Author Topic: Submarine family  (Read 5094 times)

Offline JTheotonio

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Submarine family
« on: November 14, 2008, 08:23:09 AM »
This is a nice article: http://www.foxbororeporter.com/articles/2008/11/13/features/3924924.txt

Brings up a question. 

Who were the famous Sullivan Brother? Why were they famous?  And did they change in military regulations?
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Offline Rick

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Re: Submarine family
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2008, 04:03:21 PM »
i do not remember the particulars,  but you are looking at 7 brothers that served on a the same boat (destroyer if memory serves me correctly).  all 7 were KIA when the boat was destroyed leaving no male heirs.  After that incident the US military prohibited family members from serving in the same theator of war to prevent this kind of tragady from happening again.

Offline JTheotonio

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Re: Submarine family
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2008, 09:08:33 PM »
Very close.  Here are the facts.

It’s actually five Irish-American Sullivan brothers, who grew up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression and served together in the United States Navy during World War II.  Their eventual deaths in the Pacific theater aboard the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) (sunk on 13 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal) are also chronicled in a film, which is based on the brothers' true-life story.

The movie lets us assume that all 5 brothers died instantly, yet survivors of the attack reported that Frank, Joe, and Matt died instantly, while Al drowned the next day, and George survived for four or five days after that.
Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS The Sullivans, named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers who lost their lives when their ship, USS Juneau (CL-52), was sunk in November 1942.  This was the greatest sacrifice by any one family during World War II.

The first, The Sullivans (DD-537), was a Fletcher-class destroyer, launched in 1943. In 1977, she was processed for donation to the city of Buffalo, N.Y., where she now serves as a memorial.  The Niland family, which endured the second greatest sacrifice by any one family during the war, was from the Buffalo suburb of Kenmore and their similar sacrifice to the Sullivan family played a role in the decision to place The Sullivans as a museum ship in Buffalo instead of elsewhere.
The second, The Sullivans (DDG-68), is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, launched in 1995.  As of 2008, she is still active in service.

As a direct result of the Sullivans' deaths, the U.S. War Department adopted the Sole Survivor Policy.

Until I looked I did not know the one of these ships was a memorial.  God bless them for their sacrifice
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Offline JohnG

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Re: Submarine family
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2008, 08:00:03 PM »
Ah! I knew he answer to this one! Saving Private Ryan is based off this situation. The same thing happened to the Niland Brothers until they found out one (a pilot) was still alive and a POW in Burma.
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