For My Dad On Veterans Day 83 Footer 83-301 U.S.Coast Guard WW2....An Iron Sailor

My Dad Seamn 1/C G. Stuart Richards as a Seaman In the USCG. 1942-1944


“Semper Paratus”

ALWAYS READY

Dad.

Iron Sailor of the Wooden Patrol Boats
The 83 Footer
CG-83-301

The 83 footer story began in 1940 when the first of 230 cutters was built for the USCG. The wooden cutters were used for convoy duty in the Gulf and ASW patrol off the east coast of the U.S.



The 83 footer USCG vessel the type my dad served on. His was CG-83-301

My Dad Seaman 1/C G. Stuart Richards enlisted as a seaman in the United States Coast Guard on September 24, 1942. He entered the USCG at Curtis Bay, Md. And was subsequently stationed at Ocracoke Station, N.C. located near Cape Hatteras. Dad served as a sonar operator and a 20 mm gunner on board an 83 foot sub-chaser. They were assigned the duty of patrolling the east coast of the U.S. looking for German U boats.
My Dad told me this info:
“I was assigned duty on board an 83 foot sub-chaser with the designation CG-83-301. They were too small a craft to have a name. They were made of wood and had a top speed of about 30 knots. We carried 12 Depth charges on board, 2 on each launcher and 2 set on a Y gun located in the center of the ship. The crew consisted of 22 men and officers. Our skipper was a commander. The ship was pretty confined and you slept on a rack that hung from the ceiling by chains. The enlisted men slept in the forecastle. My job on board was as a sonar operator who listened for the underwater sounds of a sub. The equipment we used consisted of a sounder that sent out a signal and a wheel that was located between your legs. This had a compass rose on it. By turning in it you could tell what direction you were listening in. if any subs were out there, the sound would echo of their hull and return to the gear. Sometimes you would pick up the sounds of fish or the propellers of other ships. You had to learn the difference between the sounds. You got a bearing from this information that could guide the ship toward the sub. The sonar room was a small room located aft of the forecastle and you could only fit two men in there. After a sub was found, we went to general quarters where I manned a 20 mm gun.
We helped chase down a few German subs, we think, we saw a lot of oil slicks when we fired depth charges but you never knew. I picked up a German life preserver and light that I kept. We also got a commendation medal for helping to get a yacht out of a mine field. We had to go in there and tow them out. What they were doing in there during wartime was pretty unusual and really dumb.



On Patrol
My last trip on CG-83-301 was on September 30, 1944. we were on a patrol when we had a fire in the engine room and were called to general quarters and then started to fight the fire. I was using a fire hose in the hold above the engine room when there was a big explosion. The boiler blew up and threw me backwards pretty far. I landed against an ammunition can for the 20mm. I broke my back, crushing three vertebrae. I couldn’t move my lower body. The ship was pretty well damaged. The whole side, from mid ship to the stern, was wrecked. We didn’t sink because all the water tight doors were closed. It took 4 to 5 hours to get us into Portsmouth where I went into the Naval hospital and spent the next 20 months recuperating. I was then discharged from the Coast Guard.

My dad’s vessel CG 83-301 CG 451 WAS WRECKED IN TYPHOON 0N 9 OCT 1945 near Okinawa.



Dad At the World War ll Vetrans Memorial in Washington DC. 2004

My brother Rick and his wife Sally took Dad to visit the memorial in June of 2004. He was so happy, many people came up to him and thanked him for his service.I am so glad he had this pleasant experience.

My dad was very proud of what he did in the USCG and World War ll, he devoted his whole adult life to the VFW and the Disabled American Veterans. Dad was 100% disabled from the injuries he received while on CG 83-301.But I never once heard him complain of his injuries. He was a great dad to both myself and my brother devoting his time to trying to make our lives happy, sports, vacations, etc. He was a hard worker and I truly miss him. He died in 2006.

G. Stuart Richards 1921-2006

SEMPER PARATUS DAD!

Tribute to Sgt Harold Messerschmidt, 3rd Infantry Division Schuylkill County MOH Holder WW2

This is a recent tribute to Sgt. Messerschmidt who was KIA at Raddon, France.

American Forces Network Europe Home Article Display (DD)
Tag This Link For Video

The Vosges Mountains are located in the northeast portion of France. Heavy fighting took place there in August and September of 1944. The fighting there would terminate the foot hold German troops had on France. Fighting in this area was the famous 3rd Infantry Division. Because of their fierce fighting methods the Germans still held a portion of the Belfort Gap in the Vosges. On the 15th of September the 3rd ID was on the move marching north toward the French town of Faucogney.

Fighting with the 3rd ID was Schuylkill Countian Sgt. Harold O. Messerschmidt born in Grier City, Schuylkill County. Sgt. Messerschmidt enlisted in the U.S. Army at Chester, Pa. On the 17th of September Messerschmidt’s unit, Company L 30th Infantry Regt. was in the process of trying to capture a small village west of Faucogney named Raddon. Company L had just taken a heavily forested ridge that dominated an important and strategic road. About mid day a heavy tank and artillery fire swept the ridge immediately followed by advancing German infantry over 200 strong. One member of the unit stated” They rushed into our fire in an insane manner, as if they had been given liquor or drugs.” For six hours Sgt. Messerschmidt and the men of his squad held the right flank of the company and resisted wave after wave of the fanatical German troops. Sgt. Messerschmidt ran out of ammunition and was the only member of his squad still standing, he used his Tommy gun as a club to kill as many Germans as he could. A last ditch charge by the enemy came rushing up the slope and caught Sgt. Messerschmidt still wielding his empty weapon were upon he was killed. At the end of this engagement Company L was down to only four squads and very nearly out of ammunition, but they held the ridge.

