USS Biscayne Monument

On Sunday, March 11, 2012, a monument to the USS Biscayne was unveiled at the Miami Military Museum.  About 70 individuals attend the unveiling ceremony, including Rear Admiral John Cronin.  A local school sent an ROTC color guard and full military honors were given to the ceremony and its distinguished guests.

Here is a brief video of some highlights from the 1 hour ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfCXmso7cXg

Miami Herald Article

The Miami Herald published article about the USS Biscayne on November 10, 2011. This article began with Stan Morrison sending a copy of Letters Home to a friend of his in Miami. That friend read and enjoyed the book and handed it off to Anthony Atwood, a younger fellow who is interested in World War II history. Atwood is working to establish a World War II museum on the grounds of the Miami Zoo. He sent Letters Home off to Jon Silman, a writer with the Miami Herald, and Silman thought there was a story there for his readers. And so the story spreads. The photos in the article are taken from Letters Home.  Here's the link:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/07/2495641/uss-biscayne-to-be-remembered.html

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.

The Men

Carson Smith (left) and Stanley J. Morrison.

As a flagship, the USS Biscayne always had plenty of brass aboard – high ranking Navy and Army officers from both US and British armed forces.

The ship was originally designed for a crew of 123 men with 12 officers.  But during the invasion of Anzio, 412 men were aboard: 15 ship's officers, 231 ship's crew, 30 staff officers, 55 staff enlisted men, 24 US Army officers, 7 British enlisted men, 48 US Army enlisted men, 1 British naval officer, and 1 US war correspondent.

While the Biscayne was a smaller ship, many men walked her decks during her World War II service.  Because she was a flagship, she often played host to Generals and Admirals for shipboard meetings.

This entry is an attempt to name as many men who stood on the decks of the Biscayne as possible.  If you were aboard the Biscayne or know someone who was, drop me a line so I can add them to this list.

1. Alderton, Harry M. – enlisted man
2. Alexander, Harold – General British Army
3. Amodeo, Vincent J. – pharmacist mate (Norwich, CT)
4. Bates, Richard H. – Lt. Commander and skipper
5. Berger, Walter H. – signal corps
6. Bertschman, L. J. – signalman (Milan, MO)
7. Blackburn, Caspar – war correspondent
8. Burgett, – enlisted man
9. Champion, Carlton C., Jr. – Commander and skipper
10. Clark, Mark – Lt. General US Army
11. Collins, Ernest John – enlisted man (Miami, FL)
12. Conolly, Richard L.  – Rear Admiral, US Navy
13. Darby, William G. -- store keeper first class
14. Donovan, William J. – Major General, US Army
15. Dyer, George C. – Rear Admiral, US Navy
16. Eagles, William W. – Major General, US Army
17. Eckelmeyer, Edward H. – Captain and skipper
18. Gulett, William – Commander, executive officer
19. Hawkesworthy, John – Lt. General British Army
20. Hewitt, Henry K. – Vice Admiral, US Navy
21. House, Edwin – Major General, US Air Force
22. Hunt, L. P. – General, US Army
23. Joy, C. T. – Rear Admiral, US Navy
24. King, Ernest J. – Admiral, US Navy
25. Lansdale, Dick – enlisted man
26. Lemnitzer, Lyman – General US Army
27. Lindgren, Hal – enlisted man
28. Lowry, Frank J. – Rear Admiral, US Navy
29. Lynch, George – enlisted man
30. Manry, John T, III – Lieutenant
31. Moosbrugger, Frederick – Commodore, US Navy
32. Morris, Frank D. – war correspondent, Collier’s Magazine
33. Morrison, Stanley J. – radioman first class (Philadelphia, PA)
34. Morse, John – Rear Admiral, Royal Navy
35. Mulvehill, Paul J. – pharmacist mate (Ebensburg, PA)
36. O'Brien, – enlisted man (SK2c)
37. Patton, George S. – General, US Army
38. Philactos, George  – radio technician (New York, NY)
39. Piaseczny, – enlisted man
40. Puckett, George A. – enlisted man
41. Pyle, Ernie – war correspondent, Scripps Howard
42. Reifschneider, Lawrence F. – Rear Admiral, US Navy
43. Rodgers, B. J. – Rear Admiral, US Navy
44. Ryan, Charles M. – Commander and skipper
45. Smith, Carson – US Army signal corps
46. Sowane, John F. – chief pharmacist mate (Brooklyn, NY)
47. Toothaker, Alfred – hospital assistant (Brunswick, ME)
48. Troubridge, Thomas T. – Admiral, Royal Navy
49. Truscott, Lucien – Major General, US Army
50. Utt, Fred – enlisted man (Philadelphia, PA)
51. von Kalinowski, Julian – Lieutenant
52. West, Robert, enlisted man (MoMM2c)
53. Whitehead, Don – war correspondent
54. Walcott, C. G. – Lieutenant, medical doctor (Fenton, MI)
55. Young, Rufus C. – Commander and skipper

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.

The Ship

USS Biscayne at Mers-el-Kabir, Algeria. 

The USS Biscayne (AVP-11), later AGC-18, was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender.  Built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, the ship was launched on May 23, 1941 and served as a seaplane tender from 1941 to 1943 and as a amphibious force flagship from 1943 to 1946.

