“Sounds of battle draw near,came to Michaud loud and clear. He left us at F.H.S. -- Went to fight for the U.S.”
FHS Class of 1942 Yearbook
Alfred Joseph Michaud was born in Framingham in 1924. At the time,his mother Rose (1894-1976) lived on Coburn Street. Alfred was one of seven children. He attended St. Stephan’s Parochial School,followed by Framingham High School (FHS). He was a member of the FHS Class of 1942. He enlisted in the Navy on 10 December 1941,likely as part of the wave of patriotism following the 07 December Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Interestingly,he was one of two young men awarded FHS Diplomas with his classmates in 1942 while already serving his country.
Alfred attended Navy “bootcamp” in Newport, Rhode Island. After completing this initial training,he was assigned to the USS QUINCY (CA-39). He was noted aboard QUINCY on 01 June 1942.
USS QUINCY (CA-39)
Image: US Navy History and Heritage Command
The QUINCY was built at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA. The 588-foot-long ship was classified as a Heavy Cruiser (based on its armament, speed, range and armor, etc.). It was launched on 19 June 1935 and commissioned in Boston on 9 June 1936.
USS QUINCY (CA-39)
Image: US Naval Institute Photo Archive
On 05 June 1942, QUINCY sailed for San Diego via the Panama Canal. The ship arrived on 19 June. She departed for the South Pacific in July with other vessels assembling for the Invasion of Guadalcanal ("Operation Watchtower").
Image: EmersonKent.Com
On 07 August 1942,QUINCY destroyed several Japanese installations and an oil depot during the pre-invasion bombardment of Guadalcanal. She also provided Naval Gun Fire Support to the Marines during the landing on the 7th.
In the very early morning of 09 August 1942, while on patrol in the channel between Florida Island and Savo Island (the “Northern Patrol Area”),QUINCY, and the heavy cruisers USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and USS VINCENNES (CA-44) were attacked by a large Japanese Navy surface group consisting of five heavy cruisers,two light cruisers and a destroyer. The US ships were providing a screen for the US invasion force. This night action would become known as the Battle of Savo Island.
QUINCY’s Pre-Battle Operating Area (Northern Force)
Image: US Navy
The Japanese cruisers penetrated the screen and sank four US cruisers in under one hour. QUINCY suffered numerous,deadly shell and torpedo hits. At 2:38 AM, QUINCY went down bow first into the depths that would eventually become known as “Iron Bottom Sound.”
USS QUINCY Illuminated by Japanese Spotlights and Burning
Photographed from a Japanese cruiser during the Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942
Image: US Navy History and Heritage Command
Based on the 16 August 1942 after-action report submitted by the ship's senior surviving officer,Lieutenant Commander Harry B. Heneberger,the number of crew members aboard at the time of sinking was 1,017. Of this number,QUINCY suffered 370 Killed or Missing in Action,including Seaman Second Class Alfred J. Michaud. A total of 167 men from the 480 survivors were wounded.
In addition to the QUINCY,the ASTORIA and VINCENNES were also lost. The Australian cruiser CANBERRA was so significantly battered it had to be scuttled. The USS CHICAGO (CA-29) was also damaged. The total number of deaths from the defeated Allied units was 1,023 killed or died of wounds and 709 wounded (Source: S.E. Morrison). Japanese casualties were considered light/minimal.
During the battle,the Japanese displayed a superior night fighting capability,and a technologically advanced torpedo. This was a decisive, tactical victory for the Japanese. However,the victorious surface group did not press on towards the US invasion fleet,choosing to retreat from the battle space rather than engage additional US units. One factor in this decision was reported to be fear of daylight attack by US carrier aircraft. One can argue this to be a significant strategic blunder.
Initially, Alfred was listed as Missing in Action (MIA)
Image: Believed to be from the Boston Globe
On 10 August 1943,he was declared Killed in Action (KIA). His name is memorialized on Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. At 18,he paid the ultimate price.
US NAVY Memorial Purple Heart
Of note, the USS QUINCY was located and explored by Robert Ballard and his crew in July and August of 1992. The ship sits upright in approximately 2,000 feet of water.
Wreck of the USS QUINCY (CA-39), 1992
Image: National Geographic Society
Sources
American Battle Monuments Commission: Manila American Cemetery
Callahan, R.J. “Framingham Men in Action,” (Lecture, Jonathan Maynard School, February 2,1944)
Framingham History Center
Framingham: Historical Reflections, edited by Martha E. Dewar and M. Joan Gilbert
Frank, Richard B. Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. New York: Random House, 1990.
Hornfischer, James D. Neptune’s Inferno: The US Navy at Guadalcanal. New York: Bantam, 2012.
Morison, Samuel Elliot. The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943, vol.5: History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. New York: Little, Brown, 1949.
“Report of the Engagement the morning of 09 August 1942, off Guadalcanal Island in which the USS Quincy participated” (by Lieutenant Commander Harry B. Heneberger). Serial 004, August 16,1942. National Archives and Records Administration.
US National WWII Museum
Department of Analysis (Richard Bates and Walter Innis). “The Battle of Savo Island, August 9th,1942, Strategical and Tactical Analysis.” Newport, R.I.: US Naval War College, 1950
US Navy History and Heritage Command
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