U.S.S. Brackett (DE-41)

On the 12th of January 1943 a keel was laid on the ways at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a British Destroyer Escort, a short hull vessel of the "EVARTS" class.

Design parameters are 289.41'in length, an L.W.L. of 283.5', 35.0'- beam, a displacement weight of 1,436 tons, and a top speed of 22 Knots. She had a fuel capacity of 198 tons of diesel oil, and had as propulsion units, GMT-GM Tandem Diesels.

Her armament consisted of Three - 3"/50 cal. guns - her main battery; one 1.1" gun, nine - 20 mm single guns, one Hedgehog which fired 24 round contact fused missiles in a submarine size pattern. Each round had a 30-pound TNT warhead. Two Depth Charge Racks which carried a number of "ash can" type projectiles filled with 300 pounds of TNT, eight "K" gun projectors that fired single "ash cans." The electronics includes a Mark 51 director for the 1.1" gun, a "SL" S -band surface search radar with an approximate range of 13 miles, a "Bed Spring" SA air search radar with an approximate range of about 12 miles, a "HF/DF" high frequency direction finder to locate submarines that were transmitting radio signals, and a "QC" type Sonar.

Her full complement incorporates 15 Officers and 183 Men. She had 6000 horsepower (shaft) and could go 4,150 nautical miles at 12 knots.

She was launched on 1 August 1943 with Mrs. George Brackett, mother of the ship's namesake, proudly sponsoring the ship named after her son. Lieutenant Bruce Godfrey Brackett, USNR was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously for his heroic action in the South Pacific prior to his death on 15 January 1943. His citation reads as follows:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands from December 16, 1942 to January 14, 1943. During this period of intense activity, LT Brackett, utterly disregarding his own personal safety, displayed extraordinary courage as pilot of a patrol plane, repeatedly participating in hazardous night actions despite extremely unfavorable weather conditions. On twelve occasions he particularly distinguished himself when, in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire, he assisted in the vital offensive operations of our PT boat squadrons by illuminating evasive hostile targets. Throughout the series of furious engagements with a grimly determined enemy, LT Brackett carried out his missions with exceptional initiative and heroism. He gallantly gave his life in service of his country."

The Brackett was commissioned on October 18th 1943. Mrs. Brackett honored the ship with her son's name and us, by being at the commissioning ceremony. The Captain of the Yard and the Chaplain spoke of Mrs. Brackett's son and his contribution to his country. We reassembled aboard the ship and the Commissioning ceremony was held. The ship was passed to her captain, Lt. Roskilley. Most of the crew had trained together at the Norfolk Naval Base, and had attended the myriads of schools, prior to having the train trip across the United States to the Bremerton Naval Shipyard. For instance, Lt. Wright and Bill Riley had a number of Gunner Mate strikers on the U.S.S. New York for a month of gunnery practice, prior to the commissioning. The plan of the day looked like this:

The crew of the Brackett assemble in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 18 October 1943.

  • 1158 Ten United States Naval Reserve Officers and 187 enlisted men marched aboard, single file and fell in by sections at quarters.

  • 1205 Commander C. A. Dittmar Chaplain, U.S.N., and Captain L. F. Kimball, U.S.N., Captain of the Yard, Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., boarded the ship.
  • 1208 Prayer by the Chaplain.
  • 1212 Captain L. F. Kimball, U.S.N., read the order of the Commandant, Thirteenth Naval District, No.212322 of 1 October 1943 directing the Captain of the Yard to place this vessel in commission.
  • 1215 The National anthem was played by the Navy Yard Band located on pier No. 7, Puget Sound Navy Yard. The National Ensign, the Jack and the Commissioning pennant were two-blocked. The ship was commissioned the U.S.S. BRACKETT.
  • 1219 The Captain of the Yard published a congratulatory letter from the Secretary of the Navy.
  • 1222 Lieutenant John H. Roskilly, Jr. DE-V(G), U.S.N.R., read BuPers orders 78220, Pers-3134-MWC-6 of 23 September 1943 (confirmation orders), and assumed command in accordance with paragraph two (2) of his orders.

