes.

Another group of fighters who were lost in WWII. Like many, they gave their all so that we could be free. Yet, they were not in the glorious part of the war that stories were made of. They just got up, put on the uniform of their country, and went to war, never to come home again. Lest We Forget.

The patrol boats of the Phillipine Islands at start of WWII.

Good morning

I don’t think the technology existed to transport LNG (methane) at that time. However LPG (propane, butane etc) transport was common.

👍👍👍

After 35 years i still remember the 47 friends and shipmates kill in a gun accident on the USS Iowa

Shocked to hear anyone in the Navy couldn’t swim. I assumed that was required.

@JoshuaTootell

5 ай бұрын

The swim test for the Coast Guard is pretty easy. I could barely swim and passed.

I would have like to see a black screen with the names of those lost, as you've done in many other videos. Otherwise, fascinating as usual!

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

6 ай бұрын

I searched, and could not discover a list. the Navy has never, apparently, produced one, or it is part of what was lost in the records fire.

✌️✌️

I have a friend i would love you to do a video about he was in the Battle of the bulge believe he was wounded three times he also served in Korea he also served in Vietnam he was a childhood friend of mine he lived next door to me he never talked about the war he passed away when I was a kid he was a very good man sadly a lot of his paperwork was lost in a fire in Missouri

🙏✨👌👍❣️

Good morning THG. "Question"; how did the land locked Brown County Democrat get that story? Was it a reprint of an AP or UPI story? I live in Monroe county next to Brown county Indiana. In the 1940's, Nashville was a spec on the map and a very rural community. Granted Nashville was an artist colony and did have a very intellectual community, but still very rural. Home of the famous cartoon character " Abe Martin" conceived by artist, humorist, journalist and cartoonist Kin Hubbard. Maybe that is history worth remembering?

Hey History Guy, 👋🤓 who do you have winning the Super Bowl?

My man is like Bill Nye the History Guy.

History repeats itself.... Exxon Valdes ( allow the new guy take the wheel )

"Shouldn't their sacrifice be recognized?"

Does The History Guy not post on Rumble any more?

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

6 ай бұрын

There used to be a direct feed from YT to Rumble. Because of some decision by YT that feed no longer works. We are trying to catch ip with uploads.

@wspencerhand

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the response and the content. You’ve been a favorite of mine for a while now, I just hate the YT algo so I try to watch you on Rumble.

@wspencerhand

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the response and the content. You’ve been a favorite of mine for a while now, I just hate the YT algo so I try to watch you on Rumble.

These were some of the thousands of men and women killed by "Friendly Fire" during the war.🙁🙁

Next video please expose the Ukrainian ideological roots from OUN-B/UPA, 1941 Stetsko and Bandera. Wolyn, Babi Yar, Naghtigal.

🇺🇲

Let's talk about the sinking of USS Liberty

@karlnordinger5968

5 ай бұрын

Surviving crew members sworn to secrecy [ under penalty of court martial ] - Israel tried to sink Liberty and the US abandoned her . Thirty three American sailors and one Marine died for what ? To this day I don't like Israel or trust the US government .

Looks like what Richie Rich sail.

The letter from the war department is horrific. He lost his son! I understand how many people died. But it’s a standard letter. You only have to put thought into it once. And I know someone had to type every letter, but some sympathy maybe.. some gratitude from the government that these young people kept having a country to govern… Absolutely disgraceful! No one should hear about their family dying by mail. But I realize the government/people really couldn’t afford to pay for in person notification.

If there's any good news about this story--it's that the captain was not L. Ron Hubbard. He would have ordered the ship south to shell Mexican territory. Again.