The Whitehurst Bell

On April 12, 1945, a Kamikaze struck USS Whitehurst DE-634, passed through CIC, and exited the pilot house on the starboard side.  The entire bridge was in flames.  The 500 pound bomb's delayed fuse exploded about 50 feet off the starboard bow.  Forty-two men were lost.  

When Whitehurst arrived at Pearl Harbor for repairs, May 10, 1945, an entire bridge superstructure was waiting on the dock.  I have not been able to determine whether the new structure carried a new bell.  The few WWII vets, with whom I am in contact, do not remember whether the bell was damaged or replaced.  A question is outstanding with the Navy Historical center which could possibly solve the mystery.  

In 1971 shortly before Whitehurst was sunk during the testing of a new torpedo, a wise old Chief “rescued” the Bell. He in turn offered it to GMC Tim Lake, who served on Whitehurst several years.  Tim kept it in his garage until April 2005.  So the bell we have was aboard Whitehurst from 1945 until 1971 and may possibly be the original bell from 1943.

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2 September 2005: Dave Harlan, who was the ship's Communications Officer after the 1950 recommissioning called with this story. 

"Before the Whitehurst left for the west coast, it had to be inspected by the Senior Destroyer Officer in the Atlantic Fleet.  This was the Admiral over Destroyer Flotilla Three in Norfolk.  The inspection was such a ridiculous comedy, but that is a story in itself.

After the inspection the officers and the admiral's staff met in the wardroom and discussed everything that was wrong.  The admiral felt that the Navy should remove the Whitehurst's bell, ship it to the West Coast, and install a new ship under it.

As luck would have it, within two months, the bell disintegrated when we were at anchor off the Coronado Strand in fog.*  We discovered that the bell was not solid bronze, but bronze coated with pot metal.

I believe the new bell was a midnight requisition, from the 26th St. Naval Base, by BM McDermott and QM Denardis.  I understand that it may have come from a tug boat.

I was in Philadelphia in May of 1953, and met with McDermott and Denardis.  One of the incidents they laughed about was the ships bell.

*Navy regulations require that a ship anchored in fog, ring its bell rapidly at specific intervals.

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Now we know that we do not have the original Whitehurst Bell and the question arises, "Is this the third Whitehurst bell?" We definitely have the bell that was
on the ship the longest.

In March 2005, Tim called me asking what should be done with the Whitehurst Bell.  It was a total surprise. Like most of my shipmates, I thought it had gone down with the ship.  My suggestion was that it be donated to the DESA Museum aboard the USS Slater, in Albany, NY.  Tim agreed so quickly that I’m sure he had already thought of that. 

Tim shipped the bell to me for polishing, photographing, and recording of the sound.  It was displayed at the reunion, September 21-24, 2005 and presented to the DESA Museum aboard the USS Slater DE-766 in a ceremony that took place on the fantail of the Slater, Saturday, September 24^th,  last day of the reunion.  

The Whitehurst Bell performed its duty well when QMCM Al Crawford rang
it smartly, honoring our recently departed shipmates.  It had lain dormant for 36 years.  Now it occupies a place of honor in the DE History Museum, aboard USS Slater DE-766, Albany, NY.

       
     ReU Host, Dick Cromer, presents the Whitehurst Bell to      Whitehurst Bell's new home near
       DESA Museum aboard USS Slater DE-766                                Whitehurst locker on the Slater                         

The Navy considers all ship’s bells to be Navy property.  DESA Museum Curator, Pat Perella, has made arrangements with the Navy Historical Center in Washington DC, to house the bell aboard the Slater.  It will be displayed in the after crews quarters beside the last locker on the port side, inboard.  This locker is covered in plexi-glass and already has several pieces of Whitehurst memorabilia.
  
Max Crow, Yeoman USS Whitehurst Assn. July, 2005         

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