USS MCCORD Crew Yard Long Photo

[USdog]

I was pretty excited to find this decently priced at an antique store today. It appears to be a crew photo of the USS MCCORD.

 

I’m posting this as I am wondering if anyone could figure out when and where it was taken?

 

If it helps the ship on the far left is the USS TRATHEN.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

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[Salvage Sailor]

WWII Decommissioning Crew USS McCORD (DD-534) circa January 1947. The Commanding Officer is CDR Fred Daniel Michael, CO Aug 26 1944 - Jan 15 1947 (see USNA graduation photo below)

 

Photo was taken at the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet berth.

[USdog]

Thanks! That’s awesome info. So it’s from January 47 or before. Any way to narrow it down more?

[Salvage Sailor]

It's most likely taken in late 1946 or January 1947 when they were decommissioned.

 

"On 7 September she steamed to San Diego, reporting on 15 September to the Inactive Fleet, decommissioning 15 January 1947..."

 

Task Unit 77.4.1 (Taffy I) RADM Thomas L. Sprague http://www.bosamar.com/pages/tg774

 

On October 25th 1944, McCord was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf as flagship of Task Unit 77.4.1 screening Taffy 1. During that battle, the IJN attacked the Taffy Group Escort Carriers, severely damaging Taffy 3.

 

Destroyers

Screen Commander - CAPT I.H. Nunn (Aboard MCCORD, the flagship)

USS MCCORD (DD 534) CDR F.D. Michael

USS TRATHEN (DD 530) CDR J.R. Millett

USS HAZELWOOD (DD 531) CDR V.P. Douw

Destroyer Escorts

USS EDMONDS (DE ) LCDR J.S. Burrows

USS RICHARD S. BULL (DE 402) LCDR A.W. Gardes

USS RICHARD M. ROWELL (DE 403) CDR H.A. Barnard

USS EVERSOLE (DE 404) LCDR G.E. Marix

USS COOLBAUGH (DE 217) LCDR S.T. Hotchkiss

The crew in your photo would have some veterans of Leyte Gulf still in the ships' company but many of them would have already been demobilized and replaced with new crewmen in late 1945 and 1946. The other Fletcher class destroyers in your photo, like TRATHEN, would have been assigned to the same DESRON (destroyer squadron) and entered the inactive ship reserve fleet at San Diego during the same late '46 time period. After the action at Samar/Leyte Gulf, some of these sailors aboard MCCORD with CDR Michael in command, participated in the operations at Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Destroyer Squadron 47 was the squadron whose ships figured in the Battle off Samar (Leyte Gulf), 25 October 1944. It was composed of nine square-bridge 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers commissioned between July 1944 and February 1945 as follows:

Trathen (DD 530), Hazelwood (DD 531), Heermann (DD 532), Hoel (DD 533) and McCord (DD 534), the second group of square bridge ships from Bethlehem, San Francisco commissioned between May and August 1943.

Franks (DD 554), Haggard (DD 555), Hailey (DD 556) and Johnston (DD 557) built at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding and commissioned July-October 1943.

Operating off the island of Samar on the morning of 25 October 1944, Taffy 3 was surprised by a Japanese force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers. While the carriers launched planes to attack the closing enemy formation, Taffy 3’s screen put on an heroic defense in which Hoel, Johnston and Gambier Bay were lost; St. Lo was also sunk by a kamikaze later that same day.

The six destroyers of Taffy 1 and Taffy 2 continued on to the Luzon operation; then all seven remaining ships moved on to Iwo Jima.

In March in the Okinawa operation, Haggard rammed and sank I-371. Later, she and Hazelwood were both severely damaged by suicide aircraft.

Heermann, last to leave the war zone, also participated in the Third Fleet’s operations against Japan in 1945.

 

LOSSES

Hoel and Johnston were lost to enemy action during the Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944.

 

DECORATIONS

Taffy 3, including Heermann, Hoel and Johnston, received the Presidential Unit Citation for its action during the Battle off Samar.

 

There ya go.......bitchen photograph of a Veteran Pacific war tin can.

[USdog]

Thanks again for the great info. It really is a neat picture, especially with the ships in the background and of course the history.

[MSchmitt]

My grandfather is in that crew picture. He had a copy of it in his basement and I wish I could find it. 

 

You wouldn't be willing to sell it would you?