Veterans Day- In Honor of the Sullivan Brothers

No one story brings more emotions in me then that of the Fighting Sullivan Brothers, as a mother of 2 boys myself, I can only imagine the pain the family endured.

 Albert, Frances, George, Joseph, and Madison(Matt): five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa. As children they were full of mischief, but loyal to each other and came from a close knit Irish-American family. After Pearl Harbor the brothers enlisted in the navy together and chose to serve together, all though at the time it was against the navy’s policy. The brothers insisted, and were granted special permission. And so on February 3, 1942 the boys reported onboard USS Juneau.

In November of 1942, the Juneau was in the Pacific, and was torpedoed during the battle of Guadalcanal, survivor accounts reported that Frank, Joe and Matt died instantly, Al drowned the next day, and George survived for about 5 days in a raft until he went insane from the grief of losing his brothers and went over the side, he was never seen again.  This was the greatest loss to any one American family during WWll.

The brothers received the Purple Heart Medal posthumously and were entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four engagement stars and the World War II Victory Medal. They had also earned the Good Conduct Medal.

Since the tragic death of the boys, 2 ships have since had the honor of being named after them. The current USS The Sullivan’s, DDG 68 an Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyer was commissioned April 19, 1997. In Staten Island, NY.

 In 2000 a group affiliated with Al Qaeda tried to attack and destroy “The Sullivan’s” but the attacker’s boat sank before they could carry out their plan. The Al Qaeda group was successful on their second attempt with the attack on the USS COLE.

While on staff duty USS The Sullivan’s was in Hubby’s squadron, he had the privilege of embarking onboard and has always said: “It’s A Fine Navy Vessel with Character”

USS The Sullivans DDG-68 During VANDALEX Dec. 2003
Hubby was embarked onboard USS Kennedy during this exercise