John Barry and Richard Somers
Father and Son of the Navy
– By William Kelly
This year the Somers Point Historical Society is celebrating Richard Somers Day on Sunday, September 13, with a gathering at 3pm at the Somers Mansion.
The New Jersey Assembly passed a resolution officially naming September 4, the day he died in Tripoli as Richard Somers Day, but since that day usually falls on Labor Day weekend, few people recognized it. So this year, it will be celebrated on Sunday, September 13, which also happens to be known as John Barry Day, as officially proclaimed by Presidents Reagan and Clinton.
Richard Somers and John Barry were close friends and neighbors in center city Philadelphia. When his father died, Richard moved in with his sister Sarah and her husband William Keen, who was related to Barry’s wife Sarah Kean Austin, and John Barry became a surrogate father to young Somers.
Although both presidential proclamations expound on Barry’s revolutionary war exploits, they fail to mention the one fact that firmly establishes him as the “Father of the US Navy” - the recruitment and training of the first class of Midshipmen and young officers.
When the new Navy was being constituted and John Barry was named the first flag officer, President Washington instructed Barry to recruit young officers to serve with him. On June 17, 1794, he sent for the popular naval hero and told Barry “to form and train a class of midshipmen, who would then be given command as Ensigns, and form the nucleus of a new American navy.”
Barry didn’t have to look far, for the Rev. White who married him had started a school for young men, some of whom were already known to him. Barry knew Richard Somers’s and Stephen Decatur’s fathers as privateers during the revolution and he sailed a commercial ship for Stewart’s family, so he knew all three while they were still school mates.
Richard Somers’ biographer Barbara E. Koedel wrote “… Somers, Charles Stewart and Stephen Decatur attended the Episcopal Academy ‘where the discipline is strict,…they lived much out of doors, boating, swimming, fishing. Somers was the strongest...All were high spirited as eagles, and they were involved in not a few fisticuff ‘duels’ settled in the old Quaker burying-ground.”
So it was no coincidence that when Richard Somers, Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart enlisted in the Navy, they were selected by Barry to be the first Midshipmen and officers on his flagship the USS United States. On April 20, 1798 Richard Somers received his appointment as Midshipman of the United States Navy, Charles Stewart received his the day before, and Stephen Decatur the following day. Somers accepted the commission on May 1 and a week later he swore on the bible that:
“I Richard Somers, appointed a Midshipman on board the Frigate United States do solemnly swear to bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whomsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States of America, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, and in all things to conform myself, to the rules and regulations which now are and hereafter may be directed, and to the articles of war which may be enacted by Congress, for the better government of the navy of the United States – and I will support the constitution of the United States…So help me God Richard Somers. Sworn by me by May 8 1798 Richard Peters Judge of the Pennsylvania District of the United States.”
In writing Stewart’s biography, Claude Berbe and John Rodgaard wrote, “In the midshipman’s berth on the United States were two future standouts of the young navy: Charles’ friends Mid. Stephen Decatur and Mid. Richard Somers. With the three childhood friends together again, one could imagine that all three thought that the USS United States was an extension of their childhood days at…Episcopal Academy...Under Barry’s watchful eye, the four junior officers worked the United States through the rest of her fitting out work. When the frigate was ready for sea, Captain Barry set sail for the West Indies.”
Before long Stewart, Decatur and Somers were made officers and given command of their own ships. While Captain Barry was nominated to be the Commodore of the Mediterranean Fleet to fight the Barbary Pirates, he was too sick and unable to assume that command. Somers frequently visited Barry at Strawberry Hill, Barry’s home on the Delaware, four miles north of center city Philadelphia and along with his sister’s husband, William Keen, was a witness to Barry’s last will and testament.
Then Somers, now a Lieutenant, sailed the USS Nautilus to the Mediterranean to join in the fight against the Barbary Pirates, and has yet to return home.
John Barry died on September 13, 1803, the date of his death is now officially known as John Barry Day, two days before Somers’ birthday, September 15 (1776), and less than a year before Somers would die at Tripoli.
John Barry is recognized as the “Father of the US Navy” and Richard Somers is the Native Son of Somers Point, and it is fitting that we should celebrate them together on this day. The two men are tied together in death as in life, the father and son of the US Navy.
Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, recently said that, "Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be." Well 205 years is a long time, but it is now the duty of the US Navy to return the remains of their son, and our Native son, so they can, as James F. Cooper said long ago, “be finally incorporated with the dust of their native land and the friends of the deceased might find a melancholy consolation in being permitted to drop a tear over the spot in which they would be finally entombed.”
William Kelly
Billykelly3@yahoo.com
Remember the Intrepid Blog:
http://remembertheintrepid.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=22
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
September 13 - John Barry Day
Photo from USHistory.org
See: John Barry Kelly's bio of John Barry
"Father of the American Navy."
http://www.ushistory.org/people/commodorebarry.htm
Independence Hall Association
September 13 - the day John Barry died in 1803, has been officially declared John Barry Day by both Presidents Reagan and Clinton.
This year, Richard Somers Day is also being celebrated on Sunday, September 13th.
Although Somers was born September 15, 1776, during the Revolution, the New Jersey Assembly officially declared the day he died September 4 (1804) Richard Somers Day.
But since that day usually falls during the Labor Day week, when school is out and people are still on vacation, it was decided to hold the Richard Somers Day festivities this year on Sunday, September 13, which just so happens to be John Barry Day.
John Barry Statute
John Barry Statue
Photo from USHistory.org
The Independence Hall Association
Read John Barry Kelly's bio of John Barry
http://www.ushistory.org/people/commodorebarry.htm
John Barry is buried in Old St. Mary's Cemetery behind Independence Hall.
I think Stephen Decatur and his wife are also buried there. She died in Washington, and was buried in a small plot near a university that wanted to expand, so in the early 1980s they dug her up and reburied her at St. Mary's in Philly.
In the movie National Treasure, Nicholas Cage is chased through the cemetery by the Russian mafia, who are trying to get the Declaration of Independence that Cage stole from the National Archives.
Philly Mint Silver from the SS Barry
Philadelphia Mint silver coins salvaged from the SS John Barry, sunk by U boat during World War II with $24 million in secret silver cache, only half of which has been recovered.
The Ship, sunk off the coast of Oman, gave the name to the John Barry Bar at the Muscat Hyatt Hotel, where the story of the SS John Barry treasure is told.
