HGB Ep. 551 - USS The Sullivans

Moment in Oddity - Father of the Marathon (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)

There was a Japanese man by the name of Shizo Kanakuri. He was known as the "father of the marathon" in Japan. The event was the Olympics and the year was 1912. It tooks weeks for Shizo to arrive at the starting line in Stockholm, Sweden. Shizo was the first Japanese athlete to qualify for an Olympics and he was proud to represent his country. The day of his event, Stockholm was experiencing a heat wave and during the marathon, racers were dropping out at every mile. Of 68 starters, only 34 marathoners would cross the finish line. At about two thirds of the way through the marathon, Shizo Kanakuri suddenly disappeared. He never let officials know that he was quitting the race and nobody knew where he vanished to. He was considered a missing person in Sweden for decades. Apparently Shizo found himself at a farm along the marathon route where a family fed him, gave him clothing and offered a place to sleep. Although the runner was safe, the race organizers had no idea where Shizo disappeared to. Eventually over the years, urban legends were created around the Japanese marathoner, with people saying he had been running around Sweden for years looking for the finish line. In reality he continued to run races once home in Japan and went into education where he worked to introduce as many people as possible to athletics. Later, in 1967, Swedish officials organized a return trip for Kanakuri so that he may finish his marathon from 1912. A ceremony was held for Shizo and the event was widely covered by the Swedish media. When Shizo Kanakuri finally crossed the finish line, his time was noted at 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds, securing a position for the slowest marathon ever completed and that certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Klondike Gold Rush

In the month of August, on the 16th in 1896, gold was discovered in Alaska, sparking the Great Klondike Gold Rush. Also known as the Yukon Gold Rush, the discovery by Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie prompted a mass departure of eager prospectors from their homesteads to the Canadian Yukon Territory and Alaska. The promise of riches emboldened 100,000 people to leave their current lives and commence the long and treacherous migration, seeking the valuable mineral. Unfortunately only half of those who began the journey actually arrived at their destination. Although the gold rush was good for the region's economy, it had an adverse effect on the environment and the native people of the Yukon and Alaskan territories. Loss of native wildlife, deforestation and water contamination were widespread. The native people were exposed to diseases from the prospectors and their hunting and fishing grounds were ruined as well. Those who completed the harsh journey also found that the riches were grossly exaggerated and many people immediately returned from whence they came. The Klondike Gold Rush slowed to a trickle by the end of 1898 and many were left destitute.

USS The Sullivans (Suggested by: Erica Merhoff)

USS The Sullivans is berthed now at the Buffalo Naval and Servicemen's Park in New York. We learned a lot about USS The Sullivans when we toured the USS Yorktown in June 2024. It's a very different name for a ship and that's because it was named for five brothers who all died aboard the same ship when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II. Those brothers just may be haunting their namesake. Or maybe there are other spirits here. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of USS The Sullivans.

The loss of a child is devastating. Some historical stories that we share on this podcast are quite painful because in previous centuries, it wasn't out of the ordinary for a family to lose multiple children, especially before they made it to adulthood. Losing five grown sons all at once would be an immense pain that none of us could begin to comprehend. The Sullivan clan had an ancient stronghold in West Cork, Ireland. The first Sullivans emigrated to America in 1849. Thomas Sullivan would come down through that line and marry Alleta Abel in Waterloo, Iowa in 1914. They bought a house at 98 Adams Street in Waterloo and started the building of their large Irish-Catholic family. Over the next 17 years, they had seven children, five boys and two girls. The boys were George, Francis or Frank, Joseph, Madison or Matt and Albert and the girls were Genevieve and Kathleen. Kathleen died when she was just five months old from pneumonia.

