By Karen Zautyk
KEARNY — This is the story of a ship that sailed from Kearny into the annals of history — and that also became part of one of the most tragic stories of World War II. She was lost during the Battle of Guadalcanal, just nine months after being commissioned.
But now she has been found, 76 years following her sinking.
The ship was the U.S.S. Juneau, a cruiser constructed at the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in South Kearny. The yard was opened in 1917 to build U.S. Navy ships during World War I, continued operations through World War II and finally closed in 1948.
It was located at Kearny Point, where the Hackensack River meets Newark Bay.
The Juneau was launched from Kearny on Oct 14, 1941 — less than two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor — was commissioned Feb. 14, 1942, took part in several Pacific-theater battles and was sunk by Japanese torpedoes on Nov. 13, 1942, off Guadalcanal.
Severely damaged by one torpedo, the Juneau was ordered to withdraw for repairs, but, according to Wikipedia, it was then hit by two more: “There was a great explosion; Juneau broke in two and disappeared in just 20 seconds.”
The tale gets worse.
Because the blast was so massive and the cruiser had vanished beneath the waves, the Wikipedia account says, two other damaged U.S. craft that were also withdrawing “departed without attempting to rescue any survivors. In fact, more than 100 sailors had survived the sinking of Juneau. They were left to fend for themselves in the open ocean for eight days before rescue aircraft belatedly arrived. While awaiting rescue, all but 10 died from the elements and shark attacks.”
In all, 687 Juneau crewmen were killed — most in the torpedo attack — or died in the awful aftermath.
But there is even more to this story: Numbered among the Juneau’s dead were the five Sullivan brothers, whose saga so captured American hearts that it became known nationwide and in 1944 a film, “The Fighting Sullivans,” was produced. [If you haven’t seen it, please do.] Reportedly, their story, at least partially, also inspired 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan.”
The Sullivans — George, Frank, Joe, Matt and Al — were the sons of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, and ranged in age from 20 to 27. They enlisted in the Navy in January 1942, a month after Pearl Harbor, and despite a Navy policy of separating siblings — reportedly not strictly enforced at that time — persuaded the powers-that-be to allow them to serve together on the same ship.
Their assignment was the Juneau.
According to Wikipedia, citing John R. Satterfield’s 1995 book, “We Band of Brothers,” following the loss of the ship, the Sullivan family, desperate for news of their sons, finally learned of their fate on Jan. 12, 1943:
“That morning, the boys’ father, Tom, was preparing for work when three men in uniform — a lieutenant commander, a doctor and a chief petty officer — approached his door. ‘I have some news for you about your boys,’ the naval officer said. ‘Which one?’ asked Tom. ‘I’m sorry,’ the officer replied. ‘All five.’”
So why are we dwelling on all this heartbreak now? Because, after all these decades, the wreckage of the Juneau has finally been located. We learned about it from an Observer reader, Kenneth Fagan of Kearny, who called our office to alert us to a CBS News report he heard last week — and who also knew the Kearny connection to the ship.
We had missed that report, had heard or read no others and likely would have remained oblivious if not for Fagan. Thank you, sir!
The CBS story notes that the remains of the Juneau have been located on the seabed off the coast of the Solomon Islands by an expedition team sponsored by philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Sonar technology revealed the wreckage, and the team then used a remotely operated underwater vehicle to verify the ship’s identity.
And when was the Juneau found?
A week ago Saturday.
March 17.
St. Patrick’s Day.
Why do we think the Sullivan brothers had something to do with that?
