USS SIGSBEE DD-502 

Just one small ship in one big war.........This WW II Fletcher Class destroyer saw action in the Pacific Theatre of Operations 1943 to 1945.........This web site is a Memorial to the DD-502, her crew that sailed into "harms way" and to those sailors made the ultimate sacrifice.

United States Navy World War Two

 Please sign our Guest Book (click on the lighthouse). Did you or someone in your family serve on the SIGSBEE? Let us know...............

Read all Guest Book entries: #174 to #125  #124 to #85  #84 to #45  #44 to #1

My Search	Launch & Commission	History / Crew List	Ship's Photos
Memorial	Webshots Crew Photos	Sigsbee Artifacts	Action Reports
DesRon 25	Hollywood and the 502	Sailors Testimony	Billy Roberts 502 site
DD-502 Model	My family that served	502 Reunions 88 - 94	Obituary Archives (Linked to Billy Roberts site)
DDG-93	DDG-93 Commissioning	DDG-93 Web Site	Other Navy Link
Patriotic Movies	DesRon 25 Louisville 05'	DesRon25 2007 Pittsburgh	WW 2 Vet Tribute

This site last updated on April 18, 2008 

Hero's flight to Washington.  SIGSBEE vet George Mazzagotte makes the news.  Great photo of George along with an outstanding article about some Florida veterans making a trip to the WW II Memorial.  Click on NEW!

New photos of the SIGSBEE taken from the cruiser USS MIAMI 4/14/1945. Photos were sent to me by my friend Dave Schroeder. The photos were found by his friend Joe Lewis, who ran across them at the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) in College Park, Md. last October.

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 Our thoughts and prayers go out to the  relatives of the following.............................................

We just learned of the passing of a Sigsbee veteran. John Chiquoine, reunion planner for the DD-573 reported, Chief Radio Man, Moran "Mark" Keith Morris passed away 16 August 2005, in Virginia Beach. Click on new to link to Billy Roberts obituary site.

New and improved CREW photos link provided by Webshots

Photos from Destroyer Squadron 25 Reunion Pittsburgh, Pa Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, 2007

To The Men That Sail Destroyers

       There's a roll and a pitch And a heave and a hitch To the nautical gait they take. For they're used to the cant of decks aslant As the white toothed combers break. On the plates that thrum Like a beaten drum To the thrill of he turbines' might And the knife bow leaps Through the mighty deep With the speed of a shell in flight.

Oh! Their scorn is quick, For the crews that stick To the battleship's steady floor. For they love the lurch Of their own frail porch, At thirty five knots or more. They don't get much Of the drill and such That the battleship jockeys do, But they sail the seas in their Dungarees, A grimy destroyer's crew.

They don't climb At their sleeping time To a hammock that sways and Bumps But leap "Kerplunk" to a cozy bunk, That quivers and bucks and jumps. They hear the sound Of the waves that pound On the half inch plates of steel. And they close heir eyes to the lullabies Of the creaking sides and keel.

They're a lusty crowd That's vastly proud Of the slim grey craft they drive. Of the roaring screws And the humming flues That make her a thing alive. They love the lunge Of her surging plunge, And the murk of her smoke screen too. As they sail the seas in their dungarees. A grimy destroyer crew.

Anonymous writer.......................This poem was obtained by this webmaster at the Destroyer Squadron 25 reunion in Pittsburgh, Pa Sept. 30 through Oct 4th, 2007 

"Recollections" THE WAR YEARS, BY ROBERT D. KARL, as told by Bill Branch March 2005.   Web Master's Note: Ensign Robert D. Karl, was ordered to report for duty to the New York Navy Yard, where he was to join the soon to be Commissioned USS SIGSBEE DD-502 as Assistant Gunnery Officer. The following excerpt from "Recollections" deals with Robert's time spent on the SIGSBEE.

1931 Naval Academy wire photo of Gordon P. Chung-Hoon

SIGSBEE attempted to rescue a downed airman on July 16, 1944. Read the deck logs which describes the event. Linked to Billy Roberts SIGSBEE site.

SABINE PASS tows the 502 from Guam to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Tribute to Lt. Thomas R.Weschler, Gunnery Officer  Aug. 15, 1943 to Mar. 9, 1945. Linked to Billy Roberts  web site.

Photo of the Sigsbee at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 1973. Photo taken by Ted Stone and courtesy of the Cote Collection.

Location in the Pacific Ocean off Okinawa where the Sigsbee was hit 4/14/1945. Courtesy off Billy Roberts.

Description and order form for "War Diary: USS Stevens 1941-1946"   This book is about the STEVENS, a sister ship to the 502 and member of DesRon 25 (see photos and info on DesRon 25 link)

   There are twenty-four (24) sailors honored on the Memorial Page on this web site, of these, seven (7) sailors do not have a  photo posted. It is our goal to obtain a photo of each Sigsbee sailor that made the ultimate sacrifice. During our research my good friend Billy Roberts and I have been unable to locate any family members of these seven sailors.  If anyone visiting this site can help, please contact us using the email link on this page. :         

Looking for surviving family members of these sailors lost on the SIGSBEE:

Name    &     Rate            Received onboard     Service #        Enlisted                     Family Info ******************************************************************************************

Cox, Carlton C. F1c                  2/9/45           975 57 79       no record *  Wife; Julia Berry Cox, Rt 4 Box 213Mobile, AL.

Freeman, Joseph W. Jr. BM2c  1/23/43          262 25 99      Norfolk , VA Wife: Charlotte Marie, 2105 Avondale, Dr. Durham, North Carolina 

Heflin, Joseph L. S1c                 8/8/44           756 16 63     Huntington , WV Father: Ralph B. Heflin, Salem W.V. married a Maggie Tierney, in West Union, WV. 1924.

Hudson, William O. S2c           12/2/44           736 14 31       no record*  Father; Archie S. Hudson, 2023 Holmby St. Los Angeles, CA.  

Mellum, Ernest P.M3c            12/20/43         886 62 28       SF, CA        Mother; Emma Josephine Mullem, 2118 Eye. St. Sacramento, CA

Mueller, Lawrence E. EM2c      11/25/44         853 43 28     Chicago , IL Wife; Mrs. Alice May Mueller, 5859 N. Mobile, Ave. Chicago, IL 

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Missing (lost overboard) 7/25/43

Shapiro, Myer H. F1c              1/23/43          202 20 71      Boston , MA 1/15/42  Mother; Minnie G. Shapiro, Malden, Mass

Note: Information compiled by Billy Roberts using ships muster rolls, with research help from John Chiquoine.