The Sullivans had an idyllic life, even during the Depression. Thomas Sullivan never lost his job and he taught his boys to hunt and fish. The brothers loved to play baseball and football in a vacant lot by their house. After George and Frank graduated from high school, they decided to join the Navy because jobs were pretty scarce in Waterloo. They served their time and returned home in 1941 and got jobs in the Rath Meat Packing plant. Their brother Albert had married a woman named Katherine Mary and they had a son. When George and Frank had joined the Navy, they convinced their friend Bill Ball to join up too. Ball stayed in the Navy and he was stationed on the USS Arizona that was parked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing America into World War II. Ten Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers attacked the Arizona and scored four direct hits with one of them causing an explosion in the magazines at the forward part of the ship. In total, 1,177 men were killed on the USS Arizona and one of them was Bill Ball. The wreck of the Arizona remains at Pearl Harbor as a memorial. We would be remiss if we didn't mention that this memorial is said to be haunted. Visitors and staff have reported strange sounds that include disembodied whispers, disembodied footsteps and the sounds of distant explosions. An Australian family shared a photo in 2011 after their visit that seemed to show a young and sad face in the shimmering oil above the wreckage.

When the brothers heard that their friend Ball had been killed at Pearl Harbor, they were inspired to sign up to fight in World War II. George said, "Well, I guess our minds are made up, aren’t they fellows? And, when we go in, we want to go in together. If the worst comes to the worst, why we’ll all have gone down together." George and Frank had already been in the Navy, so the five brothers agreed to join the Navy and they requested to all be stationed on the same ship. The Waterloo Iowa Courier featured the brothers in a story because it was big news for their town. Letting five brothers serve together was out of the norm because the Navy had been crafting a policy prohibiting such a practice. But the Navy agreed and stationed the Sullivans on the USS Juneau, which was the first US ship to be camouflage-painted.

The USS Juneau was an Atlanta-class light cruiser that had been launched in October of 1941. She headed into the Pacific theater on August 22, 1942 and had her first major action in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942. Juneau helped repel four Japanese attacks. Her next fight would be the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. The Juneau shot down six Japanese torpedo bombers early. The main part of the battle took place in the evening when it was pitch dark and the Juneau was struck on her port side by a torpedo. She began to list, but she was able to maintain a speed of 13 knots and started heading toward Espiritu Santo for repairs. Another ship named the San Francisco accompanied the Juneau as it needed repairs too. Along the way, a Japanese submarine  shot two torpedoes towards the San Francisco, with both missing. Unfortunately, one of them found the Juneau and hit the same spot she had been hit before and an explosion rocked the cruiser immediately and she sank below the water in just 20 seconds after breaking in two. The date was November 13, 1942.

There wasn't just the San Francisco with the Juneau. Another ship named the Helena was also traveling in the group. The commanders of both ships thought that no one had survived the attack on the Juneau, so they quickly left. But 100 sailors had survived and they had to fend for themselves for eight days in the open ocean before they were rescued. At the time of rescue, only 10 men were still alive. The rest had sucuumbed to the elements and shark attacks. There are different stories as to what happened to the brothers. The most probable scenario seems to be that three of the Sullivan brothers went down with the ship immediately. Another brother was wounded and managed to make it to the surface, but died shortly thereafter from his wounds. George made it to the surface and into a raft, but after days of no food or water, he seems to have become disoriented and jumped out of the raft into the water and was grabbed by a shark.

It would take weeks before the Sullivan parents were told the fates of their sons. A survivor who was friends with George wrote the Sullivans to tell them, "I am afraid all hope is gone for your boys. I don’t know whether a letter of this sort helps you or hurts. But it’s the truth. I saw it." But there was nothing official from the Navy, so Alleta wrote the Navy, "I am writing you in regards to a rumor going around that my five sons were killed in action in November. I hated to bother you, but it has worried me so that I wanted to know if it was true. So please tell me. It has worried me so." The Sullivans got their answer on January 11, 1943 when a knock came on their door and they opened it to see Lt. Commander Truman Jones standing there. He said he had some news about their boys. Thomas inquired, “Which one?” “I’m sorry,” was the response. “All five.” Now Lt. Commander Jones could only tell them that all five were missing in action, but he added that they were presumed dead.

