Rare WW2 ERA USN Officer ' S Sword Ensign Henry P Whitehurst KIA Gaudalcanal 1942
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:15764113 |
Rare WW2 ERA USN Officer's Sword Ensign Henry P Whitehurst KIA Gaudalcanal 1942I purchased this sword nine years ago at a auction here in his hometown of New Bern, N.C. which the link is still online from that sale of his personal items and this sword is pictured the USS Whitehurst was named in his honor comes with everything shown like the leather cover with his initialsand the scabbard
Henry Purefoy Whitehurst Jr. 16 February 1920 -- ...9 August 1942 Henry Purefoy Whitehurst Jr. was born in New Bern, N.C. and died in action during the Battle of Savo Island in the U.S. Navy's first year in WWII.
Appointed midshipman 14 July 1938, graduated from the Naval Academy, 19 December 1941 and reported aboard the heavy cruiser Astoria, 18 January 1942 in Pearl Harbor Hawaii.
He served as junior watch and division officer aboard Astoria during the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway and during the landings onGuadalcanal on 7 August 1942. The next day the Astoria screened for the vital transports as they unloaded supplies and equipment for the marines ashore, and that evening stood out to a night retirement station off Savo Island.
In the early hours of 9 August, a Japanese force under Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawawhich unleashed a devastating night attack on the Southern and Northern Forces.
In the Southern Force, Chicago (CA-29) was damaged and the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was crippled so badly that she later sunk.
The Northern Force, unaware of the enemy's presence until too late, soon took staggering punishment. Vincennes (CA-44) and Quincy (CA-39) sank before daylight. Astoria lingered on while her surviving officers and men labored to save their ship. However the damage proved too great; and Astoria, like her two sister ships, eventually succumbed shortly after noon on 9 August. Among the dead suffered in the Battle of Savo Island was Ensign Whitehurst.
Henry Purefoy Whitehurst Jr. 16 February 1920 -- ...9 August 1942 Henry Purefoy Whitehurst Jr. was born in New Bern, N.C. and died in action during the Battle of Savo Island in the U.S. Navy's first year in WWII.
Appointed midshipman 14 July 1938, graduated from the Naval Academy, 19 December 1941 and reported aboard the heavy cruiser Astoria, 18 January 1942 in Pearl Harbor Hawaii.
He served as junior watch and division officer aboard Astoria during the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway and during the landings onGuadalcanal on 7 August 1942. The next day the Astoria screened for the vital transports as they unloaded supplies and equipment for the marines ashore, and that evening stood out to a night retirement station off Savo Island.
In the early hours of 9 August, a Japanese force under Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawawhich unleashed a devastating night attack on the Southern and Northern Forces.
In the Southern Force, Chicago (CA-29) was damaged and the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was crippled so badly that she later sunk.
The Northern Force, unaware of the enemy's presence until too late, soon took staggering punishment. Vincennes (CA-44) and Quincy (CA-39) sank before daylight. Astoria lingered on while her surviving officers and men labored to save their ship. However the damage proved too great; and Astoria, like her two sister ships, eventually succumbed shortly after noon on 9 August. Among the dead suffered in the Battle of Savo Island was Ensign Whitehurst.
