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ť Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
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ť Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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ť Topic: Wasile Bay
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I friemnd of mine sent me a fantastic article called INTO THE DRAGON'S JAW. It is in the Book "SEA CLASSICS and is the March 2008 edition. This was the daring rescue by PT BOATS in Wasile Bay. Lt. Cmdr( promoted after this rescue) Murray Preston won the Medal of honor for saving this downed Pilot, while under intense fire. PT's 489 & 363 took part in the rescue. Three others won the Navy Cross...........

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: Jun 13, 2008 - 3:42am
Total Posts: 3544 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

One of only 2 PT sailors who recieved the medal of honor.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/apreston.htm

Ray

Posted By: Ray Wilbur | Posted on: Jun 13, 2008 - 4:11am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

This is indeed a very good article on the rescue in Wasile Bay. It may be too good to be true, though. The article purports to be an Eyewitness History Account. The full title is Into the Dragon's Jaw; A MTB Signalman Recounts a Daring Wartime Rescue in the Midst of a Japanese Stronghold. The article is written, in the first person, by Timothy Curran, who writes that he was a signalman second class new to the crew of PT 489.

The article is written with much dramatic flair -- As for me, some 60-yrs later I still remember Lt. Preston's grin when I thanked him for one helluva ride as we safely docked back at Morotai. The article seemed suspicious to me though. No details on the author were given other than those written in the first person narrative. There was no sidebar about the author, and no photo of him. Also, the article seemed to be a little too slick for a PT veteran. It just didn't seem right to me.

If this indeed was written by a veteran of PT 489 I very much wanted to communicate with him, and ask questions about that mission. Some of the details in the article are remarkable, and I had not seen them in any other account of the mission. So, I wrote the editor of Sea Classics, asked him to forward my letter to Curran, enclosed a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and asked Curran to contact me. I heard nothing back from either Curran or the editor.

In the meantime I obtained from NARA a copy of Lt. Preston's action report, attached below. You will note that the roster of the 489 crew reported by Preston does not show a Tim Curran. I suppose the editor might have changed the name of the vet to protect his privacy. If so, I wonder why the editor didn't reply to that effect to my letter. I would like to track down the source of the details given in the article.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/G%20R%20Powell/ActionReport-WasileBay1.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/G%20R%20Powell/ActionReport-WasileBay2.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/G%20R%20Powell/ActionReport-WasileBay3.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/G%20R%20Powell/ActionReport-WasileBay4.jpg[/image]

G R Powell

Posted By: G R Powell | Posted on: Feb 6, 2009 - 6:49am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Guys . . .

You know the story is in At Close Quarters, pg 368 and Mike Montana has posted it as a "podcast" at [url]feed://www.pt171.org/pt171.xml[/url] - not sure how the two stories match.

You can also read about it in this site's the Detailed PT Boat Info section at; [url]http://www.ptboats.org/20-07-05-reports-007.html[/url]

Just a thought,
Have a goof one,
Dick . . .

Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Feb 6, 2009 - 8:26am
Total Posts: 1487 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm

Mr. Powell:

A very good accessment of the article in question. One of the things I had a tough time trying to digest, was that the boats were flounering around out there waiting for Air Cover. True, the Air Cover would certainly make it an easier job for the PT Boats to get in there, but I wonder why the boats never made their own smoke. PT Boats have smoke generators, and I would think one boat, would dash across, laying smoke for the other boat to try and make it in. I am certainly not picking the article apart, because I was not there. In the meantime, if there is anyway you can shoot me that report, I would appreciate it very much. My E-Mail is mosquitofleet@comcast.net You are correct in that it was written with a dramatic overtone.

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: Feb 6, 2009 - 8:37am
Total Posts: 3544 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

HI, THINGS MAY HAVE CHANGED FROM THE TIME THAT I WAS ON A BOAT, BUT WHEN I WAS ON, I NEVER KNEW OF ANY SIGNALMAN BEING ON A PT BOAT. THE QUARTERMASTERS DID ALL THE SIGNALLING.
PLEAS CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG

RUSS

Posted By: Russell Pullano | Posted on: Feb 6, 2009 - 11:19am
Total Posts: 131 | Joined: Oct 23, 2006 - 7:31am

Did any of the boats have signalman? I never saw one. Of course I never met a very large percentage of the boat crews. The QM usually handled the visual signaling. Perhaps those who have rosters could check for a SM.

Some time ago I posted information on this forum regarding the rescue based on information in At Close Quarters. It was an almost unbelievable achievement. Smoke may not have been useful in that situation. The Japanese apparently were firing from several locations. The fast moving targets taking evasive action made the escape possible.

Posted By: QM | Posted on: Feb 6, 2009 - 11:28am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered