Miscellaneous Naval Vessels

[Brian James]

US Revenue Cutter Morrill pictured c1907.....In early November 1917 the Navy ordered Morrill, then under the command of Lieutenant George E. Wilcox, to duty in Philadelphia with the 4th Naval District. She departed Detroit November 10th and after a call at Quebec, she arrived Halifax the afternoon of December 5th. Dockside berthing was not available, and Morrill was directed to anchor near Dartmouth Cove to take on fuel and water.
Just after 0800, on December 6th, the old French Line freighter SS Mont-Blanc, carrying a full cargo of bulk explosives, collided with the Norwegian steamship SS Imo in the Narrows of Halifax Harbor. Mont-Blanc caught fire and exploded at 0905 in a blast that leveled the Richmond District in the North End of the city. The most reliable casualty figures list 1,635 persons killed and 9,000 injured in the tragedy. Sixteen hundred buildings were totally destroyed, and nearly 12,000 more within an area of 16 miles severely damaged. Property damage was estimated at $35 million. Morrill, not seriously damaged, turned her attention to the needs ashore. A rescue and assistance party under Second Lieutenant H. G. Hemingway rendered valuable aid on shore while the cutter stood by to tow other craft from the danger zone. Morrill departed Halifax December 18th. Her services had come to the attention of Sir Cecil Spring Rice, the British Ambassador to the United States. In a letter dated January 9th 1918, Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, noted that Morrill, "though considerably damaged by the violent explosion of munitions on another ship, was the first to render assistance to the distressed inhabitants of the stricken city."

[Brian James]

Part of the Great White Fleet pictured at Hampton Roads c1909.

[Brian James]

PC-461 Class Submarine Chaser USS PC-598 pictured at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea in October 1944...PC-598 received four battle stars for her World War II service:
Western Caroline Islands Operation – Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands (Peleliu)
Leyte Operation – Leyte landings
Luzon Operation – Lingayen Gulf landings
Okinawa Gunto Operation – Assault and occupation of Okinawa