During the trailers' Midwest tour in May of 2015, the family of Stanley H. Scott, another DD 419 crew member, offered to share photos and documents collected by that sailor and subsequently sent them to Richard.  Rich made copies of those items as well as other documents sent to him from the family of another DD 419 sailor, Gerry Fulham, so he could share them with Mr. Mitchell and ask some questions to gain more knowledge of DD 419 history. 

 Mr. Mitchell told us he enlisted in January of 1942 right after Pearl Harbor.  He went onboard DD 419 in Brooklyn Navy Yard in that same year and was discharged from Wainwright in San Diego in 1946.  He had several duties while on board including acting as a hot sheller in the upper handling room and sight setter in the number 2 turret which was a 5-inch gun.  He told of sleeping and eating many nights in the gun along with a radioman who would relay the information to the bridge and fire control crews.

 He also told us about Convoy PQ-17 in which they escorted 150 ships from Iceland to Archangel, Russia and that every crew member had to be on their toes and ready for General Quarters.   The seas were rough and they were not allowed to go outside.  He also remembered days of naval gunfire in June of 1943 to support General Patton's advances in Italy.

He was shown a picture of U Boat 593 which Wainwright, operating with HMS Calpe, found, captured and sank in December of 1943.

He remembered the German captain telling his captain that if the Wainwright had not been running zig zag pattern 5, he would have sunk them.  After rescuing the German crew the Wainwright sunk the U boat and took the crew to a POW camp in Naples, Italy.

He told us in detail about the depth charges DD 419 carried.  Some were in racks on the fantail.  A pin had to be pulled and they would roll off, exploding at a preset depth.  Others were amidships, four on the starboard side and four to port.  A string which ignited a KBAR powder charge shot the unit 15 feet off the side of the ship which had to be running at 22 knots or more to prevent damage to the ship from the explosion.   Each unit contained a 600  pound charge.

In February of 1944, Wainwright returned to New York for a three-week overhaul and then spent the next year patrolling the east coast of the U.S.  In April of 1945, she and 22 other ships were moved to the Pacific theater of operations which required them to change their camouflage paint scheme.

After discharge, Mr. Mitchell returned to his home in Palmetto, Florida.  After a short time working in the bridge construction industry, he found a job working for the City of Bradenton, Florida from which he retired after 35 years.   Mr. Mitchell also found time to father 10 children.

We very much appreciate the time that he and his family gave us.

Any and all able bodied (able minded wouldn't hurt!) sailors who will be in the areas of the May trailer voyage are requested to help with the set-up/tear down of the exhibits as well as assisting with tours and explaining our history to visitors.   No experience required!

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