The Last Naval Battle of WW2?

[JamesG161]

Time: August 21, 1945 [after the formal surrender]
Place: South China Seas
The Ships: Sailboats
Engagement: 1- Japanese 2 - USA
Captains of USA ships...
Navy - Lt. Cmdr. Livingston Swentzel [Sailboat #1]
Marine -1st Lt. Steuart Pittman [Sailboat #2]

Armament Japanese - 75 mm deck mounted Gun.
USA - Each Sailboat... 1 - .50 caliber, 1 - .30 Caliber deck mounted machine guns and 2 - M1 Bazookas.

Did that get your interest?
Jim...

 

[kappykaplan]

Did that get your interest?

Yes!

 

[jon hansen]

yes

 

[JamesG161]

This is a picture to start with.

The Junk design is about the same for several hundred years.


Jim...

 

[JamesG161]

The Fight...

Seven Americans and 20 Chinese guerrillas were manning the 2 ships.

Swentzel and Pittman spotted another junk in the distance on the morning of Aug. 21. When Japanese junk saw the American ships, it came about and fired a round from a 75-millimeter howitzer.
The shot hit Pittman's junk, killing its .30-caliber machine gun crew and the helmsman.

The rest of the story can be read here....
Last Naval Battle WW2

and here...

The Last Naval Battle of World War 2 - Navy General Board

Swentzel received the Navy Cross
Pittman the Silver Star

Jim...

 

[Rick Webb]

Why has the Navy not named ships after these guys?

 

[Rick Webb]

What Pittman did later in life is just as interesting as what he did that morning.

 

[JamesG161]

Why has the Navy not named ships after these guys?

good point.
Destroyers are named for heroes like them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided-missile_destroyer

Look what I found about Destroyers.
@Ralph Johnstone a close relative for sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ralph_Johnson

What Pittman did later in life is just as interesting as what he did that morning.

Where did you find that info?
Jim...

 

[Rick Webb]

good point.
Destroyers are named for heroes like them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided-missile_destroyer

Look what I found about Destroyers.
@Ralph Johnstone a close relative for sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ralph_Johnson


Where did you find that info?
Jim...

Googled him and read his obit

Their story would make for a great History Guy episode

 

[Rick Webb]

good point.
Destroyers are named for heroes like them.

I was thinking a littoral ship might be appropriate

Recently it seems it is more likely to be a name of social or political relevance given to ships. Nothing inherently wrong there but a fighting ships name should be a combat "hero" of significant distinction.

Steuart Pittman Obituary (2013) - The Record/Herald News (legacy.com)

Here is another article I could not open it without paying to subscribe
Steuart Pittman, Head of Fallout Shelter Program, Dies at 93 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[Rick Webb]

Swentzel went on to serve in Korea and Viet-Nam would love to hear more of his story as well

 

[Rick Webb]

I was thinking a littoral ship might be appropriate

An LHA perhaps