Photo credit: Tim1965, View of the west side of the the USS Serpens Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery near Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The ship exploded on January 29, 1945, while anchored off Laguna Beach at the island of Guadalcanal.
Yesterday marked the anniversary of the loss of the Blackthorn, today it is the 68th anniversary of the loss of the USS Serpens (AK-97) that resulted in the loss of 196 Coast Guardsmen plus 57 Army stevedores. This was the largest loss of life in a single incident in the history of the service. The names are here.
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It’s Lunga Beach, not Laguna Beach. My uncle was on the ship.
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Chuck. My father was on the USS SERPENS. READ MY BLOG ON the CG LONG BLUE LINE. ALSO ON THE COAST GUARD COMBAT VETERANS ASSOCIATIONS WINTER QUARTERDECK LOG ON THE SINKING OF THE USS SERPENS. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING TOGETHER A BOOK WITH THE HELP OF DOUGLAS CAMPBELL ON THIS WHOLE COVER UP TO DENY THE PURPLE HEART MEDAL TO THE 250 THAT WENT DOWN WITH THE SERPENS 29 JAN 1945
Please keep me posted on your process regarding the sinking of the USS Serpens. My uncle was killed that horrible day. His name was Robert J. Smith. he was my mom’s only brother. My email is groganiam1@verizon.net
Thank you
Shari Grogan
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Marking the 75th anniversary of the loss of Serpens and her crew. https://compass.coastguard.blog/2020/01/30/the-long-blue-line-75th-anniversary-of-serpens-coast-guards-worst-loss-of-life/
Another article. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/uss-serpens-coverup/?fbclid=IwAR3J6m5Dk8U4GXs3SOGdSJ3eGofWvQLe4KbZp4MwAnIghU3AMqfKcQDraaA
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My father was a Sub Lieutenant Royal New Zealand Navy in command of a NZ Fairmile Q400, moored close to USS Serpens when she blew up. Q400 was damaged when shrapnel hit the deck but no one was injured. He only spoke of it once after I had spent time in the area diving on wrecks. They were very brave men. He was only 21 and had just become an officer, put in charge of 8 Fairmiles and sent from Auckland NZ to Guadalcanal.