John Barry Bar & Treasure
John Barry Bar – Grand Hyatt Muscat Oman - & - Treasure
Address:Hayy as saruj st, Ministry area ,Muscat , Oman
Telephone 24 641234
Email hyattmct@omantel.net.om
Website www.muscat.grand.hyatt.com
http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Muscat-Grand-Hyatt-Muscat-P160010.html
Lonely Planet review Jenny Walker Lonely Planet author
Pure kitsch! The exterior owes much to Disney, while its stained-glass-and-marble interior is a cross between Art Deco and a royal Bedouin tent. This beachside hotel nonetheless cuts the mustard for the international business community.
If you sit sipping tea long enough in the extravagant foyer of this sumptuous hotel, chances are you'll worry that the tea was laced. The statue of the Arab on horseback that graces the central podium moves just slowly enough to make you suspect you've joined the flight of fancy that inspired the architects. Rumour has it, in fact, that a Yemeni prince designed the hotel and, like it or loathe it, it's an interior to be experienced. While traditionally more focused on the well-heeled business community, there is much in this majestic marble-clad hotel to appeal to the sophisticated holidaymaker too, including an excellent Italian restaurant called the Tuscany. The John Barry Bar, named after the raised ship and its booty of silver treasure that made the fortunes of the Hyatt's owner, makes a comfortable venue for relaxing with a cocktail and live piano music.
http://www.smartoman.com/index.php/Flights-and-Hotels/MOONGLOW-AT-JOHN-BARRY-BAR.html
“MOONGLOW” AT JOHN BARRY BAR
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, May 14, 2009
Grand Hyatt Muscat proudly presents the new resident band at John Barry Bar, “Moonglow”, which will perform over the summer months.
Jazzy Summer Tunes Listen to the jazzy tunes of “Moonglow” at John Barry Bar, and let the new resident duo, pianist Mos and singer Valerie, from Canada dazzle you with their music. “Moonglow” will provide an evening full of entertainment, with songs and music ranging from jazz and Latin to love songs from around the globe.
The members of “Moonglow” have gained acclaim performing extended engagements throughout Asia, Australia, Africa, the US and Canada, and continue to pursue new and old venues.
You can listen to “Moonglow” perform nightly in the John Barry Bar every Saturday to Tuesday from 8:45pm to 12:30am and from 9:15pm to 1:00am every Wednesday and Thursday.
John Barry Bar
The nautically themed John Barry Bar, accessed from the hotel lobby, tells the story of a quest for hidden treasure at the bottom of the Arabian Sea. Named after the famous wreck of the SS John Barry, this comfortable and exclusive lounge bar sets the scene for an elegant business or social gathering. The bar staff has a wealth of information about the history of this delightful venue, and can share interesting anecdotes, maps and memorabilia that unfold the quaint story of hotel-owner Sheikh Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi’s adventurous attempt to salvage the SS John Barry. Nightly entertainment by a jazz duo lends to the inviting ambience.
John Barry Bar is open from Saturday to Tuesday from 6:00pm to 1:00am, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:00pm to 2:00am.
For bookings and information, call Grand Hyatt Muscat on 2464 1234 ext. 1137.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_John_BarrySS John Barry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Career
Name: SS John Barry
Fate: sunk on 28 August 1944
General characteristics
Tonnage: 7,176 tons
Length: 416 ft (127 m)
Speed: 12 knots
The SS John Barry was a 7200-ton American liberty ship in World War II. The ship left itsconvoy under radio silence to go on a mission to Dhahran in Saudi Arabia when it was torpedoed 185 kilometers off the coast of Omanby the German submarine U-859 on 28 August 1944. Two crewmen were killed in the sinking and the survivors were rescued the next day. The SS John Barry was carrying a cargo of 3 million American-minted Saudi one-riyal silvercoins as an American payment associated withARAMCO. The reason for this shipment (one of several during the war) was that Saudi Arabia did not use paper money at the time and this led to a war time shortage of currency with which to pay workers building new oil refineries and other US facilities at newly founded Dhahran.
Because the exact nature of the cargo was a secret, rumors spread that the SS John Barrycarried a vast shipment of 26 million US$ (1944 value) worth of silver bullion to India as well as the smaller cargo of coins. After the recovery effort of this purported treasure failed (see below), it was discovered that all silver shipments to India were accounted for and a new destination for the silver bullion was theorized, the Soviet Union.
The ship had sunk to 8500 feet below the sea surface, far beyond the reaches of most undersea recovery methods. Forty-five years later, however, Skeikh Ahmed Farid al Aulaqi was granted salvage rights. Brian Shoemakerand Jay Fiondella, owner of Chez Jay, a celebrity-renowned seafood dive in Santa Monica, California, decided to raise the money to retrieve the John Barry. Contractors fromHouston, Texas were initially involved in the search, and their efforts were later augmented by the Toulon-based Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer(IFREMER). In October 1994, a modified drilling ship, Flex LD, carrying a 50-ton video-equipped grab designed by IFREMER, sailed to the location of the John Barry. By early November, much of the ship had been excavated, revealing vintage US Army trucks, tanks, and military equipment. Soon after, the first sign of silver was seen (though initially the video feed was clouded by the ship's oil sticking to the camera lens). Over the next five days, the grab brought up 1.3 million Saudi riyals weighing 17 tons and showered them onto the drill-ship's deck. The purported Indian/Soviet silver was nowhere to be found, although the salvagers were unable to access all the locations they suspected the silver might rest. While some plans have surfaced to relaunch the recovery effort, none have come to fruition.
Retired U.S. Navy Captain Brian Shoemaker, former General Counsel of the Navy Hugh O'Neill, and Mr. Jay Fiondella, owner of Chez Jay, a celebrity-renowned seafood dive in Santa Monica, California, successfully bid for the salvage rights from the U. S. Government.In order to raise the money to retrieve the John Barry they formed a partnership called "The John Barry Group".
The Silver Ship Categories: Liberty ships | Ships sunk by German submarines | World War II shipwrecks in the Arabian Sea
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-fiondella13-2008nov13,0,6296224.story
OBITUARIES
Jay Fiondella dies at 82; flamboyant owner of Chez Jay made the restaurant a Santa Monica landmark
Los Angeles Times
One of the trademarks of Jay Fiondella's Chez Jay are the peanuts served to customers, who toss the shells onto the floor. In 1971, Fiondella persuaded astronaut Alan Shepard to take one of the restaurant's peanuts to the moon and back. Fiondella recalled that he told Shepard: "I want to have the first astro-nut."