Sgt. Harold Messerschmidt was awarded the Medal Of Honor posthumously on 17 July 1946.

The Citation:

Sergeant Messerschmidt, Harold O. Army
Medal of Honor

SERGEANT HAROLD O. MESSERSCHMIDT

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company L, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Radden, France, 17 September 1944. Entered service at: Chester, Pa. Birth: Grier City, Pa. G.O. No.: 71, 17 July 1946.

Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Braving machinegun, machine pistol, and rifle fire, he moved fearlessly and calmly from man to man along his 40-yard squad front, encouraging each to hold against the overwhelming assault of a fanatical foe surging up the hillside. Knocked to the ground by a burst from an enemy automatic weapon, he immediately jumped to his feet, and ignoring his grave wounds, fired his submachine gun at the enemy that was now upon them, killing 5 and wounding many others before his ammunition was spent. Virtually surrounded by a frenzied foe and all of his squad now casualties, he elected to fight alone, using his empty submachine gun as a bludgeon against his assailants. Spotting 1 of the enemy about to kill a wounded comrade, he felled the German with a blow of his weapon. Seeing friendly reinforcements running up the hill, he continued furiously to wield his empty gun against the foe in a new attack, and it was thus that he made the supreme sacrifice. Sgt. Messerschmidt's sustained heroism in hand-to-hand combat with superior enemy forces was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service .



Sgt. Harold O. Messershmidt is buried in the:
Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery
Barnesville
Schuylkill County

JACK THE MASCOT OF COMPANY C 109TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 28TH DIVISION

A Wired Hair Terrier The Type Jack Was

JACK MASCOT OF COMPANY C 109TH INFANTRY REGIMENT 28TH DIVISION.

EX DOUGHBOY FROM MAHANOY CITY FINDS HIS DOG FRIEND OF WORLD WAR 1 BATTLEFIELDS DEAD.

United Press.
Philadelphia Jan 27, 1930

This is a great story about a dog, a mascot of the 109th Infantry regiment, 28th Division during WW1. Jack a little wired haired fox terrier will be buried near Radnor today with all the honors of a warrior. His broken little body will rest in a flag draped casket. At least one squad from Company C, 109th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard, will be in attendance and a regular bugler will blow taps on a silver tongued coronet. Twelve years ago Jack was a precious little puppy who didn’t understand a word of the very expressive English used by the members of Company C, when their dust coated hobnailed boots awakened the echoes in a little battle scared village in the Condrecourt area. The language of bones, nice juicy bones with meat attached is universal, however and Jack permanently attached himself to the company and to Corporal James C. McCool, of Mahanoy City, Pa. in particular. Following the soul stirring months of the summer of 1918 with fighting everywhere from Flanders to the Vosges and the 28th Division in the thick of it. So was McCool and Company C and his buddy Jack, dodging across a machine gun swept wheat field one sunny morning in July, Jack got his “Blighty” It resulted in the amputation of his right foreleg. Regimental surgeons fixed him up. Two months latter at St. Mihiel, cool was seriously wounded. Before being evacuated he gave strict orders to his squad to take care of Jack.

The 213th Coast Artillery Schuylkill County Men During the Years of Peace. 1922-1941

During the years of Peace
1920-1941
The 213th Coast Artillery

In 1922, both Pottsville’s companies were reorganized, Co. C and D of the 103rd Engineers, The old First Defender Company the Washington Artillery of 1861 became the service battery of the 213th Coast Artillery, And Company H of the 112th Infantry Regiment of WW 1 fame, the old National Light Infantry of 1861 another of the famed First Defenders, became the Headquarters Battery, 213th Coast Artillery. Again August of 1924 they were reorganized to arm the 213th Coast Artillery. During the years that followed the units became highly proficient in there new roll as anti aircraft artillery, with its intricate problems of three dimensional gunnery, tactical organization, material and fire control instruments. Adapting itself to its new assignment and concentrating on training, the companies and regiment soon attained a technique and tactical proficiency which made it second to none and which placed it high among the vital instruments essential to the National Defense of the Nation and State.
The companies along with the regiment followed an intensive training program which include annual field training camps at stations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey. It participated in the III Corps maneuvers at Heuvelton, New York, near Ogdensburg, and conducted firing practice from Fort Ontario New York. It received a citation from headquarters 28th Division, during the First Army Maneuvers for its High Spirit and usual initiative” and for “the efferent manner in which the regiment gave anti aircraft protection.”
In early December 1942, the 213th Coast Artillery moved from Camp Stewart into the New York Metropolitan area for the defense of the Coast Line. In April 1942 the 213th was split up, many men moved into different branches of the Army; some went into the Engineers, Infantry and other branches. Some cadre stayed behind and rebuilt the 213th coast Artillery. It is hard to trace the men or unit at this point. We know the 213th served in Northern Ireland, Scotland, North Africa, Italy and France. They also participated in the following campaigners: Tunisia, Naples, Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, Po valley Rhineland, Algeria, French Morocco. Eventually the unit was inactivated in 1944 after being in the service of our country for four years. We are quite sure, even though the unit and men from Schuylkill County went in different directions during the war; they served their country and state with dignity and honor, as did their forefathers.

From A History of Pottsville’s National Guard Units.


HQ Battery, Schuylkill Haven Pud Fager 1st Sgt. In Front.


213th Coast Arty Band From Pottsville, Pa.


Machine Gun Battery Firing at Balloons Grand View Beach, Va.


Gun ready for action 213th CA.


Front Row Left to right Irvin MArtin, Ed Armbuster, Norman Golden Francis Francis,unknown , Bob Rowe Vaughan Hipple. 213th


The Boat that took the 213th from Phila, to Fort Monroe Va.


On Board the Chateau Thierry


F.W.D. Trucks taking the boys to the pistol range Ft. Monroe, Va.