Remembering The Sullivans

Three quarters of a century after enduring some of the most vicious naval battles of the Pacific War as well as the infamous Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, USS The Sullivans (DD 537) rests quietly at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park. (Courtesy of  Swire Chin, Toronto, Canada)

By Zachary Smyers
HRNM Educator

On April 4, 1943, USS The Sullivans (DD 537) was launched. The Fletcher-class destroyer was originally to be named USS Putnam, but its name was changed to The Sullivans by direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The name change honored the five Sullivan brothers who were killed in action off of Guadalcanal in 1942. 

USS The Sullivans (DD 537) slides down the ways at Bethlehem Shipbuilding in San Francisco on April 4, 1943. INSET: Her emblem, seen here as an embroidered patch, was in use in 1962. Note the motto, "We Stick Together," and a three-leaf clover denoting the brothers' Irish heritage. (David Buell/ Navsource.org)

The Sullivan brothers, who were from Waterloo, Iowa, all joined the Navy during World War II. The elder brothers, George and Francis, enlisted in the Navy in 1937 and served aboard USS Hovey (DD 208). After the end of their enlistment in 1941, George and Francis, along with Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, reenlisted in the Navy to avenge the loss of a friend who was killed while serving on the USS Arizona (BB 39) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The five Sullivan brothers (from left to right, Francis, Joseph, Albert, Madison, and George Sullivan) seen here aboard USS Juneau (CL 52) at about the time of its commissioning on February 14, 1942, were all assigned to the cruiser after requesting special permission from Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. Juneau was sunk on November 13, 1942, off the island of Guadalcanal by Japanese submarine I-26.  (Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph via Navsource.org)

Upon completion of training at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, the brothers all requested to be able to serve together. Their request was granted, and they became part of the crew of the USS Juneau (CL 52). Juneau saw action in the Pacific during the Battle of Santa Cruz and the First naval Battle of Guadalcanal. On November 13, 1942, fierce combat commenced off of Guadalcanal. The darkness of night was illuminated by the constant gunfire from both the American and Japanese ships. Juneau was hit by a torpedo during the battle, and suffered critical damage. She was able to retire from the battle, but had trouble maintaining speed. Due to this damage, the Juneau became an easy target for enemy submarines, and she was hit by one or two torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-26. Juneau was struck in her forward section, which in turn detonated the magazines. After a terrific explosion, Juneau sank in 42 seconds.

Office of War Information poster showing the Sullivan brothers on board USS Juneau (CL 52) in early 1942. All were lost with Juneau in November of that year. (Donation of the Steamship Historical Society of America, 1965/ Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph)

The new ship, The Sullivans joined her sister ships after a shakedown cruise and headed for Pearl Harbor. Assigned to Destroyer Squadron 52, The Sullivans departed Pearl Harbor in January 1944 with Task Group 58.2. The task group, which included Battleship Division 9, conducted combat operations in the Marshall Islands. 

USS The Sullivans (DD 537) screens the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill (CV 17), which has just been hit by two Japanese suicide planes within 30 seconds of each other, on May 11, 1945. The Sullivans later picked up 166 members of the carrier's crew when fire forced them overboard. (National Archives and Records Administration.via Navsource.org)

 The Sullivans kept busy for two days screening the carriers USS Essex (CV 9), USS Intrepid (CV 11), and USS Cabot (CVL 28) as they launched airstrikes during the Battle of Kwajalein. The Sullivans would see additional action during the Battles of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The ship was decommissioned after the war and placed into the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

USS The Sullivans (DD 537) as seen from USS Essex (CVS 9) in December 1960. (Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph)

The Korean War brought The Sullivans back into service in May of 1951. Recommissioned on July 6, 1951, she eventually joined Task Force 77 which was operating off the eastern shores of Korea. She screened fast carriers and provided support for United Nations ground forces. The Sullivans was eventually ordered home in 1953. The ship would go on to serve into the 1960s until she was finally decommissioned in 1965.

USS The Sullivans as a museum ship in Buffalo, New York, beside USS Little Rock (CLG 4). (Wikimedia Commons)

Today The Sullivans serves as a museum memorial in Buffalo, New York, where it has been since 1977. Open to the general public, visitors to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park can see a ship that more than lived up to the fighting spirit of the brothers from Iowa. She earned nine battle stars for her World War II service as well as two stars for her service in Korea. In 1986 the ship was declared a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Although USS The Sullivans (DD 537) was decommissioned in 1965, USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), seen here at her launching on August 12, 1995, has carried the name of the heroic brothers from Iowa forward into a new century, along with the motto, "We Stick Together." (Debbie Houston/ Defense Visual Information Archive)