USS Belknap APD 34 Crew
1st email rcvd 20100104:
Stumbled onto your site tonight. My grandfather, Lewis L. Swart,
was a
member of the crew of the Belknap during WWII. He achieved the rank of
Chief Petty Officer. He was on the ship the morning of 11 January 1945
when the kamikaze hit the ship. He was one of the crewmen who
accompanied the ship back to the East Coast before scrapping. I remember
him telling me about when/how it all happened. He was awarded the Purple
Heart for shrapnel wounds he sustained during the attack.
He is
now 88 years old, and has a very sharp memory. He can still tell
stories of
the war if he is asked. He's never used a computer, but I saw
you were
looking for crewmen of both ships, so thought I would respond.
Here's a
link to a set of photos and letters during his WWII days.
Thought you might
enjoy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idswart/sets/72157623016603655/
I
have more, but they aren't scanned in.
Ian Swart.
2nd email rcvd
20100105:
I remember Granddad telling me something about being a machinist on ship
as
well.
Per the morning of the kamikaze attack, he said that the ships
would
burn tar on deck to make a smoke screen so the planes wouldn't have a
target. He said that on 11 January they just happened to be outside that
smoke screen. Saw three planes headed for them. Two of them turned away
from the Belknap, and were gunned down, but the third one hit its
target.
I know there is a shipmate who lives in Nederland, Texas that my
grandpa
still talks to occasionally on the phone. His last name is Stuart.
Another good friend of his was Benny Johnson from Montana. (He passed
away a few years ago.) He owned a big ranch up there. I remember him
coming to Oklahoma for a visit when I was in about the 7th grade. It was
neat to see them together and hear them tell stories. Wish I had set out
a tape recorder to capture those memories!
I'm curious to know how
many of that crew are still living.
Ian.