By Valerie J. Nelson
November 13, 2008
Jay Fiondella, the flamboyant owner of Chez Jay, the scruffy restaurant-bar he opened almost 50 years ago that became a Santa Monica landmark and something of a shrine to his exploits as an adventurer, has died. He was 82.
Fiondella died Nov. 6 at a Santa Monica care facility after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, his family said.
Photos: Jay Fiondella | 1926-2008
In 1959, he was hustling for small acting parts and tending bar on the Santa Monica Pier when he heard about a small coffee shop for sale on Ocean Avenue and decided to turn it into Chez Jay.
From the start, Chez Jay drew celebrities. One reason was that Fiondella carefully protected them from fans and gawkers, according to a 2002 Times article on "splendid dives." When customers walked in with cameras, he threw them out.
Through 2007, Fiondella worked regularly at Chez Jay, which invariably earned good reviews for its steaks and seafood. Co-owner Michael Anderson will continue to run the restaurant.
After opening Chez Jay, Fiondella brought his widowed mother, Alice, west to help run the place with the sawdust floors so he would not have to give up his swashbuckling ways.
Mementos from his trips were hung on the restaurant's walls.
A competitive hot-air balloonist, he helped finance the 1973 search for the treasure of the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria that turned up "silverware, a bottle of perfume and some trays," Fiondella said at the time.
Two decades later, he was part of a team that recovered silver coins worth millions from the wreck of the John Barry, a U.S. merchant ship that was torpedoed off the coast of Oman during World War II.
He reveled in taking chances and in creating a romantic image for himself but never seemed to miss an opportunity to promote the tiny restaurant that made his travels possible. Recounting an archaeological dig in the Arabian Desert, Fiondella said he ran into four Chez Jay customers.
When his homemade, 65-foot replica pirate ship toppled off a trailer in 1989 while being hauled down Culver Boulevard, it caused a massive rush-hour traffic jam and briefly made him a cable news star.
"Every time they got a little sound bite from him, he always managed to slip in the restaurant's name and address," said Jon Stebbins, who is finishing a biography of Fiondella that he wrote with the restaurateur.
The boat Fiondella had worked on for 25 years "was my shrink, my guru, my Shangri-La," he told The Times in 1989. "I could go on it and drink a beer and think I was in Tahiti. Now it's history. . . . It's the USS Never Sail."
Stories of the famous who hung out at Chez Jay were often repeated: Daniel Ellsberg, who worked at the nearby Rand Corp., supposedly passed the Pentagon Papers to a reporter there. Marlon Brando allegedly waltzed off with a waitress. Henry Kissinger spent so much time in the back, a rear table was dubbed the "Kissinger Room."
In the early 1950s, Fiondella roomed with actor Leonard Nimoy, who told The Times in an e-mail: "He was a gregarious, great guy. . . . I ate at his place occasionally. Always had great stories and good food."
Jay Anthony Fiondella was born Aug. 6, 1926, in East Haven, Conn. His mother was a teacher and his father was an artist who often took him hunting for Indian artifacts.
During World War II, Fiondella was a Navy Seabee who served in the Philippines and China. After the war, he attended the University of Miami and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting after a brief marriage ended in divorce.
Between 1958 and 2000, he had small parts in about 30 films and TV shows and used Jay Della as his stage name. His first role was in the series "Sea Hunt," and his last was in the movie "Luck of the Draw."
Alan Shepard, commander of Apollo 14, was dining at Chez Jay when Fiondella persuaded him to take one of the restaurant's trademark peanuts with him to the moon in 1971, Fiondella often said.
He recalled telling the astronaut: "I want to have the first astro-nut."
When Shepard returned the legume, he reportedly signed an affidavit that stated it had accompanied him to the moon.
"Jay used to carry the peanut around in his pocket and put it down on the bar," Stebbins said. "One time, actor Steve McQueen put it in his mouth and Jay had to wrestle with him to get it away."
Alice Fiondella, who helped run Chez Jay for 30 years, was hit by a car while crossing Ocean Avenue near the restaurant in 1991 and died at 89.
Fiondella's second wife died.
His survivors include a daughter, Anita Fiondella Eck; a son, Chaz Fiondella; and a sister, Rita Luarte.
A celebration of Fiondella's life will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 6 at Chez Jay, 1657 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica. Those planning to attend should call (310) 395-1741.
Nelson is a Times staff writer.
The SS John Barry: Lost and Found Off the Omani Coast
Focus on Oman
The Mission of The American International School of Muscat is to pursue academic excellence for all students in the international community through an American-based education that develops ethical, responsible, and globally conscious lifelong learners.
The SS John Barry was a humble cargo vessel. Built in Oregon, it was one of several thousand “Liberty Ships” used during World War II to carry raw materials, industrial goods, and military supplies to American allies. In the middle of the long, desperate
summer of 1944, the SS John Barry, under the command of Captain Joseph Ellerwald, sailed in a convoy from Norfolk Virginia, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and finally arrived safely in Port Said, Egypt. After a brief
stopover, the ship steamed south, alone, through the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean toward its final destination, Ras Tanurah, in the Persian Gulf.
None of the crewmen knew that, in addition to the standard cargo of heavy equipment, the SS John Barry carried three million, silver one-riyal coins. (See photo.) The coins had been minted in Philadelphia and were intended as a loan for King Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, whose economy was collapsing under the financial strains caused by the war.
Captain Ellerwald maintained radio silence as he guided his ship along the South Arabian coast toward the Persian Gulf. On August 28, the ship was only 100 nautical miles off the shores of Oman. No one aboard detected the silent approach of
U-859, a German submarine under the command of Captain Lieutenant Johann Jebson. Keeping his U-Boat safely beneath the surface, Commander Jebson observed the SS John Barry through his periscope.
Then, after determining the necessary coordinates, he ordered the firing of two torpedoes. The first streaked past the John Barry, but the second slammed into the vessel’s starboard side. After several minutes, the U-859 launched a third torpedo which struck the port side, causing tremendous damage. Two sailors died in the attack. The survivors jumped overboard and clung to floating debris or clambered into life-rafts.
Within minutes, the vessel broke in two and sank beneath the waves -carrying its valuable cargo down 2,600 meters to the ocean floor. Certain of his “kill,” Captain Jebson left the scene and headed east. (On August 31, the U-859 sank another ship,
the Troilus. On September 23, however, Captain Jebson and most of his crew died when the U-859 was sunk by the British submarine, the HMS Trenchant, in the Straits of Malacca.)
