Lt. Donald Hugh Dorris - A Log of the Vincennes

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Text originally published in 1947 under the same title.

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Publishers Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

A LOG OF THE VINCENNES

BY

LIEUTENANT DONALD HUGH DORRIS

Lieutenant (jg) U.S.N.R.

* * * * *

Contributions by

ROBERT M. SCHWYHART

Commander and Chaplain, USN

and

EDMUND PHILLIP DI GIANNANTONIO

Lieutenant Commander, USNR

AND OTHERS

* * * * *

Compiled, Supplemented, and Edited

By

JONATHAN TRUMAN DORRIS, Ph.D.

Professor of History and Government

State Teachers College

Richmond, Kentucky

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedicated to the Sacred Memory of the Officers and Men of the U.S.S. VINCENNES

who, in the language of their great Commander-in-Chief, Dared to die that freedom might live, and grow, and increase its blessings.

The United States Cruiser Vincennes was sunk in a surprise attack by the Japanese near Savo Island, in the Solomon Archipelago, on the early morning of August 9, 1942. My only son, Lieutenant (jg) Donald Hugh Dorris, U.S.N.R, was lost with the ship. Fortunately he had taken his Log and other items pertaining to the Vincennes to his parents home, in February, 1942, while the ship was in Boston Harbor. He left the manuscripts when he returned to sea, and providentially they were preserved. Without this material I probably would have never prepared such a book.

My first resolution was to publish the Log in memory of Donald and dedicate the work to his mother and sisters. I would likely have done this during the War if the authorities at Washington had per mitted. Nevertheless, after receiving Chaplain Schwyharts account of the Vincennes , I prepared and had bound six typewritten, illustrated copies of the two Logs with other material pertaining to the ship and some letters by Donald during the War and about him following his death. The Navy Department had one of these volumes until September, 1945, when the proper authority authorized its publication, on condition that I state that the printed work did not contain the official Log of the Vincennes .

While preparing the volume I soon realized that it might contain much more than I had first contemplated. The idea of making the book reveal, as far as possible, the experiences, worthy qualities, and services of Donalds valiant shipmates came to motivate my efforts. I also decided to dedicate the Log to the memory of the officers and men of the Vincennes who lost their lives as a result of the First Battle of Savo Island. The second part of the work, therefore, is properly devoted to the three hundred and thirty-five or forty heroes who were compelled to remain at rest with or near their good ship in the waters of the Solomon Islands,

In performing this task of love I have received much encouragement. In many instances the nearest of kin have expressed gratitude for my interest in their dear ones. Nearly all with whom I communicated readily complied with requests for information and photographs. The Naval authorities co-operated, and Chaplain Robert M. Schwyhart, Lieutenant Commander Edmund Phillip DiGiannantonio, and other survivors made valuable contributions, for which they are duly credited. Captain Frederick Louis Riefkohl assisted with the maps, submitted information relating to the Battle of Savo Island, and gave other aid. Congressman George J. Bates, of Salem, Massachusetts, member of the House Committee on Naval Affairs, and Rear-Admiral Oscar Spears (retired) rendered assistance. The Library of Congress and the United Press Associations also co-operated. Mrs. Grace S. Forster, widow of Warrant Officer Edward William Forster, was most helpful in obtaining material for the volume and deserves the special consideration given her elsewhere.

Donalds dear mother was a wise counselor all along in the preparation of the book. She readily acceded to the final decision to prepare and dedicate the volume as a tribute to others besides our son.

I regret that it was impracticable, if not impossible, to include more about the enlisted men who were lost. Many of them doubt less were as deserving of more than mere mention in the volume as any of the officers. Without their faithfulness and efficiency the Vincennes could have done nothing. I hope, therefore, that I have not omitted anyone who made the supreme sacrifice. In fact, I found and included five or six not in the Navy Departments report. Unfortunately the photographs were not always of sufficient quality for the best reproduction.

There may be some unintentional mistakes, and the editing was not done as carefully as a historical work deserves. Nevertheless, I have striven, sometimes in tears, to make the Log a worthy account of the brave men whose names and deeds are recorded therein. May the spirit which animated them in their service to mankind inspire the reader to nobler efforts to bring about lasting peace and good will among all peoples of this world.

JONATHAN TRUMAN DORRIS

May 1, 1947

The Itinerary of the Vincennes , a two-page map of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Seaplane Moorings in Placentia Harbor, Newfoundland

Oahu Island, Showing Pearl Harbor

Solomon Islands and New Guinea

Opening Phase, Solomon Invasion, August 7, 1942

Battles End, August 9, 1942 (First Battle of Savo Island)

A Japanese drawing of the scene of the First Battle of Savo Island

Oceania, a two-page map of the Pacific Ocean

Information about the three United States warships named Vincennes was obtained from the Navy Department, Soon after the loss of the second the authorities resolved to give a third this intriguing and historic name. The cost of the ship was $20,000,000, which Lieutenant Frederick Moody, Pharmacist on the second Vincennes (see his radio talk in Part X), was authorized to raise through the sale of bonds in Vincennes , Indiana. The Lieutenant and his wife exceeded the sum desired by $2,000,000. On January 21, 1944, therefore, the third United States naval ship Vincennes , a 10,000-ton light cruiser, was commissioned at South Boston, Massachusetts. It had a glorious career during the remainder of the war.