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WW2 Navy Purple Heart. Need Info


awmartin
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Hi,

 

I unexpectedly received this from my friend today and am wondering if someone could help me with finding out more information on the sailor. I'm not the best at researching, so all that I found was to an army soldier who died as a POW in the Philippines. The purple heart is engraved:

 

Ernest F. Baca CCS, USN

 

Thank you very much!

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Wikipedia

On 1 January 1945, Columbia sailed for the landings in Lingayen Gulf and on 6 January, as pre-invasion bombardments were getting underway, Japanese kamikaze attacks began. Columbia suffered a near miss by a kamikaze and then another of the kamikaze planes struck on her port quarter by a second. The plane and its bomb penetrated two decks before exploding, killing 13 and wounding 44 of the crew, putting her aft turrets out of action, and setting the ship afire. Prompt flooding of two magazines prevented further explosions, and impressive damage control measures enabled Columbia to complete her bombardment with her two operative forward turrets, and remain in action to give close support to underwater demolition teams.

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Columbia (CL-56), just before and after being hit by a Zeke-type "Japanese suicide plane" on 6 January '45, 1729, as seen from the Portland (CA-33).

 

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There is more to Chief Baca's story. He was a passenger on the USS Columbia as a survivor of the sinking of the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79). Ommaney Bay was struck by a suicide plane on 4 January 1945 in the Northern Sulu Sea. The damage resulted in the abandoning of the ship and it being sunk by torpedo from the USS Burns.

 

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Chief Baca died of wounds received as a result of the kamikaze attack on the USS Columbia on 6
January 1945 and was buried at sea 8 January 1945.
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Chief Baca, you are not forgotten.
Larry

 

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Wow, that's an amazing history. It's a reminder of what the greatest generation had to go through, and the sacrifices that many had to pay. Thank you to everyone who took the time to research this.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Beautiful pair of medals, aw, with great service history. Would this have definitely been a Type 2 Navy Purple Heart?

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Most likely a type II. The only difference between a type II and a III is the brooch assuming it's a US Mint contract medal.

 

Kurt

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Thanks for that information, Kurt. They are a wonderful tribute earned by an adoptive son of Southern California that gave his all.

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Most likely a type II. The only difference between a type II and a III is the brooch assuming it's a US Mint contract medal.

 

Kurt

 

Are there any officially engraved USN KIA PH's from WW2 that are anything other than US Mint production? I had thought that was a given?

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Some US Army Purple Hearts , numbered and unnumbered, were used by the USN for posthumous awards during 1945-46.

 

Kurt

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Some US Army Purple Hearts , numbered and unnumbered, were used by the USN for posthumous awards during 1945-46

 

Okay, thanks. This one appears to have the silver suspension to the planchet where the gold-colored plating has worn off. If that were the case, is that an indication of anything?

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Yes, that proves it is a US Mint contract medal. On Army purple hearts the suspension ring is bronze.

 

You can also tell by the suspension lug on the medal. The Navy contracts have a barrel shaped lug where the army ones are more pointy.

 

Kurt

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