For over forty years, sailors and treasure hunters told stories about the fate of the SS John Barry and the nature of its mysterious cargo. (Rumors spread that the ship carried 26 million dollars in silver bullion - a secret payment to Joseph Stalin to secure his help in weakening British influence in the Middle East.) But however enticing the wreck was to potential treasure seekers, its great depth (over two and a half kilometers) offered little hope that salvagers would ever even locate the ship.
Then in 1991, with the financial support of a wealthy Yemeni, Sheikh Ahmed
Farid al Aulaqui, an international team of deep-sea recovery specialists managed to identify the wreck by using cameras and sonar equipment attached to remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). For the next three years the group planned one of the most daring and complicated salvage operations ever attempted. In late October 1994, they successfully lowered a deep-water excavating device and penetrated the hold of the SS John Barry. For seven days the team worked against fatigue and the increasingly bad weather to remove what treasure they could from the vessel’s hold. By mid-November, they managed to bring an astonishing 1.3 million silver coins to the surface - nearly half of the original consignment. In doing so, they also ensured that the humble SS John Barry would live on in the annals of maritime lore as one of the greatest treasure ships of modern times.
Robert Jackson
HS Social Studies
Address:Hayy as saruj st, Ministry area ,Muscat , Oman
Telephone 24 641234
Email hyattmct@omantel.net.om
Website www.muscat.grand.hyatt.com
http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Muscat-Grand-Hyatt-Muscat-P160010.html
Lonely Planet review Jenny Walker Lonely Planet author
Pure kitsch! The exterior owes much to Disney, while its stained-glass-and-marble interior is a cross between Art Deco and a royal Bedouin tent. This beachside hotel nonetheless cuts the mustard for the international business community.
If you sit sipping tea long enough in the extravagant foyer of this sumptuous hotel, chances are you'll worry that the tea was laced. The statue of the Arab on horseback that graces the central podium moves just slowly enough to make you suspect you've joined the flight of fancy that inspired the architects. Rumour has it, in fact, that a Yemeni prince designed the hotel and, like it or loathe it, it's an interior to be experienced. While traditionally more focused on the well-heeled business community, there is much in this majestic marble-clad hotel to appeal to the sophisticated holidaymaker too, including an excellent Italian restaurant called the Tuscany. The John Barry Bar, named after the raised ship and its booty of silver treasure that made the fortunes of the Hyatt's owner, makes a comfortable venue for relaxing with a cocktail and live piano music.
http://www.smartoman.com/index.php/Flights-and-Hotels/MOONGLOW-AT-JOHN-BARRY-BAR.html
“MOONGLOW” AT JOHN BARRY BAR
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, May 14, 2009
Grand Hyatt Muscat proudly presents the new resident band at John Barry Bar, “Moonglow”, which will perform over the summer months.
Jazzy Summer Tunes Listen to the jazzy tunes of “Moonglow” at John Barry Bar, and let the new resident duo, pianist Mos and singer Valerie, from Canada dazzle you with their music. “Moonglow” will provide an evening full of entertainment, with songs and music ranging from jazz and Latin to love songs from around the globe.
The members of “Moonglow” have gained acclaim performing extended engagements throughout Asia, Australia, Africa, the US and Canada, and continue to pursue new and old venues.
You can listen to “Moonglow” perform nightly in the John Barry Bar every Saturday to Tuesday from 8:45pm to 12:30am and from 9:15pm to 1:00am every Wednesday and Thursday.
John Barry Bar
The nautically themed John Barry Bar, accessed from the hotel lobby, tells the story of a quest for hidden treasure at the bottom of the Arabian Sea. Named after the famous wreck of the SS John Barry, this comfortable and exclusive lounge bar sets the scene for an elegant business or social gathering. The bar staff has a wealth of information about the history of this delightful venue, and can share interesting anecdotes, maps and memorabilia that unfold the quaint story of hotel-owner Sheikh Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi’s adventurous attempt to salvage the SS John Barry. Nightly entertainment by a jazz duo lends to the inviting ambience.
John Barry Bar is open from Saturday to Tuesday from 6:00pm to 1:00am, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:00pm to 2:00am.
For bookings and information, call Grand Hyatt Muscat on 2464 1234 ext. 1137.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_John_BarrySS John Barry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Career
Name: SS John Barry
Fate: sunk on 28 August 1944
General characteristics
Tonnage: 7,176 tons
Length: 416 ft (127 m)
Speed: 12 knots
The SS John Barry was a 7200-ton American liberty ship in World War II. The ship left itsconvoy under radio silence to go on a mission to Dhahran in Saudi Arabia when it was torpedoed 185 kilometers off the coast of Omanby the German submarine U-859 on 28 August 1944. Two crewmen were killed in the sinking and the survivors were rescued the next day. The SS John Barry was carrying a cargo of 3 million American-minted Saudi one-riyal silvercoins as an American payment associated withARAMCO. The reason for this shipment (one of several during the war) was that Saudi Arabia did not use paper money at the time and this led to a war time shortage of currency with which to pay workers building new oil refineries and other US facilities at newly founded Dhahran.
Because the exact nature of the cargo was a secret, rumors spread that the SS John Barrycarried a vast shipment of 26 million US$ (1944 value) worth of silver bullion to India as well as the smaller cargo of coins. After the recovery effort of this purported treasure failed (see below), it was discovered that all silver shipments to India were accounted for and a new destination for the silver bullion was theorized, the Soviet Union.
The ship had sunk to 8500 feet below the sea surface, far beyond the reaches of most undersea recovery methods. Forty-five years later, however, Skeikh Ahmed Farid al Aulaqi was granted salvage rights. Brian Shoemakerand Jay Fiondella, owner of Chez Jay, a celebrity-renowned seafood dive in Santa Monica, California, decided to raise the money to retrieve the John Barry. Contractors fromHouston, Texas were initially involved in the search, and their efforts were later augmented by the Toulon-based Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer(IFREMER). In October 1994, a modified drilling ship, Flex LD, carrying a 50-ton video-equipped grab designed by IFREMER, sailed to the location of the John Barry. By early November, much of the ship had been excavated, revealing vintage US Army trucks, tanks, and military equipment. Soon after, the first sign of silver was seen (though initially the video feed was clouded by the ship's oil sticking to the camera lens). Over the next five days, the grab brought up 1.3 million Saudi riyals weighing 17 tons and showered them onto the drill-ship's deck. The purported Indian/Soviet silver was nowhere to be found, although the salvagers were unable to access all the locations they suspected the silver might rest. While some plans have surfaced to relaunch the recovery effort, none have come to fruition.
