Tuesday, March 30, 2010

It was Septemeber 13, 1944 on the USS Warrington


Last Wednesday when we went to New York to see my daughter perform at Carnegie Hall....we also had somewhere else to visit that was long over do.
We took my mom to Battery Park to see the memorial for the soilders that drowned and who were never recovered in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean during WWII.

Two days out of Norfolk, along the Florida coast, a navy destroyer named the USS Warrington  received word that she was steaming directly into a hurricane. Later that evening, the storm forced the destroyer to heave. Keeping wind and sea on her port bow, Warrington rode relatively well through most of the night. Wind and seas, however, continued to build during the early morning hours of September 13th 1944. Warrington began to lose headway and, as a result, started to ship water through the vents to her engineering spaces.

The water rushing into her vents caused a loss of electrical power which set off a chain reaction. Her main engines lost power, and her steering engine and mechanism went out. She wallowed there in the trough of the swells, continuing to ship water. She regained headway briefly and turned upwind, while her radiomen desperately, but fruitlessly, tried to contact another nearby vessel. Finally, she resorted to a plain-language distress call to any ship or shore station. By noon on the 13th, it was apparent that Warrington's crewmen could not win the struggle to save their ship, and the order went out to prepare to abandon ship. By 12:50, her crew had left Warrington; and she went down almost immediately. A prolonged search by 10 other vessels rescued only five officers and 68 men of the destroyer's 20 officers and 301 men.

My mother's brother...Chief Storekeeper USNR Edward John Labuda was one of the men lost at sea.  He had just been home on leave prior to returning to duty.



The memorial says....



My mother looking at her brother's name engraved in stone for the first time.



La Buda Edward J.



His name on the wall faces the Statue of Liberty and



.....Ellis Island.  The same port where his father entered the United States as an immigrant years before.

I'll be linking to A Southern Daydreamer hosted by Susan.

14 comments:

Diva Kreszl said...

what a lovely thing to do for your Mom, no matter how much time has passed we still miss our loved ones. Such history to share with all of us, we owe a huge gratitude to all the men and women who serve to protect our freedoms.

Laura said...

What a touching post.
First- I was blown away that your daughter performed at Carnegie Hall and then the visit to the memorial for your mother's brother-
well may I say I have tears in my eyes.

Thank you for sharing this,

Laura

Allison Shops said...

What a sweet post. I love that your mother was finally able to see her brother's name. Many thanks to those who have or are currently serving our great country.

I hope you'll drop by AtticMag to see the butterflies I found. #8 on Outdoor Wednesday.

Allison

LV said...

I really enjoyed the history of the Warrington. That was a lovely thing to do for your mother. I am sure appreciated you taking the time for her. More people need to do that.

Joyce said...

What an emotional day for your Mom seeing that memorial for her brother. I never knew about any of this or the memorial either.
Joyce

Teresa said...

What a touching story. I am glad your mom got to see this. How awful to lose someone in such a horrible way. I am sure it gives her great peace to have seen that.

Judy said...

Beautiful post.

sherri@lavenderfields said...

Oh those are truly heartbreaking pictures and it must have been painful for her to see his name in stone even after all these years! What a beautiful location for a memorial. Very touching post. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Easter! Sherri : )

Natasha in Oz said...

I have been to that Monument!!! Wow, this was such an interesting post- thanks for filling in some gaps about US History for me! I am going to go back and have a look at your other NY pictures now!

Best wishes,
Natasha (& Stacey & Holly)

Ms. Bake-it said...

What a sweet post. I enjoyed the history of the Warrington you shared. Taking your mom so she could see her brother's name was very nice.

~ Tracy

Ann said...

What a magnificent honor for your Mom's brother, to be remembered on a beautiful monument. Facing the Statue of Liberty no less. Looks like your Mom really enjoyed going there and thankful you took her. Wonderful outdoor Wednesday post.

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Oh Amy, this just brought tears to my eyes. Such a sad story about so many wonderful men who served our country. What a beautiful monument built to honor those who so selfishly gave of their time and life. But what struck a chord deep inside of me is to see your mother touch the wall where her beloved brother's name rests. Now I am typing through my tears.

God Bless you and yours,
Becky
xo

Phyllis @Around the House said...

what a nice memory for everyone, what a great time for all full of memories and new experiences at seeing your daughter perform...

Anonymous said...

Seeing Edward's name on the memorial, in sight of the Statue of Liberty, where his father entered as a new American must have been very moving.

This is a wonderful tribute to Edward and all those lost from the USS Warrington. Sending loving thoughts to you and yours, Amy.

Zuzu