Command Ship Sailors Commemorate WWII Heroes From 60 Years Past
Story Number: NNS020228-06
Release Date: 2/28/2002 2:41:00 PM
By Journalist 1st Class Bruce Cummins, 7th Fleet Public Affairs
USS BLUE RIDGE, At Sea (NNS) -- More than 300 Sailors and Marines gathered on the main deck of the 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) Feb. 28 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of what some historians have called the most significant surface naval battle between the Australian, British, Dutch and American (ABDA) Allies and the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II -- the Battle of the Java Sea.
Sixty years ago this month, the waters around what is now Indonesia were disrupted by gunfire, torpedoes and sinking ships. Today, however, as Blue Ridge passed through calm waters under a blazing sun during its current at-sea period, Sailors and Marines sailed through the exact location where ABDA naval forces performed a last stand in a desperate, although ultimately unsuccessful, effort to protect the sole remaining Allied-controlled island of Java in a hopelessly one-sided battle.
After the ceremony, modern-day Sailors' thoughts turned to their predecessors and the sacrifice they made decades ago.
"It was really an honor to be here in the same place that they were when they gave their lives to support freedom," said Fire Controlman 1st Class (SW) Jason Dunn, a wreath-bearer during the ceremony. "Not very many people get the opportunity to actually come out here and experience something like this."
The 7th Fleet/Blue Ridge Java Sea commemoration ceremony, a stirring and fitting memorial highlighted by the laying to rest of a ceremonial wreath in the vicinity of where the major portion of the battle took place, brought full circle the sacrifices and similarities Sailors of yesteryear and today willingly undertake.
According to Capt. W.R. Mason, 7th Fleet chief of staff, and one of the ceremony's guest speakers, the history-making event mirrored the mission and spirit of today's fleet and the Sailors manning its ships.
"I don't know if any of us can really understand what it must have been like for the men in those ships 60 years ago, here in these very waters," he said. "But in many ways those Sailors were just like us here aboard Blue Ridge today: a cross-section of the country, the sons and brothers and fathers of their families," Mason said. "We should remember and keep alive the knowledge of the heroic acts of our fellow Sailors, and in doing this, we might all think about how we are prepared today as we fight the war on terrorism."
After an invocation offered by the 7th Fleet chaplain, Cmdr. William Perdue, Blue Ridge commanding officer, Capt. Andrew G. Sevald, recounted the battle in dramatic fashion, presenting the crew, many of whom were previously unaware of this significant surface engagement, a detailed synopsis of the battle.
The captain recounted the necessary, yet untested ABDA alliance formed in January 1942. He told of the battles that occurred prior to the Java Sea fight -- battles that were supposed to slow the advance of the Imperial Japanese Navy, but had little success. He told of the inspiring and heroic events of the final battles around Java, which resulted in the loss of so much life.
"Many of the men who fought so bravely from these ships didn't survive," Sevald said. "Today, we remember these sacrifices and the dedication of these heroic men who fought bravely and without concern for their own safety and gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms that we enjoy."
Mason then addressed the crew, highlighting the similarities between USS Houston (CA 30) -- one of the U.S. ships involved in the Java Sea Battle -- and the Blue Ridge.
"Take a look around you," he said. "Look at the people nearest to you -- your friends, your coworkers and your shipmates. For the 1,000 Sailors on board Houston, not even one in four would survive the end of the war. More than 700 Sailors went down with the ship when Houston was lost in the waters off Java, and many more died in prisoner of war and labor camps. Today is an excellent opportunity for us to reaffirm our dedication to our sworn commitment."
After Mason's comments, selected 7th Fleet and Blue Ridge Sailors tied ribbons around the nearly 10-foot wreath, symbolizing both remembrance and appreciation for the American, Australian, Dutch and British Sailors who lost their lives in the conflict.
Additional ribbons, representing Indonesia and all others lost at sea, were also tied to the wreath, which was then solemnly carried to the starboard side of the ship, raised by the four wreath bearers over the lifeline and committed to the sea. Earlier, the names of each of the Allied ships lost during the battle were read to the accompaniment of a drum roll.
The ceremony concluded as seven Marines of the Fleet Anti-terrorism Support Team fired three volleys -- a 21-gun salute -- while a member of the 7th Fleet Band sounded "Taps."