Retired U.S. Navy Captain Brian Shoemaker, former General Counsel of the Navy Hugh O'Neill, and Mr. Jay Fiondella, owner of Chez Jay, a celebrity-renowned seafood dive in Santa Monica, California, successfully bid for the salvage rights from the U. S. Government.In order to raise the money to retrieve the John Barry they formed a partnership called "The John Barry Group".
The Silver Ship Categories: Liberty ships | Ships sunk by German submarines | World War II shipwrecks in the Arabian Sea
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-fiondella13-2008nov13,0,6296224.story
OBITUARIES
Jay Fiondella dies at 82; flamboyant owner of Chez Jay made the restaurant a Santa Monica landmark
Los Angeles Times
One of the trademarks of Jay Fiondella's Chez Jay are the peanuts served to customers, who toss the shells onto the floor. In 1971, Fiondella persuaded astronaut Alan Shepard to take one of the restaurant's peanuts to the moon and back. Fiondella recalled that he told Shepard: "I want to have the first astro-nut."
By Valerie J. Nelson
November 13, 2008
Jay Fiondella, the flamboyant owner of Chez Jay, the scruffy restaurant-bar he opened almost 50 years ago that became a Santa Monica landmark and something of a shrine to his exploits as an adventurer, has died. He was 82.
Fiondella died Nov. 6 at a Santa Monica care facility after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, his family said.
Photos: Jay Fiondella | 1926-2008
In 1959, he was hustling for small acting parts and tending bar on the Santa Monica Pier when he heard about a small coffee shop for sale on Ocean Avenue and decided to turn it into Chez Jay.
From the start, Chez Jay drew celebrities. One reason was that Fiondella carefully protected them from fans and gawkers, according to a 2002 Times article on "splendid dives." When customers walked in with cameras, he threw them out.
Through 2007, Fiondella worked regularly at Chez Jay, which invariably earned good reviews for its steaks and seafood. Co-owner Michael Anderson will continue to run the restaurant.
After opening Chez Jay, Fiondella brought his widowed mother, Alice, west to help run the place with the sawdust floors so he would not have to give up his swashbuckling ways.
Mementos from his trips were hung on the restaurant's walls.
A competitive hot-air balloonist, he helped finance the 1973 search for the treasure of the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria that turned up "silverware, a bottle of perfume and some trays," Fiondella said at the time.
Two decades later, he was part of a team that recovered silver coins worth millions from the wreck of the John Barry, a U.S. merchant ship that was torpedoed off the coast of Oman during World War II.
He reveled in taking chances and in creating a romantic image for himself but never seemed to miss an opportunity to promote the tiny restaurant that made his travels possible. Recounting an archaeological dig in the Arabian Desert, Fiondella said he ran into four Chez Jay customers.
When his homemade, 65-foot replica pirate ship toppled off a trailer in 1989 while being hauled down Culver Boulevard, it caused a massive rush-hour traffic jam and briefly made him a cable news star.
"Every time they got a little sound bite from him, he always managed to slip in the restaurant's name and address," said Jon Stebbins, who is finishing a biography of Fiondella that he wrote with the restaurateur.
The boat Fiondella had worked on for 25 years "was my shrink, my guru, my Shangri-La," he told The Times in 1989. "I could go on it and drink a beer and think I was in Tahiti. Now it's history. . . . It's the USS Never Sail."
Stories of the famous who hung out at Chez Jay were often repeated: Daniel Ellsberg, who worked at the nearby Rand Corp., supposedly passed the Pentagon Papers to a reporter there. Marlon Brando allegedly waltzed off with a waitress. Henry Kissinger spent so much time in the back, a rear table was dubbed the "Kissinger Room."
In the early 1950s, Fiondella roomed with actor Leonard Nimoy, who told The Times in an e-mail: "He was a gregarious, great guy. . . . I ate at his place occasionally. Always had great stories and good food."
Jay Anthony Fiondella was born Aug. 6, 1926, in East Haven, Conn. His mother was a teacher and his father was an artist who often took him hunting for Indian artifacts.
During World War II, Fiondella was a Navy Seabee who served in the Philippines and China. After the war, he attended the University of Miami and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting after a brief marriage ended in divorce.
Between 1958 and 2000, he had small parts in about 30 films and TV shows and used Jay Della as his stage name. His first role was in the series "Sea Hunt," and his last was in the movie "Luck of the Draw."
Alan Shepard, commander of Apollo 14, was dining at Chez Jay when Fiondella persuaded him to take one of the restaurant's trademark peanuts with him to the moon in 1971, Fiondella often said.
He recalled telling the astronaut: "I want to have the first astro-nut."
When Shepard returned the legume, he reportedly signed an affidavit that stated it had accompanied him to the moon.
"Jay used to carry the peanut around in his pocket and put it down on the bar," Stebbins said. "One time, actor Steve McQueen put it in his mouth and Jay had to wrestle with him to get it away."
Alice Fiondella, who helped run Chez Jay for 30 years, was hit by a car while crossing Ocean Avenue near the restaurant in 1991 and died at 89.
Fiondella's second wife died.
His survivors include a daughter, Anita Fiondella Eck; a son, Chaz Fiondella; and a sister, Rita Luarte.
A celebration of Fiondella's life will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 6 at Chez Jay, 1657 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica. Those planning to attend should call (310) 395-1741.
Nelson is a Times staff writer.
The SS John Barry: Lost and Found Off the Omani Coast
Focus on Oman
The Mission of The American International School of Muscat is to pursue academic excellence for all students in the international community through an American-based education that develops ethical, responsible, and globally conscious lifelong learners.
The SS John Barry was a humble cargo vessel. Built in Oregon, it was one of several thousand “Liberty Ships” used during World War II to carry raw materials, industrial goods, and military supplies to American allies. In the middle of the long, desperate
summer of 1944, the SS John Barry, under the command of Captain Joseph Ellerwald, sailed in a convoy from Norfolk Virginia, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and finally arrived safely in Port Said, Egypt. After a brief
stopover, the ship steamed south, alone, through the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean toward its final destination, Ras Tanurah, in the Persian Gulf.
