Cotillion Lounge, Jung Hotel, New Orleans, LA, April 15, 1945. Waiting for LST 1090 to be ferried down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans for sea trials. With the celebrant, Ralph Hostetler, are fellow officers,
Warren Heiman and John Matthews. Here's a postcard view of the lounge.
This picture was probably taken in the spring of 1945 during crew form-up on the Chesapeake Bay. My father is not in the photograph, and neither is the captain, Lt. E. J.
Doering. There are four handwritten notes in the margin of this photograph to my father (I never learned what the foul-up was.):
'To the fouled up boatman, J. Durfey (Durf)'
'You really fouled me up, Hos, Harry Toal'
'Hoss; You fouled me and how!, Jack'
(and far more charitably) 'To my "buddy" Hoss, Mac'
1st Row from the left: Electrician 1st Cook; Shipfitter 1st Corrado; Jack MacLaughlin, Communications Officer; Jack Durfey, Supernumery and Asst. Navigator; Harry Toal, Stores Officer;
George Slager, Gunnery Officer (2 twin 40mm, 4 single 40 mm, and 12 20mm); Don McElroy, 1st Lt.; Ben Bigelow, Executive Officer; Warren Heiman, Supernumery; Jim Jewett, Engineering Officer (a mustang
who had come up through the ranks); ?, Chief Motor Mechanic; Bosun 1st Weaver; and Gunner 1st Graham
2nd row: On the left of this row is Seaman 2nd Edward Sufilka.
Top Row: Fifth from left on the top row is Signalman 1st Weinstein. He had been transferred to the 1090 from a Mediterranean-based LST that carried German POWs. Weinstein was Jewish. He
would challenge the POWs to wrestling matches (and likely enjoyed inflicting some punishment on them). Eighth from the left on the top row is Seaman 1st Jimmy Brekka, the strongest man
many had ever seen. He could bend steel bare handed.
Contributed by Roy Hockett. On the right is my father, Ralph Hostetler, (small boat officer) and on the left
is Roy Hockett, RDM 3 (radarman, 3rd class). In the background are LCVPs carried aboard LST 1090.
Contributed by Jack Durfey's son, John. My note to him: Hello, John,
Excellent photo. My father is second from the right. His insignia is that of a 2nd Lt. j.g. (junior grade) -- a bar and a half. Your father and the others are Ensigns - single bar. This photo was taken after the ship made San Diego returning from Sasebo, Japan, so it was taken after their arrival on Jan. 29, 1946. By this point the Captain and Executive Officer had been discharged. My father was second in command. When the ship transited to San Francisco the commanding officer, 1st Lt. Don McElroy was discharged and my Dad was captain for the run to mothballing near Vancouver, Washington. The officer on the far left is Warren Heiman, a Supernumery. If the officer on the far right went by 'Mac' it's likely Jack MacLaughlin, Communications Officer. I'll do a Photoshop enlargement of the Crew photo which has some of the other officers identified and let you know who I think one in the center is.
Thanks!
Brent
From left to right LST-550, LST-1090, LST-1024 and LST-1138 beached in the Philippines during the re-occupation period following the liberation of the Philippines, date and place unknown. Source: Mike Blades, http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/160550.htm
This is a generic end-of-the-war memento photograph distributed by the Navy. Note that the Navy had retouched the photo to remove the bow number. My father hung this photograph over his desk at his office for many years.
January 29, 1946, Marine Beach, San Diego, California. LST 1090 returns Stateside after the longest, non-stop LST run of 6300 nautical miles in 27 days. (233 nm/day at an average speed of 9.7
knots).
