USS Escambia AO-80

[disneydave]

Through the magic of the internet, I have met and corresponded with many great WW II veterans. One such man was Virgil Grier. Virgil and I corresponded for several years before his passing in February 2006.

 

In March 2006 I received an email from Virgil's daughter informing me he had passed away suddenly on Valentine's Day. He had been diagnosed with liver and throat cancer only two weeks prior.

 

Virgil was trained at the Hutchinson Naval Reserve Aviation Base and then saw duty aboard the USS Escambia, a fast fleet refueller which served the fuelling needs of the American Navy and her aircraft in the South Pacific. The Escambia carried several types of fuel including high octane aviation fuel and bunker oil.

 

Virgil had previously given me his December 1943 issue of the Hutchinson NRAB's newsletter, which had a Jiminy Cricket insignia on the front cover designed by Disney artists for the men and women at the base. (I'll post an image of this at a later date).

 

Virgil also owned the original Disney insignia art featuring Jose Carioca, the parrot that starred in the Disney feature The Three Caballeros, that was created for the USS Escambia. The film was made for the South American market by Disney at the request of Nelson Rockefeller, who was the head of the Office of Inter-American Affairs. Rockefeller was in charge of flooding South America with various forms of American entertainment. The reasoning was American films and music would help counter pro-Axis sentiment in the region.

 

In her email to me, Virgil's daughter told me that her father wanted me to have the original Jose Carioca art and a couple of other related items as he knew I would appreciate them. I was extremely saddened at the death of my friend and am honored that he thought enough of me to will the items to me. The art is another item that will never leave my collection.

 

The art was created by Disney artist Hank Porter, who by my estimates designed at least 75% of the estimated 1,200 insignia emblems created at the Disney Studio during the war.

 

 

The USS Escambia was named after a river that flows through Georgia and Florida. She was commissioned in October 1943. The Escambia fuelled ships during the invasion of the Marshall Islands. The tanker also refuelled carriers as they launched strikes against the Philippines and task forces supporting the invasion of Okinawa and air raids against Japan. Decommissioned February 1946. Earned five battle stars.

 

Virgil told me: “In February 1945, Executive Officer Richard Stephens requested a friend working at Walt Disney Studios to suggest a ‘trade mark’ for our ship. He designed this 'floating service station' with a pump and hose on a floating barrel of oil, with Jose Carioca ready to fuel the next ship coming by. Ken Hackett (CCM) reproduced the insignia on each side of the bridge, where it drew admiring chuckles from the crews of ships we refuelled. Jose Carioca was expected to become more famous than Donald Duck, but Jose didn’t achieve star status except on the AO-80!”