The Biscayne was 310 feet long with a beam of 41 feet.  She drew 13 feet of water and displaced 2,750 tons under a full load.

While in the service of the US Navy, the Biscayne was the flagship for Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly, Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Rear Admiral Frank J. Lowry, Rear Admiral B. J. Rodgers, and Commander Frederick Moosbrugger.

The Biscayne was decommissioned by the US Navy on June 29, 1946 and was transferred to the US Coast Guard, where it was renamed USCGC Dexter (WAVP-385).  In 1966, she was redesignated WHEC-385 and served as a training ship.

The Biscayne was finally decommissioned on July 9, 1968 and was used for target practice and sunk by the US Navy that same year.

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.

The Authors

Stanley J. Morrison, 1945

Letters Home: My Life Aboard the USS Biscayne During World War II is by Stanley J. Morrison as told to Daniel Paul Morrison.

Stanley J. Morrison, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served as a radioman aboard the USS Biscayne (AVP-11) during World War II from March 19, 1943 until October 5, 1945. He went to boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, north of Chicago, Illinois, and to radio school on Pier 92, in New York City.  With the Biscayne, he saw action in North Africa, Italy, France, and the Pacific.  After the war, he settled with his family in Huntingdon Valley, just outside Philadelphia, where he conducted a successful financial planning business.

Daniel Paul Morrison is the nephew of Stanley J. Morrison. He is a graduate of Marlboro College, The New School University, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the pastor of Huntingdon Valley Presbyterian Church in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. Before becoming a pastor, he worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Doylestown Intelligencer newspapers.

Other books by Daniel Paul Morrison include Secrets & Sovereigns: The Uncollected Stories of E. Phillips Oppenheim (Stark House Press 2004) and The Amazing Judgment / Mr. Laxworthy’s Adventures (Stark House Press 2009).

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.

The Book

Letters Home: My Life Aboard the USS Biscayne During World War II is a lively, first-hand account of life aboard an admiral's flagship by a young man whose life and romance were interrupted by World War II.  Based on interviews, careful research and a unique archive of documents and photos from the USS Biscayne, this book will interest Biscayne shipmates and World War II history buffs.

Stanley J. Morrison, a radioman, joined the Biscayne at Port Lyautey,  Morocco on March 19, 1943.   He stayed with the ship until he was demobilized at  Jinsen, Korea, on October 5, 1945.

From Port Lyautey, the story moves on to Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria, where the ship, originally built as a seaplane tender, was refitted as a flagship.  From there, the ship steams to Bizerte, Tunisia, where the Allied flotilla was gathering for the invasion of Sicily.

Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly used the Biscayne as his flagship for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, which began July 8, 1943 and was finished on July 22, 1943.

As an admiral's flagship, the Biscayne became accustomed to having many dignitaries aboard.  But the most precious cargo during the invasion of Sicily was Ernie Pyle, the beloved Scripps Howard war correspondent.  He wrote the first four chapters of Brave Men aboard the Biscayne.

Admiral Conolly again used the Biscayne as his flagship for Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Salerno, which began on September 9, 1943 and wrapped up October 11, 1943.   The Allies suffered disastrous losses in this invasion, as the enemy was apprised of the flotilla's arrival and the Allies had to fight without the advantage of surprise or a preliminary naval and air bombardment of ground positions.

Rear Admiral Frank J. Lawry took over the Biscayne for the Operation Shingle, the invasion of Anzio, which got under way on January 21, 1944 and came to a close on February 1, 1944.  The invasion at Anzio got off to a good start, with the Germans being taken completely by surprise.  But soon the battle bogged down and losses were terrible.

Compared with the Italian invasions, Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France at Ste. Maxime and St. Tropez, were a cakewalk.  That operation began on August 15, 1944 and was over by August 26, 1944.  During this invasion, the Allies only saw the backs of the Germans and were welcomed by Free French partisans.

Following these invasions in Europe, it was time to head to the Pacific, and the Biscayne spent some time in the Boston Navy Yard in Massachusetts and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California before heading for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  At Pearl Harbor, Commodore Frederick Moosbrugger, acquired the Biscayne as his flagship.

From Pearl Harbor, the course was set for Operation Detachment, the invasion of Iwo Jim, which began on January 9, 1945.  When that operation wrapped up on March 4, 1945, the Biscayne regrouped at Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands, getting ready for Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa.

The battle for Okinawa was the final battle of World War II.  The Biscayne arrived in the waters of Okinawa on March 26, 1945 and remained there under frequent air bombardment until we left on July 1.

Letters Home tells the story of the war in the Mediterranean and the Pacific from the point of view of an ordinary radioman -- one of the hundreds of seamen who made the Biscayne tick.

But while the story is a war story, it is also a love story.  During the time the author, like so many other young Americans, was tied up with the war, he was also trying to conduct a romance back home.  He managed to woo his sweetheart with hundreds of letters sent home.  And during the crossover time from the Mediterranean to the Pacific theater, he married her and had a wartime honeymoon.

This is a terrific, readable, carefully research book.  Hardcover, 114 pages, with 23 photographs.

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.