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Tales of Tulagi: M1 Helmet Belonging to CDR Robert Lippincott Searles: PT Skipper and XO, MTB Ron 3, Guadacanal

Theorywolf

By Theorywolf,
in NAVY & COAST GUARD HELMETS

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Wow, that is awsome !!! Believe it or not, I to think I found sometheithing extraordinary on ebay this week.

Two days ago, I won a liner on ebay. The name inside the liner said "Frank E. Sublett".

All I had to to was type his name into google and I found out who he was. He was apart of the Golden 13 !

These 13 men were the first African Americans to become officers in the Navy ! They were like the Tuskegee airmen of the navy. They worked hard to prove they can be in the fight.

I'm still doing some more research just to fully confirm it is his.

 

Ps.

I always wanted a guadalcanal helmet.

I'll trade you ;)

 

Great find my friend!

 

Mike

 

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Wow Mike! What a great catch! Simply a beautiful example of a nice early war helmet and to a PT skipper to boot! Awesome!!

 

Rick

 

Thanks Rick!

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Great helmet Mike,

 

Always enjoy seeing any helmet connected with the Guadalcanal campaign, congrats on the helmet and research.

 

Thanks my friend!

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Update: I talked to Robert's son again and sent a set of photos of the helmet via email. He responded with a 100% positive identification that the helmet was his father's and that it was the helmet used at Guadalcanal. He also thinks his father may have used it at Normandy as well! Great guy!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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You may see the Life Magazine in the background of these photos. On returning to the States on leave Robert and two other Skippers from Ron 3 are front page news in the country! Some of the photos you will see come from the article. Robert is the first skipper to the left.

 

I didn't state where the magazine came from. The Life magazine did not come with the helmet nor John Searles's book. The seller did not know about the ID of the helmet. I ordered both after finding this information online. I actually got the book and the magazine before the helmet arrived! :)

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Great helmet and story Mike.

 

That's quite a collection of Guadacanal ID'd helmets your assembling. Well done.

 

Rich

 

Thanks mate!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Photo of Robert with one of his crew members on his PT Boat #38, one of the first 8 PT Boats to arrive at Guadalcanal, October 12, 1942. Notice the other guy is wearing a Hawley liner!

post-576-0-67255600-1424127444.jpg

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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These are the first 8 PT Boats and skippers to arrive at Guadalcanal which made up MTB Squadron 3.

 

 

 

PT 37: Lt. j/g Leonard L. Nikoloric
PT 38: Lt. j/g Robert L. Searles
PT 39: Ens. James B. Greene
PT 45: Lt. Lester H. Gamble
PT 46: Lt. Henry S. Taylor
PT 48: Lt. j/g Thomas E. Kendall
PT 60: Lt. John M. Searles
PT 61: Lt. Hugh M. Robinson (Squadron CO)

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Robert's brother, Lt. John Searles, was awarded the Navy Cross. Here is his citation:

 

Navy Cross
Awarded for actions during World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant John M. Searles, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession while Commanding Motor Torpedo Boat FIFTY-NINE (PT-59), on the night of 9 December 1942. On sighting a Japanese submarine and landing barge off Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands, Lieutenant Searles promptly attacked the submarine by firing two torpedoes at 400 yards range; one hit causing a tremendous detonation and a 250-foot column of water; then nothing was left of the submarine except oil which came up profusely for the ensuing one-and-one-half hours. The landing barge was strafed, boarded, and found empty of personnel. By his exemplary leadership and extraordinary heroism, an enemy submarine was destroyed before it could accomplish an important rendezvous with short. The exceptional bravery, aggressive leadership, and outstanding devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Searles were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Action Date: December 9, 1942

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Ronnie

Ronnie

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Photo of Robert with one of his crew members on his PT Boat #38, one of the first 8 PT Boats to arrive at Guadalcanal, October 12, 1942. Notice the other guy is wearing a Hawley liner!

I think most of our guys were wearing Hawleys at that time.

Ronnie

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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This helmet could not have ended up in better hands. Congrats my friend! -M

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

Cheers my friend!

 

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...
Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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Since there was a question about a helmet that has a popular name on it, I wanted to share a research method that, though far from giving a collector 100% assurance that the helmet belonged to the suspected Vet, does help to up the probability! Now I have got the Vet's son's recognition of his father's helmet and where and when it was sold, but, I checked the Social Security Death Index for the surename Searles in Minnesota and got just over 50 names. There was only one Robert Searles of WW II age and it was the vet of this thread. Also checking the surname in the state of Minnesota on the White Pages, there is only one R. L. Searles and it is the vet. So I think that it is worth exploring a helmet ID even if there are hundreds of surnames on military archives. There are other methods as well that help to narrow down a search. Just some thoughts from my collecting experience!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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Theorywolf

Theorywolf

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I just opened the book I got this morning from Amazon. The over 200 page book is the account of Searles' Squadron at Guadalcanal, entitled:

 

Long Were The Nights: The Saga of PT Squadron "X" in the Solomons

 

By Hugh B. Cave

With the Cooperation of Lt.Commander Alan Montgomery, U,S,N., Lt. Robert L. Searles, U.S.N.R., and Lt. (JG) Leonard Nikoloric, U.S.N.R.

 

When back in the States in 1943 (When Searles was in Life Magazine) Cave did oral history interviews with the three men in Miami, Florida. The book published in 1943. In the Forward, Robert Searles states that he felt that the main accomplishment of his PT Squadron at Guadalcanal was in giving the Marines on Guadalcanal a chance to sleep at night. The book is mainly about these three men's stories about the eight PT boats of Squadron X. Bob Searles is talking and telling stories on almost every page! Can't wait to read it. It is going to be a long night tonight! Book is available on Amazon.com.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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