The following named officers and men are here logged aboard for duty: 

Lt. Alfred C Reed                   Decatur, Ga.
Lt. Earnest M. Wright               East Port Orchid, Wash.
Lt.(jg) Hal B. Painter              Long Beach, Calif.
Lt.(jg) Harry W. Tate               Houston, TX.
Lt.(jg) George H. Daviau            Los Angeles, Calif.
Lt.(jg) Harold W. Barnett           New York City, N.Y.
Lt.(jg) Richard L. Breen            Bronx, N.Y.
Ens. Joseph B. Chomel               Connersville, Ind.
Ens. Roland L. Heringer             East Port Orchard, Wash


Alford, Dewey M  F3c                Columbia, S.C.
Anderson, D.E. S2c                  Detroit, Mich.
Anderson, V.T. S2                   Roanoke, Va.
Ansley, J.A. SC3c                   Macon, Ga.
Austin, R.C. S2c                    Norfolk, Va.
Baylor, R.J. RM3c                   Portland, Ore.
Bass, W. J. S2c                     Columbia, N.C.
Beere, R. BM1c                      Norfolk, Va.
Berbrick, G.C. MoMM2c               Springfield, Mass.
Bestwick, L. K. FC3c                Los Angeles, Calif.
Bishop. J. D. S1c                   Richmond, Va.
Boone, B. M. S2c                    Baltimore, Md.
Bradford, C.F. S2c                  Richmond, Va.
Broome, W. M. S2c                   Atlanta, Ga.
Brown, E. E. StM2c                  Richmond, Va.
Brown, H. J. S2c                    New York City, N.Y.
Bruns, F.A. Jr. S2c                 Baltimore, Md.


Burden, R. L. S2c                   Columbia, S.C.
Cannon, U. E. S2c                   Indianapolis, Ind.
Carmony, W. E. QM3c                 Cincinnati, Ohio
Carroll, A. L. S2c                  Chicago, Ill.
Carye, R. A. F2c                    Boston, Mass.
Chick, J. M. S1c                    St. Louis, Mo.
Christopher, I. H. F3c              Chicago, Ill.
Clark, A. U. StM2c                  Demopolis, Ala.
Clary, A. C. GM2c                   San Diego, Calif.
Cogar, G. E. S2c                    Clarksburg, W. Va.
Conte, A. A. F1c                    New Haven, Conn.
Cook, R.A. S2c                      Raleigh, N. C.
Coorey, R. B. S2c                   Cincinnati, Ohio
Culley, R. W. StM2c                 Richmond, Va.
Daniels, B. M. F3c                  Chicago, Ill.
Daoust, W. Jr.S2c                   Huntington, W. Va.
Davies, W. O. Jr. S1c               Chicago, Ill.
Detwiler, W. D. S2c                 Philadelphia, Pa.
Dillon, J. F. S2c                   Indianapolis, Ind.
Donohue, F. J. F3c                  New York City, N.Y.
Dourgarian, A. S. F2c               No Record
Drumheller, G.P. S2c                Washington, D.C.
Dupree, J. R. StM2c                 Chicago, Ill.
Durrenberger, L. J. S2c             Buffalo, N.Y.
Emanuel, N. L. CK2c                 Houston, TX.
Farino, B. J. S2c                   Camden, N.J.
Faulkner, D. B. S2c                 Atlanta, Ga.
Felix, N. S2c                       Pittsburgh, Pa.
Fisher, L. C. S2c                   Allentown, Pa.
Foell, L. A. F2c                    Des Moines, Iowa
Ford, R. E. S2c                     New York City, N.Y.
Fox, R. H. S2c                      Minneapolis, Minn.
Gammon, L. N. F3c                   Richmond, Va.
Gorman, J. E. S2c                   New York City, N.Y.
Greathouse, T. J. F2c               Baltimore, Md.
Greenberg, L. S2c                   Philadelphia, Pa.
Gregory, B. E. F2c                  Los Angeles, Calif.
Griffard, C. T. F1c                 Boise, Idaho
Guch, G. S2c                        Clarksburg, W. Va.
Gusler, M. G. S2c                   Roanoke, Va.
Hall, J. F. S1c                     Pittsburgh, Pa.
Halza, S.J. F2c                     Pittsburgh, Pa.
Hamilton, R. W. RM3c                Portland, Ore.
Harris, J. K. III. , S2c            Richmond, Va.
Harris, G. O. S1c                   Dallas, TX.
Henning, W. C. F2c                  Philadelphia, Pa.
Henderson, E. B. S1c                Portland, Ore.
Howell, W. W. S1c                   Kalamazoo. Mich.
Hunley, A. S. S2c                   Roanoake, Va.
Hutchens, D/ L. GM3c                Cleveland, Ohio
Jennings, K. P. S1c                 Columbus, Ohio
Jordan, T. F3c                      Dreenaburg, Pa.
Juliano, L. D. F3c                  Hartford, Conn.
Keavy, S. W. S2c                    Boston, Mass.
Kelsch, W. G. S2c                   Cincinnati, Ohio
Kestner, D. E. S2c                  Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kieffer, V. M. S2c                  Des Moines, Iowa
King, R. C. Jr. S2c                 Portland, Maine
Kirby, D. L. S2c                    Charleston, W. Va.
Kolacinski, W. V. F3c               New York City, N.Y.
Knight, W. R. EM3c                  Los Angeles, Calif.
Korona E. T. SF3c                   New York City, N. Y.
Krause, J. Jr. F3c                  New Haven, Conn.
Leclair, A. S2c                     Atlanta, Ga.
Lehr, R. D. S2c                     Chicago, Ill.
Leonard, H. T. F3c                  Baltimore, Md.
Leonard, M. J. F2c                  New York City, N.Y.
Lester, L. S2c                      Abinagdon, Va.
Levesque, E. R. F3c                 Hartford, Conn.
Libby, M. J. F3c                    New Haven, Conn.
Lightner, H. D. F2c                 Los Angeles, Calif.
Lilly, W. T. S2c                    Indianapolis, Ind.
Lindblad, W.A. F2c                  Jackson, Miss.
Liptak, G. E. S2c                   New York City, N.Y.
Long, C. E. S1c                     St. Louis, Mo.
Mahany, J. L. F2c                   Chicago, Ill.
Marzano, E. J. F3c                  Hartford, Conn.
Matthew, D. F. M2c                  Charleston, W. Va.
McCann, G.W. F2c                    Santa Fe, N.M.
Mc Connell, W. F. S2c               Altoona, Pa.


