Honoring a War Hero

I’d like to take this edition of our newsletter to share the story of my father-in-law’s service in World War II. Jessie was born in 1917, the same year as my dad. He passed away in 1988, about three years before I met Vicki, so I never got the opportunity to meet him or hear his story. From what Vicki, Will, and Pauline have all said Jessie was like most World War II veterans in that he kept his war story to himself most of the time. When Vicki first told me about her father, the basic details she knew from his service to our country was that he served in the Navy, was involved in a battle at sea, got burned, and was awarded two Purple Hearts.

We don’t have any individual service records for Jessie, nor have we met anyone who sailed with him during the war. What I do have is courtesy of my friend Doug whom we met for lunch in San Francisco when we were on vacation. Jessie came up in our conversation and after we parted company Doug took the time to do some online research on sites like www.fold3.com. I am going to compile what he shared with me into a short narrative to honor him this Veteran’s Day.

Jessie served aboard the USS Long from October 4, 1943, until she sank on January 6, 1945. Well, there was a brief stint on the USS Dobbin from March 6 to April 11, 1944, but we don’t know why he was there.

The Long was a Clemson-class destroyer. Her keel was laid just after Jessie’s first birthday (1918) and she was launched by April 1919. She was 314 feet long, almost 32 feet wide, and could make 35 knots. During World War II she was assigned to the Pacific where she had escort duty and then became attached to a minesweeping unit. By October 1944 the Long was in the Leyte Gulf to support the invasion there. Afterwards she joined a convoy to Manus where she received repairs. The ship’s diary that I have skimmed through notes several tense encounters with the enemy at this time.

A couple of days before Christmas, the Long was again part of a minesweeping unit steaming for the Lingayen Gulf at Luzon. They were to clear the gulf of mines ahead of the Luzon Invasion. The force arrived on January 2 and began minesweeping operations. They encountered frequent air raids from the Japanese.

The Long and her group were fully in the Lingayen Gulf on January 6 when a couple of Zekes (a Japanese fighter plane also known as the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero”) began an attack run. One of the Zekes skimming low over the water at an estimated 300 mph made a kamikaze attack, crashing into the port side of the Long below the bridge and about one foot above the waterline. The plane entered the ship leaving a hole about five feet in diameter. A fire broke out and ammunition began to explode. As a result the ship lost power and the forward section lost the ability to fight the fires. Shipboard communication was also down.

The ship’s commander, inspecting damage in the forecastle, dropped anchor and then gave the men in that compartment permission to leave the ship because he feared an explosion there. This order became misconstrued as a general order to abandon ship. All surviving sailors were picked up by the USS Hovey, another Clemson-class destroyer that was part of the minesweeping operation and standing by to give assistance. The Hovey could not come alongside the Long due to the fires so she spent about an hour picking up the 149 survivors.

This would have been the time Jessie would have first abandoned ship. The report Doug found lists Jessie’s wounds as second degree burns to both hands as well as the left arm and forearm. We do not know if he abandoned ship on the misunderstood order from the commander or if he had to jump to the safety of the water earlier due to the fire. Most likely it was the former case, but either way he was among the wounded who were picked up by the Hovey and treated. Enemy activity was intense the rest of the day.

The Long’s commander attempted to mount a salvage operation as the ship was in good enough condition with one of three boilers still intact to sail away under her own power. However, enemy activity prevented this plan from happening and by 5:30 that afternoon a second Zeke on a kamikaze attack struck the Long in the same spot causing more damage. By morning she had capsized and sank.

The enemy attacks dropped off at night only to return at daybreak the next morning. At 4:50 two planes were spotted. Five minutes later one of those planes was hit by fire from another ship and crashed into the Hovey. At the same instant the Hovey was struck by a torpedo launched from an enemy plane, hitting the engine room. The damage was so severe that she sank within two minutes. Forty-eight sailors perished, half of which were rescued from the Long and another ship. The USS Chandler and USS West Virginia picked up 229 survivors. We don’t know which ship picked up Jessie, but he was transferred to the USS California which took him back here to the States for treatment and recovery.

So, there’s the story of how my father-in-law, Seaman First Class William Jessie Jones, had to abandon ship twice within 24 hours. Had things been a little different that day my family would not consist of the people it does today.

Doug, on behalf of Vicki and I, our kids, as well as Will and his family, thank you for taking an interest and digging into Jessie’s story. You were the catalyst that jumpstarted the process for me.

Joe