World War II Chronicle: November 4, 1941
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Five personnel from the oiler USS Salinas were awarded Navy Crosses for their actions during the October 30 U-boat attack reported on the front page. See page 31 of the February 1942 edition of All Hands magazine for more… The Navy Department is somewhat tight-lipped regarding details of the crash that killed 12 sailors and a soldier on Sunday, presumably in the Iceland “war zone,” which has already claimed the lives of well over 100 Americans.
The “bomber” is in fact a Martin PBM Mariner flying boat. The crew was returning from an uneventful patrol over the North Atlantic when they discovered zero-visibility conditions prevented landing at Iceland. The pilot circled, waiting for conditions to improve, but eventually had to attempt a landing. The Mariner struck a mountain near Krísuvík, about 15 miles southeast of the Reykjavik airfield.
A day after the sinking of USS Reuben James, U.S. Navy escort vessels handed off Convoy HX 156 to their British counterparts at the Mid-Atlantic Meeting Point. The Royal Navy would escort the merchant ships until they reached Liverpool on Nov. 5 as the Americans steamed west to pick up a new convoy.
As the American escorts threaded through a nasty North Atlantic storm, Lt. (j.g.) Charles D. Sooy was washed overboard from the destroyer USS Hilary P. Jones. Despite the torrential seas and frigid waters, Ens. James C. Houghton risked his life to save that of his shipmate. From the August 1942 edition of ALL HANDS magazine:
“the ship [was] rolling so heavily that lowering a life boat was impossible. From his position on the forecastle, Ensign Houghton saw that Lt. Sooy, apparently stunned, was making no effort to reach life ring buoys thrown close to him, saw his head drop forward under water, and he immediately dove overboard, swimming to Lt. Sooy’s side. In the waves that broke continuously over them, Ensign Houghton struggled to hold the unconscious man’s head out of the water as they were both pulled toward the ship where men on the rescue net grasped them. A violent roll of the ship to starboard engulfed the whole party and the reverse up-roll, tore Lt. Sooy from their grasp. Ensign Houghton risked the same fate as that of his brother officer by his courageous act and was hauled aboard in an almost unconscious condition.”
Although Sooy perished, Ens. Houghton was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroic attempt. Sooy hailed from Fellows, Calif and graduated the Naval Academy (Class of ’38) where he played end for the Midshipmen’s football team… Sports on page 17
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 4 November 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-11-04/ed-1/