McDaniel, R. L. F3c                 Macon, Ga.
Mowery, T. F. S2c                   Cleveland, Ohio
Miller, D. P. S2c                   Omaha, Neb.
Neice, T. B. S1c                    Chicago, Ill.
Paist, J. M. S1c                    Philadelphia, Pa.
Parry, C  S1c                       Albany, N. Y.
Payne, R. L. S2c                    Richmond, Va.
Riley, W. J. T. GM3c                Philadelphia, Pa.
Roberts, W. L. F3c                  Boston, Mass.
Roehl, G. A. S2c                    No Record
Romano, R. P. S2c                   New York City, N.Y.
Scheller, K. B. S2c                 Pittsburgh, Pa.
Schneider, R. H. S2c                Philadelphia, Pa.
Short, C. E. S2c                    Jacksonville, Fla.
Spencer, L. R. F2c                  Kansas City, Mo.
St. Leon K. PhM3c                   Jacksonville, Fla.
Stiefel, L. E. EM3c                 Kansas City, Mo.
Stone, L. A. S2c                    Atlanta, Ga.
Strode, W. C. S2c                   Louisville, Ky.
Stuckert, R. L. S2c                 Toledo, Ohio
Sullivan, P. J. S2c                 Miami, Fla.
Sweeney, J. J. S2c                  New York City, N.Y.
Sykes W. H. S2c                     Raleigh, S.C.
Tarantino, P. V. S2c                Chicago, Ill.
Thode, G. T. Y2c                    Des Moines, Iowa


Thrasher, J. D. S2c                  Chattanooga, Tn.
Townsend, H. F. S2c                  Chattanooga, Tn.
Turner, T. E. S2c                    Portland, Maine
Turner, K S2c                        Columbia, S.C.
Vanover, G. L. S2c                   Abingdon, Va.
Walters, J. M. S2c                   Columbia, S.C.
Webster, T. A. S2c                   Clarksburg, Va.
Williamson, C. C. F2c                Birmingham, Ala.
Wise, H. D. S1c                      Toledo, Ohio
Woodring, G. F. F2c                  Cincinnati, Ohio

The above enlisted men were here in accordance with the Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Training Center, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia. Orders of 11 October 1943.