President Roosevelt wrote a letter to the Sullivans and in part he said, "I want you to know the entire nation shares your sorrow. I send you my deepest sympathy in your hour of trial and pray that in Almighty God you will find the comfort and help that only He can bring." In no time, five gold stars were hanging in the window of the Sullivan family and Alleta was called "the champion Gold Star Mother." She had become the Mrs. Bixby of World War II. Mrs. Bixby had lost five sons during the Civil War. No one would blame the Sullivans for curling up into balls and giving up, but they did the opposite. They were invited to Washington DC and met with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Vice President Henry A. Wallace. The Navy then asked them to tour defense plants to inspire the workers. Tom and Alleta also spoke at 235 bond rallies and they appreciated the distraction as Alleta said that the trips kept her from thinking. Their campaign was very successful in selling war bonds. And then there was Genevieve. She had gone from having five brothers to an only child. She enlisted in the Navy. It was a PR bonanza for the Navy.

In 1944, the film "The Fighting Sullivans" debuted featuring a mix of truth and fiction. The war ended and the celebrity died down and the Sullivans returned to a quiet life, no doubt wondering what their house might have been like if it had been filled with all their children and possible grandchildren. Tom passed away in March of 1965 and Alleta passed in April 1972. Streets and parks were named for the boys and Waterloo honored them with The Five Sullivan Brothers Conventions Center and the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. And in April 1943, Alleta christened USS The Sullivans, named for her sons. It was the first US ship ever named for more than one person.

The largest and most important class of US Destroyers was the Fletcher-class. The USS The Sullivans was one of these class and was laid down in October 1942 at the San Francisco Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. Originally, it was going to be named the Putnam, but after the Sullivans were killed, it was decided to name the destroyer Sullivan. Then President Roosevelt changed the name to The Sullivans to make sure that all the brothers were honored. The ship launched on February 6, 1943 and was commissioned on September 30, 1943. It measured 376 feet and could carry 310 sailors. She did a brief shakedown and headed for Pearl Harbor in December of 1943. In January, she left with Task Group 58.2, which was headed to the Marshall Islands. Her first major battle was the Battle of Kwajalein. The Sullivans main responsibility was covering various Task Groups. She helped beat off Japanese air attacks and helped with the attack on the island of Ponape. The Sullivans participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944. In July, she joined Bombardment Unit One in attacking airfields and shore batteries on Iwo Jima.

The USS Houston was hit hard in October 0f 1944 and The Sullivans rescued 118 of the sailors and cared for that ship's wounded until they were transferred to another ship. The Sullivans had a lucky shamrock painted on her funnel and it really seemed that this was a lucky ship. She took no hits and when Typhoon Cobra swept through Manila, damaging several ships and sinking three destroyers, The Sullivans came through with no damage. In 1945, she helped support the invasion of Okinawa. She continued her service until June of 1945. The Sullivans was decommissioned at San Diego on January 10, 1946 after being overhauled and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

The Sullivans was reactivated for the Korean War in 1951. The destroyer carried on screening activities, plane guard duty, bombarded shore targets, supported United Nations ground troops and interdicted enemy supply lines. The Sullivans was ordered home in early 1953. During the summer of 1953, she did a tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1958, she supported the landings of Marines in Beirut. The Sullivans joined the carrier Lake Champlain in Florida for the splash down of Commander Alan Shepard's Mercury space capsule in 1961. In 1962, she took part in the naval blockade of Cuba after it was discovered that the Soviet Union placed missiles there. The Sullivans was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1965 and remained in reserve until the 1970s. She was donated to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York in 1977 and she now serves as a memorial and museum.

In her time, the destroyer earned nine battle stars during World War II and two battle stars for Korean War service. She's had a rough go of it lately. In 2021, she began taking on water and listing and she was sitting lower in the water and lost electrical power in April 2022. A serious hull breach had happened at this time and the damage to the interior was considerable. She had repairs and reopened in August 2022 and then efforts were made to winterize the destroyer. Later this year, 2024, it is hoped to drydock USS The Sullivans in Erie or Cleveland, but a lot of money is needed to tow the ship and do the repairs. Because of damage, the lower decks are closed to visitors.

