Wake Island News

As sometimes happens with boats in the maritime world, the recent repower of a tug shone a light on a pair of well known independent companies. The tug Gretchen H. (ex Harry Olsen, Polar Breeze) was built by Rodriguez Shipbuilding of Coden Alabama in 1997 and is currently owned, since 2005, by Boyer Towing.The Gretchen H is a good solid boat and her owners decided she was well worth a new set of engines. At 80 by 30 feet she has an eleven foot depth. As with many tugs out of the Rodriguez yard she has triple propellers and triple engines. She had an older set of engines rated at 700 HP each.

The U.S. Coast Guard response continues to the grounding of the 308-foot Chinese-flagged commercial fishing carrier Ou Ya Leng No. 6 on Taka Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Wednesday.A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules crew arrived and made contact with the mariners who remain aboard the vessel and are awaiting rescue.Initial reports from MRCC China stated the crew abandoned ship and were on the atoll, but upon arrival, the Hercules crew confirmed they are aboard the vessel and using emergency generator power.

1943 - USS O'Bannon (DD 450) sinks the Japanese submarine RO 34 near Russell Island, Solomon Islands. 1944 - PB4Y aircraft (VB 109) sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 46 off Wake Island. 1946 - USS New (DD 818), named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Marine Pvt. 1st Class John D. New, is commissioned. 1946 - USS Missouri (BB 63) transports the body of the late Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Mehmet Munir Ertegun, home for burial, on a mission that was also made to influence Soviet Middle East policy.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a five-year, $22 million contract to Appledore Marine Engineering, a specialist focusing exclusively on the inspection and design of marine infrastructure, for waterfront inspection services. The contract covers Region 4, which includes the Northwest, Alaska, and all Pacific U.S. Territories including Guam, Wake Island, American Samoa, Midway Island and others. “Our task with this contract is to assure operational readiness for the naval facilities in this vast region,” said Noah Elwood, President of Appledore Marine Engineering. Appledore’s team of in-house engineer-divers will perform underwater and above water inspections along with material condition assessments on the installations waterfront structures including dry docks…

The Coast Guard is searching for the master of a freight ship reported overboard approximately 60 miles east of Wake Island Sunday. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center were notified at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, regarding a 49-year-old male Polish national who was reported overboard from the 622-foot freight ship Toscana. The master was last seen at approximately 8 p.m. Friday. Twelve hours passed before the ship realized the crewmember was missing. An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point was launched Saturday and is staging out of Wake Island to conduct the searches. The ship retraced its route to search for the missing crewmember, but has continued on to its next port of call in Yokohama, Japan due to fuel limitations.

The pilot of one of two F/A-18 Hornets that crashed Sept. 12 while operating from USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) is in fair condition and receiving medical treatment aboard the ship. Search efforts continue for the missing pilot. At the time of the incident, USS Carl Vinson was operating in the Western Pacific Ocean approximately 250 nautical miles west of Wake Island. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The ships of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, USS Carl Vinson, USS Bunker Hill…

Today in U.S. 1782 - As a token of gratitude for French aid during American Revolution, the U.S. gives America (first ship-of-the-line built by U.S.) to France to replace a French ship lost in Boston. 1885 - First classes at U.S. 1944 - First combat employment of a missile guided by radio and television takes place when Navy drone Liberator, controlled by Ensign James M. Simpson in a PV, flew to attack German submarine pens on Helgoland Island. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

Today in U.S. Naval History - January 17 1832- USS Peacock makes contact with Vietnamese court officials 1900 - U.S. (Cdr. Taussig in USS Bennington) takes formal possession of Wake Island 1955 - USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-powered submarine, casts off lines at 1100 and sends message "underway on nuclear power" For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - December 23 1826 - Capt. Thomas ap Catesby Jones of USS Peacock and King Kamehameha negotiate first treaty between Hawaii and a foreign power. 1910 - Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson becomes first naval officer sent to flight training. 1941 - Gallant defenders of Wake Island (Sailors, Marines, volunteer civilian contractors, and Army Air Force radio detachment) surrender. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - December 11 1941 - Contract establishes the Naval Salvage Service. 1941 - Wake Island Garrison under Commander Winfield Cunningham repulses Japanese invasion force. 1954 - First supercarrier of 59,630 tons, USS Forrestal (CVA-59), launched at Newport News, Va. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. 1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins appointed to Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. 1915 - In AB-2 flying boat, L.Cdr. Henry C. Mustin makes first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina, at Pensacola Bay, Fla. 1917 - German submarine torpedoes USS Alcedo off French coast. 1923 - Tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine occur at Hampton Roads Naval Base. A Martin MS-1, stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, was removed and assembled.

Today in U.S. 1782 - As a token of gratitude for French aid during American Revolution, the U.S. gives America (first ship-of-the-line built by U.S.) to France to replace a French ship lost in Boston. 1885 - First classes at U.S. 1944 - First combat employment of a missile guided by radio and television takes place when Navy drone Liberator, controlled by Ensign James M. Simpson in a PV, flew to attack German submarine pens on Helgoland Island. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

From the Navy News Service. 1941 - A contract establishes the Naval Salvage Service. 1941 - The Wake Island Garrison, under the command of Cmdr. Winfield Cunningham, turns away a Japanese invasion force. 1954 - The first supercarrier, USS Forrestal (CVA-59), launched at Newport News, Va., weighing more than 59,630 tons. For more information about Naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.

Foss Maritime, founded by the matriarch of the Foss family in 1889, is as much a cultural icon on the U.S. West Coast as McAllister or Moran are on the East Coast. Norwegian immigrant Thea Foss began the business when she bought her first row boat in Tacoma, Wash. and painted it the signature green and white. The Foss family grew the business into a launch  service ferrying crew and supplies in the 1910s, then shifted into towing work in the 1940s. Thea Foss is considered the inspiration for Tug Boat Annie…

From the Navy News Service: occurring on this Day in Naval History:   1775 - Congress adopts first rules for regulation of the "Navy of the United Colonies." 1941 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) sails from Pearl Harbor for Wake Island to ferry Marine aircraft to island. 1942 - Ensigns George W. Carlson and Mac A. Cason organize rescue parties to help rescue people from the fire at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, Mass. They are credited, "the cause of saving more lives than any other single agency."

1853 - USS Constitution seizes suspected slaver H. N. Gambrill. 1931 - Dirigible USS Los Angeles makes 10 hour flight out of NAS Lakehurst, NJ, carrying 207 persons, establishing a new record for the number of passengers carried into the air by a single craft. 1943 - Battleship Oklahoma, sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, is refloated. 1956 - USS Cambria (APA-36) removes 24 members of United Nations Truce Commission team from the Gaza Strip. 1956 - USS Chilton (APA-38), USS Thuban (AKA-19), and USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30) evacuate more than 1,500 U.S. and foreign nationals from Egypt and Israel because of the fighting. 1961 - After Hurricane Hattie…

1832- USS Peacock makes contact with Vietnamese court officials 1900 - US (CDR Taussig in USS Bennington) takes formal possession of Wake Island 1955 - USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-powered submarine, casts off lines at 1100 and sends message "underway on nuclear power" (Source: Navy News Service)

1826 - Captain Thomas ap Catesby Jones of USS Peacock and King Kamehameha negotiate first treaty between Hawaii and a foreign power. 1910 - LT Theodore G. Ellyson becomes first naval officer sent to flight training. 1941 - Gallant defenders of Wake Island (Sailors, Marines, volunteer civilian contractors, and Army Air Force radio detachment) surrender. (Source: Navy News Service)

1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins appointed to Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. 1915 - In AB-2 flying boat, LCDR Henry C. Mustin makes first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina, at Pensacola Bay, FL. 1917 - German submarine torpedoes USS Alcedo off French coast. 1923 - Tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine occur at Hampton Roads Naval Base. A Martin MS-1, stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, was removed and assembled. Then the submarine submerged allowing the plane to float free and take off. 1944 - TF 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) begins 2 days of carrier strikes on Luzon, Philippines. 1945 - Ensign Jake C. West (VF-41) makes first jet landing on board a carrier, USS Wake Island (CVE-65) .

1782 - As a token of gratitude for French aid during American Revolution, the U.S. gives America (first ship-of-the-line built by U.S.) to France to replace a French ship lost in Boston. 1783 - Signing of Treaty of Paris ends American Revolution 1885 - First classes at U.S. Naval War College begin 1925 - Crash of rigid airship Shenandoah near Byesville, OH 1943 - American landings on Lae and Salamaua 1944 - First combat employment of a missile guided by radio and television takes place when Navy drone Liberator, controlled by Ensign James M. Simpson in a PV, flew to attack German submarine pens on Helgoland Island. 1945 - Japanese surrender Wake Island in ceremony on board USS Levy (DE-162) (Source: Navy News Service)

1953- Coast Guard aircraft and surface craft of the Search and Rescue Group at Wake Island joined with a large naval task unit in conducting an intensive search for a Transocean Air Lines DC-6 aircraft last reported about 300 miles east of Wake Island.  The scene of the crash was located, and 14 bodies were recovered. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

1826 - Captain Thomas ap Catesby Jones of USS Peacock and King Kamehameha negotiate first treaty between Hawaii and a foreign power. 1910 - LT Theodore G. Ellyson becomes first naval officer sent to flight training. 1941 - Gallant defenders of Wake Island (Sailors, Marines, volunteer civilian contractors, and Army Air Force radio detachment) surrender. (Source: Navy News Service)

1941 - Contract establishes the Naval Salvage Service. 1941 - Wake Island Garrison under Commander Winfield Cunningham repulses Japanese invasion force. 1954 - First supercarrier of 59,630 tons, USS Forrestal (CVA-59), launched at Newport News, VA. (Source: Navy News Service)