The following men reported in accordance with the Commanding Officer Puget Sound Navy Yard: Orders of 18 October 1943: 

Barham, L. CMoMM                      Los Angeles, Calif.
Bert, J. E. RdM3c                     Kansas City, Mo.
Bickford, C. O. RM1c                  Boston, Mass.
Busch, J. P. SoM2c                    Milwaukee, Wisc.
Glaser, J. L. Y3c                     Los Angeles, Calif.
Goodrich, J. A. USN                   Bremerton, Wash.
Goodson, R. D.Y2c                     Dallas, TX.
Graham, J. CBM                        San Diego, Calif.


Gregg, K. T. EM1c                     Raleigh, S.C.
Hall, C. A. MoMM2c                    New York City, N.Y.
Henry, C. A. SK1c                     San Francisco, Calif.
Hoen, C. W. FC3c                      New York City, N.Y.
Kaufman L. SM1c                       New York City, N.Y.
King, L. E. EM3c                      Portland, Maine
Lane, "Y" "C" MoMM1c                  Little Rock, Ark.
Lutgens K. F. CEM                     Minneapolis, Minn.
Nagle R. C. EM3c                      Buffalo, N.Y.
Nicoletti, W. H. EM2c                 New York City, N.Y.
Paige J. W. S2c                       Macon, Ga.
Paul, C. EM2c                         Jacksonville, Fla.
Poland, R. G. S2c                     Los Angeles, Calif.
Renaud, M. L. SoM3c                   St. Louis, Mo.
Ryan, G. K. CCS                       Cleveland, Ohio
Schleife, F. H. SF2c                  Richmond, Va.
Scholz, E. L. GM1c                    Baltimore, Md.
Schumacher, E. S. QM2c                Jacksonville, Fla.,
Schuyler, R. J. S2c                   Buffalo, N.Y.
Sigmund, A. MoMM2c                    Philadelphia, Pa.
Smith, J. A. EM2c                     New York City, N.Y.
Stowers, H. C. F2c                    Huntington, W. Va.
Sweeney, R. P. SoM3c                  Seattle, Wash.
Sweetland, E. A. SoM3c                Portland, Ore.
Tart, D. H. SoM2c                     Raleigh, S.C.


Troy, J. L. S2c                       Boston, Mass.
Uhler, R. L. S2c                      Boise, Idaho
Wotring, M. J. SoM3c                  Minneapolis, Minn.
Young, J. A. PhM1c                    Portland, Ore.
Zdrojewski, E. J. S2c                 Chicago, Ill.

The following named men in accordance with order of Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Training Station, N.O.B. Norfolk, Va. dated 12 October 1943: 


Caro, Angelo R. Cox                  Buffalo, N.Y.
Yalinek, C. S2c,                     Cleveland, Ohio
Bianconi, R. F. F3c                  No Record
Kesock, E. J. S2c                    Pittsburgh, Pa.
Head, S. A. S2c                      No Record
Guyon, B. D. S2c                     Nashville, Tenn.
Drake, J. D. F3c                     Louisville, Ky.
Wilson, V. A. S2c                    Atlanta, Ga.
Mc Millan, J. R. S2c                 Atlanta, Ga.
Mc Mahan, G. D. S2c                  Chattanooga, Tenn.
Cosgrave, C. H. S2c                  New York City, N.Y.
Huber, J. J. S2c                     Pittsburgh, Pa.

  • 1225 Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. BRACKETT, (DE-41) directed the Executive Officer to set the watch.
  • 1225 The watch was set, first section, port watch. Lt.(jg) G.H. Daviau, USNR, assumed his duties as Officer of the Deck.
  • 1230 Captain L. F. Kimball, U.S.N. departed from the ship with appropriate side honors.
  • 1232 Commander C. A. Dittmar, Chaplain, U.S.N., left the ship.

Submitted by: William L. Roberts


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