History of the USS Hammerberg
60 years ago,on July 25, the USS Hammerberg (DE1015) was joined in the rescue efforts after the collision of the Italian liner, ANDREA DORIA, and the Swedish liner STOCKHOLM. The Hamerberg was moored at Destroyer Pier One at Newport, RI. and had been assigned as the Anti-Submarine Ready Duty ship for that day. During this time this assignment required the
ASW Ready Duty ship be prepared to get underway, with full crew, in 30 minutes in order to investigate any unidentified submarine contact. Shore liberty could only be granted to crew that could be reached by phone and return to the ship in the 30 minutes. This meant very few were on liberty.
I was the duty officer that evening, the CO & XO being home. Just before midnight I was
awakened by the Petty Officer of the watch and him was an officer from the COMDESLA NT
flagship who informed me the Hammerberg was to get underway immediately to assist "an
Italian Liner out there sinking with 1500 passengers". I remember thinking what was an Italian
Liner doing in Narragansett Bay. He advised the ship was off Nantucket and we would be given
their coordinates.
We were underway after the CO & XO returned aboard. At this point we were not aware that
there had been a collision. Our radio room was able to communicate with the Andrea Doria in
morse code on the international distress frequency, 500 KH, and she was giving her longitude
and latitude coordinates. We were almost 100 miles from the site. The ship was only identified
by her international call sign, this being the protocol for this type communication and were
unaware it was the Andrea Doria Shortly after the Coast Guard took over the emergency
frequency and controlled all radio traffic.
We had a copy of the New York Times that had listings of arriving and departing ships. The
Andrea Doria was shown as arriving the next day, July 26. In 1956 a new musical genre had
created all-night Rock-n-Roll radio which was accessed by the radio room and confirmed that
the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm had collided. They even confirmed the actress Ruth
Roman was aboard the Andrea Doria.
During the voyage to the scene there was discussion as to the scope of the assistance. The
Hammerberg had one 26' motor whale boat, with a capacity of 25 - 30 people, and several 15
man life rafts. It became obvious that any significant help we could render would be receiving
the Andrea Doris's life boats with the survivors. Subsequent broadcast news reported that the
French liner, Ile de France was 2 hours away from the scene and returned to rescue most of the
survivors with her lifeboats.
We arrived shortly after 5 AM just as the last of the survivors were rescued and the Ile de
France was departing to return the survivors to New York The HAmmerberg stood off about
8,000 yards from the Andrea Doria and did not play any significant role in the rescue efforts.
About 8 AM we were ordered to return to Newport. By this time the Andrea Doria was listing
heavily to starboard with her uppermost deck railing in the water. While returning back to
Newport, we learned the Andrea Doria had sunk a few hours after the Hammerberg left. Most of
the information we received was from commercial broadcast radio stations.
This tragedy was widely covered in the media and has sometimes been referred to as the "First
radar assisted marine disaster", both ships having surface radar that was probably
misinterpreted.
Joe Casserly. (LTJG, 1955-57)
Click here to see the Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive.
ASW Ready Duty ship be prepared to get underway, with full crew, in 30 minutes in order to investigate any unidentified submarine contact. Shore liberty could only be granted to crew that could be reached by phone and return to the ship in the 30 minutes. This meant very few were on liberty.
I was the duty officer that evening, the CO & XO being home. Just before midnight I was
awakened by the Petty Officer of the watch and him was an officer from the COMDESLA NT
flagship who informed me the Hammerberg was to get underway immediately to assist "an
Italian Liner out there sinking with 1500 passengers". I remember thinking what was an Italian
Liner doing in Narragansett Bay. He advised the ship was off Nantucket and we would be given
their coordinates.
We were underway after the CO & XO returned aboard. At this point we were not aware that
there had been a collision. Our radio room was able to communicate with the Andrea Doria in
morse code on the international distress frequency, 500 KH, and she was giving her longitude
and latitude coordinates. We were almost 100 miles from the site. The ship was only identified
by her international call sign, this being the protocol for this type communication and were
unaware it was the Andrea Doria Shortly after the Coast Guard took over the emergency
frequency and controlled all radio traffic.
We had a copy of the New York Times that had listings of arriving and departing ships. The
Andrea Doria was shown as arriving the next day, July 26. In 1956 a new musical genre had
created all-night Rock-n-Roll radio which was accessed by the radio room and confirmed that
the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm had collided. They even confirmed the actress Ruth
Roman was aboard the Andrea Doria.
During the voyage to the scene there was discussion as to the scope of the assistance. The
Hammerberg had one 26' motor whale boat, with a capacity of 25 - 30 people, and several 15
man life rafts. It became obvious that any significant help we could render would be receiving
the Andrea Doris's life boats with the survivors. Subsequent broadcast news reported that the
French liner, Ile de France was 2 hours away from the scene and returned to rescue most of the
survivors with her lifeboats.
We arrived shortly after 5 AM just as the last of the survivors were rescued and the Ile de
France was departing to return the survivors to New York The HAmmerberg stood off about
8,000 yards from the Andrea Doria and did not play any significant role in the rescue efforts.
