A little over a week ago, Paul Allen's research vessel RV Petrel, using remotely operated submersibles, discovered the remains of the ship, sunk on November 12, 1942 by Japanese Naval Forces during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She was heavily damaged when a torpedo fired by a Japanese destroyer exploded into her forward section causing a severe(12 degree list) during a night action off the island. The next day, while being towed near the USS San Francisco, also heavily damaged, she was struck by two more torpedoes intended for the San Francisco. She broke up into 3 pieces and sank in less than a minute, taking most of her crew to the bottom. After the explosion that sunk her, the other ships left the scene, assuming there were no survivors. Unfortunately, there were an estimated 120 sailors in the water, hoping for rescue. For 110 sailors, rescue efforts came too late.
Among the dead and lost were the 5 Sullivan brothers who were allowed to serve together.
In a personal letter to the parents of the brothers, he expressed his emotions by explaining that no words could adequately salve their own grief. Before the war ended in 1945, another ship would be christened THE SULLIVANS to honor the five brothers.
Paul Allen's efforts discovered the pieces of the wreck in a deep trench off the island at a depth in excess of 10,500'. Its exact location was not noted out of respect for dead crew members who went down with her almost 76 years ago as the Japanese attempted to expand their empire southward, hoping to capture Australia.
It would not happen. Another casualty during the Battle of Guadalcanal was Admiral Daniel O'Callaghan, a San Francisco native and a graduate of the Jesuit preparatory, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Today, the school keeps his memory alive with the O'Callaghan Society, dedicated to citizenship and leadership. The last survivor died in Iowa last year at age 90 years.
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