None of the crewmen knew that, in addition to the standard cargo of heavy equipment, the SS John Barry carried three million, silver one-riyal coins. (See photo.) The coins had been minted in Philadelphia and were intended as a loan for King Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, whose economy was collapsing under the financial strains caused by the war.
Captain Ellerwald maintained radio silence as he guided his ship along the South Arabian coast toward the Persian Gulf. On August 28, the ship was only 100 nautical miles off the shores of Oman. No one aboard detected the silent approach of
U-859, a German submarine under the command of Captain Lieutenant Johann Jebson. Keeping his U-Boat safely beneath the surface, Commander Jebson observed the SS John Barry through his periscope.
Then, after determining the necessary coordinates, he ordered the firing of two torpedoes. The first streaked past the John Barry, but the second slammed into the vessel’s starboard side. After several minutes, the U-859 launched a third torpedo which struck the port side, causing tremendous damage. Two sailors died in the attack. The survivors jumped overboard and clung to floating debris or clambered into life-rafts.
Within minutes, the vessel broke in two and sank beneath the waves -carrying its valuable cargo down 2,600 meters to the ocean floor. Certain of his “kill,” Captain Jebson left the scene and headed east. (On August 31, the U-859 sank another ship,
the Troilus. On September 23, however, Captain Jebson and most of his crew died when the U-859 was sunk by the British submarine, the HMS Trenchant, in the Straits of Malacca.)
For over forty years, sailors and treasure hunters told stories about the fate of the SS John Barry and the nature of its mysterious cargo. (Rumors spread that the ship carried 26 million dollars in silver bullion - a secret payment to Joseph Stalin to secure his help in weakening British influence in the Middle East.) But however enticing the wreck was to potential treasure seekers, its great depth (over two and a half kilometers) offered little hope that salvagers would ever even locate the ship.
Then in 1991, with the financial support of a wealthy Yemeni, Sheikh Ahmed
Farid al Aulaqui, an international team of deep-sea recovery specialists managed to identify the wreck by using cameras and sonar equipment attached to remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). For the next three years the group planned one of the most daring and complicated salvage operations ever attempted. In late October 1994, they successfully lowered a deep-water excavating device and penetrated the hold of the SS John Barry. For seven days the team worked against fatigue and the increasingly bad weather to remove what treasure they could from the vessel’s hold. By mid-November, they managed to bring an astonishing 1.3 million silver coins to the surface - nearly half of the original consignment. In doing so, they also ensured that the humble SS John Barry would live on in the annals of maritime lore as one of the greatest treasure ships of modern times.
Robert Jackson
HS Social Studies
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Somalia's Navy vs Pirates
A NAVY MAN - Farah Ahmed Omar was appointed recently as chief of Somalia's navy, which ordinarily would be on the front lines against the throng of pirates operating off the country's coast.
Omar's job is difficult, though, because the Somalian navy has not a single boat nor a single sailor, and Omar himself has not been to sea in 23 years.
However, he told a reporter he was optimistic that the piracy could be stopped.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUTE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_639479.html
Take on the pirates
Buzz up!
By Arnaud de Borchgrave Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hollywood's glamorization of the Barbary pirates over the years blurred the horror of a seaborne plague. Between 1530 and 1789, 1.5 million European Christians and Jews, and American sailors and travelers, were kidnapped and enslaved in Islamic North Africa.
Thomas Jefferson, second U.S. ambassador to France, was shocked by what he heard when he went with John Adams, first U.S. envoy to Great Britain, to see Tripoli's ambassador to London in 1785.
They asked what right the Barbary States had in seizing American shipping and enslaving both crews and passengers? It was written in the Quran, the "barbarian" replied, that all nations that didn't acknowledge the holy book and its laws were sinners who must be slain in battle; those who surrendered were to become slaves.
Algerian corsairs and the pirates of Tunis and Tripoli and their rapacious demands compelled the states to unite and build a federal navy and form a Marine Corps. Later, the Barbary wars made America the global nation it is today.
A daring U.S. raid on Tripoli's harbor elicited a rare compliment from Adm. Lord Nelson, who called it "the most bold and daring act of the age." "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" became the Marine anthem.
Off Somalia's 1,800-mile coastline, the pirates of Mogadishu, in rickety wooden boats with outboard engines, armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, have boarded and ransomed about 150 merchant vessels and oil tankers in the past 18 months. Some seajackings occur several hundred miles from the Somali coast.
In the only successful anti-pirate operation, the U.S. Navy ended a standoff in April with a green light from President Obama -- and three well-placed shots from three concealed sharpshooters that killed three pirates and freed the American Merchant Marine captain -- and escorted the Maersk Alabama to safe harbor in Kenya.
About 20,000 ships per year pass through the Gulf of Aden. Currently deployed on ship protection in an area one-third the size of the U.S. are warships from the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea, India and Australia.
Almost all seajackings end with the shipowners coughing up $3 million to $5 million on demands that range from $100 million to $150 million. Security companies, lawyers and negotiators collect inordinate fees for their part in getting the pirates to release their catch.
An estimated $80 million has been paid by shipping companies since the beginning of 2009. The 2008 take is estimated at $180 million.
A report released by the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center last month showed a total of 240 incidents (not all successful boardings) since the beginning of the year -- up from 114 during the same period in 2008. About 300 seafarers are currently being held pending ransom payments.
The chief pirate in each small boat speaks enough English to demand an immediate link to the company or individual that owns the ship. After studying the ship's cargo manifest, the amount of the ransom demand is immediately communicated. Middlemen then enter the negotiations.
Profitable piracy in Somalia, the prototype of a failed state with no central authority, has attracted all manner of transnational criminals, including al Qaida-affiliated groups from Yemen.
Small-boat pirates are the last stage of a long food chain. They are the maritime militia, mostly teenagers, who are well paid but turn over the bulk of ransom payments to clan leaders.
Bags of cash are delivered from a larger cabin cruiser based in Djibouti, an independent city-state in the Horn of Africa. More recently, a small plane dropped ransom money by parachute onto the deck of a hijacked freighter.
The gang chiefs use satellite phones to gather intelligence on ship movements south down the Red Sea and out of the Persian Gulf southwest to the Gulf of Aden along the Omani and Yemeni coasts for the shipping lanes parallel with the Somali coastline. Pirates have ventured as far as 600 miles, halfway to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
In April, the 20,000-ton German vessel Hansa Stavanger and its 24-member crew were seized 400 miles from the Somali coast, between Kenya and the Seychelles, and held for four months. After the ship was brought closer to Somalia, a ransom of $3 million was agreed upon, then increased to $4 million and paid. A European Union warship then escorted the ship back to its original course.