Tales of strange occurrences on the destroyer date all the way back to 1969. People have reported that the lights flicker on and off by themselves and that electrical equipment is sometimes found turned on and no one knows how that happened. This includes radios that turn on by themselves and many times, a strange static broadcasts from the radios. And speaking of sounds, the blips of a radar are heard in various places of the ship, not necessarily where the radar is located. There are those who claim that all five Sullivan brothers haunt their namesake, but the most prevalent claim is that eldest brother George is here, seeking to find his brothers. A photo on the destroyer that features the five brothers usually reveals a mist over the face of George when a picture is snapped of it. A shadowy figure is seen on several decks and is thought to be George. One encounter that a security guard had with this figure was terrifying. The guard came face to face with a horrifying spirit he described as a disembodied torso with a burned and disfigured face. He later identified George as being the spirit he saw when presented with a memorial picture of the Sullivans. He then quit shortly thereafter as the experience shook him so much. In regards to all the brothers, witnesses have claimed to see five luminous figures in passages on the ship. 

Ghost Hunters Extraordinaire investigated the destroyer in 2016. They asked if the Sullivans were there and they heard what they thought was shuffling of a feet and they asked if they could do that again. The Mel Meter dropped suddenly from 64 degrees to 54 degrees. One of their cameras turned off the recording and then turned it back on without assistance. Investigators have all found the mess area to be the most active area of the ship and that makes sense since this was used as a makeshift hospital when rescuing sailors from other ships. On one occasion, the power turned off on the destroyer and a couple employees went to try to lead guests off the darkened ship. An employee heard noises coming from down a hallway that lead to the room with the control panels. She saw a glow coming from the room and assumed that a guest either had a flashlight or a glowstick. She called out and no one responded to her. She looked in the room and saw that the glow was coming from a radar scanner panel that was fully functional. There was no one in the room and the radar wasn't thought to work anymore. The employee ran out to get another employee and when they returned, they found the room completely dark.

Ghost Hunters investigated The Sullivans in 2014 on their episode "Phantom Fleet." The whole team was inside a room when Jason jumped because there was a loud crash that reverberated down the hall. They decided to see if they could figure what caused the sound. They found that a hatch that had been opened was now slammed shut. There was no one else on the ship and the hatch is obviously heavy, so they couldn't explain how this happened.

Reporter Stacey Frey visited the destroyer in October of 2000 for WKBW Buffalo's Good Morning Western New York. She was joined by Staff Duty Officer Ed Kirkwood who shared personal experiences he has had. He once was on a lunch break and a couple came into the ship store to buy some post cards. It was winter and so everything was shut down except the store. They wandered over to the USS The Sullivans and found a man who was an admiral was aboard the ship and he gave them a tour, showing them the boiler room and the engine room. In the boiler room, he explained to them that a fire had broken out and one of the sailors got injured. Later, the couple was talking to Kirkwood and he was stumped because he had never heard the story before. He asked a couple of docents about it and they said that no one had gotten injured on the ship in that way. On top of that, there was no one on the destroyer to give tours. Remember, it was shut down for the winter. So who gave that couple a tour and what accident was he referring to? Could it have been part of what happened on the USS Juneau? Was this one of the Sullivan brothers? None of them had been the rank of admiral. Kirkwood also told Frey that he likes to hum to himself when he is locking up to help with his nerves because he is a little bit afraid of the ship. He sometimes hears a humming join him and he has heard sounds of disembodied voices yelling in response to him when he yells down a hatch to make sure the place is empty. He has locked hatches and returned to find them unlocked. Another strange thing that happened to him is that his watch jumped inexplicably to military time. A visitor to the ship told him that the same thing happened to her husband's watch when they toured the ship.

Did the brothers Sullivan help to protect the USS The Sullivans or was it just really a lucky ship that never received any damage or experienced any accidents? It seems very possible for sailors to leave a bit of themselves behind after spending a long time on what they call a "tin can." Are the strange occurrences here just connected to the energy of the sailors who served onboard? Is the USS The Sullivans haunted? That is for you to decide!