USS Franklin Anniversary–And An Afternoon At The Museum (of the Pacific War)

December 7, 2023 | Glenn | ,

When people think of December 7 as an anniversary, they usually remember the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. (And well they should.) However, December 7, 1942, is also an important date although certainly less well known. To Franklin’s crew, its air groups, and their families, December 7 is also the anniversary of the laying of Franklin’s keel. I could not find a picture of her keel laying; here’s a picture of her moments after she was christened and launched in October 1943.

The ship is floated out of her building dock immediately after christening, at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company shipyard, Newport News, Virginia, on 14 October 1943. Note WAVES officers in the foreground. The WAVES’ Director, Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee, USNR, was Franklin’s sponsor. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Pictures From The Museum of the Pacific War

Early in the summer, I was rummaging around the Internet, and trying to verify some casualty statistics, I visited the USS Franklin Museum Association website. I was pleasantly surprised to see a post, O’CALLAHAN-GARY plaque at the Nimitz Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, TX, from Captain Gary Schnurrpusch, USN (Ret.) who had captained both the USS Gary (FFG-51, a guided missile frigate) and the USS O’Callahan (FF-1051, originally classified as a destroyer-escort, later reclassified as a frigate).

(In my book, I plan on discussing leadership lessons we can learn from the crew and I will certainly be writing about Father Joe and Lt. Gary.)

Captain Schnurrpusch has generously donated the plaque and it is proudly displayed next to several other plaques honoring Franklin. Those of you who have attended some of the reunions may have met him. He’s considered an honorary Franklin survivor. He has also kindly agreed to answer my questions about the US Navy.

I was at the museum earlier this week and took several photos of the plaques. For those of you who live further away from the museum, here are the various plaques. (Please excuse my photography skills.)

Plaque donated by Captain Gary Schnurrpusch, USN (Ret.) on display at The Museum of the Pacific War. Photo by Glenn Ross
Plaque honoring USS Franklin displayed at The Museum of the Pacific War. Photo by Glenn Ross
The Crew of USS Alaska honored Franklin’s crew with this plaque on display at The Museum of the Pacific War. Photo by Glenn Ross
Plaque honoring Staff Sergeant Patrick Sculley, USMC displayed at The Museum of the Pacific War. Photo by Glenn Ross

Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book, Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will be writing about the lessons we can learn in leadership and crisis management. I’ll also write about the changes the US Navy made as a result of those lessons learned.

I send out a monthly newsletter, Glenn’s After-Action Report, writing about subjects I find interesting in my research. You can sign up for it below. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for reading.-Glenn

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