William l averitt (1 risultati)
Altre immaginiEditore: 1944-1945, Pacific Theater, Luzon, Pearl Harbor, 1944
- Brossura
- Firmato
Da: Katz Fine Manuscripts Inc., Cochrane, AB, CanadaKatz Fine Manuscripts Inc.
Contatta il venditoreVenditore con 5 stelleCondizione: Usato - Buono
EUR 3065,02
EUR 16,32 spedizioneSpedito da Canada a U.S.A.Quantità: 1 disponibili
Aggiungi al carrelloSoftcover. Condizione: Good. No Dust Jacket. On offer is a remarkable collection which includes the handwritten diary, printed diary transcript, and associated naval memorabilia from a U. S. Navy officer who served aboard the USS Lewis Hancock, a much-decorated U. S. Navy destroyer throughout World War Two (WWII) and the Korean…War. This collection belonged to U. S. Navy officer William L. Averitt (see BIO NOTES). Averitt's handwritten diary begins in January 1st, 1944 and continues until June 30th, 1945. There are entries for most days. Averitt begins his diary by indicating that he will list "Items of interest aboard the USS Hancock in Pacific Theater of war". In his diary, Averitt gives an incredible picture of the life of a US Navy Officer deployed during the war. Excerpts from this remarkable diary follow: "Crossed equator five times today. Also crossed 180 meridian. Got initiated, hair all cut off in spots. Head and face painted with green and red paint. Got graphite grease put in my pants. Got thunder beat out of me. They liked to have drowned me with salt water. Had to take some kind of bitter medicine. Had to kiss the royal baby which was the belly of a shellback. Went through the paddling machine. Got a shot of electricity and outside of that I am in pretty good shape. " [Jan 23, 1944]. "After our visit with King Neptune and the Golden Dragon, Captain Lyman told us our planes are attacking the Marshall Islands. A can picks up a contact on sub. Drop charges" [Jan 24, 1944]. "Rescued pilot from a plane crash. Plane was shot up on a raid over Truk. Pilot ok. Dropped charges on a jap sub. Believed to have sunk it. Oil slick on water. Called GQ at 1800. Being attacked by torpedo planes. Shot down six. Not much sleep tonight" [Feb 16, 1944]. "Executive Officer gives us the dope today. On our way to raid Markus and Wake. We have Wasp, Essex and Sanasinto [ie San Jacinto]. Heavy cruisers also We are to leave our Task Group with Sanasinto [sic] and San Diego and Division 104 (cans). We are to intercept anything on its way to Japan or any other island. We are operationg about 650 miles from Tokyo. Easy bombing range. We meet the Task Group at dawn. We are to raid Wake on the way back" [May 17, 1944]. "Transferred men to Bunker Hill. Picked up a dead Jap pilot and parachute. His head, legs and one arm was missing. Outside of that he was in pretty good shape" [June 23, 1944]. ".about 15 planes came in on us but only 8 got by the fighters. Sigsbee got her fantail blown completely off killing 20 men. She was about 100 yards off our port quarter. We put up such a good secondary defense that we warded off three planes. They were making runs on us but pulled out and missed by feet. One plane that we warded off hit the hunt tearing off her whale boatone plane crashed off our starboard quarter missing us by a few yards" [April 14, 1945]. This collection also includes a typed transcript of Averitt's diary. The transcript was typed on a computer and printed out on continuous printer paper. The pages have not been separated. The transcriptionist is unknown. Following the war, the U. S. S. Lewis Hancock Association was created. Part of this collection is an undated, glossy Reunion 'yearbook. Context suggests that this reunion took place in Falls River MA as there is a picture of the USS Massachusetts included. No date is given, but again contect would suggest that it occurred in the 1980s or 90s. Of significance is a listing of attendees along with their addresses. Included is a copy of James C Fahey's 1941 edition of the excellent reference work The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet. - Two Ocean Fleet Edition. This was a detailed listing of all ships in the United States Navy along with extensive information about each ship and class. In addition to the print materials, there is a black and white photograph of 2 young men circa 1940. It can be presumed that one of the young men pictured is William L. Averitt. There are also five rank patches. It is reasonable to assu.