Shipowners hire professionals from private security firms, mostly ex-special forces from the United Kingdom and Australia, including negotiators experienced in seajackings. They are reported to get a flat fee of $1 million per successful negotiation. Most transactions are conducted in London, where the maritime insurance giants are located.
Maritime security experts believe that pirates who operate hundreds of miles offshore are launched from "mother ships" flying a Panamanian flag and disguised to look like innocent coastal freighters.
Pirates' land bases are dotted along hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of small boats that line the beaches all look the same.
The only real solution to end piracy is a military one, a lesson that was learned in the 18th and 19th centuries but evidently forgotten in the 21st.
America's NATO allies have sent their best troops to Afghanistan, where most of them are allowed to fire only in self-defense. The very idea of attacking pirates on the high seas sends European parliaments into conniption fits.
At the very least, ships plying those waters should have barbed-wire fences above the waterline and several crew members trained on night vision scopes to kill pirates as they come aboard. International law recognizes the right of self-defense.
The "universal jurisdiction" gives all nations the right to punish pirates, irrespective of any connection between the pirates and their nation.
Platitudes about shoring up the moderate Somali government with 40 tons of munitions backfired. By the time the shipment arrived, the purported moderates were out -- and the ammunition gratefully received by the Shabab organization in cahoots with terrorists -- on land and at sea.
Arnaud de Borchgrave is director of transnational threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Omar's job is difficult, though, because the Somalian navy has not a single boat nor a single sailor, and Omar himself has not been to sea in 23 years.
However, he told a reporter he was optimistic that the piracy could be stopped.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUTE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_639479.html
Take on the pirates
Buzz up!
By Arnaud de Borchgrave Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hollywood's glamorization of the Barbary pirates over the years blurred the horror of a seaborne plague. Between 1530 and 1789, 1.5 million European Christians and Jews, and American sailors and travelers, were kidnapped and enslaved in Islamic North Africa.
Thomas Jefferson, second U.S. ambassador to France, was shocked by what he heard when he went with John Adams, first U.S. envoy to Great Britain, to see Tripoli's ambassador to London in 1785.
They asked what right the Barbary States had in seizing American shipping and enslaving both crews and passengers? It was written in the Quran, the "barbarian" replied, that all nations that didn't acknowledge the holy book and its laws were sinners who must be slain in battle; those who surrendered were to become slaves.
Algerian corsairs and the pirates of Tunis and Tripoli and their rapacious demands compelled the states to unite and build a federal navy and form a Marine Corps. Later, the Barbary wars made America the global nation it is today.
A daring U.S. raid on Tripoli's harbor elicited a rare compliment from Adm. Lord Nelson, who called it "the most bold and daring act of the age." "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" became the Marine anthem.
Off Somalia's 1,800-mile coastline, the pirates of Mogadishu, in rickety wooden boats with outboard engines, armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, have boarded and ransomed about 150 merchant vessels and oil tankers in the past 18 months. Some seajackings occur several hundred miles from the Somali coast.
In the only successful anti-pirate operation, the U.S. Navy ended a standoff in April with a green light from President Obama -- and three well-placed shots from three concealed sharpshooters that killed three pirates and freed the American Merchant Marine captain -- and escorted the Maersk Alabama to safe harbor in Kenya.
About 20,000 ships per year pass through the Gulf of Aden. Currently deployed on ship protection in an area one-third the size of the U.S. are warships from the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea, India and Australia.
Almost all seajackings end with the shipowners coughing up $3 million to $5 million on demands that range from $100 million to $150 million. Security companies, lawyers and negotiators collect inordinate fees for their part in getting the pirates to release their catch.
An estimated $80 million has been paid by shipping companies since the beginning of 2009. The 2008 take is estimated at $180 million.
A report released by the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center last month showed a total of 240 incidents (not all successful boardings) since the beginning of the year -- up from 114 during the same period in 2008. About 300 seafarers are currently being held pending ransom payments.
The chief pirate in each small boat speaks enough English to demand an immediate link to the company or individual that owns the ship. After studying the ship's cargo manifest, the amount of the ransom demand is immediately communicated. Middlemen then enter the negotiations.
Profitable piracy in Somalia, the prototype of a failed state with no central authority, has attracted all manner of transnational criminals, including al Qaida-affiliated groups from Yemen.
Small-boat pirates are the last stage of a long food chain. They are the maritime militia, mostly teenagers, who are well paid but turn over the bulk of ransom payments to clan leaders.
Bags of cash are delivered from a larger cabin cruiser based in Djibouti, an independent city-state in the Horn of Africa. More recently, a small plane dropped ransom money by parachute onto the deck of a hijacked freighter.
The gang chiefs use satellite phones to gather intelligence on ship movements south down the Red Sea and out of the Persian Gulf southwest to the Gulf of Aden along the Omani and Yemeni coasts for the shipping lanes parallel with the Somali coastline. Pirates have ventured as far as 600 miles, halfway to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
In April, the 20,000-ton German vessel Hansa Stavanger and its 24-member crew were seized 400 miles from the Somali coast, between Kenya and the Seychelles, and held for four months. After the ship was brought closer to Somalia, a ransom of $3 million was agreed upon, then increased to $4 million and paid. A European Union warship then escorted the ship back to its original course.
Shipowners hire professionals from private security firms, mostly ex-special forces from the United Kingdom and Australia, including negotiators experienced in seajackings. They are reported to get a flat fee of $1 million per successful negotiation. Most transactions are conducted in London, where the maritime insurance giants are located.
Maritime security experts believe that pirates who operate hundreds of miles offshore are launched from "mother ships" flying a Panamanian flag and disguised to look like innocent coastal freighters.
Pirates' land bases are dotted along hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of small boats that line the beaches all look the same.
The only real solution to end piracy is a military one, a lesson that was learned in the 18th and 19th centuries but evidently forgotten in the 21st.
America's NATO allies have sent their best troops to Afghanistan, where most of them are allowed to fire only in self-defense. The very idea of attacking pirates on the high seas sends European parliaments into conniption fits.
At the very least, ships plying those waters should have barbed-wire fences above the waterline and several crew members trained on night vision scopes to kill pirates as they come aboard. International law recognizes the right of self-defense.