About 8 AM we were ordered to return to Newport. By this time the Andrea Doria was listing
heavily to starboard with her uppermost deck railing in the water. While returning back to
Newport, we learned the Andrea Doria had sunk a few hours after the Hammerberg left. Most of
the information we received was from commercial broadcast radio stations.
This tragedy was widely covered in the media and has sometimes been referred to as the "First
radar assisted marine disaster", both ships having surface radar that was probably
misinterpreted.
Joe Casserly. (LTJG, 1955-57)
Click here to see the Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive.
History of Owen Hammerberg
Born: May 31, 1920, Dagget, Michigan Died: February 17, 1945, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Owen Hammerberg was born in the Upper Peninsula just 35 miles from the birthplace of fellow Medal of Honor recipient Oscar Johnson. Owen’s parents moved the family to several Upper Peninsula towns before settling in Stephenson, MI where Owen attended the local grade and high schools. Midway through high school, the family moved to Flint, Michigan, where Owen soon dropped out of school and hitch hiked out west to work on a ranch before enlisting in the Navy on July 16, 1941.
Following his basic training at the Great Lakes Training Center near Chicago, he was assigned to the USS Idaho and USS Advent, where he spent several years. He then attended the US Navy’s Deep Sea Diving School where upon graduation, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Hammerberg was assigned to the U.S. South Pacific Fleet’s Salvage Unit in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
On February 17, 1945, Hammerberg was a member of a dive team that was tasked with raising a sunken LST from 40 feet of water in West Loch, Pearl Harbor. During the salvage operation, two of his fellow divers became hopelessly trapped by underwater wreckage that was interfering with their attempt to tunnel beneath the LST using jet nozzles.
When the call went out for volunteer divers to help in their rescue, BM 2/c Hammerberg suited up and spent five hours underwater in the muddy, dark water before successfully rescuing George Fuller. When Hammerberg went back down to rescue Earl Brown, the second trapped diver, a large steel plate slid through the mud toward them. Hammerberg deliberately took the brunt of the plate on himself to save Brown’s life. As a result, Hammerberg was slowly crushed to death. It took divers another 73 hours before they were able to successfully rescue Brown and recover Hammerberg’s body. His remains were returned home and laid to rest at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, BM 2/c Owen Hammerberg was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His Medal and Uniform are on permanent display at the Museum.
Hammerberg Road in Flint, Michigan, the Hammerberg Playfield in Detroit near West Chicago and Wyoming Avenues and the destroyer escort USS Hammerberg (DE-1015) were all named in honor of Owen Hammerberg.
Michigan Heroes Museum
On June 25th, 2021, the VFW Post 3720 Memorial Post in Swartz Creek Michigan, was renamed the Hammerberg Memorial VFW Post in honor of Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg. Here is a video from part of that ceremony presented by Eric Johnson, Past Commander of VFW Post 3720
Born: May 31, 1920, Dagget, Michigan Died: February 17, 1945, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Owen Hammerberg was born in the Upper Peninsula just 35 miles from the birthplace of fellow Medal of Honor recipient Oscar Johnson. Owen’s parents moved the family to several Upper Peninsula towns before settling in Stephenson, MI where Owen attended the local grade and high schools. Midway through high school, the family moved to Flint, Michigan, where Owen soon dropped out of school and hitch hiked out west to work on a ranch before enlisting in the Navy on July 16, 1941.
Following his basic training at the Great Lakes Training Center near Chicago, he was assigned to the USS Idaho and USS Advent, where he spent several years. He then attended the US Navy’s Deep Sea Diving School where upon graduation, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Hammerberg was assigned to the U.S. South Pacific Fleet’s Salvage Unit in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
On February 17, 1945, Hammerberg was a member of a dive team that was tasked with raising a sunken LST from 40 feet of water in West Loch, Pearl Harbor. During the salvage operation, two of his fellow divers became hopelessly trapped by underwater wreckage that was interfering with their attempt to tunnel beneath the LST using jet nozzles.
When the call went out for volunteer divers to help in their rescue, BM 2/c Hammerberg suited up and spent five hours underwater in the muddy, dark water before successfully rescuing George Fuller. When Hammerberg went back down to rescue Earl Brown, the second trapped diver, a large steel plate slid through the mud toward them. Hammerberg deliberately took the brunt of the plate on himself to save Brown’s life. As a result, Hammerberg was slowly crushed to death. It took divers another 73 hours before they were able to successfully rescue Brown and recover Hammerberg’s body. His remains were returned home and laid to rest at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, BM 2/c Owen Hammerberg was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His Medal and Uniform are on permanent display at the Museum.
Hammerberg Road in Flint, Michigan, the Hammerberg Playfield in Detroit near West Chicago and Wyoming Avenues and the destroyer escort USS Hammerberg (DE-1015) were all named in honor of Owen Hammerberg.
Michigan Heroes Museum
On June 25th, 2021, the VFW Post 3720 Memorial Post in Swartz Creek Michigan, was renamed the Hammerberg Memorial VFW Post in honor of Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg. Here is a video from part of that ceremony presented by Eric Johnson, Past Commander of VFW Post 3720