The "universal jurisdiction" gives all nations the right to punish pirates, irrespective of any connection between the pirates and their nation.
Platitudes about shoring up the moderate Somali government with 40 tons of munitions backfired. By the time the shipment arrived, the purported moderates were out -- and the ammunition gratefully received by the Shabab organization in cahoots with terrorists -- on land and at sea.
Arnaud de Borchgrave is director of transnational threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Remains of Navy Pilot Repatriated
Remains of first US Gulf War casualty repatriated after 18 years
"Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be." - Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations
Unless it is the remains of the officers and men of the USS Intrepid, whose bones remains burried in a parking lot in Tripoli.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0802/p02s01-usmi.html
Remains of first US Gulf War casualty solve 18 year mystery
The Pentagon once took the unprecedented step of switching Capt. 'Scott' Speicher's status from 'killed in action' to 'missing-captured,' thinking he was alive.
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the August 2, 2009 edition
WASHINGTON - The confirmation Sunday that remains found in Iraq are those of Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher – the first American casualty of the 1991 Gulf War – ends a veritable saga punctuated with hope, uncertainty, and despair for the past 18 years. The mystery befuddled the military and even lead to rumors of unconfirmed sightings.
On a tip from an Iraqi citizen last month, American marines went to a location in Anbar province near where Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed in January 1991. The man had heard secondhand that nomadic Bedouins had found Speicher's body in 1991 and buried it.
Over the course of several days, remains of a body were found and sent to Dover Air Force Base in the US, where the medical examiner there used forensic information to determine that the remains were Speicher's.
The evidence concluded the improbable story of the naval aviator who had flown some of the first air strikes of the first Gulf War.
"Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," said Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, in a statement. "We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us."
The difficulty in finding Speicher's remains – despite the overwhelming US presence in Iraq since 2003 – is a function of Bedouin culture.
"These Bedouins roam around in the desert, they don't stay in one place, and it just took this time to find the specific site," says Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida, who had pushed the Pentagon to find Speicher.
After his plane crashed, Speicher had been termed "missing in action" by the Pentagon and ultimately declared "killed in action" and given a tomb in Arlington cemetery. That status was reconfirmed after an exhaustive search of the crash site four years later in 1995.
In 2001, after a CIA investigation showed he may have survived by ejecting from his plane before it crashed, the Pentagon changed his status back to "missing in action," reportedly the only time the department has ever made such a change.
Then, at the urging of Congress, the Pentagon changed his status a third time – to "missing-captured" – raising expectations that he might be found alive. News reports at the time had indicated that he might have survived the crash and been taken from the desert.
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought new hope that the American military would find him, and public fascination with his case grew as various reports fueled speculation about his whereabouts and condition.
As the US military slowly brought Anbar province – the region where he crashed – under control, it became increasingly clear that the pilot probably wasn't ever captured. But questions remained.
Speicher's ex-wife had remarried a close friend of the aviator, Buddy Harris, who had told reporters years ago that he remained confident that information would turn up.
Senator Nelson, who was informed Saturday night by Roughead, spoke with the Speicher family Sunday morning.
"They were very grateful that the [Defense Department] stayed with this and that they can bring closure for their children," Nelson said.
Nelson had traveled to Iraq shortly after the invasion to a prison thought to have housed Speicher. He remembers visiting a cell in which the initials "MSS" were carved into the wall, one of many pieces of "proof" that kept hope alive over the years.
A final report is expected from the Pentagon in coming weeks.
"Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be." - Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations
Unless it is the remains of the officers and men of the USS Intrepid, whose bones remains burried in a parking lot in Tripoli.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0802/p02s01-usmi.html
Remains of first US Gulf War casualty solve 18 year mystery
The Pentagon once took the unprecedented step of switching Capt. 'Scott' Speicher's status from 'killed in action' to 'missing-captured,' thinking he was alive.
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the August 2, 2009 edition
WASHINGTON - The confirmation Sunday that remains found in Iraq are those of Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher – the first American casualty of the 1991 Gulf War – ends a veritable saga punctuated with hope, uncertainty, and despair for the past 18 years. The mystery befuddled the military and even lead to rumors of unconfirmed sightings.
On a tip from an Iraqi citizen last month, American marines went to a location in Anbar province near where Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed in January 1991. The man had heard secondhand that nomadic Bedouins had found Speicher's body in 1991 and buried it.
Over the course of several days, remains of a body were found and sent to Dover Air Force Base in the US, where the medical examiner there used forensic information to determine that the remains were Speicher's.
The evidence concluded the improbable story of the naval aviator who had flown some of the first air strikes of the first Gulf War.
"Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," said Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, in a statement. "We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us."
The difficulty in finding Speicher's remains – despite the overwhelming US presence in Iraq since 2003 – is a function of Bedouin culture.
"These Bedouins roam around in the desert, they don't stay in one place, and it just took this time to find the specific site," says Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida, who had pushed the Pentagon to find Speicher.
After his plane crashed, Speicher had been termed "missing in action" by the Pentagon and ultimately declared "killed in action" and given a tomb in Arlington cemetery. That status was reconfirmed after an exhaustive search of the crash site four years later in 1995.
In 2001, after a CIA investigation showed he may have survived by ejecting from his plane before it crashed, the Pentagon changed his status back to "missing in action," reportedly the only time the department has ever made such a change.
Then, at the urging of Congress, the Pentagon changed his status a third time – to "missing-captured" – raising expectations that he might be found alive. News reports at the time had indicated that he might have survived the crash and been taken from the desert.
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought new hope that the American military would find him, and public fascination with his case grew as various reports fueled speculation about his whereabouts and condition.
As the US military slowly brought Anbar province – the region where he crashed – under control, it became increasingly clear that the pilot probably wasn't ever captured. But questions remained.
Speicher's ex-wife had remarried a close friend of the aviator, Buddy Harris, who had told reporters years ago that he remained confident that information would turn up.
Senator Nelson, who was informed Saturday night by Roughead, spoke with the Speicher family Sunday morning.
"They were very grateful that the [Defense Department] stayed with this and that they can bring closure for their children," Nelson said.
Nelson had traveled to Iraq shortly after the invasion to a prison thought to have housed Speicher. He remembers visiting a cell in which the initials "MSS" were carved into the wall, one of many pieces of "proof" that kept hope alive over the years.
A final report is expected from the Pentagon in coming weeks.
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